How many home distillers still drink store bought liquor?

[Ribrob]

Title says it all,

Do you personally still drink store bought liquor, and also, in your opinion, how many home distillers on average don't drink store bought liquor at all?

[midnightmaraude]

Guilty as charged!

I try not to but my supplies are so low I have no choice (have 2 3l barrels filled oaking and two 8 gallon fermentors of rum and sweetfeed whiskey waiting to be brewed). I walk in and hang my head low grabbing a handle of captain morgans off the shelf.

I even stopped having drinks mon-thurs in order to help build up supply, and lose some weight.

I would like to add though, the clerk at my store has taken noticed and inquired as to why she hasn't seen me around lately. Told her I was drying out a bit.

[fatman]

Guilty. I still by some top shelf kentuckys. I still haven't got mine to taste as good as theirs? I think it is just going to take longer than a few months of aging? Mine is very drinkable but theres room for improvement in the bourbon area!

[rad14701]

If someone buys me a bottle of commercial I'll eventually work my way through it when I'm low on my own... And it provides we with a good comparison to prove why I like my own distilled spirits better than the commercial swill...

[pfshine]

My brother can push me into a shot of patron every once in a while but If I dont have my own spirits on hand (right now I have none as I am building a flute and ran out) I drink micro brews.

[toast860]

yea i gave all my bonded stuff to my inlaws. i love my shine . but now i am out so i am thinking of going bigger . but i still love some jack.still new to this, so i am going to wait tell i get better then upgrade

[Odin]

Sometimes for reference I buy some old style genever. Not very often. Just cause I want to see how mine compares. Or because I am interested in the brand.

Odin.

[Bushman]

I would not say store bought but when a new micro-distillery goes in or I am touring a micro distillery I try to support them by buying 1 bottle.

[Braz]

I bought a bottle of gin and a bottle of rye the other day. The gin because a little medical repair and surgery has kept me away from the stillhouse for a month or so and I'm just out of stock.

The rye because Odin's rye bread experiment intrigues me but I needed to see if I actually even like rye. Turns out I do - especially in the form of a traditional Manhattan cocktail.

Back in the stillhouse today turning 7 gallons of low wines into vodka. Feels good to be back.

[Mr Viking]

My still has a tiny output so I drink far more shop bought than home made, and is really more of a hobby/learning experience than a proper attempt at making any quantity. Hopefully that will change in the future though. I'm now drinking more homebrew wine and beer and cider than I buy, but I still buy some, so I imagine liquor will go the same way

[Odin]

Braz, what kinda gin you bought? And good to hear you like rye! Can you get that flat, dense "bread" you need over at your place?

Good to have you back on board by the way.

Odin.

[modified9v]

I'm guilty of consuming store bought. If I could only replicate tequila... but this Sweet Feed is mighty tastey sippin'. Wishin' I had a Blue Agave field, oh to dream.

[Maritimer]

Since my first sip on Sept 26, 2012, I haven't touched store-bought. And with the stock the way it is, it will be a while.

M

[BoomTown]

Ahhhh, this thread gives me heart! I thought I might be overdoing it a bit, being now adjusted to preferring my own over the store's offerings. But I'm not entirely cured, I went down to the ABC just last week, mainly because I'm really trying to age some of my stuff a full 3 months on oak, and tend to violate it with a level of regularity that had really challenged my goal. Anyway, when I do go down there, I like to buy whiskey's made in the same towns as the major labels, but sell at much lower prices. I'm partial to Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Very Old Barton comes to mind.

But last week I splurged, decided to acquire some basis for comparison. I bought one bottle each of Elmer T. Lee and George T. Stagg. Would have bought a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle but there is a year long waiting list at my local store.

So comparing my stuff (now on oak about 2 months) to the Elmer T. Lee - I like mine better but I am intrigued by a back of the tongue, kinda berry like flavor in the Elmer T. Lee that mine hasn't got yet. Definitely wouldn't toss the E.T.L. out, and will be trying to figure that little back flavor out.

As for the George T. Stagg, sipped slowly, it rushes over the tongue, creating a deep rich overload of sensation, but flames out to a harshness that whelms up from back to front. It's nose is dark and musty.

My stuff brings a mountain wild flower rush to the nose, and flows back on the tongue like honey'd ice cream and comes back with gentile but significant warming glow that blooms on the tongue and back of the throat. It leaves a lingering vanilla and licorice memory that is asking for just a little bit more.....

[Braz]

Odin,
I bought Gordon's London Dry Gin. I think it is a little bit "bolder" than a lot of commercial gins.

I can get a hard, dense pumpernickel bread here, but it is not cheap. I am going to have to look around and see what might be available. I used to have a source for bread that was past its sale date but I don't have that connection anymore.

[Odin]

Braz, my mate, you do have to start making some real genever soon. ... drinking London Dry gin for crying out loud ...

Not mocking you.

Guys, in general do you have the same experience as I have? I will try to explain:
1. Since I make my own, I am more "vulnerable" to getting head aches from store bought stuff. As if I am more in tune with my own, better cut product. And as if that has "weakened" my ability to cope with "professional" likker.
2. I am more in tune with delicacy / the fine notes and tastes and flavors. I can enjoy my own drink's subtilities. Not sure others can as much. Most just want their brand, but don't seem to be able to recognize it if it were in another bottle. I mean to say: making my own changed my taste and how I taste.
3. In store bought likker, I immediately feel/taste fores/heads/tails.

