I will always be a scotch drinker. Glenlivet is my drinking scotch (which is different from what I might prefer if I'm having a night cap or treating myself).

Barb, I meant to try to answer your question earlier. Jon and I try to keep decent liquor around and then supplement when we want to try something new/we get a bottle of something good as a gift.

So we have on hand scotch-Glenlivet & Dewar's, vodka-Monopalova, gin-Sapphire & Tanq tequilia-Heradura. Then we've got random mixers and liquers. And right now as gifts/treats we have Laphroaig, 2 local wines, 1 Arkansas wine, some tequila in a Texas shaped bottle & a bottle of St. Germain so we can try some of the cocktails my friend made with it.

Hmm. Vortex's mention of Captain Morgan makes me wonder--what rum is good that's not Jamaican? I ask mostly out of idle curiosity because I can't see myself buying anything not of the homeland. I just have no idea. Never tasted anything I liked.

what rum is good that's not Jamaican?

Rhum Barbancourt

I like Meyer's Dark Rum.

Oh Fay, I am so sorry. All sorts of ~ma for you and your mother and sister, and I'm vibing for your travel arrangements to be as stress-free as possible.

So, is ordering good vodka in a cosmopolitan a bad thing? Because when I get one with cheap vodka I can taste the difference.

I like the Kraken, and not just for the awesome packaging: [link]

HAHA!

"One of the few recorded Kraken ink attacks occurred in the Caribbean Islands during *history*...."

As in, "release the"?

Vodka, too, if anyone has a particular favorite

Crazy Polish Roommate turned me on to Luksusowa is reasonably priced as potato vodka was at the time (and to some extent still is) a bit of a mystery 'round these grain-based-spirit parts. It tastes lovely straight but is unknown and inexpensive enough that if you mix it no one will swoon or call you a philistine.

Actually, I don't think I ever said there was no such thing as cred; my feeling was just that one can't assume knowledge (or lack thereof) of quality based on one expression of liking something of inferior quality.

That's pretty much it. And I'll toss in, "you can't declare something doesn't taste good since tasting is purely in the experience of the beholder. You can argue "fine" or "good" quality but not taste.

* I believe there are bourbon purists who believe in sipping only. Give me a bourbon and ginger beer any day, and I reserve the right to put good bourbon in it.

I once ordered a nice bourbon with one rock at Cipriani and the bartender nodded and said "disperses the boquet". Even among yer experts you get varrying opinion. I ordered it because I like the slight chill. Maybe I do like his asserted increased scent when I sip - that's the reason it was an interesting conversation with an expert.

Not Hec, but I do reserve the right to be horrified by anyone using top shelf vodka in a caramel appletini. (Or top shelf gin, but most foofy sugar bomb 'tinis are made with vodka because they are basically drinks for people who don't like the taste of alcohol.)

And I reserve the right to find this a bit Majory. Maybe they like this taste better than alcohol, or at this moment or in this context. Maybe the bartender from Cipriani just went off his sshift that he got through by fantasizing about spring break in Cabo. (And before anyone asserts "that's about nostalgia, not prefering a particular taste" I'm going to assert that removing nostalgia from the enjoyment of food is like removing just one hydrogen atom from a water molecule.)

Going back to quester's question, the dryness of a martini is determined by the ratio of vermouth to gin. The less vermouth then the more dry the martini is. Martinis got progressively more dry over the second half of the 20th century until people were barely including the vermouth. There's been a backlash against that approach trying to get back to the original formulation.

There really isn't a "wet" martini, but there is an older variation called a perfect martini which uses sweet vermouth.

I know some experts will roll their eyes at the whole "less vermouth means dry" notion because originally "dry" simply meant you were using the dry vermouth instead of the sweet vermouth.

Look, I'll cheerfully bitch out on the inferior pizza of the rest of the country (except Chicago) and declare it "not pizza" or decry the rapid expansion of bagel toppings. And I'll enjoy it. Part of that enjoyment, however, I'll acknowledge, is having a little bit of fun being a jerk - just like with the Fug Girls.