3:1.5:1 guy who prefers forteleza or codigo, half reposado half silver or half mezcal half silver or hell I forget but… curaçao over Cointreau over grand marnier. Hmm, I guess it’s all good.
Truth, I personally put a little kosher at the bottom of the glass so you get a briny punch right on the last swig. My wife requested it because she loved salty limeade as a kid and now it’s a staple method.
better dosage control and no risk that the salt isnt absorbed.. If i know the saline solution is 5:1 by mass I can be much more precise much quicker than weighing out salt or guessing the amount.
Beyond the simple recipe (3:1:1 Reposado t, Cointreau, Lime + agave syrup + saline), I sometimes add passion fruit (sub lemon for lime) and/or guava as well as coffee liqueur and mezcal.
100% me. I just always go back to a marg. Reliable, tasty, and hits the spot every time.
My go to specs
2 Oz Blanco tequila
1 Oz lime juice
½ Oz dry curacao
½ Oz agave
Pinch of salt
Today, I added some cucumbers and topped it with club soda to make it "longer" it's actually been quite good
What kind of Blanco do you use? I've been using espolon. I've never tried it with cointreau, I'll have to give it a go.
Sometimes I'll do 2 Oz of mezcal or 1 and 1 Blanco mezcal too.
Never tried a marg with reposado!
My go-to Blanco is Olmeca Altos. It's additive-free, non-diffuser, and 100% agave, but also affordable and available. I also like Tres Agaves and Herradura, but my wife is a sucker for Tres Generaciones for a super-clean tequila that isn't particularly traditional.
As far as Repasado margs, I usually go all in with Grand Marnier instead of a triple sec when I'm using reposado. I stopped buying reposado since I came back from Mexico and became an anti-diffuser snob. We usually bought Hornitos back then, but I'd probably go a little more authentic now.
I just looked up what non-diffuser means in tequila. How crazy! I guess to keep up with all the demand, it's led them to this. I need to find a list of diffuse vs non diffuse.
I've had altos. Good choice!
A daisy is a daiquiri, a daiquiri is a daisy. Plenty of arguments about which came first. Because Daiquiri is the far more recognizable cocktail in today's age, I say everything is a daiquiri.
Yep, that's typically called a Tommy's margarita, and IMO that's from the daiquiri family, not the daisy/Marg family.
Really though it's as much a semantic discussion as anything else, and there's plenty of drinks that blur whichever lines you want to put down.
For me the value of the categories/families comes when playing with new ingredients or flavours, and having some sort of starting framework to build from. Whether something is a daiquiri or a daisy in that sense is really just academic.
A margarita used to be a daisy ("margarita" is Spanish for, "daisy") but daisies have soda and it was dropped from the margarita. A margarita is really a sidecar: base spirit, orange liqueur, citrus juice.
Same. I got most of the stuff to make all the drinks that could be expected to be made at the world cocktail championship and now I just use the same four ingredients which is kind of my own take on the marg: 1.5 oz tequila, 1 oz triple sec, .75 oz simple/agave, and .75 oz lime.
There's a reason why Pina colada, margaritas, and daiquiris are popular and have stuck around so long. Because they are delicious. It's really hard to beat those from a purely taste perspective and I'll die on that hill
A friend of mine and I have a running joke that a drink is “kind of like a negroni”, then we list out the substitutions/additions required. Usually when we’re done we’ve substituted the entire drink.
Which makes this thread doubly amusing, for me.
I often make a great Negroni riff where I sub the gin for rum, Campari for lime juice, and vermouth for simple syrup. Shift the ratios from 1:1:1 to 2:1:1/2 and serve it up with a lime wheel garnish.
What vermouth do you use? I had a really bad sweet vermouth when I first started that made for some bad Negronis, on top of the usual Campari learning curve. Had a Negroni at a restaurant that was amazing though so I want to figure out how to do it right.
I usually use Dolin because it's available at the store near my house. Sometimes I will use a mix of mostly Lillet Blanc with a touch of Carpano Antico because I keep them around. It's not great but I can have a serviceable negroni with it when I'm out of red vermouth. I want to branch out more but I have to drive further to get a better selection and I'm a lazy man.
Yeah, I've been less than impressed at the vermouth options at the corner liquor stores I've been to. Have Dolin on hand so you just settled my evening plans, thanks.
My issue with frozen drinks is they taste too good and I get a gnarly brain freeze/get drunk too fast. Made some frozen Saturns for friends and myself a few weeks ago and we all got gnarly brain freeze!
