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Muffy Aldrich's SALT WATER NEW ENGLAND

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Tipple?


A reader question for the community:
I'm curious what tipples folks are enjoying (or over-imbibing) during quarantine. I'm a scotch man, so it's Black Grouse during the week and Laphroaig 10 come the weekend (whatever those distinctions mean these days). 

44 comments:

  1. A great question. Cocktail hour it’s generally a very dry gin martini (sometimes olives and sometimes a razor thin slice of lemon) or a bourbon manhattan w a Luxardo cherry. Either is shaken and strained into a chilled martini glass. Oh and some cheese and crackers to serve as s blotter. Prost!

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  2. Woodford Reserve on the rocks with a few Triscuits and some pimento cheese...life in the "slow lane" in VA !

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  3. Dark & stormy(ies), G&Ts, Campari & soda, and the occasional glass of wine or beer down here in Florida. Pita chips, veggies, & hummus are my go-to buffers. I may try some tiki drinks if this drags on into summer!

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  4. Pussers,Ardbeg, so hard to choose! Thanks so very much!

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  5. I have been obsessed with the world of wine for the last 40 or so years. So it’s a moving target. In the last few months it has been Italian. The whites from the north and the reds from Piemonte and Tuscany. Barolo from Elio Sandri, the Barbaresco of Cortese and the Produttori. We also have a bottle of Champagne almost every week during the stay at home times. Laurent Perrier, Marie Courtin or Vouette Sorbee.

    David J Cooper

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  6. I’ve been indulging in Irish Coffees. The ones I make have generous amounts of Jameson and whipped cream!

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  7. Alas, I am not a DIY coffee guy. So, am missing a thrice weekly, maybe, “caffe’corretto.” That’s when you add a decent dose of grappa to your morning espresso, prepared by a “barista,” of course. Those days... well, who knows. Anyway, the alcohol in the grappa “corrects” the caffeine in the coffee. The grappa adds a very flavorful pick-me-up. And when you swoosh it around a bit in the bottom of the espresso cup, you end up with all the taste and a clean cup, too boot.. Post-prandial the grappa is a tasty digestif. Many commercial varieties are available. Try Nardini Brothers Mandorla (almond) flavored. Or, if you’re lucky you have a supply of “grappa de troie.” Literally translated as “pathway grappa.” This is the kind that’s made in a still hidden in the Dolomites, and flavored perhaps with juniper berries.

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  8. Laphroaig and some good wine. That's about it. It's still too cold for Gin & Tonic here.

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  9. Beefeater Martini (bone-dry with a twist), Jim Beam Black Manhattan (on the rocks with Indian Orange Bitters) and, lately, a Negroni, or two on the rocks. A bit of homemade Chex Mix or Ritz Crackers and cheese to snack on. Cheers Everyone!

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  10. Still a bit too chilly in my neck of the woods for G&T's just yet, so at the end of a long day working from home, our evening begins with a dry martini, Beefeater Gin, with olives and a Negroni, for the missus, both served straight up and usually accompanied by smoked almonds or other mixed nuts-- which is what we call each other as this shelter-in-place situation continues.

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  11. Beer! During the week and on the weekend. Thankfully liquor stores are essential and we have a great craft beer situation in New England that keeps us fully supplied. Add a frosted glass!

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  12. Variations on revolution-era rum drinks called such as the Bombo (rum, molasses, nutmeg)

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  13. Plymouth, Fever Tree tonic, wedge of lime, or tequila or bourbon over a few ice cubes.

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  14. Rather than regular runs to the package store, I've been working my way through a well-provisioned liquor cabinet and learning that my old standbys are great, but mixing it up a little is fun. In the past I'd stick to a dry gin martinis, scotch, bourbon, red and fortified wines, or a Manhattan. However, in recent weeks the Dubonnet and gin, various Lillet cocktails, Pimm's, etc...

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  15. The Last Word

    1 1/2oz gin
    1 1/2oz Luxardo maraschino
    1 1/2oz Green Chartreuse
    1 1/2oz freshly squeezed lime juice

    Chill two stemmed cocktail glasses in the freezer
    Fill cocktail shaker halfway full with ice
    Add ingredients and shake vigorously for 15 seconds
    Strain into chilled glasses

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    Replies
    1. This basic formula (equal parts in fourths) results in many excellent variations on the last word (Naked & Famous, Final Ward). Try subbing out different base spirits rather than gin, swapping Aperol or Campari for the Chartreuse, etc. I've been riffing on this cocktail recently with great results and it's endless fun!

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  16. Iced tea with lemon and Stevia. (I'm in Atlanta.)

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  17. Our mix of cocktails include the following:

    Manhattan
    2oz. Rittenhouse Rye
    1oz. Vermouth de Torini
    Equal dashes Angostura and cherry bitters
    Twist of a naval orange peel to finish

    Smoky Manhattan:
    1oz. Laphroaig 10
    1oz. Rittenhouse Rye
    1/2oz. Averna
    3 dashes orange bitters
    Twist of a naval orange peel to finish

    Old Fashioned:
    3oz. Bulliet Bourbon
    1oz. simple syrup
    Equal dashes Angostura and orange bitters
    Twist of a naval orange peel to finish

    Scotch in the rotation:
    Laphroaig 10
    Balvenie Double-wood 12
    Oban 14
    Glenlivet 15
    Lagavulin 16

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    1. I should also mention that, as the weather warms, we'll be adding the Martinez cocktail into the rotation as we phase out the smoky Manhattan.

