Liquidosity

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I recommend the following liquors:

Selbach Riesling--wonderful and less than ten dollars. Found this in a CVS Drugstore.

Raynal Brandy and Raynal Napolean Brandy (when available)--very nice French brandy. Great for drinking, making herbal liquors, or adding a little to tea to prevent colds. I had to special order this last time I bought it. Much better than the E&J Brandy you typically find in supermarkets. Some people drink brandy and coke.

Fonseca Bin 27 Ruby Port. Very good. Port wine is a fortified wine. It tastes like red wine with extra alcohol and liquid raisins added to it. It has a rich taste and is sweeter than regular wines. It is not usually served with a meal. It is good between, before or after a meal. It goes well with rich foods like blue cheese or walnuts. Drinking a good glass of Port feels like sitting before a roaring fire in a castle with hunting dogs at your feet. One good thing about Port is that it will keep longer after opening than other wines. Personally, I use a vacuum cork system I bought at a kitchen store to vacuum pack it after opening the bottle and keep in it the frig. After that, I let it each glass come to room temperature before drinking. It has kept for months that way. I think some people keep it on the shelf after opening?

Vermouth Sweet or Dry, Martini & Rossi. The cheaper Gallo Vermouth didn't taste right. You can make a drink out of Perrier or club soda, sweet vermouth and a squeeze of lime juice. It's bitter-sweet. Makes a good aperitif. Try putting the club soda in the glass first and then pouring the vermouth slowly over the back of a spoon to layer it.

A good drink is Seven/Seven (Seagrams Seven and Seven Up). You could also drink whisky and seven up, or whisky and sprite, or whisky and ginger ale. I also like gin & tonics, rum and cokes, Kahlua and milk, Tom Collin's and although they are totally out of style, wine spritzers. I don't like the drinks they have now. All the good drinks had been invented but they just kept inventing.

Sherry. I recommend Williams & Humbert Dry Sack Sherry. It's halfway between a dry and cream sherry. It's good quality. It has tannins, but not an overwhelming amount as another expensive sherry I tried had. I've used it for drinking and making French onion soup.* The soup turned out well. Williams & Humbert Dry Sack is definitely better than the cheaper Sheffield or Fairfield sherries you find in drug stores and supermarkets. I understand these are both made by Gallo. I find unpleasant chemical overtastes in them that were absent in the Williams & Humbert. You get what you pay for. The cheaper ones are probably intended for cooking and are usable for this if that is what you have.

As mentioned before, I bought a vacuum cork system from a kitchen supply store and have used this to vacuum pack the sherry and keep it in the refrigerator. It's keeping pretty well so far. I would bring it to room temperature before drinking, personally.

Sherry is a fortified wine that used to be popular as an aperitif or after-dinner drink back in the day. It has a sweet and sour taste that I like. You may find it in recipes for soups and sauces. It adds richness and depth, and is warming. Sherry keeps much longer than wine so it can be something you have on hand for drinking or cooking.

* I recommend the French onion soup recipe in the Joy of Cooking. I used the 1997 edition.

Whiskey. It's not a secret, but Seagrams 7 is a good whiskey. I can't taste any chemicals. It tastes like a well-made product. One source says that it is a smooth light blended whiskey aged in charred oak barrels for a minimum of four years. You can strongly taste grains, malt, oak and char. It's masculine. If you want a less strongly-flavored spirit, whiskey isn't it. If you want to drink whiskey, this is a good one. As mentioned before, I favor 7 & 7, made with whiskey and 7up. Sierra Mist would be even better than 7up because it has sugar instead of corn syrup.

What's crazy is that I can't find a general website for Seagrams or their information on this product. Hello?

If you aren't used to drinking, sweet drinks and cheap liquor will give you more of a hangover. Some people think that switching drinks will give you a hangover. Eating before and during drinking will make you less likely to get sick or have a bad experience. Pace yourself, and don't drive drunk. If you need to, find a place to hang out and drink a lot of water until you are sober enough to drive.

What spirits do you recommend?
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Gallo by Another Name: Brands to avoid

The vast majority of Gallo products that I have tried, suck. Barefoot red wine didn't suck but I had to unrecommend it because it has vinegary notes. E&J Brandy tastes a little bit like vomit. It is unfortunately the standard supermarket brandy. In fact, I think that Gallo is taking up most of the real estate on supermarket and drugstore liquor shelves. Gallo sweet vermouth sucks. Sheffield and Fairbanks sherry have unpleasant chemical overtastes but could be used for cooking if that's all you can get. Of course Gallo brand itself isn't known for being good quality. Print out this list and keep in in your purse or wallet. It will stop you from wasting good money on bad products.

Gallo Brands

Alamos^®
André^®
Ballatore^®
Barefoot^®Cellars
Barefoot Bubbly^®
Bartles & Jaymes^®
Bella Sera^®
Black Swan^®
Boone's Farm^®
Bridlewood^® Estate Winery
Carlo Rossi^®
Cask & Cream^®
Clarendon Hills
Dancing Bull^®
DaVinci
Don Miguel Gascon
E. & J. ^® VS Brandy
E. & J. ^® VSOP Brandy
E. & J. ^® XO Brandy
Ecco Domani^®
Fairbanks^®
Familia Camarena Tequila
Frei Brothers^®
Gallo^® Family Vineyard Estate
Gallo^® Family Vineyard Single Vineyard
Gallo^® Family Vineyard Sonoma Reserve^®
Gallo^® Family Vineyard ^®
Ghost Pines^®
Hornsby's^®
La Marca
Las Rocas^®
Liberty Creek^®
Livingston Cellars^®
Louis M. Martini^®
MacMurray Ranch^®
Martĩn Cõdax^®
Maso Canali^®
Mattie's Perch^®
McWilliam's^®
Mirassou^®
New Amsterdam^® Gin
Peter Vella^®
Pölka Dot^®
Rancho Zabaco^®
Red Bicyclette^®
Redwood Creek^®
Red Rock Winery^®
Sebeka^®
Sheffield Cellars^®
Starborough^™
The Naked Grape
Tisdale Vineyards^®
Turning Leaf^®
Whitehaven^®
William Hill Estate ™
Wild Vines^®
Wycliff^® Sparkling