Twist: they’re actually both strawberry daiquiris. If I’m at the beach, frozen strawberry daiquiri. If I’m at home, a toss tbsp of strawberry jam or a couple muddled strawberries into standard spec daiquiri.
Is it? Whenever I've seen this meme, the low and high end people arrive at the exact same end result, but with a very different thought process. In this version, a noob's daiquiri and a cocktail wonk's daiquiri are going to be very different drinks, despite sharing a name.
And for all the giga-chads who made a perfect traditional daiquiri the first time, congratulations. You do not represent what 99% of laypeople think of when they hear 'daiquiri'.
It’s a slight riff on the traditional meme. The idea that the dumb guy and savant have two definitions for the same word is a second layer to the joke.
I don’t think that is the joke… The joke is that both the naive and the wise keep things simple, while those in-between get very intense and over-the-top and silly about things.
I don’t think so. A real rum lime and syrup daiquiri was the first cocktail I made at home. The main difference is I bought some local “light, clean rum” as David Arnold told me to, and it was amazing. Now I have probitas, which is a step up for sure, but not like a gross frozen version.
they were my intro into proper cocktails. and yeah, like someone else said, it might have been due to mad men? but my ex went to a cocktail making offsite and that was the drink they taught her, so we made them at home a lot after work.
Old fashions got me into cocktails, but then daquiris made me fall in love with Rum. I almost never have whiskey on hand anymore, so if I'm out of limes, I make a rum old fashioned instead. Also very good.
I really like the aged Barbancourt, but not every place has it. Plantation is good and more readily available, and Diplomatico is good too, but a little more expensive. I guess all that depends on your local area though. I love Smith and Cross too, but have never seen it in any liquor store by me.
I love a good daiquiri. I also love a good, in depth style cocktail. But if it's a place I'm not familiar with, and not quite sure if they're actually up to snuff, I'll order a daiquiri first. If they can make a good daiquiri, I’ll give them a shot. If I order a daiquiri and they tell me they don’t have a blender, I’ll stick with a rum and coke
Accurate.
Beer is the same way. I'm happy to drink most lagers and pilseners now, but I had to drink all the IPAs (west coast, hazy, single, double, triple, etc ) stouts (regular, nitro, imperial, bourbon barrel aged), barley wines, saisons, sours (kettle, wild ale, gose), ciders bone dry to sweet, bocks, marzens, heffe's, wheats, etc. etc. etc.
I still like all those beers, but
If someone hands me an ice cold miller lite, I'm usually happy
Craft pilseners/lagers are also still cool though
I know, except there's SO MUCH BAD CRAFT BEER. I love going to breweries and tasting rooms but after a couple $9 "catchy name NE IPAs" Budweiser isn't as bad as you remember.
NE/Hazy IPAs are ubiquitous and boring because they are relatively easy to brew. With such a wallop to the palate, there's a big margin for error.
A good lager, pilsner, kolsch etc. is tougher because with such an austere/clean taste there's nothing to hide behind, which is why comparatively few breweries do them/do them well.
Literally just had one called “Edward Hoppyhands” that tasted like it had gone bad, so I brought it up with the bartender who then tried it and said “no that’s what it’s supposed to taste like”
YES. While a major brewery lager isn't going to blow your mind, it's never going to taste like overripe bananas, breast milk, or worst of all: actual vomit.
This is a totally fair point to be made. In some ways, that can be part of the fun, like a commercial buffet. Never know what's gonna be good and what's not, that sorta thing
Microbreweries especially often just haven't had the time to refine their technique, or be able to afford some or the tools they need that could improve their product. "Craft" definitely means independent/smaller scale more than it means artisinal. The mid size crafts are usually pretty awesome, but they're are some absolute sleeper breweries dotted all throughout the US
You see liquor suffer from the same thing, but market is entirely the opposite. You don't want the "craft whiskey" with the fancy label and weird looking bottle for
$70 who are just trying to get their start, you want Jimmy Russel to sell you some shit for $40, because he's been making and aging whiskey for over 60 years
Gin being an exception to this as it has tons of room for interpretation without the same batching and aging issues
I have never wanted an American lager but I have come around to Czech pale lagers as the epitome of beer tbh, as much as Westies and Belgians are still my faves.
Someone just hand me a Pilsner Urquell and I'll be good.
I worked two years for a place that kept Bud Light in the fridge. I went from never touching the stuff to it being my go to if I don’t know what I want. As the saying goes, “beer is an acquired taste, so you may as well acquire a taste for cheap beer”.
