Liquorists

Time for another lower budged liquor, to be more specific, the Old Pascas Ron Negro Dark rum, a whole mouth full.

This honey gold colloured rum has a busy classic looking bottle, as seen in the picture, and retails for around €8,- for a 70CL bottle.
The rum is originated in Barbados and contains 37.5% alcohol ( 75 proof ).

This rum smells pritty average for a dark rum.
When drinking pure you sertainly notice the alcohol, not that you will really taste it, but more notice the alcohol vaporize. It also has a strong aftertaste that remains quite prominent.
While for example the Havana Club añejo has a more direct attack, this rum takes a little bit longer to kick in. Maybe thats why it says rich and mild on the bottle. Although i have to say i find it not especially mild or rich. But then again, who would expect that for this pricetag.
In a cocktail this rum blends right in like most rums, nothing special.

Conclusion, an average rum for its pricetag, and due that price, it won't be a big waste if it isn't what one would expect. Afterall, normally speaking, cheaper liquors tend to be best used in cocktails anyway.

Since i could not find any website from the distillers themself (if someone knows, a comment would be appriciated), so here is a link to the (German) importer: Borko

A absinthe name variation of the kryptonite, that doesn't have much to do with other kryptonite cocktails. But for the persons that do want more absinthe cocktails, here you go:

Ingredients:

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- 1 part Citron
- 1 part apple pucker
- 2 parts absinthe
- top with red bull
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This cocktail is a stirred one, so no other materials needed then a normal glass, some ice, and something to stir with.

It's nice and warm over here at this point, so time for a tropical cocktail!
A fairly easy on, but it contains the 2 basic ingredients that seem to make up most of the tropical orientated cocktails: a coconut rum and pineapple juice.

Ingredients:

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- 2 parts vodka
- 1 part coconut rum
- 2 parts pineapple juice
- top with 7up
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Shake the ingredients without the 7up untill its chilled, dump it into a highball glass full of ice, and top it off with 7up.

Source.

Time to get my hands onto a scotch whiskey this time, glen talloch blended scotch whiskey to be precise.
This is a relatively famous whiskey in the Netherlands. More info about that on this website.

This gold yellow coloured whiskey smells a bit less sweet then your average whiskey, with almost no smoke on the nose. Quite a nice smelling whiskey.
In the taste itself there is remarkably little smokyness aswel, and all your senses get bombarded with the pure whiskey taste. Nothing of the taste gets hidden in the smoke this way, and that isn't a bad thing in this case. While the very first hint is a sweet one, later on you get a more pure woody after taste. A bit on the bitter side but not in a bad way.
The after taste itself remains prominent for a minute or so, but is yet subtile in the same time.

When mixing with coke, the whiskey smell remains the prominent smell, but it does mellow out. Taste wise the coke really mellows the whiskey out, so even non whiskey drinkers might even enjoy it. Also the after taste gets allot less. A little alcohol burn down the throat will still remind you that you are drinking a strong spirit (40% or 80 proof).

All in all this is a very approachable whiskey, with hardly any of the offensive whiskey flavours going on that might put people off. More suprising is that this whiskey is more on the lower budget range with around €15,- for a 70CL bottle. Not a surprise that this whiskey is the best selling whiskey in the Netherlands.
It's a very old 100% scotch whiskey, with allot of single malts blended in.

Definatly worth a try if you are into, or maybe even if you aren't yet into whiskey.

Website: Here

The martini is a well known classic cocktail, and the story goes that it became popular around 1849 in San Francisco. Much later people starting using a variant with vodka instead of gin, because vodka is more neutral and that way you can easily make yet more variations on the drink.

Then there is the whole stirred vs shaken thing. The fact is, there is a difference in taste, the shaking will break up some of the ice more, and will add a bit more water to the drink. That way the vermouth becomes less prominent, altho the amount of vermouth is a point of discussion aswel. Churchill for example only would only *look at it from across the room* and basicly had a glass of gin.

The most accesable version of the martini ingredients are:

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- coat the shaker with dry vermouth, get rid of the remaining vermouth.
- 5CL of gin (or replace with vodka for the vodka martini)
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Stirr the drink untill it gets really cold, then strain the drink into a chilled cocktail glass (the martini is usually served as cold as possible). Add a olive as garnish..

Yet another aluminium bottle this time. And besides a fasion reason, it's also because this way this vodka will get chilled quicker. And we all know you should drink your vodka chilled. With the wide plastic cap on top it does remind me a little bit of a vacuum flask.

I don't think i really have to go into how this stuff looks, since, well, it's vodka. So that means i can start off right at the nose.
Which impressed me a bit. Since it's vodka you won't get all kinds of aroma's going on, but the alcohol scent on this one isn't very strong.
I could tell it has a very hint of fruitiness, but that would probably because it says so on their website and i am imagining it, so that would be almost non existant. You could call it a bit crisp instead.

Now, the taste is simular to the smell. You get a bit bitter alcohol taste right away, and it will numb the tongue rather quick. But the bitterness seems to be in the taste itself and only lasts seconds, and then the warm fuzzy feeling deep inside. No direct vodka burn in the throat itself though, it's more the slight bitterness of the taste.

But that is ofcourse when drinking pure, and i don't recall anyone drinking vodka for it's taste. It's either shots, or cocktails. And in cocktails this danzka vodka will blend right in.
A little more on the bitter side (like i mentioned allot by now) then i am used to, but less of the normal vodka taste. On stronger tasting cocktails, for example a white russian, the vodka taste will be even less prominent and almost gone.
All in all a really good deal for the pricerange we are talking about (around €14,-/15,- for a 75CL bottle). Especially when you aren't really focussing on tasting the vodka, you won't notice much of it, besides the effect of the alcohol later in the evening.
I can say it could compete with some brands priced a little higher perfectly well.

For more information visit their website: Danzka vodka (or just click on the picture above)

An easy one this time. From the jägermeister site, so unfortunally i don't have a clue where it originated.

Ingredients:

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- 2 parts jägmeister
- 2 parts malibu
- 2 parts pineapple juice
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Mix it all together in a shaker, then strain into a coktailglass.

The white russian is a somewhat newer cocktail, that doesn't come from russia like the name could suggest. It's just because the drink contains vodka.
The drink gained allot of popularity because of the movie the Big Lebowski, but the recipe itself is first seen around 1965.

This time the ingredients don't vary that much, but the amounts you use for each are. As listed by the IBA the ingredients are:


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- 5 parts of vodka
- 2 parts of cofee liqueur
- 3 parts cream
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Like said bevore, ratio's vary allot ( video behind the pic shows a 1/1/1 ratio). Just use whatever you personally prefer.