As regular readers of this kind of thread know, I am a beer geek, bourbon afficianado and single-malt scotch maven. But last night, I tasted Nirvana. And it was well outside my price range!
The wife and I spent the last couple of days in Las Vegas, and decided to cap off the trip with dinner at Olives, Todd English’s restaurant at the Bellagio. As part of dessert, I ordered the “Flight of Cognac.” 3 snifters, each with a generous serving of 1) Remy Martin VSOP, 2) Remy Martin XO, and 3) Remy Martin Extra. Not only did it go quite well with the brulee, but the Extra made me see Og. By far the smoothest, most flavorful elixer I have ever tasted. At $400/bottle, it will also be the only time I ever taste it. But the memory will linger…
So…what magical wunder-booze lit your inner fire? The best you’ve ever had.
I’m not much of a drinker, but I once had a peach eau de vie at a friend’s house in Paris. It tasted exactly like peaches; it even gave the sensation of fuzziness. But if I’d had more than a small cordial glass, I would have been knocked on my ass. Tasty stuff; wish I’d written down the brand name. I’ve tried finding similar stuff here, and though there are quite a number of similar things available (even French ones with the same sort of pseudo-handwritten calligraphy label), I’ve never found anything quite the same.
A Janneau Armagnac. Wonderfully smooth and somehow buttery. It is too expensive to buy a big bottle, but the 50 ml minis are $7 and are just enough for a drink for me and KellyM. I also had a bit of Southern Comfort this weekend that was lovely. It was from an old bottle, from back when it was 100 proof. It tasted so much nicer than what I bought recently.
I’ve never tapped anything in the $400 range but I had some moonshine once that was better than any $100 bottle of scotch. It was the smoothest, nicest tasting distilled beverage I’ve ever had. Wish I’d had the presence of mind to track down the person who made it.
Unfortunately most alcoholic concoctions give me a severe headache so I often have to drink a certain national beer that is made with rice (vs corn). Sigh…. FYI, the moonshine was pain free.
A Greek Taverna homemade Ouzo in the Pelopponese and a 10 year old evergoing, ever replenished, crock of Grappa and grapes in Germany.
Louis the XIII isn’t bad, either.
Hard cider – hard apple cider, to be exact, like Woodpecker cider. Nothing else even comes close. Even a medicre hard apple cider is better than anything else, and that includes the very finest beer, wine, scotch, bourbon, vodka, gin, liquers of all kinds, and anything else alcoholic I’ve ever tried.
To illuminate, serve the Grape infused Grappa as an aperitif accompanying a scoop of the same grapes plus Grappa over vanilla ice cream. Simple and magical.
I’ve had a lot of expensive booze. But surprisingly enough (because typically a lot of the bigger labels don’t have the best of the best in my opinion) the best blended Scotch whisky I’ve ever had was Johnnie Walker Blue Lable, and it’s also one of the only bottles of Scotch I truly feel is good enough that it’s worth spending $200 on a bottle (I’ve had $400 bottles of liquor that don’t please me as much.)
And I typically favor single malt over blended, but nonetheless Johnnie Walker Blue is excellent.
I think the Macallan 12 year old is the best single malt scotch you can find off the shelf here in the States.
I’m not much of a drinker, and this story probably doesn’t paint my Grandfather in a good light, but once, when I was about 12, I spent the day cutting grass on his farm under a hot sun. He invited me up on the porch and gave me my first taste of beer. An ice cold glass of Genessee (sp?). Anyway, it wasn’t a great big glass, but it was the best tasting thing ever.
Genessee and beer in general have never tasted the same since… but it is still one of my favorite memories of my Grandfather.
Eh, enjoying a beer at that age really isn’t bad. Your grandfather probably grew up in a time when society wasn’t near as strict about people drinking.
Second that sentiment on the Macallans. I’d much rather have a standard single malt than the Johnnie Walker Blue - the Blue is definately drinkable but for the price not as good as a single malt, especially an aged single malt.
I’ve had some pretty fancy bottles of wine, and it was good, but the subtlties are wasted on me.
I have a bottle of 21 yr old Balvenie Portwood that is amazing, and only comes out on special occasions like X-mas, which is why it’s fresh in my memory. I had a bottle of Roederer champagne a number of years ago which was unlike any other champagne I’ve ever had. In a very, very good way. Wish I could remember the vintage so I could seek it out again some time.
The absolute best booze ever was a tequila that a friend of mine had. He is a true tequila connoisseur and usually has around 15 to 20 different bottles of blue agave sitting around, and occasionally has tasting parties (lucky me). Sadly, I didn’t catch the name, and you have to go deep into Mexico to buy it. Truly amazing flavor.
Part two is for the best booze that is fairly easy to find, if a bit expensive. The winner there is The Glenlivet 18 year single malt scotch, in a cool glass with a few drops of cold water. Unbelievable.
I am a tequila drinker. My very favorite to date is Patron Gold sipped slightly chilled, no salt or fruit. It slides down the throat so soft and sweet!
Best is definitely not the most expensive. There’s a winery in northern Spain called Olivares that makes a late-harvest Monastrell that is absolutely incredible. At only $40 for a 375 ml bottle, it’s a bargain.