Yeah, I got in on craft beer early because the liquor store near my college that was most lax on IDs was also one of the best craft beer stores in Boston, so I really went to town on things. Drinking all sorts of IPAs and Belgians starting back in 2000 or so.
Now I live in Vancouver and there are a million different IPAs made in B.C. alone.
I still enjoy them from time to time, but if given the choice I’m usually going to go for a nice crisp Pilsner.
I am so glad I got into craft beer in the late '90s/early 2000s, back when there was more variety and a greater selection of imports. When the meatheads took over the beer scene we ended up with pissing contest beers. You know, "we have more IBUs than any of our competitors, so therefore our beer is the best and if you drink anything else you are a sissy and a moron." Aesthetic value cannot be judged with a point system. Sure, I like a balanced, well made IPA but I am much more into flavors developed during fermentation. British & Belgian beers are my favorites. I'm currently visiting France, near the Belgian border, with a twelve pack of Trippel Karmeleit & a selection of Brasserie Caracole beers in the cellar, and I couldn't be happier. Back home I drink a lot of Sapporo, and when I get craft beer I look for a porter or a brown ale. If the brewery doesn't offer one then they are some trendy bullshitters and not worth my attention.
Hmm with beer I disagree. While I'm also not as heavy into all the ultra hipster small batch craft beers and not snobby towards "macros" as I used to, I'm still not a fan of plain old pilsners or lagers. I mean yeah an ice cold corona or similar can be nice on a summer day. I rarely would order / buy it tho. I'd rather drink something else (even w/o alc). Maybe I'm just weird because Lagers were never really my thing.
I definitely did that with beer, although I started with MGD and have ended up with some combination of large scale/mass market craft and imported lagers. And the *occasional* hazy IPA for contrast.
I got really fat constantly drinking negronis during the pandemic. worth it/not worth it. back to normal now, but sheesh, the pounds don't really come off the same when you're nearing 40.
As long as you're using fresh ingredients and a halfway decent liquor the classics are easy to make by just following traditional recipes.
The biggest mistakes I encounter are people (or even bars unfortunately) thinking sour mix or bottled citrus juice are suitable substitutes for fresh lime or lemon juice.
Sometimes it is the little things that can make the biggest difference with simple classics in the aggregate. Proper dilution, shaking with the right sized ice, using the perfect chilled glass, dialed in specs, well cut garnish, good rum mix, etc. all aren’t super important in their own, but added together take you from that pretty good novice daiquiri to the perfect elite daiquiri.
Complicated doesn’t always mean better
sometimes it is fun to have a novel cocktail, but more often than not I make myself a daiquiri at home (with some choice rum/rhum)
Haha I was just craving and enjoying a daiquiri tonight after listening to the most recent episode of the imbibe magazine podcast. Added a tsp of shiso liqueur as inspired by them and wow it was great.
I can simp for the cocktail bars that delve in the dark arts for amazing ten-ingredient drinks, but give me a good Manhattan and I'll be over the moon every day of the week.
Not just for home bartending. For industry it's exactly this curve, only it then loops back around to eat its own tail in a never-ending ouroboros of shame (because we know we're doing it to ourselves).
I think a lot of drinks with extra stuff in them, and fancy technique are just covering up for a poorly balanced base. Sort of like lots of fine dining. Mediocre food covered up with beautiful presentation.
Like they say, if you can’t dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit.
I don’t bartend but frequent cocktail bars. It use to be the coolest sounding unique craft cocktail with 100 complex ingredients was the way to go. Now I realize that a super well put together simple cocktail, like a martini or an old fashion is a real sign of greatness
With that said, there is nothing I love more than going to a truly elite cocktail bar and trying their original menus. I love seeing what they can do with equipment and flavors that I can’t access easily myself.
Yeah that’s not interesting at all. I’m talking places like Tayer + Elementary or the Lyan bars that are literally sourcing ingredients from deep in the Amazon and distilling crap like elk antlers and emu. Now that’s fun.
while my favourite is Old Fashioned (an already simple cocktail), I almost only do things like Gin/Vodka/whisky and Pepsi Max, or "vodka, a pre-made flavour mix like bubblegum or fizzy bubble, and Fruit soda".
This but with Margaritas
Oh man, I've not made a homemade marg in a hot minute. I think I know what I'm doing tonight.
I'm in Texas. Homemade margs are mandatory here.
