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Ok so at almost in my 40s I realize I know almost nothing about drinking. Embarrassing perhaps?
Well the thing is that I kind of would like to know what is the good stuff out there to try? Also what is the best way to taste it. I mean in a cocktail or along in a shot glass or in any other form.
this past week I got myself a bottle of gin and I tasted with nothing in a shot glass it was pretty bad, then I taste it with tonic water as suggested in a Google search I did but it didn't improve that much. I would like to know your opinion.

I mentioned I am alsmost in my 40s so I am old enough to try this please dont if you are under age for this kind of experiment.

Thank you!

Gin and, in my opinion, rum, are not good liquors to just sip on their own.

If you're looking to get into "shooting" liquor (that's swallowing a shot all at once and only really "tasting" the aftertaste) I'd recommend tequila. Stick with bottles that sport "100% de agave" and either "reposado" or "anejo". Tequila that is not 100% agave is not real tequla, and tastes very bad (eg Jose Cuervo) and reposados and anejos have been barrel-aged and are much more mellow for someone just looking to get their feet wet.

If you want a nice sipping experience, like just drinking liquor over rocks, you can try bourbon whisky, Scotch whisky, or rye whisky. For a first timer, I'd go with something on the smoother side, like 40 Creek, Knob Creek, or Crown Royal.

Clear liquors, other than perhaps vodka, (in my opinion -- many folks will disagree) aren't good for much beyond mixed drinks. Generally, liquor with color to it as been aged in wooden barrels and has a more complex, less harsh flavor.

A very nice whisky to try is "Black Bush" from Bushmill's. Its an Irish whisky, and is just under $40/bottle where I live, and I think it compares favorably to some single malt Scotch whiskies selling for about 50% more.

Try it with a little ice, or add a splash of water.

BTW, if you're 40 years old and haven't started drinking hard liquor, maybe you shouldn't. Liquors will get you wasted a lot faster than wine or beer, simply because you have to drink more wine or beer to get the same amount of alcohol. So if you're looking for a hobby that involves alcohol, wine might be the way to go. There are *lots* of social opportunities to drink wine and there is almost infinite variety in all the different kinds of wine out there. Wine can also be the kind of thing where you get technical with it, and have certain types of glasses for certain types of wine, etc.

Making your own beer might be fun, too.

Black Bush is very nice.

Wine is a lot of fun to buy and drink, and you don't even have to spend $10 to try a nice red that you could really like.

I agree about the gin...the rum, though...:)

The 'standard' Bacardi-type rums aren't very good on their own, in my opinion. However, the darker rums tend to be more 'sippable'. Ron Zacapa is my preferred rum, and it stands very well on its own.

OP, I would suggest starting with what foods you like...identify what the FLAVORS are, that you enjoy in the foods you like. If you like spice, sweet, sour, etc., and go to a GOOD bar, and tell the bartender what you enjoy. For me, I finally got to the darker-rums after YEARS of absolutely hating spirits, but tried some different rums at a friends one night. The differences between the light and dark rums are enormous, so if you try something (tequila, say?) that you don't like, but that there are different varieties of, try them....you may be surprised.

I will not post a very obvious, crude joke here. :)
Totally agreed....good wine doesn't have to be expensive. One of my favorite Cabernet-Sauvignion's is Peter Lehmann's "Barossa"...about $13 a bottle where I am, and amazing. Easily stands up to $100+ bottles, and cellars well.

Thank you for the great information. I have had the chance to try different spirits but I have been doing it all wrong. so I want to start over doing it right this time.
So far I have tasted
Tequila silver by patron. I did that on an one OZ shot glass. It was o.k but then I tried
Jagermeister, and that stuff was good.
The other stuff I really liked was the Jack Daniel Tennessee Honey whiskey it was just few weeks ago that I finished sampling that stuff and I am tempted to buy more but I know there are more stuff to try. I also tasted the Vanilla infuse Vodka it was o.k.

I am right now working on a Brandy bottle, for what I was reading I have been doing the brandy all wrong too since I have been using the same one Oz shot glass and not the snifter glass suggested for brandy and Cognac.

So for future testing I think I still need to do regular Whiskey, Scotch, Spice Rum, Akvavit, Sake I would like to try Absinthe but it is illegal in the USA so it is out of the list for now.

Please let me know If I am leaving something that I really should try. Thanks

In general, you do have to pay a bit to get the good smooth stuff, especially spirits.
The other general rule for good spirits below is they should be sipped straight; no mixers.

Rum - get the really good (usually dark) stuff from the Caribbean

Scotch - I recommend single malt, preferably at least 15 yr old; there's a wide range of tastes here.
Try eg Macallan, Highland Park, Talisker. For heavier taste, go Laphroaig, Lagavulin (watch out here)
Depending on how strict you are, you may add a little ice or water

Cognac / Armagnac - in a wide/bowl (brandy snifter) glass mmmm :)

Vodka - not a big fan, ok, better (imho) in cocktails

Gin - pass; never liked it even with mixers

Its all highly subjective. ;)
(eg I hate Jagermeister)

I do like wine; on its own or (even better) with a good meal.
There's a infinite number of them; try to go to a few tastings. You should be able to find cheap/non-pretentious ones, sometimes even free :)

If you can make friends with a barman, he may let you try some stuff (eg sips) of some stuff for free eg beers.

