# Does brandy ever taste good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848 "2002-12-10T21:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/21 "2002-12-11T03:50:18Z")
I’m generally a scotch drinker, but I also like brandy. But to me, while scotch tends to get better as the price goes up, the opposite is with brandy. Ya’ll can keep the expensive turpentine. My favorite brandy is Korbel, about 10 bucks a bottle, closely followed by a mexican brandy, Presidente, also about the same price. And for cognac, I stick with A. Hardy, about 13 bucks a bottle. To me those are all much better than the expensive brands, which has the added benefit of giving me more cash to spend on decent scotch! Also, brandy, like scotch, is meant to be sipped. I love good scotch, but even the best stuff tastes like hell if you just throw a shot down your throat. But if you don’t like it, don’t drink it. Keep it in your stock for visitors and get some stuff you like. Don’t waste good booze by mixing it with juice or soda. If you have to mix it, you shouldn’t be drinking it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/22 "2002-12-11T04:43:40Z")
IMHO, Brandy should only be heated by the heat of your hand. That’s why brandy snifters are made with a fat, barely rounded bottom (and a stem). Regardless of the size of the snifter, pour about 1/2 to 3/4 inch into the snifter. Straight brandy, room temp. Swirl it around with the snifter resting in your palm, making as much contact between glass and palm as possible. Smell it as it warms to your body temperature. Slowly bring it to your lips. Sip gingerly and hold it on your tongue, letting the smell/taste/fumes fill your entire head. Then swallow, enjoying the warmth that spreads from your mouth, nose, throat, belly, to your entire body. Repeat. I really like fine brandy. And, yes, she is a fine girl, too (for Jah68) ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/23 "2002-12-11T04:51:29Z")
If you can’t manage to like it following some of the advice here, mix it with ginger ale, that’s a mighty good tasting drink. Supposedly one of Keith Moon’s favorites, so you know it has to be good! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Sexchange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@Dr.Sexchange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Sexchange)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/24 "2002-12-11T05:09:44Z")
alot of people like to mix brandy and egg nog ---
**Author:** ![rampisad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/858c86/32.png) [@rampisad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rampisad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/25 "2002-12-11T10:50:35Z")
I grew up in a culture where Brandy was the domestically produced liquor. Scotch was imported, and too expensive for everyday consumption. Vodka was a communist plot to poison the brain, and Gin was for sluts (read Charles Dickens for roots to this belief). Consequently, I love a good VSOP brandy. It is smooth, has a great, heady aroma, and warms you all the way down. Polluting brandy with anything is a travesty - like calling Scotch whiskey! ---
**Author:** ![mogiaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mogiaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mogiaw)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/26 "2002-12-11T11:07:31Z")
yeah its more like whisky… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![rampisad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/858c86/32.png) [@rampisad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rampisad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/27 "2002-12-11T11:29:58Z")
mogiaw That’s my point - americans often call Scotch “whiskey” which in some way associates it with the paint-stripper that they produce in their chemical factories.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/28 "2002-12-11T12:08:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*I’m with ya. A bartender friend poured me a snifter of Napoleon (?) Brandy once… $80.00 a shot. It was like lighter fluid. \*\* 80 dollars a shot??? That’s insane!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/29 "2002-12-11T12:10:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jehovah68 \* > \*\*Sub the half and half with vanilla ice cream. \*\* Wow…now that’s an interesting idea. I’ll have to try that!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/30 "2002-12-11T12:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dr. Sexchange \* > \*\*alot of people like to mix brandy and egg nog \*\* Actually I thought it was egg nog and 151, or rum. I coulda sworn that egg nog was made with a little rum in it already… ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/31 "2002-12-11T12:13:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dorkusmalorkusmafia \* > \*\*Hmmm. Some of those sound ok. The brandy alexander sounds a lot like a White Russian which to me tastes like iced coffee too. So in theory, can I use it much like I would use vodka? \*\* It sort of tastes like a white russian, although I can’t personally down a gallon of white russians…but brandy alexanders…😃 . Also I’m not a big fan of Kalua (sp?). I forgot to add, to the brandy alexander, after it’s all mixed, put some cinniman on it (or is it nutmeg?) Just a little on the top… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/32 "2002-12-11T15:35:41Z")