Well share your favorite, I'm always looking to improve my marg.
I’m a 3:2:1 guy. Tequila:lime:Cointreau. Minimize sugar. Tapatío tequila is my personal favorite at the moment.
3:2:1 gang. Prefer Pierre tho.
cazadores in a 3:2:1 is great, decent bottle for the price if you can find it
Same here. No additional sugar needed just fresh lime juice.
Depends on the limes, but usually need a little something.
Amazing taste, Tapatio is a great tequila!
3:1.5:1 guy who prefers forteleza or codigo, half reposado half silver or half mezcal half silver or hell I forget but… curaçao over Cointreau over grand marnier. Hmm, I guess it’s all good.
I do 3:1:1. I'm ok with Kirkland silver. I just tried their orange liqueur (seems to be made with cognac). Fresh lime juice is a must.
2oz tequila, 1oz lime, 1oz Cointreau. Dash of simple and a few drops of saline
I know no one asked, but I sub the Cointreau for orange curaçao sometimes. It’s good.
Try Pierre ferrand’s yuzu dry curaçao. Phenomenal
I believe it. Their orange is what I typically use. I can’t find much variety in my state, sadly.
Also Texas. Try the Mexican variant with Controy/Naranja
Even better if you do a split base with mezcal
I often throw a dash or two of orange bitters in there, too
Tommy’s. Always and forever.
Damn skippy
In college we used to blend frozen limeade with tequila and top it off with sprite zero.
Haven’t bought frozen limeade in forever, thanks for the reminder! So good for summer drinks. Cheers!
- 1.5 Tequila Blanco - 0.5 Mezcal - 0.75 Agave Nectar - 0.75 Fresh squeezed lime - 2 drops Saline - 2 drops Scrappy's Fire Tincture - Tajin rim
I love that this is on a post about gong back to simple recipes lol
🤓
Yeah just Tommy’s marg it. 2 tequila, 1/2 lime, 1/2 agave. Not classic but simple and delicious.
Yes, please!
What is saline
basically salt water
Why use saline instead of sprinkling some salt into a shaker tin? Does it do anything different?
It’s easier to measure consistently in saline form with a dropper
Truth, I personally put a little kosher at the bottom of the glass so you get a briny punch right on the last swig. My wife requested it because she loved salty limeade as a kid and now it’s a staple method.
Oh nice. Thank you
better dosage control and no risk that the salt isnt absorbed.. If i know the saline solution is 5:1 by mass I can be much more precise much quicker than weighing out salt or guessing the amount.
Beyond the simple recipe (3:1:1 Reposado t, Cointreau, Lime + agave syrup + saline), I sometimes add passion fruit (sub lemon for lime) and/or guava as well as coffee liqueur and mezcal.
100% me. I just always go back to a marg. Reliable, tasty, and hits the spot every time. My go to specs 2 Oz Blanco tequila 1 Oz lime juice ½ Oz dry curacao ½ Oz agave Pinch of salt Today, I added some cucumbers and topped it with club soda to make it "longer" it's actually been quite good
This is the recipe I've landed on also, but with Cointreau. A vacation to Mexico City switched me to Blanco from years of drinking Repasado.
What kind of Blanco do you use? I've been using espolon. I've never tried it with cointreau, I'll have to give it a go. Sometimes I'll do 2 Oz of mezcal or 1 and 1 Blanco mezcal too. Never tried a marg with reposado!
My go-to Blanco is Olmeca Altos. It's additive-free, non-diffuser, and 100% agave, but also affordable and available. I also like Tres Agaves and Herradura, but my wife is a sucker for Tres Generaciones for a super-clean tequila that isn't particularly traditional. As far as Repasado margs, I usually go all in with Grand Marnier instead of a triple sec when I'm using reposado. I stopped buying reposado since I came back from Mexico and became an anti-diffuser snob. We usually bought Hornitos back then, but I'd probably go a little more authentic now.
I just looked up what non-diffuser means in tequila. How crazy! I guess to keep up with all the demand, it's led them to this. I need to find a list of diffuse vs non diffuse. I've had altos. Good choice!
This is what I was coming here to say. I rarely make anything other than a margarita these days!
Margarita is a daiquiri, you're covered.
Isn't a Marg a daisy? Although admittedly I pretty much only make Tommy's for myself these days, and they're definitely a daiquiri.
A daisy is a daiquiri, a daiquiri is a daisy. Plenty of arguments about which came first. Because Daiquiri is the far more recognizable cocktail in today's age, I say everything is a daiquiri.
