Guilty pleasures?

[Steve Broady]

I’ve seen a few people here saying that they tried sugarheads, UJSSM, etc, and that they just don’t stand up to an all grain whiskey. I agree. But that means they’re left with all this faux whiskey that they don’t really want to drink. That inspired me to start this thread.

What are some of your favorite guilty pleasures when it comes to booze? Yeah, it’s not a 30 year old single malt, but it still makes you happy.

I’ll start things off with one that I think has no right to be as good as it is. 2:1 Mountain Dew and anything in the whiskey sphere. I have heard that Mountain Dew was originally designed and sold as a mixer, primarily for whiskey. It’s been through quite a few revisions since then, but I few that it still plays nicely with anything even somewhat reminiscent of whiskey. So if you’re not living that UJSSM, mix it with Mountain Dew and try not to think about how shameful it is as you enjoy it. Classy cocktail it is not!

[NormandieStill]

Punkin's muck (faux Bailey's). Also a good use for otherwise undesired whiskies. I was disappointed by how long the one and half bottles I'd made didn't last!

[Steve Broady]

I was disappointed by how long the one and half bottles I'd made didn't last!

That made me laugh more than it should have, but thank you! I needed that today.

[Dougmatt]

Skeeter pee (aka lemon wine) and strawberry panty dropper! I call the concoction “bathing suit remover”.

We spend a summer week every year on the lake and mix up strawberry lemon wine to drink while floating in the lake…. 10% wine mixed with 35% spd, goes down like a summer lemonade…. I usually have to pull people back into the boat!

[Dougmatt]

Punkin's muck (faux Bailey's). Also a good use for otherwise undesired whiskies. I was disappointed by how long the one and half bottles I'd made didn't last!

Love punkin’s muck too. Hard to keep around.

I’ll start things off with one that I think has no right to be as good as it is. 2:1 Mountain Dew and anything in the whiskey sphere. I have heard that Mountain Dew was originally designed and sold as a mixer, primarily for whiskey. It’s been through quite a few revisions since then, but I few that it still plays nicely with anything even somewhat reminiscent of whiskey. So if you’re not living that UJSSM, mix it with Mountain Dew and try not to think about how shameful it is as you enjoy it. Classy cocktail it is not!

Never tried Mountain Dew and whiskey…. Even though I try to avoid sugary soda (shamefull for someone living in Atlanta), I will have to give this a try with UJ…. May have to try it with Mellow Yellow or Surge given my locale…

[NZChris]

My White Dog UJSSM is very pleasant and I always proof myself a jug on stilling day. I made the mistake of oaking too much of my early batches and kept running out of White Dog. None of my last series got oaked as there was already plenty of oaked product in the cellar.

[Shiny Chancer]

I like a margarita with jalapeño's and cilantro in the shaker then strained off over rocks. Goes well with chips and Guacamole! And yest Costco Agave Nectar does ferment into some tequila tasting stuff -- Blanco es muy rico which makes it easy.

I also like 2 parts Burbon to 1 part fresh OJ covered in soda with a twist of orange peel quite a bit.

[Steve Broady]

I try to avoid sugary sodas

They sell a Mtn. Dew Zero which I usually use. I figure whatever the substitute is is less bad for me than either the sugar or the alcohol.

[NZChris]

I often make Distiller's Treat after a gin run. There isn't a lot of it and it never gets shared.

Foreshot plus some of the distillate after the heart cut.
Diluted with neutral, brandy, AG, whatever, if it was a multi-shot distillation.
Sweetened with simple syrup or fruit concentrate, sometimes both.
Most are very nice, but I've had a few that didn't work, mostly due to excess acidity from fruit concentrate.

[Archee72]

Not my poison but the Kiwis on here will know of drinking Southern Comfort with L&P…

[SteadyStills]

I find my charred oak aged whisky and Dr. Pepper tastes like a communion wafer.

