Drink Of The Week

The Sweeper · 05-09-2005 1:33pm

Hey Civilian Target, Glenmorangie's ALREADY DOTW for this week. Pear cider's on the cards for this coming Sunday...

Civilian_Target · 08-09-2005 11:59pm

Nomination: Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum

After all the talk, I'm thirsty for some more of this light, sweet, spiced grog. Can be drunk on its own of course, but also mixes nicely with the likes of white lemonade, ginger ale and (allegedly) Coke (blasphemy IMHO).

Anyway - I nominate it.

Thraktor · 09-09-2005 12:29am

I'd like to nominate Duvel for Drink of the Week. Only tried it for the first time the other night (was trying out some of the more ecclectic beers from my local offy) and, after having to be properly instructed in the correct pouring techniques (and finding a more suitable glass) I was very surpised not only at how good the beer tasted, but also, upon reading the label, the relatively high alcohol content at just over 8%. It certainly doesn't taste as harsh as other beers I've come across at this sort of percentile, and I would actually go as far as saying it is a much smoother beer than most I have tasted at the more "traditional" ~4.5% ABV, and certainly with a much more natural, refined taste. Truly a king among beers, and well recommended to anyone who wants to expand their beer-drinking horizons any time soon.

The Sweeper · 09-09-2005 12:47pm

I think pear cider will be this week, captain morgan's spiced rum next week and I reckon we should go for a beer the week after, coz there hasn't been one yet...

Duvel you say? Prices and sources plz?

dimerocks · 10-09-2005 9:23am

Delitium Tremens!!
What can you say about this beer.....its great!

The Sweeper · 10-09-2005 9:32am

Dimerocks, thank you for editing your post.

The Sweeper · 11-09-2005 10:01pm

11th September 2005
I have to admit I wouldn't know pear cider if it bit me on the bum, so I'll have to look into it, drink some of it and come back with some info... If anyone else has some, feel free to add it!

steveland? · 11-09-2005 11:24pm

Koppaberg Pear Cider is a Swedish cider. Very sweet but a nice easy to drink cider.
I was sceptical it'd be nice because I don't like Ritz but this stuff is nice.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2230/5648/ < some more info here

The Sweeper · 19-09-2005 8:20am

19th September 2005

Ale, ale, glorious ale... I used to think this was the crappest beverage ever, only ever on tap in some converted-horse-shed of an English pub, designed to be served warm with a dead wasp floating in it.

Then I made a discovery - it's not half bad if you get a good pint!

This weekend, I've had a pint of Marilyn Monroe among other tipples, so I think ale should be this week's drink of the week.

Other things sampled this weekend include Theakston's Old Peculiar, Fuller's Discovery, London Pride and a something with 'Red' in the name with a kick like a mule that nobody can seem to remember the full title of...

Anyway - ale ale ale, if you can find it, buy it, drink it, post about it...

Civilian_Target · 19-09-2005 8:58pm

I second Old Peculiar - very tasty.
Also - Tetley ale in Yorkshire (pronounced Yawk-sheer) is extremely tasty and highly recommended.

A word of warning though - ale hangovers are one of the post painful things in existance, and they smell terrible too!

steveland? · 19-09-2005 11:22pm

London Pride is great... I just had a bottle of Monty Python's Holy Ail which is lovely too...

noby · 23-09-2005 12:10pm

While I do enjoy a bottle of ale, preferrably bottle conditioned, there's no comparison to a good cask conditioned ale. The Porterhouse's TSB is wuite enjoyable.
The last time I was in London, London pride was my staple, although I sampled several others.
Caledonia 80/-, and Old speckled hen are a couple that stick out in my memory.

As for the misconceptions -
it's not warm. it's served at cellar temp. (12-14C), not freezing cold like lager
it's not 'flat'. It just has a lower carbonation level

Civilian_Target · 25-09-2005 1:50pm

noby wrote:

it's not 'flat'. It just has a lower carbonation level

lol! Next time someone complains to me that their non-ale drink is flat - that's the reply they're getting!

The Sweeper · 25-09-2005 4:25pm

26th September 2005

After a few initial nominations to work through, like pear cider and rum, the nomination level is getting low, so if you want to see a drink of the week, start nominating...

This week's drink is spiced rum, or more specifically, Captain Morgan's Spiced Gold. Spiced gold is a blend of white rum and dark aged rum, I believe, and it's aged in white oak barrels.

Rum is made from either syrup of sugar cane, or from molasses. There are three main varieties, white rum (see Bacardi), gold (amber) rum - see this week's spicy delight, or dark rum, which has been the ruination of a good holiday for more than one unsuspecting punter.

The ABV of Morgan's spiced rum is 35%, and while this is more expensive than the basic cabinet-liner spirits (your staple vodka, gin and white rum), it shouldn't break the bank - I can get a shoulder for about €21.00, so if you see it somewhere more or less expensive, share the info!

[Edit]
Capt Morgan's is yummity, vanilla... like alcoholic cream soda!
[/Edit]

noby · 29-09-2005 12:27pm

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout

Two of my favourite things, beer and chololate, in one bottle.

A really thick black coloured stout, with a brownish head. There's no ruby tones here. While the taste has a stout bitterness, it's more of a dark chocolate bitterness than the roasted bitterness of, say Guinness.
Very smooth, very creamy, and fairly sweet, you defenitley taste the chocolate in it. So sweet, that it may be too much for a night drinking it, but an ideal one for having a couple of bottles, with your feet up in front of the fire on these cold evenings.

