While Grey Goose does have effective marketing, vodka is supposed to be pure alcohol and pure water. There is huge difference between shitty vodka and good vodka.
That's because Grey Goose has a more effective marketing team. More money = better product, or something like that. I don't trust "connoisseurs" of vodka :^D
I drink for taste, and don't especially like being drunk. I'd be happy to be able to drink more and not go past a light buzz, but I suppose it would cost more money, and become less special. Alcohol puts a natural control on overuse; for most people anyway.
We're complete opposites. I never drink to get buzzed. Never. Sometimes, I do feel a little more relaxed after a drink or two, but that's about as much as I drink at a time. The things I drink, I choose by taste.I drink to get buzzed. But it does take a fair amount of alcohol to register.
There are plenty of things that go down smooth that you don't have to pay out the wazoo to get. Mix that Smirnoff with some OJ and you'll be crankin' it just as hard. Hell, I used to drink grain alcohol - talk about smoovff. You have to mix that shit with something or it will strip your esophagus down to the primer.
None. Cold kills the flavor of good whisky.
I used to drink to get straight fucked up. We're talking well vodka on ice or straight up.We're complete opposites. I never drink to get buzzed. Never. Sometimes, I do feel a little more relaxed after a drink or two, but that's about as much as I drink at a time. The things I drink, I choose by taste.
Hey, whatever floats your boat. No judgment here. Just don't get it.
I used to drink vodka and I couldn't understand why some people made such a big deal over the differences between say Smirnoff and Grey Goose. I just didn't get it and still don't.
I drink to get a buzz. That's it. It's a means to an end. If it tastes good going down, cool. But I don't really care. Anyone who says they drink for the taste and not to get buzzed, I don't trust.
We're complete opposites. I never drink to get buzzed. Never. Sometimes, I do feel a little more relaxed after a drink or two, but that's about as much as I drink at a time. The things I drink, I choose by taste.
That's why it's done. People that don't like whiskey, but are pretentious enough to want to be *seen* sipping whiskey, want it as cold as possible so it doesn't taste like whiskey.
How old are you?
This. An expensive single malt is sipped neat. Some of the higher proof liquors are sometimes sipped with a splash of water but I never bother with that. Room temperature allows the nice frangrance and taste to develop.
That being said, if I am drinking to taste & compare whiskeys, its without ice/water. If I am drinking multiple drinks to relax (like on vacation) I have my favorite liquors (usually cheaper items I still enjoy) that I like to drop an ice cube into. Mixed drinks (cocktails) get plenty of ice.
Isn't the point of water or some ice to mellow the harshness of the alcohol to be able to actually taste the whiskey vs the burn?
I don't claim to be an expert whiskey drinker by any means - still developing my palette with single malt, but have been working on whiskey over the past ~5 years. I can go neat on 40 ABV but it gets a little more difficult above that.
Cold will mellow the the taste/fragrance. Water will dilute the taste/fragrance. You want the taste/fragrance. Thats what you are paying for. Dilution/coldness makes drinks smoother. An expensive spirit is smooth on its own. Bad/cheap liquor needs to be watered down and/or stored in the freezer to be palatable. Truly bad liquor is just made for mixing and not for drinking straight. Same reason why shitty tequila is taken with salt & lime. You would be out of your mind to do this with expensive tequila.
Some whiskeys are bottled at cask strength (higher than 80 proof) are are supposed to have a splash of water to "liven them up." Never understood this and I almost never dilute or chill when drinking something this expensive. I also dont claim to know or even properly follow all the rules; just repeating the stuff Ive heard at whiskey tastings. It sesms
I semi agree. It's claimed water opens up whisky at all proofage, but I don't notice much difference at ~40% which is generally my favored proof aside from some Islays, which I prefer at ~46%.
I would say cask strength starts at 55%, and goes up from there. I wouldn't drink them straight at that percentage. The burn annihilates the flavor, and you might as well just drink some cheap over proofed rum. You're throwing money away drinking those neat.
Chilling OTOH always kills the taste. It takes away the subtlety, and wastes money if you're drinking anything other than a cheap malt, or decent blend.
Ok, this makes sense. The higher alcohol content, while technically flavorless, does burn which clouds one's sense of taste.
I'll give the neat thing more of a chance moving forward - it's always force of habit throwing in a single ice cube in when doing whiskey.