[zach]

I'm becoming more discriminating in my taste with age as I know my liver is not an unlimited ethanol processing machine.

Scotch and brandy are my favorite. Wood provides a 3 dimensional flavor, where white seems 2 dimensional, though I enjoy white whisky and brandies from a variety of fruit.

I enjoy a very dry martini but nothing with sugar.

With my current inventory of brandy, wine and whisky in my cellar, and a vineyard to replenish the stock , I am confronting the reality that 3 oz a day habit, will never deplete my inventory.

[SteadyStills]

Honestly I feel my appendix. (right oblique) to be more of a concern from these sorts.
My liver, above stomach and center, is a problem.
Oh and my kidney.

Medics want bloodwork to know more.
But it's a matter of non-invasive means.

[Powder Monkey]

Along the Mountain Dew sentiment. Trailer Park Margaritas-mountain dew and tequila. Tastes better than it should.

[Dougmatt]

Stopped on the way home a picked up a can of Mountain Dew!

Planing a taste test flight to be done soon.

[sadie33]

Mountain Dew and whiskey?...I don't know about that.

My guilty pleasure is a Maple Madison (made it up last year after finishing our maple syrup run). You fill a quart jar half full or more with ice and add:
2 shots pure maple syrup
2 shots kahlua
2 shots 151 rum
then top off with milk and stir. mmmmm so good. I share it with my husband.

[Stonecutter]

Having been guilty of staying up all night drinking and posting to the “what’s your music” thread, my hair of the dog is usually a Tequila Sunrise, lime wedge instead of orange, no cherry, splash of Club soda on top.

I’m also guilty of putting pineapple juice into the shaker any chance I can get because I enjoy the foaminess.

[NZChris]

Buckfast Tonic Wine. I've never tasted the real deal as it's sale is banned in NZ, but I make a version that I like.

High in caffeine, sugar and only 15% alcohol, it slips down really easily. A great starter if you want to pre-load before going to an event where you really shouldn't pre-load

https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... F+buckfast

[Archee72]

Little Fat Lambs

[Stilljoy McFlavour]

As I have been leaving all whisky snobbery behind a couple of years ago; Grenadine lemonade with white, high proof gumball head. Or any kind of bourbon with 7-up - scotch doesn’t quite mix well for me. I guess there are still some snobbery remnants …
Never thought about diluting Mountain Dew, I will give that a go soon

[Dougmatt]

Hey Steve Hopefully this isn’t derailing this thread, if so I will delete it.

Tonight the Dew fell from the mountain in my house. I started with 4 barrel proof spirits, mixed to 2:1 Dew to Spirit, and added ice allowed to melt a bit, then added more Dew to get 3:1. I used diet Dew to avoid sugar, but feel like I will just use regular should I drink any of these again. Here are my notes:

White Rum - 78% white panela, about 6 months old, no oak.
- 2:1 - added a little citrus and sweetness, but brought out a bitterness not there before. I wouldnt drink this.
- on ice - calmed the bitterness. Still had a sour expression with some citrus acidity. Run funkiness came through. nose was nicer. I might drink this one
3:1 - smothered things out, but could taste the “artificialness” of the sweetener more. Rum funkiness still came through so you knew it was a rum drink. Seems like a mojito low on mint and citrus. Would probably enjoy this with regular sugar MD. Would probably spruce it up with so,e lime juice and mint.