Odin.

[Slowninja]

Guilty as well

I'm not a big drinker, which is slightly odd in this hobby. But I recently sampled some Crown Royal maple and really liked it. So I just yesterday went and bought a handle. I'm running some piggyback from an allgrain at the moment, probably going to oak that a while until this handle is gone. I won't dare mix any maple in, though it could make an interesting taste?

[Richard7]

Since I started, a year ago, I have had to go to store bought 4 times. That was when I was out of town or out off booze. Before I started I was a whiskey fan. I have learned since then that I don't care for the oak flavor .
I know, I know, a lot of people like to age on oak, and that is fine. I drank it for years and when I started making my own, I kinda missed it but I know that the flavor of the oak is not what I enjoy. I may have to put some of mine on oak and see what I think of it.
But to get back on topic I try not to do store bought. But when I have, it gave me a better appreciation for what I make.

[Expat]

I'm trying various different whiskeys, enjoying different flavor profiles searching for new types to enjoy. As a plus, i'm getting a lot of nice bottles.

[kekedog13]

I buy the little sample sized bottles to have something to compare with. My guests always prefer mine over at least some of the commercial brands in blind taste tests.Must be doing something right

[frozenthunderbolt]

Once every year or two i will buy a bottle of Hapsburg Absinthe which i truly love, and perhaps slightly more (but not much more) often a bottle of Bombay Saphire Gin.
Other than that:
- 1 shot of appletons estate (was ok, slightly dry and a bit woody)
- 1 shot corruba gold (foul - couldnt finish it)
As a touch stone for my own rums
Open bar at a work do:
- Genfittich 12 year old - was again ok - either good cuts or the ageing tamed it, but not the same level of flavour as i've come to expect in my own spirits.
- given a premixed JD burbon and coke took one sip and emptyd the rest down the sink - i would do better mixing my feints jar with coke
- Dad bought some russian standard vodka; was pretty fair; if i couldn't make good vodka (which i can ) i would buy this to drink

[n1cod3mus]

ok well this might seem a little strange but I dont really drink very often, sometimes I will have a session drinking which is store bought as I havn't finished my first still yet.

which then begs the question, why am I making a still if i dont drink that often? mostly I like building stuff, the technical challenge, and it keeps me from going out of my mind to be busy, And I really like the idea of experimenting with various mash/wash recipes.

Its all an experiment really, an expensive one lol I've spent way too much, but It's an awesome bit of kit just to have around.

[gleamingthecube]

I have yet to make an ounce of likker as a few of my still parts are still on backorder. I am kind of picky about the retail booze that I consume. I tend to only buy Appleton's Estate rum and Crown Royal. I will have a Jameson's now and then when out with the boys, as that is our custom. Maybe one day I will make better stuff than all of these and roll around with a flask, only time will tell.

[frozenthunderbolt]

Guys, in general do you have the same experience as I have? I will try to explain:
1. Since I make my own, I am more "vulnerable" to getting head aches from store bought stuff. As if I am more in tune with my own, better cut product. And as if that has "weakened" my ability to cope with "professional" likker.
2. I am more in tune with delicacy / the fine notes and tastes and flavors. I can enjoy my own drink's subtilities. Not sure others can as much. Most just want their brand, but don't seem to be able to recognize it if it were in another bottle. I mean to say: making my own changed my taste and how I taste.
3. In store bought likker, I immediately feel/taste fores/heads/tails.

Odin.

1,2 and 3: yes yes and yes

[zouthernborne]

I buy tequila on occasion, only because I can't make it. I only buy rum if I've never tried it before, and only if it comes in sample-sized bottles. I prefer my own rum over everything in the stores. And since the law got passed here last year turning the sales of liquor over to the state to be taxed rather than being controlled by the LQB, taxes have gone sky-high. So now I buy nothing but tequila, and that's rare.

[BoomTown]

Yes Odin, I'm having similar experiences, except those who drink what I'm making usually ask for it rather than what I keep on top of my bar. Not sure about the headaches, because I simply don't drink that much of it that often, but I do taste the heads and the tails in most of the store-bought labels more now than I ever have before. But I do taste other things in the store-bought that I never tasted before, now and then....

It certainly has changed how I order a drink when I'm at a restaurant or bar now.

Boom

[Uncle Jemima]

I bought a bottle of gin and a bottle of rye the other day. The gin because a little medical repair and surgery has kept me away from the stillhouse for a month or so and I'm just out of stock.

The rye because Odin's rye bread experiment intrigues me but I needed to see if I actually even like rye. Turns out I do - especially in the form of a traditional Manhattan cocktail.

Back in the stillhouse today turning 7 gallons of low wines into vodka. Feels good to be back.

Just had knee surgery on Monday so I'm grounded for a bit too. Spent most of Saturday and Sunday running everything I had.

On topic. I still buy some too but I don't have anything older than three months of my own yet. I have four gallons on oak ranging from 65-70% so probably close to six gallons worth once cut. Figure in about a year I won't be buying at all except for comparison's sake.

[Ribrob]

...

Love the name. Such a nostalgic film for me.

[heartcut]

Sometimes, usually something unfamiliar. If I get drunk, it's only on mine or another home shiner's stuff.

[urbanmooner]

I use it sometimes to clean car parts, and to get rid of snails