Booze Meme

Lordy, I'm feeling tipsy just from completing this one from Toast who actually took the time to put in links to many of his responses.

I don't have that much time; I need to make a run to the liquor store.

1. Beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks. Rank 'em.

Liquor (tequila!)
Beer
Wine
Mixed drinks

2. How often do you drink?

Daily from 6pm to around 9pm.

3. Favorite Scotch?

Don't have one. I'd have to start out with those little bottles like they give you on the airplane and sample a few. But honestly, I'm not that inclined.

4. Favorite Bourbon?

See #3. At least I can say I have a memory of Jack Daniels. Not my favorite stuff.

5. Favorite tequila?

Ahhh. Now we're making progress. Cesar Monterrey Reposado is about as smooth as a baby's butt. Lots of interesting flavors emerge from this one. Very complex and I feel like I'm tasting nutrients the agave plants pulled from the soil. The bottles are pretty cool but we don't drink our liquor because the bottles are cool, now do we?

When I want to go cheap, El Ultimo Reposado is hard to beat. The just redesigned their bottles after being absent from the shelves for a few weeks. Also slightly different taste. I get lots of acidic/citrus flavors. Very nice tequila and for a tad over $16 at Spec's with the debit/cash discount, it's hard to beat for the money.

When I want to go spicy, I opt for the Hornitos Reposado. A definite peppery kick compared to the above two tequilas. There are other tequilas which I think are sublime and would consider them favorites, but at $40 or more per bottle, I just can't do it.

6. Favorite Gin?

I used to hate gin when I was younger. Always thought it tasted like pine sap. Then a few years ago I tried Bombay Sapphire and found it to be palatable, and because they have all the herbs and whatnot etched on the bottle, I realized why gin tastes the way it does. Very medicinal.

7. Favorite Vodka?

I rarely drink vodka but I was impressed with the last ones I tried: Grey Goose and Tito's from right here in Austin.


8. Favorite Rum?

Toast has a pretty good answer for this one: Appleton's Jamaican rum. There's another one I have tried and thought it was OK, but honestly, a little rum goes a long way in my book.

9. Drunkest you've ever been?

I got drunk in my college dorm once and ended up riding the elevator up and down on my bed mattress -- someone stuffed me under the mattress pad and hauled me to the elevator. I couldn't have been too drunk though since I still remember people voices although I couldn't see them of course.

I was celebrating a friend's birthday back in the mid-80s when a bottle of Jose Cuervo was put in my hand with a lime. I'd never done tequila shots before and after being instructed how to do it, I held on to the bottle, determined to keep trying until I perfected the art. When I finished the bottle I was perfected. I was so perfected that I spent the next 24 hours crawling from the bed to the toilet.

The absolute worst experience though was just under 3 months ago and I blogged at length about that at Black Soap. I have no desire to go into it all again. What's odd is that my prior "worst" episodes were intentional. I started the evening with every intention of getting shit-faced. The one in early March was totally unintentional which still leads me to wonder if our drinks weren't spiked with something. It would have been worth having a blood test to find out.

10. Red or White?

Yes. Red in the cooler months and white in the summer. Simple.

11. Best wine you've ever tasted?

Someone sent me a couple of bottles of red from Tuscany via wine.com and I was blown away. Wish I could remember the name of it but since they were $50 each I won't be buying them anyway. I find that Masi Campofiorin from Italy is pretty damn good for about $16 and there is also a white Masi that was delectable. I feel the same way about wine as I do about tequila: I can taste the difference between a $50 bottle and a $20 bottle, but if the $20 bottle is real good, I'm happy with that even if the $50 bottle is exquisite.

12. Favorite type of wine?

Very hard for me to say. I'm still trying to pin it down on the whites. As for reds, it's hard to beat a nice Merlot. I do like cabs and zins though.

13. Favorite every-day red?

This is going to sound generic but I really like the Columbia Crest merlot. It's consistently way above decent. But for everyday wines, I'm usually pretty happy with the 10% discount on 6 bottles at HEB. I'm always trying something new and usually average spending about $8-$9 a bottle.

14. Favorite every-day white?

See #12. I tend to respond to those mixed varietals until I nail down my favorite. Evolution is excellent but I don't like to spend $15 or $17 on a bottle of white very often. The Masi was definitely something I'll buy again and it was around $10 with the quantity discount.

