After Tentacle Monster’s glowing review, I decided to pick up a bottle each of Boone’s Farm and its slightly more upscale, yet more slutty cousin, Arbor Mist, while at the grocery store. Both are chilling in the freezer as I type this and I will have a full update later this evening.
Yes, this is what I am forced to do to keep myself entertained on the weekends. It’s a *small *town.
I’m amazed! You’re telling me they still make soda pop wine? I drank it in college (we wrote on animal skins with charcoal then). Now you’re going to tell me Annie Green Springs is still around?
Yeah but I wish I didn’t! How about Hop n Gator anyone? or Cold Duck?
Long story short: there is a reason the high-school I teach at has, as our mascot, the Thunderbird. No, we have no special appreciation for Southwest Indian culture. The senior class got to vote on the mascot when we built the high-scool back in 1968. Apparently we were a few votes shy of being The Mad Dog 20-20s! 
Boone’s Farm makes a bright blue “wine” called Blue Hawaii; it’s sweet with
a dull blue-raspberry taste and a kind of strange rancid coconut finish. Still, I kinda like it, and it was loads of fun to pour out at a “wine snob” friend’s dinner party just to see the horrified expressions on my host’s face.
I remember the good 'ol days of high school. Plastic Bottle Vodka for 3 bucks a gallon(Fukov or something probably :)), with a swig of Boone’s(never called Boone’s Farm in my circle, that would be pretentious) to chase. Epicurus would be proud.
The first bottle of wine (Boone’s Farm) has been taken out of the freezer and after a drink or two, I’m impressed. It’s not every day that you find an alcoholic beverage with a breakfast cereal aftertaste. I feel like I’m drinking a puree of Berry Cheerios over here.
I wonder how much different, if at all, the Arbor Mist will be?
Along with this group of vintages, does anyone remember “Richards Wild Irish Rose”? This vile swill is a favorite of bums with littlemoney and cast-iron stomachs. I remember a local review:
“…easy going down, AWFUL coming up!” :smack:
I used to laugh and laugh at the girls in my residence who could never understand why they got so hung over after a night out.
I finally pointed out that drinking three bottles of Boone’s each might have had something to do with it…
Not that I’m any kind of alcohol snob - we used to drink Big Bear, a nasty, nasty malt liquor most often seen in the hands of the bums hanging around downtown.
Indeed I do. But I prefer the Fred Sanford variation, “Champimple”, which was Ripple Red mixed with Seven-Up.
Boy, this thread brought back memories. Some of them even pleasant! I have to say, of all the cheapie “wines” I used to drink in HS and College, my favorites were the Ripple Red and Bali Hai. I don’t think either one is available now, though. I also believe (but have no cite, alas) that the original Boone’s Farm Apple wine (late sixties) was actually made from apples (as opposed to apple-flavored grape wine, which is what I believe is sold today) and had a more respectable alcohol content (9%, maybe?). Any other older Dopers able to confirm or deny this?
As someone who has drunk her share of both Boone’s (also never referred to Boone’s Farm where I’m from) and Arbor Mist, I will say that Arbor Mist comes much closer to actually tasting like wine than Boone’s does. Each has its merits, of course. I particularly like the Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot and Strawberry White Zinfandel.
I have had Arbor Mist in a glass, while as previously stated, Boone’s should always be consumed directly from the bottle, preferably passed between a group of friends.
Well, Hop n Gator has been re-released as Pittsburgh Brewing’s entry into the alcopop world…I’ve seen it at several places around SW PA.
At the risk of going against the grain i really like Boones Farm wine-products. Strawberry Daiquari is easily the best flavor. But it is ‘expensive’ by my standards in regards to ethanol per $ spent. I can get 3x as much ethanol from a 750ml bottle of Wild Irish Rose for the same price as a 750ml bottle of Boones farm (roughly $2.29).
Red Wild Irish Rose is a palatable bum wine. The ‘white wines’ like thunderbird or white Wild Irish Rose are very bitter. I’ve never tried Cisco but i should. MD20/20 isn’t bad, but its only 13% while wild irish rose is 18%. I don’t know why i bother with a 5% alcohol difference, its not major and I should get 20/20. But i buy WIR instead. Even though red Wild Irish Rose is one of the more palatible fortified wines i still hold my nose closed when i drink it and chase it with milk. The only good tasting alcohols are loaded with sugar and have a 5% alcohol content.
I remember reading a book a few years ago called “What Cops Know” that was interviews with Chicago cops. It was done in paragraph style little stories, like if the cops were sitting around telling war stories. I remember one of the cops stating that he was convinced that Richards’s Wild Irish Rose was the causation of most murders that happened in Chicago. Invariably, there would be an empty bottle of it somewhere at every murder scene. He called it the national drink of murderers.
2 words:
Purple Passion
How did you make Jungle Juice? We made it in one of those huge orange coleman coolers with the spigot at the bottom. A gallon of everclear, a gallon of the cheapest vodka out there, several gallons of water, as many different flavors of koolaid as possible, and lots of fresh fruit (for eating after the party. mmm, alcoholic watermelon).
Jungle juice was a conglomeration of whatever we had on hand. Everclear was illegal in my state (Michigan) although we could sometimes get it when we went to that other school, MSU. We’d make it with wine/Boone’s (I refuse to group them in the same category), couple handles of Heaven Hill or 5 o’clock - although at the rich houses you could find it made with Blue label Popov or even, gasp, sometimes Red label. Then you dumped in a ton of fruit. Pretty similar to yours, but yours has a bit more kick.
A little off topic, but Boo Juice was popular too. Vodka, beer, and lemonade. Mmm.
On preview, I noticed that you said you added water. That makes the everclear a little more reasonable.
I have wonderful memories of the actual grape Boone’s Farm wine, a thunderstorm, a hurricane lamp, and a lovely teenage lass named Marya.
Aaah. Boone’s. Her grandfather had bought it for us and hidden it in the hedge outside the beach house so we could pick it up later. What a swell guy.
I still drink it when nobody’s looking. Ice cold.
Alright, am I the only guy here that remembers Matilda Bay? (Served in wine boxes for your safety and mass consumption.)
We also gave a guy a sixpack of generic beer as a gag housewarming gift. (White cans with ‘Beer’ in plain black lettering) I still wonder what happened to the single missing can.
I LOVE Cold Duck! I buy a bottle every now and then when I’m getting a little tired of beer. In fact, I think I’ll buy some on the way home tonight!