CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

Okay, so I know I'm not the only drinker here. And I also know I am not the only one of the drinkers here that like trying new things.

So I'm thinking that my fellow hedonists and I should start sharing our experiences. Specifically, any time we try a new beer, wine, liquor, or cocktail, we should post our experience and opinions here, good, bad, or indifferent.

So with that in mind, and hoping I won't be alone in the CS Booze Club I am now unofficially officially forming, I'd like to tell you about my most recent new favorite beer, Terrapin Moo Hoo. Officially, it's full name is Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout, from the Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia. It's a beautiful chocolatey beer that is just smooth, creamy, and delightful, and is actually one of the few beers I've had that would go well with dessert as well as dinner. Sadly, when I went to pick up a six pack of it today from my local beer monger, I found out that Moo-Hoo is one of Terrapin's seasonal beers, and they have moved on to other things. So I'll have to wait almost a full year to get more Moo-Hoo.

Luckily, I have about a dozen new untried beers in my fridge, due to said beer monger's lovely practice of selling singles for people like me who like to try different beers, so that we don't have to commit to a full six pack of something we've never tried before. These twelve should be fun.

So, who's coming along for this alcoholic hedonistic journey with me?

[fireheart]

So does that mean you like to moo-ve it moo-ve it?

I couldn't help myself

That said, it's a shame I can't drink due to the medications.

[Jester]

Yes. Yes you could.

And with the Terrapin Moo-Hoo, yes I do.

Back on track....I should mention that I want this to be a place not just to share our new experiences with spirits, but also to comment on some of our favorite drinks in general. Basically a place to talk about our personal favorites, and give others a chance to hear about various drinks and spirits that they may not be aware of. A book club for drinkers, as it were.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Me and the gang down here have recently discovered Rum Chata from a group we hang out with at Pennsic. It's I guess kind of like a White Russian sort of thing, with a faint hint of cinnamon. Looks like milk. Fairly mild and doesn't pack much punch, which sometimes is nice.

They, on the other hand, discovered Firefly from us, which is a "sweet tea" vodka.
They say you can't get it up north (at least, they can't find it) so we often bring them a stash of it.

I urge you not to go to the official website of that product unless you want to get literally trapped. But the drink is very nice.

[Jester]

Sweet tea-flavored vodka is one of the new "things" these days in bars. In addition to Firefly, there is also Jeremiah Weed and Sweet Carolina brands. Now, I myself care for neither tea nor vodka, so obviously I don't drink this stuff, but it is often mixed with water or lemonade, the latter usually called a John Daly. (An Arnold Palmer is tea and lemonade mixed, so the alcoholic version of that naturally got dubbed a John Daly. Get it?) When sweet tea vodka came out, I thought for sure that a lot of people would use it in an Ice Pick, which is vodka and tea. But I have seen very few people doing this. Perhaps it is too tea-y? I dunno. As I said, I care for neither tea nor vodka, so I can't explain this from my own personal experience. Just know what I see.

So, Kink, can you find out exactly what Rum Chata is? Is it a mixed drink, or a brand of liqueur, or what?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Here is a link I found that is not the official link that has a pretty good description of what it is. In other words, a usable site.

They called it "horchata" which is evidently a thing.

The Firefly we drink straight, although sometimes I think the gang mixes it with actual iced tea. The night I saw this done, I was drinking wine, so I can't speak for how that is.

[monolayth]

I tried a sidecar for the first time a couple weeks ago. It was ok. Don't think I would order it again. But was fun. Was out with some girls and we were ordering old fashioned drinks. My favorite was the friend who did not understand a Toddy=hot lol.

[Treasure]

mmmm Kink, if you like that, then you might like what my fave. Bartender created and my brother dubbed the "Cure.... cause sobriety is the Disease"

equal parts:
Jager
Goldschlagger
irishcream
hazelnut


splash of cream
splash of cola

served in a pint glass over ice

[Cookie]

I'm in. My husband and I love our craft beers. (I like wines and some cocktails, too, but beer has been the thing of late.) We just started home brewing and my current favorite is our home made Oktoberfest. It's sooo malty. We forgot to take gravity readings, so we don't know how strong it is. However, it's not a beer for lightweights. (Have I mentioned I'm the lightweight that lightweights would call pathetic?) I was only 3/4 of the way through one of these and couldn't walk a straight line. I'll put up a photobucket album of the brewing process later and link to it.

We plan on doing a porter next. We're considering a raisin porter, just not sure if we're going to jump into the added stuff like raisins on our second brew. However, we will eventually play with raisins, coffee, etc.