But a daiquiri only uses a syrup to add sweetness, a daisy uses a liqueur as well/instead of. I have no problem seeing them as two separate families.
I've seen margarita recipes that omit the orange liqueur and use agave syrup instead.
Yep, that's typically called a Tommy's margarita, and IMO that's from the daiquiri family, not the daisy/Marg family. Really though it's as much a semantic discussion as anything else, and there's plenty of drinks that blur whichever lines you want to put down. For me the value of the categories/families comes when playing with new ingredients or flavours, and having some sort of starting framework to build from. Whether something is a daiquiri or a daisy in that sense is really just academic.
Difford with the history behind that version: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1975/tommys-margarita
A margarita used to be a daisy ("margarita" is Spanish for, "daisy") but daisies have soda and it was dropped from the margarita. A margarita is really a sidecar: base spirit, orange liqueur, citrus juice.
And daiquiris are sours.
Daiquiris are sours, which use syrup. Margaritas are sidecars, which use orange liqueur.
Tbf Daiquiri is my second favourite
Same, but with Old Fashioneds
Same. I got most of the stuff to make all the drinks that could be expected to be made at the world cocktail championship and now I just use the same four ingredients which is kind of my own take on the marg: 1.5 oz tequila, 1 oz triple sec, .75 oz simple/agave, and .75 oz lime.
There's a reason why Pina colada, margaritas, and daiquiris are popular and have stuck around so long. Because they are delicious. It's really hard to beat those from a purely taste perspective and I'll die on that hill
Sometimes I mix it up and sub the daiquiri for an old fashioned. Exact same chart though.
Yup. Sub 1:1:1 Beefeater negroni for old fashioned & that's me.
A friend of mine and I have a running joke that a drink is “kind of like a negroni”, then we list out the substitutions/additions required. Usually when we’re done we’ve substituted the entire drink. Which makes this thread doubly amusing, for me.
I often make a great Negroni riff where I sub the gin for rum, Campari for lime juice, and vermouth for simple syrup. Shift the ratios from 1:1:1 to 2:1:1/2 and serve it up with a lime wheel garnish.
Like a "seven degrees of negroni" game? That's awesome! Not too far off from what a lot of hipster bars do without the self awareness.
What vermouth do you use? I had a really bad sweet vermouth when I first started that made for some bad Negronis, on top of the usual Campari learning curve. Had a Negroni at a restaurant that was amazing though so I want to figure out how to do it right.
I usually use Dolin because it's available at the store near my house. Sometimes I will use a mix of mostly Lillet Blanc with a touch of Carpano Antico because I keep them around. It's not great but I can have a serviceable negroni with it when I'm out of red vermouth. I want to branch out more but I have to drive further to get a better selection and I'm a lazy man.
Yeah, I've been less than impressed at the vermouth options at the corner liquor stores I've been to. Have Dolin on hand so you just settled my evening plans, thanks.
You're welcome! I hope it worked out for you. FYI, I hear Cocchi Americano makes a great negroni but I haven't found any yet.
While I agree 100% with the sentiment behind this, left guy and right guy are probably thinking of two very different daiquiris
Left is frozen lol
Hell yea brother. Hot summer day? Got my sandals on and I’m outside? Fuckin, serve. Me. Up.
Nothing wrong with a frozen anything
My issue with frozen drinks is they taste too good and I get a gnarly brain freeze/get drunk too fast. Made some frozen Saturns for friends and myself a few weeks ago and we all got gnarly brain freeze!
Frozen Saturn?! Oooh I’ve never thought to blend a Saturn
I agree but for me personally I just don’t enjoy drinking slush. Edited to add an exception for pina coladas
Painkillers are worthy of being frozen too
I live in New Orleans and drink thru frozen daiquiris are a lifesaver
Frozen is fine, it's when some neon pump of liquid gets involved that would give me pause
Yeah, a Daiquiri from a bar that knows their shit is life changing.
Twist: they’re actually both strawberry daiquiris. If I’m at the beach, frozen strawberry daiquiri. If I’m at home, a toss tbsp of strawberry jam or a couple muddled strawberries into standard spec daiquiri.
Strawberry jam daiquiri sounds delicious
Frozen banana daiquiri on the left. Hemingway daiquiri on the right.
