The Corkbook

[LuFins Dad]

Meh, still looking for a good alternative to Dad’s Hat Rye but easier to get. This isn’t it. It’s good, but way too sweet for my taste (even though there’s no corn). It’s close to a bourbon but with a spicy rye finish. It’s not bad, just not what I’m looking for.

[Axtremus]

is tonight‘s experiment.

It’s a type of rice-based Chinese liqour called 女儿红，pronounced ”nü er hông”, literally translates to “daughter, red”.

Culturally, it’s a storied liquor that I have been reading about in the literature since I was an elementary school student. The story being that this is the sort of liquor parents would seal and bury a bottle in the ground when a daughter is born, then unearth to drink in celebration when the daughter gets married. It’s a very nice, heart-warming, romantic story.

The liquor’s color is much like western brandy.

Tonight, I finally tasted it. (No, I did not marry off a daughter tonight, I just bought it from a liquor store.) And it’s a disappointment to me … I do not like it at all. It tastes a lot like cooking wine to me. So most likely I will relegate it to cooking rather than drinking after tonight. :man-shrugging:

[jon-nyc]

[Axtremus]

I want to share a very nice cocktail recipe that I recently came up with:

• X part Welch's "Peach Medley" juice cocktail, refrigerated.
• Y part Gekkeikan sake (Japanese rice liquor)

Served chilled.

I tried X:Y = 9:1 and thought the result was very pleasant.
I think any ratio from 10:1 to 5:1 should be fine, depending on you taste.

Welch's "Peach Medley" juice cocktail is commonly available in most grocery stores.
Gekkeikan sake is one of the more affordable sakes, should be commonly available in most liquor stores.

Enjoy!

[George K]

Gonna try some of this tonight.

There's a small distillery not far from where I live that has all these neat whiskeys. Mostly bourbons. I went to buy some as a gift for a friend and mentioned that I'm a Scotch drinker and the guy poured me a sample and let me try it. It's pretty nice.

[Mik]

Yeah, distilleries are popping up all over the place.

[George K]

My $31 mistake.

I bought this on a whim, thinking, "How bad could it possibly be?"

https://spiritless.com/products/kentucky-74-non-alcoholic-bourbon

https://thewhiskeywash.com/reviews/review-spiritless-kentucky-74-non-alcoholic-spirit/

I drank it neat. That was probably my mistake.

Horrible. Just fucking horrible. Think of really concentrated grape juice with some strong citrus, with no bite, no body.

I'll finish the bottle, but it's going to be a struggle.

[Mik]

Don’t bother. The alcohol is a big part of the taste and feel.