Ahh to review scotch again. Well plainly we’ve had quite a lot of whisky this past October, but while Single Barrel is nice – it’s still Jack Daniels, and I will always prefer my whisky coming from across the pond then in the depths of the American south. Unfortunately while we have a scotch here – a single malt as well, there is something left to desire. I never understood why some people would compare Glenlivet to Glenfiddich, because honestly the latter is merely average.
This vodka might be a bit more appropriate if we’d gotten a bit more snow this season.
Excuse me, let’s back up. Good evening, morning, afternoon, or whatever various time of day you happen to feast your eyes on this in depth (not really) review of this seasonally appropriate vodka. I am the man called Justice and this week I’ll be presenting for your holiday pleasure Snow Queen.
AHA! This review comes to in you in Buffalo Time? Why? Because I’m the gorram buffalo you snot nosed brat. Now sit down it’s story
Since we found it almost a year ago we’ve hailed New Amsterdam’s Gin as one of the “Best things about doing Booze Reviews.” it’s the reason we do this, because not only can we find the best tasting stuff we find something that completely changes the way we view spirits. We now subconsciously rate gin as yes it’s good, but is it twice as good as New Amsterdam, because that’s the price point it has to beat.
So, depending on who you are, when you hear “Beefeaters” you might think “Fuck that I’m vegan or perhaps if you are a person who has ever visited a liquor store (if you haven’t, then this article probably isn’t for you) then you could be thinking “eww” or “woot woot cheap gin”. Normally my own reaction would be the final one, but that opinion may be changing with the advent of Beefeater’s newest creation “Beefeater 24”.
Whasssssssssup? Now seriously people on this limited edition internet, what is in fact going on? Not that I really care though feel free to comment with your responses because I’m merely segwaying into my point which is my feelings on 42 Below Vodka. Which wishes it got 42 points on our scale.
This week we’re back to regular reviews – though I do fondly miss scotch. What to do we have this week though? Well it appears Bacardi has a new rum, and it’s spiced this time. Reviewers will remember our last time a Bacardi graced our doors – which came with fire in it’s hands. This time however it appears to come with enough sugar to fill a galleon.
Wow, we made it a whole year. With ~58 Regular Reviews and ~6 Specials (Yeah you do that math it’s 52+ weeks suck it consistency) we’ve come quite a long way. Our tastes have changed, we’ve become as brutal as the job demands, and best of all? We’ve found a bunch of spirits and booze that just make life worth living.
Well guys after next week we’ll have made it a whole year. For such a glorious event we’ve decided to host an awards ceremony, why even know we are at a secret undisclosed location discussing booze, and the previous year. So before we get into that we decided to have an updated buying guide from the one half a year ago.
Now last time we did this I left you some advice namely stocking your bar for under a 100 dollars and that you should just buy scotch. Since we’ll be covering the festivities and intricacies of our journey next week I’ll let this article be simple and too the point of what you should be buying.
Vodkas
Recommended: Wodka – $10, New Amsterdam – $13, Skyy -$17, Three-O – $17
High Tier: Russian Standard Platinum – $27, Hammer + Sickle – $30
Honestly when it comes to vodka I go with the cheapest handle price (of these 4) because of how much gets used in the Buffalo Lounge. Now for a 750mL you could go with either Wodka or New Amsterdam the difference is slight enough that it’s the same, which is a similar story for Skyy/Three-O. While the 7 dollar difference is huge in the 750mL most of these cost $20 for a handle so see what’s the best for the area you live in.
Gins
Recommended: New Amsterdam – $13
High Tier: Bombay Sapphire – $26, Tangueray Rangpur – $27, Hendrick’s Gin – $32
It seems when it comes to gin’s if you want cheap your choice is obvious. Now the problem is that none of the high tier gin’s are “double as good, despite being double the price.” which is a little unfair. Regardless when you get into higher tier gin’s your choice is between it being more Juniper flavored, fruit flavored, floral/botanical of which you choose the above respectively. I’m not sure if we’ll ever find a mixing gin that tops New Amsterdam, but you can bet we’ll keep trying.
Rums
Recommended: Sailor Jerry’s – $16, Kraken – $19, Gosling’s 151 Proof – $21, Capt Morgan 100 proof – $21
High Tier: Capt Morgan Private Stock – $25
No real changes here, Oakheart was really lackluster and though we’ve sample a few other rums we’ve mostly stuck to the favorites seen here.
Tequilas
Recommended: 1800 Series (Silver/Gold) – $26, Milagro (Silver/Gold) – $30
High Tier: Trago (Silver/Gold) -$50
We haven’t really reviewed many tequila’s lately (read: Me and DJ_Lvl dislike it so deal with it.) I have however tried Trago via places and goddamn that’s some good tequila. Basically same as last time choose between awesome looking and good tasting 1800 or slightly better tasting, but awful looking Milagro. Sadly Patron is very much not worth it.
Whiskies
Recommended: Ezra Brooks – $13, Jack Daniels Green/Black Label – $22/25, Jameson Irish Whiskey – $22
High Tier: Gentlemen Jack – $30, JD Single Barrel – $42, Yamazaki 12yr – $43
We still prefer Ezra in the Lounge, but we’ve fully covered the Jack Daniels line, and as for it goes between Green and Black Label it’s whether you enjoy Green because not everyone does. Now for high tier we would say Gentlemen Jack is all you’ll need. However that’s a conservative high-tier and if you’re already going there JD Single Barrel and Yamazaki (which is not a scotch since it’s from Japan but is modeled after one.) are both really great choices.
Scotchs
Recommended: Famous Grouse – $21, Johnnie Walker Red Label – $24, Dewar White Label – $24
High Tier Blended: Johnnie Walker Black Label – $33, Chivas Regal 18yr – $64, Johnnie Walker Blue Label – $200
High Tier Single Malt: Balvenie Double Wood 12yr – $40, Auchentoshan 12yr – $45, Oban 14yr – $50
Basically if you’re here for some Rusty Nails and Godfather’s then Grouse/JW Red Label/White Label are interchangable. If you’re looking for sipping then you get into scotch preference territory. Personally Black Label for a cheap one, Auchentoshan or Oban for a single malt, and Blue Label because you gotta try that at least once every few years. Honestly though scotch is all about trying a bunch and finding your favorite so explore.
Now as you may have noticed if you get something from all 6 categories it will most likely not be under 100 (Though if you go with the lowest price option from each it comes out to $99 so HAH!); however we have not compromised to put Smirnoff, or Gordons, or Evan Williams on here just so we can say it’s under 100. Will you probably spend closer to $120? Sure, but for the quality you are not losing money here, simply gaining good booze. If you go high tier then your wallet will take a major hit, but who cares when you got top-shelf stuff – real top shelf stuff.
Cheers Mates.
So you’ve had the last two weeks to mull over the lower rungs of the Jack Daniels line, but here we come to the top of the top for JD’s take on Tennessee Whiskey. There are very few American whiskies that we’ve enjoyed tasting more than Single Barrel and while it’s not perfect it’s a fantastic whiskey.
