Beefeater gin

I'm sure youve heard it said that "Gin is just gross" but then again, I've heard that said about EVERY other type of liquor. Don't let the popular saying turn you off, to me, gin is the last frontier of liquors, I say that because many people only choose to try gin after they've had every other type of liquor and want to explore new areas (I admit, This was even the case with myself) so I decided to do some research then pick up a bottle of beefeater london dry gin.

Upon tasting the gin for the first time I discovered something, it is not gross is the least, however, it is much different then I expected. having a somewhat bitter and garden herbs-type taste, along with a noticeable yet not over-encumbering bite, it was certainly unique. the ammount of heat reminds me of Finlandia, but the flavor is entirely different. The aftertaste is unexpected and pleasant, being almost sweet and floral. priced at around 18-20 it is DEFINITELY worth the price, especially if you plan on making martinis which it works amazingly well with.

-J

Barefoot Cabernet, Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum, Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat

I would like to apologize to my fellow writer "J" and any other consistent readers of this blog. I haven't been posting as frequently as I would like and I'm sorry for the wait on reviews of various alcohols! So for this post I decided to try quite the collaboration of a dark red wine with surprising notes, a classic rum, and a less known wheat beer with an odd twist added to it. Let's get started.

Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon

As of the past few days i've been craving wine. Which is odd of me seeing as how I am an infrequent wine drinker (save for meals) and I am also not a woman. So i picked out what seemed to be the darkest and cheapest wine of my preference. (Cabernet Sauvignon) Now i will preface this review with a disclaimer, I am by no means a wine connoisseur and to be completely honest i cannot tell the difference between this 6 dollar bottle of wine and a 40 dollar bottle of wine of the same type. That being said, lets continue to the review.

I found it to be quite tasteful and satisfying to my unusual craving. Swirling the glass releases a fruity and pleasant basket aroma of numerous dark fruits. Which ones in particular I could not begin to tell you. It also had a dark oak scent at the end. At the beginning this particular Cabernet is smokey, slightly complex, and quite filling, yet it left me pouring a few glasses. I really wanted to know what was unique about this wine. The end is has notes of cloves and is slightly bitter all while being smooth. Overall i enjoy this wine. And the next time I am having such an odd craving it will definitely be considered.-B

Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum

Sailor Jerry's this review will be short and sweet as this rum is fairly common and delicious and I know of few people who haven't tasted it before.

Looking at the bottle artwork, images of military and frat boys sprung to mind. Ed Hardy sporting men who look to prove their worth in how much they can drink in a short amount of time. (This is a generalization mind you, if it makes you laugh then good. If it upsets you then you're one of the Ed Hardy sporting douche bags.) This rum has always piqued my curiosity though. On opening an overwhelming aroma of sweet caramel and nutmeg floods the senses. "This is going to be good" I thought to myself. The first sip is similar to the smell, perhaps a little overly sweet for my taste. But it's a rum so that's expected. I enjoyed this rum. Pairs well with a Coke or alone with ice and a lime. Besides it being too sweet the only complaint I can find with it is that it tends to disappear rather quickly...-B

Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat

My my my. Mr Adams. What have you done. This beer, (it can hardly be called so) has got to be one of the most overwhelming beers I've had in my life. I saw it at the liquor store as i was picking a variety of beers for my refrigerator. And the red label caught my eye. "Sam Adams Cherry Wheat? Looks enjoyable! I'll give it a shot." After a little anticipation and patience waiting for it to chill I finally got a chance to open it. I was in for a surprise. Ridiculous amounts of cherry filled my nostrils. This has got to be one of the worst wheat beers i've had in my life. I don't know what the brewmaster was thinking. Cherry overwhelms every other note I could possibly pick up from the beer. Altogether too strong of an ingredient for a wheat beer in my opinion. Perhaps in a lager or an ale as a more subtle note. But this? This was an abomination. I will never buy this beer or recommend it to anyone. Stick with the Boston Lager.-B

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The good, the bad and the ugly of vodka

We may review some higer-end vodkas in the future, but were going to be sticking with mid shelf (to low shelf with the bad and ugly) for these reviews because we know that affordability is a must in this kind of economy. 

The good.

1. Stolichnaya. This is my go-to vodka, It will always be a favorite of mine, it's affordable at around $20 a bottle, its clean, smooth and has the perfect buildup of heat for my taste. It comes in different flavors now such as blueberry and strawberry, but I prefer the original, I think other flavors just take away from the pure taste.

2. Kai vodka. This vodka is a definite close second. Its got a silky, oily texture, and with its immensely smooth yet flovorful taste, it goes down quite easily. Ths one may be difficult to find as it comes from vietnam, it's priced around $25

3. Finlandia. this vodka surprised me, it's always just been that one I pass by and say, "huh...cool bottle" but when I finally decided to pick it up, it became one of my favorites. while it's got a little more bite than stolichnaya, It also has a little more of a velvety, slightly silky texture. Chilled, it would bring out that texture even more and reduce that bite. priced around $25-$30

I will not be including prices from this point forward, in the hopes that your not actually planning on buying these.

The bad.

3. Pinnacle. this is basically a novelty/party vodka, having crazy flavors like cookie dough, cake, cotton candy. The flavors are pretty accurate, but as for quality of the vodka itself...theres little to none.

4. Smirnoff. It's definitely not quality vodka, and has swayed many a consumer to think "vodka is gross and only useful for mixing with orange juice and getting drunk". vodka is an art...and some people just don't know how to paint.

5. Skyy. this vodka is mixable...but just has way too much unnecessary bite and charcoal flavor for my taste.

The ugly.

6. Gran legacy. Never...ever...buy vodka from this company...unless you need a little help vomiting.

Theres actually a joke that circles the internet about how the company is so poor that it couldn't afford the "d" in "grand" and after tasting their stuff...I honestly think that could be the case.

7. UV. This probably ranks 3 on top worst vodkas I've had, I tried mixing it with some juices, but honestly it doesn't help unless the juice to vodka ratio is about 4/1.

8. Fleichmann's royal vodka. It's hard to differentiate between this and Gran legacy, I literally couldn't breath after spitting this stuff out, thats not natural.

-J