      Martinez cocktail:
      1.5 oz. Gin
      1.5 oz. Vermouth de Torini
      1 tsp. Luxardo liqueur
      2 dashes orange bitters

      Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice, stir until well mixed and chilled. Strain into a chilled coup glass and finish with a twist of lemon.

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  18. I made a batch of Hurricanes this past weekend.....

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  19. Sorry, but I'm too hung-over to answer your question.

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    Replies
    1. We have a thread-winner!

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    2. As Petula Clark might have put it: "...it's a sign of the times...", though in something of a different context...

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  20. We're mostly wine drinkers here until the weekend, when it's G&Ts or, on especially fine days, Pimms Cups.

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  21. Ah, a post near and dear to my heart! Any of the wonderful Islay whiskys or Italian wines...both represented well here I see! ARH

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  22. I'm not a WASP, Topo Chico the best sparkling mineral water

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  23. Black coffee from French press.
    Certainly no alcohol at all during Covid times.

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  24. My husband and I are dry red drinkers, but after reading this thread, I think we need to expand our horizons! Cheers, all!! --Holly in PA

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  25. Not much of a drinker but cabernet or merlot with brie on the porch with my "socially distanced" friends is fun. An occasional Bloody Mary with a huge stalk of celery, green olives and a jumbo shrimp-Yum! An occasional Guinness Stout brings me back to my semester abroad in the U.K.

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  26. Yorkshire Tea. About 4 or 5 cuppas a day.

    A splash of Remy Martin 1738 on an evening.

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  27. Rum and Coke here with the occasional Aperol Spritz here in Carolina.

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  28. The old reliable: Gin & Tonic (preferably Beefeater Gin)

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  29. Glendronach, Guinness, Malbec and Cabernet.

    Randy Ventgen
    Vancouver WA

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  30. Bourbon Manhattan on cooler days; G&T on warmer days. We're in northern California and the weather is still deciding if it's summer or not!

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  31. Most evenings right after work (5:30 or so), I have a Johnnie Walker Green Label on the rocks with some Carr's Table Water crackers and goat cheese. Stepped up from Black Label for the quarantine, rationalizing that I'm saving a lot of money on commuting, dinners out, movies, etc. I occasionally sub in a different whiskey, as I did last night, when I had Knob Creek rye instead. The rye is mainly used for my wife's Manhattans. Our daughter, home from college, has started making very nice whiskey sours with bourbon, fresh lemon juice and homemade simple syrup. I'm planning to start making my favorite cocktail, the Penicillin, essentially a Scotch whisky sour with muddled ginger, honey simple syrup and a float of Islay malt on top. Just ordered a muddler from Amazon, realizing I lacked one.

    I enjoy my smokier single malts neat with a few drops of water. Talisker 10 is the go-to, with Lagavulin for a special treat.

    I developed a yen for French wines while we lived in Europe, so I keep us stocked with red Bordeaux, and Sancerre or Chablis.

    We live outside Boston, and I'm loving the craft beers from local brewery Lord Hobo. They make several delicious IPAs, including Angelica, Glorious, 617 and the flagship double IPA, Boom Sauce.

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  32. An Old Fashioned, with a muddled orange wedge rather than simple syrup, mainly because we happen to have an abundant supply of oranges. Otherwise like the one described by
    Anonymous May 12, 2020 at 12:00 PM above with Bulleit rye rather than bourbon.

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  33. G&T’s (Bombay Sapphire) and Pimms & Lemonade are our regulars for the warmer months. However I just finished a Rusty Nail using the old Grouse as I watch House of Cards (UK) thanks to a cold snap. I tend to save my favorite scotch (Talisker, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Highland Park) and whiskey (Woodford Double Oaked, Russel’s Reserve) for September through February.
    JM, Virginia

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  34. Doing everything we can to support our locally owned tap houses and small breweries.

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  35. My go-to drink is a Gibson--a gin martini with onions. But on a warm day it's Dubonnet and gin with a slice of lemon or a Pimm's cup with as many garnishes as we have on hand--mint, cucumber, and strawberries are all good options. The nice thing about Pimm's is that it's low in alcohol, so after a few glasses, one's stammering can be attributed to the stresses of the pandemic rather than the excesses of consumption!

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  36. Our libation repertoire is quote broad, and spans anything and everything from New England IPAs on summer days to Islay whiskies to gin martinis, and many cocktail variations in between.

    An old summer go-to on a Friday evening has been red wine from smaller, family-owned wineries (U.S, France, Italy) paired with an assortment of cheeses. Sadly, our local, family-owned cheese shop was one of Covid's first retail victims. The sweet, older couple running it decided to retire rather than wait out the uncertainty.

    This evening, it'll be an ice cold Plymouth gin martini - the first of the season on this almost 90 degree day!

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  37. Armagnac that my local liquor store (essential service in Texas don't you know) orders just for me.

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  38. Sometimes martinis, 3:1 with Bombay white and Dolin. Sometimes old fashioneds with Evan Willuams Black. That is about it in the summer.

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  39. I rotate bottles, usually having 2 among the following on hand: 4 Roses SBS, Old Forester 1920, Wyoming Whiskey, St. Lawrence RyeKnot, Makers 46. Red Breast 12 and a dark rum for the weekend. Will be moving to Aperol spritz once the summer house is open

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