UJSSM - 76% white, about 9 months old, no oak.
- 2:1 - smelled like UJ moonshine. A bit repulsive nose but that’s how I feel about “corn flavored” sugar washes. Taste like citric acid mixed into UJ. I would not drink this.
- on ice - nose was mostly UJ. Taste of UJ corn came through. If you like that taste, this wouldn’t be bad. I don’t so it doesn’t work too well for me.
3:1 MD. This was better. Almost drinkable….. but still not for me . It’s the only 3:1 one I didn’t / couldn’t finish.
- extra credit - Poured in the rest of the can of MD, probably 5 or 6:1. By this point I’d had finished the other ones and thought what the heck. I could STILL Taste that UJ corn oil funk a bit but resulting drink I might have been able to finish, but I dumped it

HBB sugar wash - 55%, one year in a new H3 badmo
- 2:1 - light brown color. OMG this was nice (but that could be cause I just tried the UJ ). When neat I get a sugar bite (and maybe a wide cut heads side?). This smoothed it out nicely. Nose was nice. Like HBB with a little citrus. I would probably drink this.
- add ice - this hurt it a little, by calming down the whiskey flavors, but still a drinkable cocktail.
- 3:1 MD - almost lose the spirit here. Moves to the background as a slightly sour note. Had to taste the Md and then this drink to pick it out. Feels like it tones the acidity of the Md down and tones the bite done to a flat drink. Might need to add some bitters or lime juice to this one. Very boring. Wouldn’t want to dilute this much….

- HBB - 55%, 1.5 year aged in badmo
- 2:1 - nice brownish hue to the cocktail. This was the best of the full stentgth. The whiskey wasn’t lost in the mixer and still shine through. Not sure I would drink this instead of a neat pour, but if you are looking for an easy mixer this could be nice with an orange peel and cherry garnish.
- on ice - very drinkable. Toned everything down but still had nice acidity / whiskey pull and flavor.
- 3:1 - whiskey fell back a lot more and drink balanced out. Might actually hit this with some bitters too but it’s good like it is.

The net for me:

HBB pairs nicely with Mountain Dew as a simple mixer, but a cherry and lime / orange peel would set it apart. The barrel aged HBB sugar wash couldn't stand up to a heavy dew so start light and add to taste. UJ a heavy poor won’t cover up the corn oil tastes, but if that is your jam a dew pairs with it ok… For rum I think some dressing up with a lime and some mint would make a nice cocktail.

Thanks again for the suggestion. I enjoyed trying these and found an interesting new simple mixer to play with.

Edit: I’m looking forward to the meetup to see if anyone has UJ. I’m wondering if my process just created extra funk for some reason given how popular it is..

[tjsc5f]

While I prefer a well aged brown spirit neat, if I want to enjoy something white and low carb, I've been known to throw a splash of coke zero in with some gin.

[NZChris]

UJSSM - 76% white, about 9 months old, no oak.
- 2:1 - smelled like UJ moonshine. A bit repulsive nose but that’s how I feel about “corn flavored” sugar washes. Taste like citric acid mixed into UJ. I would not drink this.
- on ice - nose was mostly UJ. Taste of UJ corn came through. If you like that taste, this wouldn’t be bad. I don’t so it doesn’t work too well for me.

In defense of white dog UJSSM, the variety of corn makes a difference in my experience. My worst batch was from a local grower, my best is from imported corn. The local variety that I couldn't get a really nice cut from isn't great after several years on oak.

Most of mine is drunk without mixers.

[Steve Broady]

Hey Steve Hopefully this isn’t derailing this thread, if so I will delete it.

…

I used diet Dew to avoid sugar, but feel like I will just use regular should I drink any of these again. Here are my notes:

…

Please don’t delete this! I appreciate the amount of effort that went into but the testing and the writing. I’ve trimmed out most of the content, since it’s subjective and I have little to add to most of it. One thing I would say is that I wouldn’t have thought of trying it with rum, but I’m not too surprised that it wasn’t the best. As for the white dog UJ, I’m not surprised at your results either, since one of the things I like about this combination odd that it lets the spirit come through and compliments it to some degree.

My biggest feedback is that I think you’re on the right track with using either regular Mtn Dew or Mtn Dew Zero. I tend to Scott’s the diet versions of most soft drinks, since they definitely have an artificial taste that seems to be a bit more noticeable when mixed with alcohol. Of the sugar free sodas, the “zero” variants of any brand seem consistently to taste better.