Brand Recommendations
Brand Recommendations
I’m heading off to the liquor store later this week in search of some ingredients for the Christmas cocktails recommended to me. I’ve got vodka and spiced rum I like, but for things like Coquito and the Godfather, I’m not sure what brands would work best. I’ll need a whisky (or bourbon?) white rum and amaretto. What do all of yall like for mixing?
As much as I'd love to convince you to drink some other cocktails, you've got a set of decent selections already. I'll add and reiterate.
Bourbon $25-$35 (depending on where you are assuming US) these are mixing price and all eminently sippable neat:
- Wild Turkey 101
- Elijah Craig Small batch
- Buffalo Trace
- Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond
Tennessee whiskey (like Jack Daniels but better and about the same price):
- George Dickel
Scotch $20-$25 It will hit the note for speyside drinkers and won't break the bank:
- Chivas 12yr
Scotch $35-$50 cheap single malt you won't mind sipping after the party:
- Glenfiddich 12
- Glenlivet 12
- Bruichladdich Laddie
Irish $55-$60 not big on Irish whiskey, but I always have a bottle for the ones who insist and Jameson is frat party trash:
- Redbreast 12yr
White Rum $20-$25
- Plantation 3 stars
- El Dorado 3yr
If you feel like something with color and a bit bigger flavor,
- Appleton Signature
If I could beg you to step away from the amaretto, a boulevardier is a fine whiskey cocktail that can be adjusted easily to taste. Get you some campari and sweet (red) vermouth (carpano antica, cocchi di torino, or punt e mes) to go with the bourbon. I like a ratio of 2 bourbon to 1 campari and 1 vermouth.
I’ll weigh in here. I’m assuming that you’re using these spirits for mixing and not sipping and are looking for reasonably priced options.
My go-to mixing bourbon is Evan Williams Black Label. It’s not awesome but it’s solid and is in the $20 range.
For rum - try plantation 3 star. It has much more flavor than Bacardi and is t much more expensive.
I don’t use amaretto much but I’d probably suggest DiSorano (sp?).
Hope that helps.
That does, thanks! Definitely would prefer not to break the bank on mixing whiskey, but I do really enjoy sipping it neat when I’ve gone to bars with friends. I’ve usually had people who know what they’re talking about order for me, and am now kicking myself for not asking what was the name of the ones I liked.
For scotch whisky, the first thing you need to figure out is whether you want smoke flavor (peat) or not; peat tends to be rather love-it-or-hate-it. And personally, Godfather is way too whisky-forward for something in the Johnny Walker Red price range. As far as cheap-ish mixing whisky goes I really like Tyrconnell, which is Irish but close enough to scotch IMO and where I live it's the cheapest single malt you'll find. Single malt or blended malt is generally better than 'blended scotch' (or whatever they equivalent is for Irish whisky), because 'blended scotch' is blended with grain whisky (neutral grain liquor) while single malt and blended malt are made exclusively from pure pot-still malt whisky, which is much more flavorful. Monkey Shoulder is also pretty good and has wider distribution than Tyrconnell, and it has both peated and unpeated versions.
Whisky is so broad I don't know how to make a single recommendation.
You've got a bunch of different varieties. You've got scotch, peated and unpeated, bourbon, rye, Canadian whisky, Irish whisky, there are whiskies from around the world.
You want bourbon recommendations? Basil Hayden is good to drink neat. I particularly like Basil Hayden Sherry Cask for sipping. Blanton's. Woodford Reserve. Eagle Rare. Four Roses. My wife likes Maker's Mark and I agree it's pretty good although that's a mixing whisky to me, as is Elijah Craig. Buffalo Trace is highly regarded. Old Forrester is good but that's for mixed drinks to me.
Scotch? Any Glen is decent. Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie are all good. They are all pretty strong vanilla flavor compared to bourbon, but especially Glenlivet. I like Glenfiddich for drinking neat. Macallan is good. I'm not a fan of peated scotch, but I think Ardbeg and Lagavulin are both highly recommended.
Rye? I'm not a huge rye fan although I do like Basil Hayden rye. Sazerac and Whistlepig are both really good and probably much more highly regarded than BH.
I don't know much about Japanese whisky but my experience is that Yamazaki is good all around.
I'm afraid I have no recommendations for non-whisky as I'm mainly a whisky and a bit of vodka drinker.
You aren't looking for vodka, but for anyone else Costco red label is 100% the best bang for your buck. It's a great vodka and pretty cheap. Stolichnaya and Tito's are both good. A lot of people like Grey Goose but it's not in my top picks. But Costco is my favorite if costs were no object and it's the cheapest to boot. The blue label Costco vodka is $5 cheaper, but meh. I don't recommend other than it's a good value.
I have had a lot of whiskey drinks I’ve liked and good scotch from my in laws, but I’ve never bought any myself so this is like… a treasure trove of information! Thanks! I am looking for mixing, like I’ve heard bourbon goes well in hot spiced apple cider and I think it’s an ingredient in Godfathers, but some just say whiskey so I don’t know if the specifics matter. I like Irish coffees a lot, do you have any recommendations for a good Irish whiskey?
I've never really had Irish whisky besides Jameson which I think was decent but I haven't had enough to make a recommendation. Not much if any Canadian.
The whiskies I mix the most are maker's mark (by far), Costco blended scotch (it's decent enough to mix and cheap. Not a recommendation by any means but it goes well enough with Coke Zero) and Elijah Craig. Rye isn't my fav, but Sazerac and Diet Coke is pretty good.
Now I'm a little higher end with whisky. There's nothing wrong with Jim Beam or Jack Daniel's or Johnny Walker as mixers, but I don't buy them. Gentlemen Jack is decent for sipping but tbh I haven't had any since I started really getting into whisky so idk how it would hold up in my estimation today.
Best whisky I've had for cider is a Traverse City apple whisky. You can make do with fireball if you really like the cinnamon, but make no mistake that shit is awful.
I've not had a Godfather, so no particular recommendations there, but Basil Hayden makes a decent Old Fashioned. As does Maker's Mark. Maker's Mark is a really good all arounder if you were only going to buy one thing. It's not my favorite, but it goes well in cocktails and with soda.
But I can't recommend BH Red Wine Cask enough for a sipping whisky (think I said sherry cask earlier but I was remembering it wrong). Surprisingly smooth for the price point (it's not cheap, but it's not 18yr Macallan expensive).
If the rum is for coquito, Bacardi is fine. It's going to get stomped on by the other ingredients, better quality isn't going to be noticable for most.
For a godfather, if using scotch I'd go with Jonnie Walker unless you know people that would prefer a more bold scotch. With other whiskey the mid to low end is probably ok for those that don't drink a lot of whiskey. Amaretto will add a lot of sweetness. It's a spirit forward drink, so spending more on the whiskey will be the biggest improvement. Disaronno is technically not an amaretto, but commonly used as one for a higher end option, most liquor stores aren't going to have lots of options cheaper will likely be sweeter.
Yeah, I’ve never been a huge fan of disaronno. It’s intensely sweet and almost makes me think of like cough syrup or something… but some id my guests like sweet cocktails and it’s not too expensive if memory serves
Bourbon I like the Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond, it is cheap and delicious.
Amaretto, Lazzaroni is good and not overpriced.
Rum I will defer to someone else, except to say I do love the Venezuelan one called Diplomatico.