Potent Potables

Sarge's post about making it Home Again- Briefly got me in the holiday spirit, literally and figuratively, with regards to Egg Nog with a healthy touch of bourbon.  As I thought about pouring myself one, I sat down here at the computer and realized that the makings of not only a great drink, but a fun post was somewhere in the works.

Sure, there are a few potent potables that can be mixed with egg nog- Rum, Brandy, Bourbon or other types of Whiskey are the typical ones, but I'd like to know your tastes.  What is your favorite, and what kind (or brand) of booze do you prefer to add to it?  Now that's not a request for recipes, this ain't food.com after all, so keep it simple.  Now this is supposed to be an interactive post- you lurkers out there, as well as the regulars, need to comment to get full credit.

I read that some folks even put cognac and rum into theirs, or even some Creme de Cacao.  Kahlua seems like a great additive, as does some Baileys, but I can't say I've tried. Let me know what you put in your nog. Spiced Rum?  Light or dark?  What brand of bourbon?

Not sure what recipe was being made here.  Can't forget the nutmeg though!

The choice of Sailors?  Or just ones named Jerry?

Or do you like the pre-spiked stuff?  As I walked through the package store (Class-6 for you Army and Air Force types), I noticed several brands of pre-mixed nog, with bourbon and brandy primarily.  I've tried Mr Boston's creamy egg nog, but wasn't that impressed.

That's a bourbon bottle- somebody likes a little eggnog in their booze.

This bottle is half empty.  It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

Let's take that a bit further.  Whether or not you put it in eggnog, what type of whiskey do you prefer?  I guess that pick-list could include any of the following-

Different country types- American, Canadian, Scotch, being the primary ones
Different blends- Single or Blended, Malted or Grain
Or just the basics- Rye, Bourbon, or Scotch.
How do you like it?  Neat, with water, on the rocks?  Mixed with something- soda or ginger ale?

Some Chivas with some soda is what my mom preferred, although wine was more her usual choice.  My dad liked bourbon and a splash of ginger ale.

Sarge likes this one.

I ask because my own interest in the hard stuff is fairly new.  No, I didn't just convert from Mormonism, or recently shed the Baptist faith (I was in the Navy after all, Naval Aviation at that).  It's just that in the service, I tended to be a fairly benign beer drinker, Corona (the SoCal choice), Michelob (my dad's beer), or whatever the club served, and that was about it.  I was a social drinker- whatever everyone else was having or whatever was on tap was my choice.  Sure, I'd have the occasional concoction made with hard liquor- a whiskey sour if you will, or the social shot of tequila.  Maybe even a kamikaze if some squadron-mates were so inclined.

The dreaded Kamikaze...Don't drink more than one...trust me.

But my experience and taste for the harder stuff was fairly limited.  Now that I'm older, with a bit more disposable income, and the convenience of doing the majority of my drinking at home with no need to drive afterwards, I've delved into the hard stuff a bit more.  Fortunately, I never had the demons or the inclination to drink more or drink harder.

I'm not much of a member- more of a bench warmer.

My lineage is Irish, (Feeney and Nolan being the family names), so I can drink and carry a tune as the joke goes.  Blossfield (or Blossfeldt) is the paternal Grandfather's name, German I'm told, but his mother was Irish.  Not that any of this has to do with anything, but the demons and inclination were strong with this one, and he's not the last in the line unfortunately.  As I said though, luckily I avoided that gene or disposition, so I feel I can dive a bit deeper into the finer mixological arts without a concern about getting too deep.

Several years back a friend lined up three whiskey tumblers for my own taste test, my first time drinking whiskey straight.  He poured a bit of scotch in each- a 10 year, 12 year and a 20 year blue label.  I thought the 10 year was ok, the 12 was better, but the 20 year was so much smoother, darker, and thicker than the others that they might has well have been mouthwash compared to the blue label.

I have tended to favor Johnnie Walker, mainly due to that taste test, and also from a trip to Sasebo back in 2009.  As I walked through the Narita Airport in Tokyo to transfer to the Sasebo flight, one of the duty-free stores had a girl offering samples of their various bottles, including JW Blue.  She asked if I'd like one and of course, I said yes.  After I finished it with a smile, she asked if I'd like another!  Silly question.  In that short time, I had probably over $50 U.S. worth of that liquid gold, and it didn't cost me a thing.

If one needs another reason to consider Johnnie Walker Scotch, I offer the following:

I really like this version of Johnny Walker "Red."  Good alcohol and red-heads tend to make men mad.  See what I did there?  Guffaw.

The Blue Label is wonderful, but prohibitively expensive to be a drink one has regularly.  I did splurge on a bottle a few years back while on a cruise, which offered some great prices.  I opened it the day UBL was killed, which was a good way to celebrate, and had another at a less happy time back in 2012 as part of a virtual memorial which some of you probably took part in.

If you're not familiar with the webpage shown on my laptop above, I refer you to the picture of the distinguished gentleman standing in front of a jet on the right margin of this page (and no, not the one in the "Staff" section).

I know I wasn't partaking in the traditional drink (For Strength!), but I don't think Lex would have minded.

That leads me back to the original question today- what do you put in Eggnog?  I don't care how much you like Lex, or Guinness, the mix below just sounds nasty:

Let me get back off-track though.  My brother-in-law introduced me to this brand of bourbon during the holidays last year.  Not a bad one at all.  Good sippin' whiskey I must say.

Now that I've gotten your attention with either Christina Hendricks or Guinness, I'll ask you about your favorite beer types.  I don't dislike Guinness, but I'm more of a Pilsner drinker than a Stout guy.  However, on a business trip to Bavaria back in 2005 (Grafenwohr and Vilseck for you Army types), I really grew to enjoy Hefeweizen.  Some find it too thick and they don't like the heavy wheat taste so I offer you the best beer in the world:

That's a filtered Hefeweizen, or Kristall Weissen.  It doesn't have the heavy wheat, but the taste is still there, and it's a very crisp flavor.  You can find it at some specialty beer shops, or BevMo out here on the left coast.  Erdinger and Weihenstephaner are the brands I've found here, but there are many in Germany.

My statement regarding the best beer is highly subjective of course.  Best beer in my world though.  What do you like and why?  Most of my choices have to do with something I've experienced- my dad's beer, my mom's mix, my trip to Japan, etc.  Are there reasons besides taste that influence your choice in potent potables?

To sum up- let us know what you drink and how you drink it.  What kind of booze, beer, or even wine, which we didn't get to in today's lesson.  Now class, remember, to get full points for class participation, you need to comment.  There are no wrong answers- just enlighten and inform us all.

Sarge is out for a few days and his posts should be limited since he's busy with more important things (like family!)  So as Lex would say- "Talk amongst yourselves."  I offered a topic so it's over to you... (and 5 points of extra credit to the first to know what the title references).