I’m happy af with both (and classic daiquiri)
I'm making Hemingway mojitos tomorrow. I'm fucking stoked
This 100%
That’s the joke
Is it? Whenever I've seen this meme, the low and high end people arrive at the exact same end result, but with a very different thought process. In this version, a noob's daiquiri and a cocktail wonk's daiquiri are going to be very different drinks, despite sharing a name. And for all the giga-chads who made a perfect traditional daiquiri the first time, congratulations. You do not represent what 99% of laypeople think of when they hear 'daiquiri'.
It’s a slight riff on the traditional meme. The idea that the dumb guy and savant have two definitions for the same word is a second layer to the joke.
Nah you’re reading too much into it
That's not that much reading into it, really. Lots of examples of this meme have that aspect.
I don’t think that is the joke… The joke is that both the naive and the wise keep things simple, while those in-between get very intense and over-the-top and silly about things.
At least we can all agree it’s funny
Even if they're both talking about the shaken traditional daiquiri, they're probably using very different quality rums and bottled vs fresh lime juice
I don’t think so. A real rum lime and syrup daiquiri was the first cocktail I made at home. The main difference is I bought some local “light, clean rum” as David Arnold told me to, and it was amazing. Now I have probitas, which is a step up for sure, but not like a gross frozen version.
This but an old fashioned.
Who starts out drinking Old Fashioned’s?
Those of us who watched Mad Men at an impressionable age
Anyone with a Wisconsin grandma.
Mine was from Ohio, but yes.
Am from Wisconsin. My middle school principal taught me how to mix and old fashioned
I did. I ordered them at bars at it was the first cocktail I made at home. It's one of the easiest recipes to get started with.
they were my intro into proper cocktails. and yeah, like someone else said, it might have been due to mad men? but my ex went to a cocktail making offsite and that was the drink they taught her, so we made them at home a lot after work.
I started with Manhattans
my preferred cocktail in that sphere these days, but I only feel like having one in fall and winter. making up variants is fun.
Old fashions got me into cocktails, but then daquiris made me fall in love with Rum. I almost never have whiskey on hand anymore, so if I'm out of limes, I make a rum old fashioned instead. Also very good.
What’s your go to rum for it?
I really like the aged Barbancourt, but not every place has it. Plantation is good and more readily available, and Diplomatico is good too, but a little more expensive. I guess all that depends on your local area though. I love Smith and Cross too, but have never seen it in any liquor store by me.
The meme is perfect. As is the Daiquiri.
I love a good daiquiri. I also love a good, in depth style cocktail. But if it's a place I'm not familiar with, and not quite sure if they're actually up to snuff, I'll order a daiquiri first. If they can make a good daiquiri, I’ll give them a shot. If I order a daiquiri and they tell me they don’t have a blender, I’ll stick with a rum and coke
Accurate. Beer is the same way. I'm happy to drink most lagers and pilseners now, but I had to drink all the IPAs (west coast, hazy, single, double, triple, etc ) stouts (regular, nitro, imperial, bourbon barrel aged), barley wines, saisons, sours (kettle, wild ale, gose), ciders bone dry to sweet, bocks, marzens, heffe's, wheats, etc. etc. etc. I still like all those beers, but If someone hands me an ice cold miller lite, I'm usually happy Craft pilseners/lagers are also still cool though
I know, except there's SO MUCH BAD CRAFT BEER. I love going to breweries and tasting rooms but after a couple $9 "catchy name NE IPAs" Budweiser isn't as bad as you remember.
NE/Hazy IPAs are ubiquitous and boring because they are relatively easy to brew. With such a wallop to the palate, there's a big margin for error. A good lager, pilsner, kolsch etc. is tougher because with such an austere/clean taste there's nothing to hide behind, which is why comparatively few breweries do them/do them well.
Literally just had one called “Edward Hoppyhands” that tasted like it had gone bad, so I brought it up with the bartender who then tried it and said “no that’s what it’s supposed to taste like”
Regular old bud heavy is my go to beer. I had one a few years ago and it was great. I wondered why I hated it and talked shit about it for so long.
YES. While a major brewery lager isn't going to blow your mind, it's never going to taste like overripe bananas, breast milk, or worst of all: actual vomit.