[BlaqueKatt]

I'm personally fond of anything by unibroue(especially fond of La fin du monde), Monty python's holy ail, and Köstritzer Schwartzbeir-which is a sweet dark beir, actually a dark Lager, so those who "hate" dark beers usually enjoy it.

[Elspeth]

I tend to drink 2 beer, Guinness and if I can get my hands on it Irish Death. Which is yes darker then Guinness. Beer should be dark

And one of these days I will get my hands on Mocha Death, which is Irish Death with espresso beans used during brewing.

[KiaKat]

*growls*

Doesn't it figure all my tasting notes are on the stolen laptop, and that's the ONE thing I didn't back up? I have them all written out as well, but it'd take too long to turn my shorthand into Real Notes, and I have packing to do.

I can give a quick one or two, though: Le Loup Blanc "Le Regal du Loup" ($15ish) and Nicolas Joly "Clos de la Bergerie" ($55ish).

Le Regal is a Minervois red wine from a natural winemaker in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of Southern France. It's an earthy, funky, weird wine that shows both the Carignan as well as the Grenache - without falling into the trap of being a fruit-heavy, alcohol-ridden (although it is 14.5%), character-less draw for Robert Parker. Rather, it only shows one fruit - red current - and a ton of non-fruit notes, like dried meat, ash, chocolate, bitter almond, and a dash of barnyard to round it out. It's a dry, well-balanced wine that would go beautifully with a subtle earthy dish like a rosemary-crusted lamb.

Clos de la Bergerie is a Chenin Blanc from Savenniers, in Anjou in the Loire Valley. Like most Savenniers, it's a dry, crisp, acid-driven, spicy wine with a subtle saltiness showing through a delicate veil of pear and apricot. A touch of honey-dripped baked mushroom & hot pepper keeps the palate interested and helps to keep the fairly high (15%) alcohol from overwhelming.

Over this week I'll pull a few other notes for non-wine drinks and share those as well.

[Frantic Freddie]

Here is a link I found that is not the official link that has a pretty good description of what it is. In other words, a usable site.

They called it "horchata" which is evidently a thing.

The Firefly we drink straight, although sometimes I think the gang mixes it with actual iced tea. The night I saw this done, I was drinking wine, so I can't speak for how that is.

I love horchata,very refreshing in the summer.Here in NM we get the Mexican version & it does indeed go quite well with rum.

Sweet tea-flavored vodka is one of the new "things" these days in bars. In addition to Firefly, there is also Jeremiah Weed and Sweet Carolina brands.

Had me confused there for a sec,I remember Jeremiah Weed just being a whiskey liqueur like Yukon Jack but after lookin' at their site I see they make a hard tea now.

[Sapphire Silk]

One drink I like to make in the fall is Apple Cider with a jigger of Cinnamon Schopps.

Tasty!

I prefer dark beers. I didn't like beer at all until I went to the Dogfish Head Brewpub and Eats, not long after they first opened in Rehobeth DE (I used to live in Salisbury, and lived near Dover for awhile). I tried a lot of different kinds of beers, and like the darker ales and stouts the best.

I still won't drink most generally available commercial beers like Bud, Miller's, or so forth.

Mader's in Milwaukee WI has great beers as well. I drank a raspberry beer there that was to die for

One thing I really like . . . and have trouble finding . . . is mead. Mead, for those who don't know, is a wine made out of honey. A friend of mine years ago used to make it, and it was good. I'd also get it at the Maryland Ren Fest in Crownsville . . . but haven't been able to find it down here

[Shpepper]

One drink I like to make in the fall is Apple Cider with a jigger of Cinnamon Schopps.

Tasty!

I prefer dark beers. I didn't like beer at all until I went to the Dogfish Head Brewpub and Eats, not long after they first opened in Rehobeth DE (I used to live in Salisbury, and lived near Dover for awhile). I tried a lot of different kinds of beers, and like the darker ales and stouts the best.

I still won't drink most generally available commercial beers like Bud, Miller's, or so forth.

Mader's in Milwaukee WI has great beers as well. I drank a raspberry beer there that was to die for

One thing I really like . . . and have trouble finding . . . is mead. Mead, for those who don't know, is a wine made out of honey. A friend of mine years ago used to make it, and it was good. I'd also get it at the Maryland Ren Fest in Crownsville . . . but haven't been able to find it down here

www.ncrenfaire.org/ try contacting the vendors here and see if they have a link to Mead.