.

 

I prefer the little zester with the big hole in addition to the row of little holes. It's big enough that you aren't wasting your time on adding a couple peel spirals to your manhattan but it's shallow enough that you don't get the bitter pith.



see that thumb hole? key!

 

I can dig that, but I am talking about large peel sections for flavor as well as aesthetics.




I had always just used a paring knife but I find the style of peeler I listed above easier and more consistent.

 

When I was a child (late 70s / early 80s) and eager to "help out" in all aspects of life around the house, I recall that my mother had a potato peeler in the kitchen which looked nearly identical to that.

It was slightly less "disposable razor-ey" and was all metal, but the fundamental concept was the same.

Judging by my admittedly hazy memory, I'd wager that it dated back to the mid 1960s and most assuredly cost less than $1 when new.



Sidebar: I just realized that the distance in time between the mid 1960s and today is functionally indistinguishable from the distance in time between today and the mid 2060s.

I'm going to go hide in a corner and be very depressed.

 

Why are there so many amazing, reasonably priced vodkas, but nothing comparable for gin?

For $12-15 a bottle for vodka, I can get Svedka, Sobieski, Luksusowa, and even Tito's when it's on sale.

For $12-15 a bottle for gin, I can get...New Amsterdam. For $10 a bottle I can get Gordon's, which is okay in a G&T but not great in a martini. For $20+ I can get Boodle's. But nothing in between.

WHY?

 

Beefeater's and only Beefeater's when I drink gin.

 

What's Beefeater's run there? I think the last time I looked it was around $19-20 for a fifth here.

 

New Amsterdam is all you need.

 

It's okay. Just a touch sweeter than I prefer, especially in a martini. Would prefer something drier like Gordon's but smoother than Gordon's.

 

Depending on where I go shopping, I get Seagrams or New Amsterdam. I prefer New Amsterdam, but haven't ventured into more expensive ones. I always mix my gins and don't drink martinis, so I can get away with a cheaper gin and not suffer.

 

This is the last of my brown liquor (Mount Gay does not count).

It's a Rob Roy made with:
Highland Park 15
Vya Sweet Vermouth (poorly eyeballed 1:3 ratio)
dash of Peychauds
dash of Angostura
smidge of zest from a clementine
smidge of peel mist from a clementine
smidge of juice from a clementine
slice of a ... clementine
tiny piece of ice to open up the flavor and reduce the temp a bit
I also wiped the other half of the clementine around the inside of the glass for additional aroma.

The scotch had just enough spicy, oakey bite to make this a "sad it's gone" drink.

needless to say, I need some whiskeys!

 

Thought I'd throw this out there for anyone in the upstate NY area. My neighbor has been working for years to develop his own whiskey brand. It launches this week.

Iron Smoke Whiskey, coming to a liquor store near you. Give it a try.

 

Been branching out with my vodka purchases. My current favorites are Sobieski ($13 for 750mL), Svedka ($13 for 750mL), New Amsterdam ($13 for 750mL), and Tito's ($21 for 750mL). Sobieski would be my top choice out of that bunch -- no offensive notes, nice flavor, exceptionally smooth. Tito's is about the same, possibly better, but more expensive. Svedka and New Amsterdam are just a notch below, but certainly drinkable.

I decided I wanted to try the potato vodkas. First up:

Luksusowa ($15 for 750mL)



Polish vodka, from potatoes, triple distilled. WOW. Awesome vodka. Absolutely a match for Sobieski, in my opinion. Wonderfully clean scent, incredibly smooth, very, very nice flavor. Possibly my new favorite. Sobieski is still an incredible deal, but at $2 a bottle difference I'm hard pressed not to buy this every time.


Then I tried:

Monopolowa ($14 for 1L)



Austrian vodka, from potatoes, triple distilled. I had high hopes for this, based on lots of excellent reviews (and my good experience with Luksusowa). But the scent...the odor...the aroma...the VAPORS are like rubbing alcohol. I'm still finishing this bottle, and honestly once it's in the glass (and better yet, in the mouth), it's quite nice. But the whiff from the bottle, or from a glass if unmixed with anything else, is so isopropyl-y that it's off-putting. It's unfortunate because it's an excellent deal but I can't escape that smell.

 

I hear this is the **** if you like potato:



I had a taste of it at the DC Good Food Awards tour (stumbled upon it by accident, left with serious buzz).

I tried Luksusowa a while back (in the blue/silver label era) and felt it was just too harsh. I'm also a Titos/Svedka fan.

 

If you ever get a chance, try Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. They used to distribute nationally but recently pulled back to just Colorado so I'm going to have to have my friends ship me bottles. It has a very unique smokey flavor to it that I really like.

 

Very cool family tree of bourbons:

 

I've got a high west rye on hand now... it's ok. not my favorite rye.

 

I need some good ideas for customizeable (by me) decanter tags. I want to be able to put the actual name of the product on there, not just "bourbon" or "rum."

I like this concept:



Note that the actual text is the negative space left from punching out the letters. Unfortunately, it looks like they only make the letter hole punches in individual letters and they cost ~$30 each (i.e. almost $800 for a complete alphabet!).

Short of buying a $200 Cricut plotter, any thoughts or tips?

I guess I could buy a boatload of blank leather tags:


Plus a leather stamping kit:



Other thoughts?

 

use saved money on more booze or carparts.

if you like this idea and would like to help me buy more booze or car parts, paypal my username @ yahhhhhhooooooooooooo.com

 

I should neg prop you. This isn't Joe Perez's "drink peasant swill out of plastic bottles" thread.

$100 in handcrafted leather decanter tags is not going to derail my lifetime booze budget.