When people start making fun of or complaining about Floridians being unbelievably dumb....

[Pacifist Patriot]

I'd like to remind them at least we didn't have to Google the recipe for a gin and tonic. Ball's over to you Missouri.

New York’s most Googled cocktail during quarantine was...the Manhattan. I mean, c’mon: What did you think it was going to be? A Lychee martini? A Cosmopolitan? This isn’t Sex and the City—it’s a pandemic. And in May, when Google shared the top trending cocktails by state (determined by data from the previous 30 days), New York was the location with the highest COVID-19 cases in the country, whose inhabitants were largely locked down in minuscule apartments with little-to-no outdoor access.....https://www.vogue.com/article/most-googled-cocktails-during-quarantine


{Sorry, I needed something fluffy at the moment. COVID finally arrived at my company with two people confirmed infected. I've spent the morning dealing with the impact on several fronts. We have a government contract that does not allow for any interruption in performance.}

[Alliepoo]

1. Whoever needs fluffy should dive right in to

All of the fluff they desire. We all need it at some point so go for it!!

[cayugafalls]

2. When you need to fluff get a fluffer...

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Oh my

[cayugafalls]

4. ...

I know it's tough right now, we all need to laugh sometimes.

[Aristus]

5. I would probably assert that the practiced, reflexive mixing of cocktails may be one of the reasons

for the stereotype...

"Florida Man goes on a drunken, naked rampage in Wal-Mart..."

[Pacifist Patriot]

7. Nah. That's just the ability to pry open a beer can with your remaining teeth.

[LisaM]

6. I had a bartender look up how to make a gin and tonic once.

I still remember her leafing through some booklet and muttering, "let's see....gin...and tonic". I guess I should really be questioning her training.

Not as bad as the time I was at a pizza restaurant and the menu said to ask the server for the beer selection, so I did, and he said, "I don't drink, so I really don't know".

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. LOL!

[LisaM]

22. Right?

At least I got the gin and tonic. I don't know if my jaw is off the floor from the server's response at the pizza place yet.

First incident was in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the second one in Seattle.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Did She Remember The Lime?

A drink that fights both malaria & scurvy!!! Double good!
Or, since it's a cocktail, is it triple good!

[LisaM]

31. Yes.

I know; it really needs the lime.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. A Tiny Bit Of Rose's Lime Water!

Then the slice or wedge on the glass.
I was way into G&T a few decades back.
Now, I just do the tonic & lime.
Not much into drinking anymore.

[LisaM]

33. I did that for years, but Rose's has high fructose corn syrup.

I tried to make my own one time, but it's got some crazy ingredient (can't remember what it is right now) that is hard to find. And plain lime syrup is not the same.


Tonic and lime by itself is good too, especially with all these lovely new tonic waters, or at least new to me tonic waters, like Fever Tree.

[backscatter712]

42. Citric acid?

Apparently, with Rose's Lime, it's very little but lime flavoring, citric acid, and sugar (or high-fructose corn syrup)

When I Googled, apparently, if you make your own using actual limes, you should add some zest from the lime peels, and since natural limes don't have enough tartness to really make a lime cordial (which is what Rose's Lime "Juice" is), you need something to add tartness - citric acid.

Me, when I make my margs, I grab my juice squeezer and juice half a lime.

[LisaM]

46. Yes, that was likely it.

I'm determined to make my own now!

[dixiegrrrrl]

37. I made a good ginless G&T ages back.

I love gin, and esp. G&T. Best G&T I ever had was in the famous Victoria Hotel in Brit. Columbia. In 1975.No ice, perfect blend.

but I have a problem. I rarely drink alcohol. And when I do, I don't even finish a whole drink.
1/2 a bottle Tanqueray has been in the cupboard for the past 10 years.
( Does that stuff ever get too old?)

but I like the taste of a G&T.
One day I realize it was the juniper flavor and the tang of the tonic that I liked, actually.

So, enter a healthy gin....tonic water, crushed juniper berries ( used to be able to buy them on the West Coast), and a shot of lime/Rose' water . Small glass.

Proportion is key. of course.

[ProfessorGAC]

40. Sounds Good

To address your question:
Yes, gin can go bad, but requires a pretty badly sealed bottle.
The alcohol can oxidize to acetaldehyde (still safe, it's in liquor anyway) but has a stronger and more acride taste. After that, I can go fully oxidized to acetic acid, which everyone knows, because it's what makes vinegar taste like it does.
But, that takes a really long time, especially with no catalysis.
If the bottle is properly closed, it won't do what I described for many decades, if not longer.
Remember, they age fine liquors for 30 years or longer. Of course, aging casks are sealed.
So, if the oxygen is kept out, you Tanq is as good as it ever was.

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. Thanks....