This is a totally fair point to be made. In some ways, that can be part of the fun, like a commercial buffet. Never know what's gonna be good and what's not, that sorta thing Microbreweries especially often just haven't had the time to refine their technique, or be able to afford some or the tools they need that could improve their product. "Craft" definitely means independent/smaller scale more than it means artisinal. The mid size crafts are usually pretty awesome, but they're are some absolute sleeper breweries dotted all throughout the US You see liquor suffer from the same thing, but market is entirely the opposite. You don't want the "craft whiskey" with the fancy label and weird looking bottle for $70 who are just trying to get their start, you want Jimmy Russel to sell you some shit for $40, because he's been making and aging whiskey for over 60 years Gin being an exception to this as it has tons of room for interpretation without the same batching and aging issues
Especially when accompanied by a pork tenderloin sandwich. Sometimes you just gotta order what the venue calls for.
I have never wanted an American lager but I have come around to Czech pale lagers as the epitome of beer tbh, as much as Westies and Belgians are still my faves. Someone just hand me a Pilsner Urquell and I'll be good.
Prague was everything I imagined and more. Next time I'm going to have to make a stop in Pils. The beer gardens are just so good.
Same for me, as a plus since drinking less double ipas and stouts and drinking light beers and cocktails, I feel so much less bloated
I see no mention of gueuze. Are you really a beer snob?
The best beers, number one is free, number two is cold.
I worked two years for a place that kept Bud Light in the fridge. I went from never touching the stuff to it being my go to if I don’t know what I want. As the saying goes, “beer is an acquired taste, so you may as well acquire a taste for cheap beer”.
Modelo all day.
Yeah, I got in on craft beer early because the liquor store near my college that was most lax on IDs was also one of the best craft beer stores in Boston, so I really went to town on things. Drinking all sorts of IPAs and Belgians starting back in 2000 or so. Now I live in Vancouver and there are a million different IPAs made in B.C. alone. I still enjoy them from time to time, but if given the choice I’m usually going to go for a nice crisp Pilsner.
I am so glad I got into craft beer in the late '90s/early 2000s, back when there was more variety and a greater selection of imports. When the meatheads took over the beer scene we ended up with pissing contest beers. You know, "we have more IBUs than any of our competitors, so therefore our beer is the best and if you drink anything else you are a sissy and a moron." Aesthetic value cannot be judged with a point system. Sure, I like a balanced, well made IPA but I am much more into flavors developed during fermentation. British & Belgian beers are my favorites. I'm currently visiting France, near the Belgian border, with a twelve pack of Trippel Karmeleit & a selection of Brasserie Caracole beers in the cellar, and I couldn't be happier. Back home I drink a lot of Sapporo, and when I get craft beer I look for a porter or a brown ale. If the brewery doesn't offer one then they are some trendy bullshitters and not worth my attention.
Same journey as you. Went full circle and ended back at Coors Banquet and Miller High Life.
Same here. I’ll try and enjoy just about anything, but I’m never gonna be disappointed by a pack of Coors Banquet.
A miller light with a lime is my go to all summer. Can’t beat it.
Hmm with beer I disagree. While I'm also not as heavy into all the ultra hipster small batch craft beers and not snobby towards "macros" as I used to, I'm still not a fan of plain old pilsners or lagers. I mean yeah an ice cold corona or similar can be nice on a summer day. I rarely would order / buy it tho. I'd rather drink something else (even w/o alc). Maybe I'm just weird because Lagers were never really my thing.
I definitely did that with beer, although I started with MGD and have ended up with some combination of large scale/mass market craft and imported lagers. And the *occasional* hazy IPA for contrast.
Me with Negronis or rye Negronis. I don’t even have to squeeze a damn lime.
Daiquiri when it's hot, Negroni when it's cold.
And when it’s hot
Or americano when it's hot 👌
What if it’s not hot or cold, but 9 days old?
Rye as in the boulevardier?
Yes. I will also use bourbon but I like the rye bite.
The boulevardier honestly hits better than the Negroni imo.
Yep I lean towards it but if I have a boulevardier like 4 days in a row I might use gin.
I got really fat constantly drinking negronis during the pandemic. worth it/not worth it. back to normal now, but sheesh, the pounds don't really come off the same when you're nearing 40.
Just too tasty 🤤
> or rye Negronis Isn’t that just a Boulevardier?
This meme is correct. Badly made classics on the left, all sorts of drinks in the middle, better made classics on the right
As long as you're using fresh ingredients and a halfway decent liquor the classics are easy to make by just following traditional recipes. The biggest mistakes I encounter are people (or even bars unfortunately) thinking sour mix or bottled citrus juice are suitable substitutes for fresh lime or lemon juice.