5%abv. I got mine in World Wide Wines in Waterford.

Evil Phil · 29-09-2005 2:10pm

Long Vodka

Agstura bitters
Tonic Water¹
Vodka
Ice + slice of lime.

¹7up is good too

The Sweeper · 29-09-2005 3:32pm

I'm seconding the chocolate stout nomination. Any further support for that?

As for a long vodka... I might do a week of Angostura Bitters and all of its uses...

Evil Phil · 29-09-2005 4:27pm

So that's how you spell it.

Chocolate stout, bleargh!

The Sweeper · 02-10-2005 8:23pm

3rd October 2005

Chocolate stout was nominated this week and fits nicely with a number of things, so chocolate stout it is. Also, with the season change well and truly upon us, I felt the need for a Septober/Octember drinkie, designed to be sipped from a mug. This is a drink suitable for just arriving at the pub, wanting to start slowly and warm up. Even though it's not quite roaring-fire weather, it's certainly leaf-fall season, some bugger's asked you what you're doing for Christmas and there's still things at the end of the laundry basket that smell of suntan-oil and holiday pool chlorine. You've just felt the first twinges of Seasonal Affective Disorder and, if you're like me, you've just spent a week's wages on a new pair of boots to bolster your confidence for the coming cold season, and now you need to soothe your nerves.

Chocolate stout is the drink for you.

This is quite readily available in most off licences and supermarkets.

Chocolate stout normally uses both real chocolate, and chocolate malts in the brewing process. For me, chocolate stout should bridge that childhood gap between thinking Guinness looks like cocoa with fresh cream on top, and the horror of realising it's nothing like that. It should be rich, not too sweet - I prefer mine to have the bitter dark chocolate edges you get with good quality dark chocolate, not the cloying sweetness of a vanilla shake.

Youngs do a double chocolate stout that involves real chocolate and is 5% ABV, so it's got quite the warming kick both in flavour and cockle-warming. It'd be my favourite of the chocolate stouts.

The Porterhouse also used to do a chocolate truffle stout, but I'm not sure if they still do.

www.realbeers.ie do a case of 12 bottles of double chocolate stout for €50, but if you know somewhere else that does it, retail or publican, add it here!

Blisterman · 02-10-2005 8:24pm

NOMINATION
Boilermaker
Just put a shot of Whiskey (Bourben/Jack Daniels works best) in your beer. They compliment each other quite well, also makes your beer much stronger, if that's what you want.

Evil Phil · 04-10-2005 8:43am

I'd like to renominate the long vodka, just for this week.

technobob · 04-10-2005 10:02am

NOMINATION

erdinger oktoberfest special brewing
every year erdinger release this in very small quantities into the market to promote/cash in on the october beer festival.

its a weissbier with a stronger (5.7%ABV) then other erdingers,
slighty cloudier with a taste almost bordering on the dunkel variety.

in other words,

tis very nice..

it also tends to have pictures of lovely madchen on the front
although this year it also contains a man clad in lederhosen.

Tazz T · 05-10-2005 9:11am

I'm just back from Greece where I drank half of the country's Retsina supplies. So I'd like to nominate ice cold restsina from the bottle with the 'bottle-opener' cap and the yellow label, drunk ice cold in the sun from a small glass.

Civilian_Target · 05-10-2005 10:45am

As Greek beer goes, Alfa's not bad either - beats chunks out of Skopsko!

Tazz T · 05-10-2005 11:53am

I prefer Greek Amstel from a big bottle. A lot more flavour than the watery stuff we get here...

...and a lot cheaper.

WhiteWashMan · 06-10-2005 1:26pm

NOMINATION

I'd like to add a Cosmopolitan Cocktail to the list of nominated drinks.
mainly because they are bloody nice, but also because sometimes i like a little bit of class and sophistication on a night out.

easy to make, not too many ingredients:
1 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Triple sec
1/2 oz Cranberry juice
Lime wedge

Mixing instructions:
Shake liquid ingredients like hell in a shaker with ice. Place lime wedge on the rim of a Martini glass. Pour mix into the glass, up. Enjoy!

of course, if youre a bloke, all your mates will call you gay, but hey, if this is being gay, then paint me purple and give me a handbag and call me Claus!

Dave · 06-10-2005 2:24pm

Claus it is

PunyHuman · 06-10-2005 2:47pm

Caipirinha

Ingredients:

One generous shot Cachaça (unrefined sugar-cane rum)
One large lime
One tablespoon brown sugar (also unrefined if available)
Crushed ice

Preparation:

Wash the lime and cut it into eighths.
Put the bits in a shaker and pour over the sugar.
Mash well. I've found the end of a large wooden spoon or spatula is good.
Add a tumbler of crushed ice.
Add rum.
Shake well, pour and serve.

Delicious. Best savoured al fresco on a sultry summer evening in Rio de Janeiro, but at home on a dark drizzling autumn night in Ireland comes a close second.

Don't know how much these are in pubs, but probably around six or seven euro.

The Sweeper · 06-10-2005 4:08pm

Folks remember your nominations needs to be seconded at least, and thirded at best, to really qualify for DOTW... this is very much an experimental democratic process, but there'll need to be some back-scratching if anything's going to get elected...

athena 2000 · 07-10-2005 4:59am

WhiteWashMan wrote:

NOMINATION
I'd like to add a Cosmopolitan Cocktail to the list of nominated drinks.
mainly because they are bloody nice, but also because sometimes i like a little bit of class and sophistication on a night out.

Herr Claus, I second your nomination.

Drink Of The Week

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