Enjoy :) :)

what about some palinka from Hungary?

For a mixed drink, check out Manhattans--Canadian with a dash of sweet vermouth (6 or 8:1); shake with ice and serve in a martini glass. They are sweet, but not cloying, and smooth. My freshman roommate liked whiskey sours, but they never did much for me.

Martinis are an acquired taste. It's been a while, but back in my road warrior days, I like very dry (8:1) vodka martinis with olives.

My own preferred tipple is Scotch. I tend towards the blends, if only because of price and consistency. Chivas is a nice premium blend; Bells or Dawson are good medium price values. If you budget is tight, Passport is passable. Any Scotch is better than every anything else, except possibly for Irish--for Irish, Tullamore Dew. Every man must have his Dew.

Now that I'm in my dotage, I find the taste of Bourbon not so much to my liking as it used to be, but Rebel Yell was one of my favorites. Jack Daniels, though not a strictly a bourbon, is quite a nice drink.

The only gin drink I every found tolerable was a gin swizzle.

For a really interesting, rich red wine, I recommend a Hungarian wine called, in English, Bull's Blood (because of its richness).

Really, its more about alcohol content than how strict you are or are not. A lot of higher-end whiskies are sold with higher alcohol content than most blends. Some are even sold at what is called "cask strength", which can be 60%+ alcohol.

Most people find that 80 proof (40% alcohol) is just about the right level for sipping, and most blends are sold at this level. Anything above that tends to burn the tongue. The high-end single malts sold at cask strength are normally targeted at those who know how to appreciate them.

Take a 12-year-old A'bunadh from Aberlour as an example. That whisky is bottled at 58.7% alcohol content. That would be 117.4 proof, and nearly 50% more alcohol content per measure than a typical blend.

If you try to follow the advice of those who say that whisky must be drunk straight, and sip on a glass of this whisky without any water or ice, you're most likely just going to feel heat and your tongue will be numbed to the nuances of the whisky. It won't be a pleasant experience at all. (You'll also get much more wasted if you drink the same amount of this whisky as you normally drink of an 80 proof whisky). To bring out the flavor and make the experience pleasant, you really do have to add some water to this whisky. Good water -- Evian for example -- will give you a totally different experience than most tap water.

Happy drinking!

My advice is stay away from alcohol and other pits of despair.

That is a good advice, thank you. However I am not looking to become an alcoholic nor I am looking to scape reality of some sort or anything like that.

I am just curious about enjoying some of the pleasure of life in a safe way. I educated myself with food too and it was a good experience.

Thank you.

@oldscratch: I can promise you that many Scotsmen (& other serious Single Malt drinkers) have very strong views about what you can add or not ... ;)
(regardless of alcohol content)

I haven't drank in years, but as far as Gin goes, If you wish to drink it neat (leave bottle in fridge) then I would only want Bombay Sapphire, if mixing with tonic...Then any bar brand will do, a lemon or lime "twist" make a big difference. As for Whiskey I would suggest Knob Creek Bourbon neat or over a couple ice cubes if you wish. With any liquor, if you want to mix it then don't waste your money on "good stuff" as you will most likely not be able to tell the difference.

Would just as soon have a Guinness Extra Stout.

I guess everyone's entitled to an opinion, but just because someone is born in Edinburgh, that doesn't make him a master distiller (or even a "serious Single Malt drinker") any more than living in South Carolina makes me a moonshiner. More likely, he's drinking some terrible swill like "Famous Grouse" because its cheap.

I don't care where you were born or how much whisky you've drunk or how hardcore you think you are: Whisky at 110 or 120 proof burns the tongue and keeps the character of the whisky locked up where you can't access it. A little water will bring out the subtle flavors that the alcohol will otherwise overwhelm. If you want to believe otherwise and simply follow what you've always heard from supposed whisky experts, then great, go spend $70 and up per bottle for the same alcohol-flavored experience you can get from a $20 bottle of Canadian Club 100 proof -- no skin off my nose. You do realize, don't you, that those beautiful 86 proof single malts started out much higher, and the distiller watered them down during the bottling process? The whole purpose of that is to make them drinkable.

I drink cider. That stuff's delicious, especially when served cold in a chilled mug with no ice. A good beer (i.e. anything that's not Budweiser or Coors) is also enjoyable for me, as is wine, but cider is my favorite.

Guinness!

Yeah I am o.k with Beers and Wine (No the one to run Microsoft in Linux though) but I was looking for more of spirit kind of drinks. Since the day I posted this thread I have had the chance to taste different stuff. Still haven been able to try Scotch, Irish Whisky and Cognac. Looking forward to try them.

Thank you for all the suggestions.