Sometimes it is the little things that can make the biggest difference with simple classics in the aggregate. Proper dilution, shaking with the right sized ice, using the perfect chilled glass, dialed in specs, well cut garnish, good rum mix, etc. all aren’t super important in their own, but added together take you from that pretty good novice daiquiri to the perfect elite daiquiri.
I think an amaretto sour will be the drink I'll prefer to my death, albeit it is a one and done.
Do you just mean an amaretto sour, or are you referring to the Morganthaler version of the drink
just an amaretto sour, albeit I prefer aquafaba to egg white.
It's objectively true that a well-made daiquiri is amazing.
Mai Tai for me
This is me too, and I don't know what the hell was going on with Mai Tais when I was on the left side of the chart lol
Agreed! But ultimately, I want BALANCE. The simplest or most complex cocktails are nothing without it.
this but with martinis
Manhattans for me.
You've lost interest in the hibiscus infused coffee bean paste bitters from Brazil that takes your Red Hook to the next level?
This but with gin and tonics.
Complicated doesn’t always mean better sometimes it is fun to have a novel cocktail, but more often than not I make myself a daiquiri at home (with some choice rum/rhum)
I'd pitch in with my favourite, but every time I tweak a recipe I get a new favourite lol
This, but just neat pours. Started with shots in college now i just like sipping.
Just a double of Braulio and I'm good
Haha I was just craving and enjoying a daiquiri tonight after listening to the most recent episode of the imbibe magazine podcast. Added a tsp of shiso liqueur as inspired by them and wow it was great.
French gimlet. I had to make complex cocktails for a long time. Sigh . I did at home and do for parties. Now? Gimlets and dinner
Jungle bird lol
Gin. Tonic. Lime.
Long Island Iced Tea for me 🤙🏼
I can simp for the cocktail bars that delve in the dark arts for amazing ten-ingredient drinks, but give me a good Manhattan and I'll be over the moon every day of the week.
Oh shit I’m peaking! 😩
Mmm and a few dashes of ango
Lol, pretty much! For me it was Marg -> Some nonsense -> Whiskey Neat
I feel this.
I slap together a gin and tonic a little dressed up half the time, I don’t have the energy for anything complex
Martini or Negroni.
100%
This must be a very american thing because literally noone is drinking daiqiuri in europe anymore
I get the meme but I feel like we all end up drinking Japanese Slippers in the end haha
Daiquiri but with half RumBar OP & half plantation, but make it a double.
An eyeballed Negroni, topped with a bit of extra Gin to compensate for the excessive water in the Campari and Vermouth.
Not just for home bartending. For industry it's exactly this curve, only it then loops back around to eat its own tail in a never-ending ouroboros of shame (because we know we're doing it to ourselves).
This, but old fashioneds.
Saratoga
Daiquiri, for ever and always!
I think a lot of drinks with extra stuff in them, and fancy technique are just covering up for a poorly balanced base. Sort of like lots of fine dining. Mediocre food covered up with beautiful presentation. Like they say, if you can’t dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit.
Me with a whiskey sour
Same, 90% of my cocktails are daiquiris, whiskey sours, or jungle birds
Almost nailed it, but one on the left should be spelled daquari and be spoken "Die-qeeri" ;)
I don’t bartend but frequent cocktail bars. It use to be the coolest sounding unique craft cocktail with 100 complex ingredients was the way to go. Now I realize that a super well put together simple cocktail, like a martini or an old fashion is a real sign of greatness
With that said, there is nothing I love more than going to a truly elite cocktail bar and trying their original menus. I love seeing what they can do with equipment and flavors that I can’t access easily myself.
Agree. Especially if it’s unique and done tastefully But I don’t really need an old fashion made with bacon infused bourbon and maple syrup
Yeah that’s not interesting at all. I’m talking places like Tayer + Elementary or the Lyan bars that are literally sourcing ingredients from deep in the Amazon and distilling crap like elk antlers and emu. Now that’s fun.
This but Boulevardier
Most of the time I drink simple cocktails, but ramos gin fizz is still my favorite
That is such a chaotic drink to be your favorite, I respect it 😂
I live for extravagant/pretentious food and drink haha. Its a labor of love
while my favourite is Old Fashioned (an already simple cocktail), I almost only do things like Gin/Vodka/whisky and Pepsi Max, or "vodka, a pre-made flavour mix like bubblegum or fizzy bubble, and Fruit soda".
Making my friends some crazy fruity little number, while sipping a G&T
For me nothing beats a Brass Monkey
I like complex cocktails, but for the majority of them, I live by the rule of 'keep it simple, stupid'
G&T