Stroh rum. Austrian rum with a great butterscotch deep taste. two proofs available.
Also great for baking.
Sipping a Ti’ Punch right now. A popular Caribbean treat.
Rhum agricole, simple syrup, muddled lime. Ladies sometimes add ice. First sip burns, I’ve seen newbies have a coughing fit. So good.
Disclaimer: I have danced on the beach under a full moon on more than one occasion because of this drink.
What do you like - if you like a margarita, do you like sweet. In which case a liqueur or a port would be an excellent choice. If you like the citrus nature of a margarita, you could try Grand Mariner (orange liqueur, pretty darn sweet) or Limoncello. I think for the winter months, a port makes a great sipping beverage.
I’d stay away from the whiskeys if you haven’t been drinking straight booze. They are wonderful to sip, but your best bet is to not buy a bottle you won’t drink, and instead find a friendly bartender willing to walk you through them. That’s Irish, Canadian, Bourbon, Scotch - try those in a bar by the shot. Not infrequently, bartenders will pour little tiny tastes if you chat them up and tell them what you are looking for - last Spring we went through six tiny taster pours of gin at our local watering hole, we had spent a little (lot) of food and cocktails before then, but we started chatting the the bartender about gins, and he started pouring. Plus, the cheapest stuff is usually god awful. (In bourbon, we like Bulliet for the price to quality ratio - this was after trying 28 of them over the course of a month and keeping notes. Bourbon & American Whiskey Advent Calendar (2022 Edition) - Master of Malt )
The drinks by the dram folks might not be a bad place to invest your dollars if you don’t want to meet your local bartender. But I’d really go make friends with your local bartender. Tell them what you are looking to do (“find something I can sip at home”). He (or she) should start talking you through what you like and what you don’t like. Don’t do this a TGI Fridays - you are looking for a good bar with someone behind it who sees alcohol as their profession. You’ll be making several trips there on your journey to figuring out what you like. Alcohol isn’t cheap (and if it is cheap, its seldom good) - and having a bottle of Laphroaig around is an expensive investment if you don’t enjoy a taste reminiscent of band aids.
Thirded. The yellow is too sweet, IMHO.
So a rusty nail may be the drink.
Fourthed. I splurged on a glass of the extra-aged V.E.P. green a few weeks ago. Now I’m on the hunt for a bottle of that.
I’ll add one of my favorites: Cynar. Don’t be afraid of the artichoke on the label. I’d also say that I do t think it’s anywhere near as bitter as some people claim.