Push comes to shove, it's a hand sanitizer, so no loss.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. Let It Sit, Though

Won't work as fast because it's only 40% alcohol, not 70%. Of course, it evaporates more slowly, so there's a bit of built in help.

[OriginalGeek]

34. I used to not drink and I worked at a liquor store

When I married my wife she already had 2 sons who were 6 and 10. Their father was an alcoholic and we agreed not to drink in the house and I was fine with that because at the time I just didn't care about drinking that much*. We thought we were setting a good example for the kids.

But in the 90s I worked for a while at a liquor store. People asked me all the time "Is this any good?" and I was most unhelpful as they stared at me incredulously when I explained I had no idea if it was any good as I had never tasted it. "B..b...but you work in a liquor store?!"

Then I had to explain that even though I worked here, Liquor stores don't give discounts to employees (mine didn't, anyway). So even if I did drink I wouldn't be sampling the wares every night because that shit weren't cheap! I wondered if they thought we just went and sipped from the bottles on the shelves all night or something.

But at least if they asked me what we had I could tell them. A pizza place may have 3 or 4 beers at most**. I think I could have handled that list whether I drank or not.

*When they got older and moved out I started experimenting some with the booze and found out I love beer - i just had never had good beer before lol. And then I found out I loved Scotch. I just hadn't ever had good scotch. And the toxic masculinity of my youth made me turn away from mixed drinks but I outgrew that too. Thankfully. Not for the booze but because that is just a lousy way to live. Unfair to people around you and wayyyy too easy to be an asshole. I got tired of being an asshole. Mostly.

*Mellow Mushroom excluded. They have a fabulous beer selection and wonderful pizza.

[LisaM]

39. Agreed, I wasn't asking him for an opinion on the beers!

That seemed to be the only way to get the list. I guess I should blame training here, too, because the restaurant should have made sure the servers knew the selections each day (and made sure that the servers understood that they were supposed to give the list).

That said, the snideness of, "I don't drink" when a customer orders a drink in a restaurant that serves alcohol was something I really did not appreciate. I don't require that everyone drink; far from it. I respect when people don't. Kid was just not doing his job.

[lunatica]

61. I used to be a waitress and at the time I didn't drink much

but I was educated on the topic of wines by my customers. I learned all about wines and could tell customers who asked which wineries made the best wines, or the lightest, or the full body ones. Customers who don’t know that much about wines will often ask the waitress, so it’s good to know this stuff. No one ever complained about my suggestions.

Too many waiters and waitresses don’t understand the job. It’s too bad you got one of those.

[Ms. Toad]

9. In my defense, I have mixed my first cocktails in my nearly 64 year long life

during the shut down. Aside from perhaps a half-dozen cocktails (as in on six separate occasions), the only one I have had with any regularity in my life is a margarita (which I've never made from scratch).

But a friend of mine started posting pictures of his cocktails on his facebook feed - and his "Ginger Street" caught my eye. I love ginger - and two of the half dozen cocktails other than a margarita were ginger based. But, since all of the ingredients were so expensive, I actually made two batches of ginger liqueur before I bought any.

But, I digress, I would be one of those googling gin and tonic. Not for the ingredients - but for the proportions, as a starting point. (My Ginger Street uses equal amounts of the three ingredients - but that's after I tried the recipe proportions and decided I liked less whiskey relative to the other two, and more ginger relative to the campari. Next trip out - more rye whiskey and some gin.)

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. I love ginger!

Is this a good recipe for a Ginger Street? I've never heard of it before.

http://www.completecocktails.com/Drinks/GingerStreet.aspx#.XxXrZOcpDIU

I've never been a big cocktail drinker. Wine's my poison. But I would absolutely try this!

[Ms. Toad]

11. I'll have to try that one -

The one I use calls for 1.5 oz of rye whiskey, .5 oz of ginger liqueur, and 1.5 oz of Campari. I mix it in equal quantites. I find the rye whiskey too boozy, and I like more ginger than the recipe calls for. So equal proportions seems about right to me.

I've never had tequila straight - so I dont' know what it tastes like. The bitters, simple syrup, lime, and lemon juice are likely to create a similar flavor to the Campari. In my opinion, it's worth it to spring for the Campari

There are ginger liqueurs less expensive than the Domaine De Canton. (The one I have currently is Stirrings - stronger ginger; less sweet. I like it better. I made my own using brandy, ginger, simple syrup, vanilla bean (or extract) and orange zest - that came out closer to the Domaine De Canton at a price between the two I purchased. I will either be making my own - or buying Stirrings. The Domaine De Canton was nice, but not worth more than double the price.

I'll have to try the one you linked to. I like the combination of citrus and Ginger. But Campari was definitely worth the purchase price.