15. Best value wine?

Whatever I buy for $9 or less that I'd definitely buy again.

16. Do you drink box?

If I'm having wine at a party (like that happens often), I would. But since I don't drink wine every day I prefer the bottles. I definitely prefer those new plastic composite corks over real cork now. Much easier to remove.

17. Fastest you've ever gotten drunk?

Anytime I ever drank anything that had Everclear in it. And I won't knowingly do that. It's a headache guaranteed to happen.

18. Longest you've ever stayed drunk?

From one evening's consumption, when I've gone over the top, I have still been drunk when I woke up the next morning. The longest was probably about 15 - 18 hours I guess when I'd finally start to feel sober around late morning. There was a Las Vegas trip though when I was probably intoxicated for several days, since it's Vegas, and those drinks as "free" I figured what the hell, let's get up in the morning and have a bloody mary.

19. Ever do anything you really regret while drunk?

I probably should not have pissed on an interior wall in some one's house in London back the in 80s. That's something a dog would do. Aside from that, reference back to #9. I regret even going to that party.

This next section is about beers. And I'm the same way about beer as I am about wine. I like variety, even in the same evening, and I rarely pay attention to whether I'm drinking a lager or an ale. I guess that disqualifies me from beer geekdom. And we tend to stick with a bunch of our regulars from around the Austin area rather than frequently trying new beers from around the world.

20. Favorite lager?

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager.

21. Favorite IPA?

Haven't had enough IPAs to even answer, if we're referring to India Pale Ale here.

22. Favorite brown ale?

Bootlegger by Austin's Independence Brewing and Brewhouse by Real Ale Brewing in Blanco, Texas.

23. Favorite doppelbock?

Not sure I've had a real Munich doppelbock in years. There may be some American beers I've had that would qualify as a doppelbock. I googled the term and Abita Brewing Company came up. They have one called Andygator which I've never seen here. I'll definitely give that one a try if and when I find it.

24. Favorite Belgian?

A few years ago we went on a Belgian beer binge, trying several different ones after seeing a documentary on TV. I can't remember any of them off the top of my head but there was one with a pink elephant or something on the bottle -- seems like it was a hard ceramic bottle. You beer pros will probably know what it is.

25.Favorite stout?

Ahh, Guinness. But only if it's on tap in Ireland or England. Or someplace where the shit isn't pasteurized into a meaningless existence.

26. Favorite Winter Ale?

Don't have one. We've tried a few winter ales from our nearby breweries but I can't even remember what they are.

27. Favorite Scotch Ale?

Can't say for certain I've ever had a Scotch Ale.

28. Favorite Other?

Freestyle, also by Independence.

29. Favorite Brewery?

As you can see, I lean heavily to local breweries. But I really like Abita just over there in Louisiana. Their raspberry wheat beer is not too sweet with a hint of raspberry rather than being overpowering as some are. And they've just come out with a strawberry as well. If I'm drinking tequila I like to start off with the Abita raspberry before moving on to a more robust brew. But on a hot day, the strawberry is quite refreshing.

30. Favorite mixed drink?

Without a doubt: margarita. It's the only mixed drink I ever have in Austin, and that's pretty rare these days. I do like a spicy Bloody Mary though, and a Long Island Iced Tea always does the trick when you need to turbo charge a dull evening.

31. Favorite morning libation?

I've never been much of a morning drinker, but if I'm on vacation in a casino, a bloody mary is a great way to kick of a day of slot-feeding.

32. Do you suffer memory loss when you drink heavily?

Not so much. Unless I've had a huge amount of liquor. Now if I've had a lot to drink and I've smoked some dope, then yeah, for sure. I turn on my PC in the morning with dread, wondering if I put up a stupid post that I don't remember, or worse: got on someone else's blog and said something embarrassing. I'm always relieved when it's just something infantile I've said.

33. Favorite place to drink?

I never get to travel on a real vacation, but I always loved drinking in front of a slot machine. But the most relaxing is beachfront. Anywhere.

34. Favorite sports bar?

I'm not really into sports bars per se. I had many a good time at a bar in Ocean Beach throwing darts though when I lived in San Diego. Can't remember the name of that dive now.

35. Ever consider AA?

Probably not. I have to attend enough meetings at work. And AA would probably put a crimp in my evening festivities.