“80 dollars a shot??? That’s insane!” Yep, that’s what I thought. If I’d had to pay for it I never would have tried it. Like I said, he was a friend so it was gratis. It was such an incredibly high concentration of alcohol that it was unlike anything I’d ever been exposed to before. Had I “known” how to drink and enjoy it I probably would have appreciated it more. Instead it made my eyes red, my nose run and I was instant blotto. Scylla wonders elsewhere if an alcohol enhanced pee can ever be flammable. The stuff I was served certainly gave you an opinion on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![mogiaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mogiaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mogiaw)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/33 "2002-12-11T17:29:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rampisad \* > \*\*americans often call Scotch “whiskey” which in some way associates it with the paint-stripper that they produce in their chemical factories.:smack: \*\* Well where I come from Whiskey is Irish and Whisky is Scottish so der. I don’t know about that paint-stripper ye boyos drink 😛 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/34 "2002-12-11T17:34:28Z")
Here (in Wisconsin) there’s an odd tradition of serving drinks that would be made with scotch or whiskey anywhere else but here they’re made with brandy. Without asking, mind you. Order an “Old-Fashioned” and you’ll get a Brandy Old-Fashioned. Which is a great way to enjoy brandy (and a comfort food by now, as my dad has been making them for many decades). Or a “Brandy Old-Fashioned Sweet” if you have a sweet tooth. digs ---
**Author:** ![Peutl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Peutl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peutl)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/35 "2002-12-11T18:03:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*Actually I thought it was egg nog and 151, or rum. I coulda sworn that egg nog was made with a little rum in it already… \*\* Depends on what your own preference is. I’ve seen eggnogs that use brandy, rum or whiskey. (No, not combined in the same batch!) I know someone who makes homemade eggnog, complete with letting that mixture of raw egg, cream, sugar, booze etc. ferment in the basement for a month. She makes separate batches using rum and brandy. No one has died yet. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/36 "2002-12-11T19:11:26Z")
**digs** –I’ve heard that Wisconsin has the highest per-capita consumption of brandy. I friend of mine went on co-op in North Carolina, and was a bit surprised when he ordered an Old-Fashioned and it _wasn’t_ made with brandy. ---
**Author:** ![kaiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@kaiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiju)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/37 "2002-12-11T22:09:11Z")
Send that extra brandy to meeeee. I’m one of those Wisconsinites that grew up sneaking sips from my mom’s brandy and sour. Or brandy and any sour soda like 50/50 or Squirt. Tasty way to use up the cheap stuff. Brandy alexanders are definitely best with ice cream. Alcoholic milkshakes. Num num. And brandy ball cookies. Just use the bourbon or rum ball recipes. Eggnog and Tom and Jerrys are made with 1 shot rum and 1 shot brandy. Up here, we do not mess around when warming up on cold nights. One shot might not be enough. And the other night at Chili’s I actually had a marguerita with a shot of Presidente in it. What a good idea! Another way to use brandy. And for sipping, E & J VSOP is pretty good. Just paid extra for a bottle of Korbel and it seems harsh in comparison. Felling strangely thirsty. Is it happy hour, yet? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/38 "2002-12-12T00:25:38Z")
It’s always Happy Hour in the Magic Drinking Kingdom! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/39 "2002-12-12T01:14:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*Mail me your unused Cognacs and Armagnacs. \*\* Er… you do know that mailing booze across a state line is illegal in most states right? ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/40 "2002-12-12T01:34:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*It’s always Happy Hour in the Magic Drinking Kingdom! \*\* It seems as if you’ve started with out us!😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848.md?page=3)