[Pacifist Patriot]

16. I made the mistake of sending this to my husband.

I see some experimenting going on in the future. He loves to make his own bitters (with some of the wildest flavors) and simple syrups. He'll have a field day tinkering with this cocktail!

[Ms. Toad]

21. :)

Enjoy!

Let me know if you find any exciting new variations.

[backscatter712]

13. Margaritas are easy!

1/2 oz of lime juice (half a lime if you fresh-squeeze it)
1 oz of triple sec
1 1/2 oz of tequila.

Salt your glass to taste, shake the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker, garnish your glass with a lime slice if you want.

[Ms. Toad]

14. Thanks!

I've been trying to avoid spending tons on liquour (since the only liquor I had in stock prior to this was for making truffles). But Tequila was on my list . . . along with gin. I had triple sec (for making orange truffles), but there was only about a teaspoon left.

Does the triple sec provide the bitter bite? (I drink margaritas because I like the flavor - but every onece in a while I get one that is too boozy and too light on flavor. Chichis had the flavor I liked, then switched so something that tastes like they upped the % of alcohol, but watered down anything with any flavor.)

[backscatter712]

15. Triple sec is mostly very sweet, but has some orange peel flavor in it IIRC.

One can also make marg variations using Cointreau or Curacao. One of my tricks is that if one of my margs ends up too tart (which is easy when using lime juice), I can sweeten it up using triple sec or agave syrup.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Orange Juice & Peel, Fermented & Distilled

I've been in liquor distilling rooms.
The liqueur rooms smell fantastic!

[LisaM]

47. You can buy small bottles of Triple Sec. I have two that have been sitting around.

I got them in case I ever needed them for a cake recipe or something. Paid about $1 each, and I think I got them in a bin at Total Wine.

[Ms. Toad]

51. I don't think I've seen triple sec.

But when I didn't want to buy a big bottle of rye whiskey (since I didn't know what it tasted like . . . you may be sensing a theme here) I found one of those small bottles.

[GulfCoast66]

45. Exactly how I make mine. Don't measure the lime just squeeze a whole one.

My wife needs a little more sweetness so I add a teaspoon of Agave.

I prefer bourbon drinks and an Old Fashion is my go to.

[OriginalGeek]

35. My wife has discovered she loves White Russians

We discovered this after her 60th birthday lol. So now I get to make her those on occasion.

Russia connections aside, a Moscow Mule is a tasty beverage made with ginger beer in a copper cup. I love 'em but only get them o cruise ships as it's part of my cruise ritual. I mean, unless I happen upon a set of copper cups at a dollar store some time. It may be a while before we get to cruise again....

Main alcohol: Vodka
Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz Vodka, 1/6 oz Lime juice, 4 oz Ginger beer
Preparation: Combine vodka and ginger beer in a copper mug or highball glass filled with ice. Add lime juice. Stir gently and garnish with a lime slice.
Served: On the rocks; poured over ice.
Drinkware: Copper mug or highball glass
Standard garnish: Lime slice

I think it's more fun in the copper mug so I wouldn't make them in a highball glass even though I have those.

Something I made up just goofing around is hard to find now - Not Your Father's Ginger Ale is alcoholic ginger ale and I like it mixed with apple pie moonshine. But my stores all stopped carrying NYF's booze.

[backscatter712]

43. Oh yeah, you need the copper cup if you're making mules.

White Russians are fun - tastes like a frappucino, except it gets you drunk! And if you make them the way I make them, they can be strong as hell. Very dangerous.

[OriginalGeek]

56. That's the best way to make them!

I still make them weak for my wife but that's OK, whatever vodka doesn't go in hers does go in mine.

[Ms. Toad]

52. Some version of a Moscow Mule

was one of the two ginger cocktails that I had tried.

Does the copper alter the taste?

I have no drinkware - aside from a few glasses we were given for one of our weddings (we have 4 anniversaries - two for weddings). Champagne glasses, I think. They are hiding somewhere.

The ginger ale/apple pie moonshine probably tastes similar to the first batch of ginger liqueur I made, since I used apple brandy as the base.

My employee is definitely having a bad influence on me. When we travel, she likes to hang out at local drinking venues. So the first place we went, I had a Mexican Cake stout - Westbrook Brewing. I've spent months trying to find a clone, since I can't get it locally. She was also present when I had the two ginger cocktails . . .

[OriginalGeek]

55. Sounds like a GOOD influence to me! :)

My number one favorite thing to do whenever I go anywhere is find the local breweries and sample the wares. Mexican Cake stout sounds great - Porters and stouts are my favorite style most of the time.

ETA - I don't think I've tried a side by side comparison but I feel in my head that copper makes a difference. It's definitely more fun. I drink out of glass every day but how often do you get to drink our of copper mugs? I saw a nice set at Pier1 a while back and now that they are going out of business maybe I can score some on the cheap lol.

