My friend who likes wine does not turn up his nose at box wine. He says it's fine. Me, I don't like wine enough to like much I can afford, so I only have it maybe once a month and buy what I want. Well, up to say $35 anyway.
And yes, groceries are getting so expensive! Or wages are so behind the times, more like.
Haha! Yeah, I was just looking at your post, and I was salivating over the idea of drinking such fantastic mezcal and a good cocktail, but then I looked to the side of me and saw the box of wine I was drinking. You are right; I don't usually drink a lot of wine either, and I do appreciate the post. A friend of mine goes to auctions and buys crates of expired vintage wine, and often he finds that perhaps maybe seven out of the crate are good to drink, which seems like a great way to go about drinking fine wine on a budget.
I've been raiding our garden to make Mint Juleps and Mojitos for the last couple of days. I almost forgot how good those are because the mint in our local supermarkets is so bad (expensive and goes bad too fast).
1.5 oz gin
1 oz white aperitif wine (might use lilet blanc as an alternative)
.5 oz yellow chartreuse
dash of citrus bitters
garnish with grapefruit peel
I want to make a White Russian tonight. But along with the vodka and Kahlúa, I want to add some Baileys. I usually use vanilla soy, instead of milk, because I like the taste and texture.
I started adding Baileys during the cold, dark winter months, which was a lovely evening drink. During summers, I usually go for a Tequila Sunrise, but today I'm in the mood for that softer, non-acidic feel.
EDIT: Just saw your description text, OP. Never heard of a Pas de Loupe before, but that sounds interesting. Is that Mezcal, Cynar, ancho, honey syrup and lemon juice?
Nevermind soy or Bailey's, you use milk instead of cream or half-and-half? All the White Russians I made without some kind of cream (cow, soy etc.) sucked. I suppose Bailey's would add some cream content ...
When there was planning and forethought going into the White Russian, we used to use cream. But it quickly became such a preferred drink, that we didn't always have cream at the ready, and it became a bit too fattening in the long run. So we started just using milk, because that's what we always had around anyway. But then I stopped buying milk, and changed it out for oat and soy, so that's what we've used since then, and now I've really developed a taste for the vanilla soy White Russian.
For me personally, there's no doubt that a White Russian with cream is the best. But it's more of a special treat, nowadays.