[Ms. Toad]

60. I had no idea what Mexican Cake was

except that it was local - and that I generally like stouts. They didn't even describe it. But it was the best stout I'd had (Note: I have more experience with stout that I do with liquor, but not by much.)

It turns out I stumbled into a stout with a cult following - but their delivery doesn't extend as far north as I am.

[dmr]

53. For Christmas I bought a set of copper mugs for

my son. Funny thing, someone else got him copper mugs, too. It was a delicious Christmas.

[liberaltrucker]

12. To be fair, South Dakota had the screwdriver

Vodka and O.J.

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. I thought that was hilarious too.

Who was Googling in South Dakota, fifteen year olds?

[Leith]

18. So did Delaware and Kansas!

As for Floridians being unbelievably dumb, they looked up the Cuba Libre recipe! It's rum and coke, ffs!

[liberaltrucker]

19. ...

[Pacifist Patriot]

25. Black mark to the beak who taught you mixology.

Fresh lime is a must for a proper Cuba Libre.

And I'll give Floridians in the northern part of the state the benefit of the doubt for needing to use Google translate.

[Leith]

27. I'm a beer drinker

or a Mimosa for breakfast.

I don't remember the last time I had spirits.

[Pacifist Patriot]

29. You had me at mimosa.

I have a weakness.

[mnhtnbb]

20. No, no, no! This native of Manhattan

cannot believe Vogue would print such a recipe for a Manhattan. Mix over ice and shake--not stir--then strain into a Martini glass. Always serve in a Martini glass.

How could they possibly photograph a Manhattan served any other way?

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. My husband about had a fit when he saw that.

[mnhtnbb]

30. LOL!

Of course he did!

My father taught me to make Manhattans. It was THE drink when he and my mom moved to Manhattan from San Francisco in the late '40's. I've been drinking them for years (since I'm now pushing 70) and it's kind of fun they are popular once again.

[LisaM]

49. I so agree about the glass. Here is Washington, they've been putting them in stemless glasses.

I don't like that. I also don't particularly like the brandied cherries. They were okay at first, but now I'm tired of them. They aren't barroom enough for me.

About the shaken vs. stirred, that's an interesting debate. James Bond popularized shaking for a martini (which, IMO, is by default made with gin, if you don't want gin, you specify a vodka martini), but in the movie "Auntie Mame", her nephew was offering a martini to a guest and insisted that they need to be stirred, not shaken, because "shaking bruises the gin".

Conflicting advice! James Bond vs. Auntie Mame.

[dmr]

28. Everything in this thread sounds good. But during Covid-19, I discovered

Bourbon! Ooooh, it is so nice. What a pleasant discovery!

For the past 50 years or so, I've pretty much stuck with gin & Squirt. I love everything about gin, from its smell to its taste.

I love ginger, too. My son makes me Moscow Mules. I really don't know what's in it. But ... Mmmm, so good, yummy!

[OriginalGeek]

36. see post 35 ;)

they are fun!

I like Hendrick's gin a lot. And there's another Scottish gin I can't remember the name of that I want to try. Guess I better figure out the name.

[dixiegrrrrl]

44. Glenlivet Scotch ?????? n/t

[OriginalGeek]

54. My favorite is Laphroaig

but single malts are all pretty good. the biggest issues is the older ones are better but harder to afford. I also like the Buchanan's blend and it is very reasonable and not embarrassing to give to company.

I'm a big fan The Balvenie Caribbean Cask too.

[backscatter712]

57. Laphroaig's a controversial one.

I see you like the peaty/smoky scotches too!

Laphroaig's interesting in that it has the smoky flavor, and also the "medicinal" iodine flavor.

I like that, though a lot of people would say it tastes like a burning hospital.

[OriginalGeek]

59. lol yeah

the good thing is visitors never opt for it so it lasts longer for me. And if I had a bottle of 18yo I probably would be too stingy to let people know. It's a LOT smoother than the 10 but costs so much that I rarely even get a glass of it, much less a bottle.

But yeah, peaty smoky is my jam.

[GulfCoast66]

48. I can't keep bourbon in the house. I have a full bar and never touch it.

If there is a bottle of bourbon it calls me till have some!

Only buy it when planning on drinks with friends.

Learn to make a good Old Fashion. Not the New-dangled, fancy-pants one designed to hide the bourbon flavor with lots of sugar and such. Bourbon, bitters and a twist of orange. Maybe a half teaspoon of brown sugar although I skip it. Cherry if you must. Stir in ice till some of it melts.

Best drink in the world.

[OriginalGeek]

58. a co-worker introduced me to the Old Fashioned

on a business trip a while back. I need to get me some Michter's Rye to keep around for when it's Old Fashioned or Manhattan time.

[qwlauren35]

38. Fluffy all you want.

And a drink if you need it.