So, what's your favorite "adult beverage" ???

Ryan Hobbs wrote:  This has no alcohol, but I would still definitely not give it to minors. It is used medicinally by the Matses Tribe of Peru.

Sounds interesting, but you never said (named) what ‘it’ is called. How do I look up a recipe online?

Well, it's like, what is your favourite music or your favourite book.  There are so many drinks for so many different occasions or time of the day, even time of the year.  I personally don't like to get drunk, but I do like a drink.

Since I was born and bred in France, wine and Champagne come top of the list.  I find that I am quite incapable of eating a meal without a glass of red wine.  In the summer, 2 inches of white wine in a tall glass filled up with sparkling water is my treat.   I very seldom drink coffee but an after dinner coffee followed by "eau de vie" (moonshine) is delightful.  Some so called moonshine in Europe, aged in oak barrels, can be very refined and sophisticated.  If I have Japanese or Chinese food, I could drink warm sake until the morning if I'd let myself.  Of course, on a hot summer's day, after working in the field, a cold beer just hits the spot.  I am partial to a walnut wine as a pre dinner drink (aperitif in France) but most of all, I guess I love Champagne!  Very dry and very cold Champagne.  Any special occasion is a good excuse, and we can find many special occasion if forced to!!

I personally don't like to get drunk, but I do like a drink.  

My sentiments exactly! I had a boss once who was a recovered alcoholic and he claimed nobody drinks ‘because they like the taste’. I told that may be true for him, but I would be quite happy to find beer that was non-alcoholic that tasted just as good, because I choose craft beer for the taste, not because I want to get hammered. When I find a delicious beer, I’d love to be able to drink 5 or 6 pints, but obviously 1 or 2 is plenty. I like it with an evening meal, daily, just makes the food taste better.

Elderberry wine but, since this is hard to come by (and foraging is not much of an option locally - the birds get there first!) I'll settle for my runner-up a well made Pina Colada!

The OP asked how we would like to drink it - er...in a glass 🤪 but in the warm company of loving friends, having a laugh, getting tipsy but not drunk.

Hey Julie,

I forgot that beer with Indian food goes so well.  it's a must.  It does make the food taste better, or maybe it's just  the food making the beer taste better!  I know it's the case with French wine.

A nice macchiato.
Made with recently roasted organic Guatemalan beans.
Ground fresh and made in my Aero press rite at home!

Amy Francis wrote:...in a glass 🤪 but in the warm company of loving friends, having a laugh, getting tipsy but not drunk.

And potential friends too.  I have always found a particular joy in getting to know someone over a bottle of wine.

If I'm buying it:

Anchor California Lager. Maybe the best all around beer I have ever tasted. Plus it is somewhat a remake of the recipe of a lager from the old Boca Brewery, brewed just after the gold rush. So it's historic with a local connection.

Can't go wrong with Bourbon. I like Wild Turkey but if I was rich I'd step it up a notch or two.

If I am making it:

Pale ale with roasted malt and caramel 120. Like a black pale ale or something. I haven't nailed it down exactly yet but it's gooood. Also I haven't brewed in almost two years due to injury/laziness/brokebothmycarboyswhenImoved/life issues.

Dan's bathtub Gin (If I had a still, which of course I don't!) Gonna try elderberries in 'er soon.

Anyways, great topic and some great recipes in here. I like the tried and true old fashioned:

2 shots bourbon.
1/2 shot simple syrup
2 dashes aromatic bitters
garnish with a orange peel and a cherry (if you have company over, hahaha)

Ugh I forgot the entirety of what I wanted to post: Apple Jack!!

I second the recommendation to try apple jack.

!. Brew some apple wine.
2. Leave it out side overnight in the winter.
3. Break off and discard the ice that forms the following morning.
4. Repeat until no more ice will form.
5. Drink like the redcoats are coming!

When I lived in Fairbanks the resulting brew was very strong (-50F). Where I live now it never goes under 20F so I don't think it would even work.

Dan, great recipe. For that you get an apple. I've heard one could put the apple jack in the freezer and skim off the ice. Probably not as fun and setting outside.
Apple jack sounds good. We usually make cider.

This is becoming my new favotire book. =} so much goodness! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603587187/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

From this book, we've made a ginger bug, for ale and beer. We also make kombucha and of course hard kombucha. It's been a lot of fun. So much fun. We are making a fermentation station in the house and we plan to get a meter to test for alcohol potential.
To flavor we use our elderberries, honey, ginger sometimes a few lemons.
Happy brewing

Hi Sena,

Mmm cider... Hahaha. I love cider but have never had any luck making it. It always tastes great and smells awful! Sulfery or something...Thanks for the book recommendation! I am due for a few new books so its perfect timing.

I am a wine drinker and a beer appreciator.  I want to learn to make both for myself, someday. At nearly 60 years of age, I better get to it if I'm to be successful! My favorite varietal wines are white merlot, white zin, and red moscato. My beer preferences run amok... favorite is Leinenkugel Harvest Shandy. Regular day to day indulgence is along the lines of Dos Equis (regular or amber), Heineken, Killians Red, Moose Drool (microbrew from Montana), Shock Top Belgian... I read somewhere that many American brews are using GMO's in their products. Big names like Coors and Budweiser. I view these as nearly soda pop beers, not really good for anything but recycling the cans.

I'd love to grow all my own ingredients, but with only about 550 sq ft of "yard", my important crops are never going to be hops or barley!!

I've looked at books and online sources for how it's all done, and right now even getting a single carboy is out of reach. Ugh! Does anyone have any workarounds?

I also enjoy a couple of icy cold shots of Jagermeister SPICE!  

Storrmwynd Hawke wrote:I am a wine drinker and a beer appreciator.  I want to learn to make both for myself, someday. At nearly 60 years of age, I better get to it if I'm to be successful! My favorite varietal wines are white merlot, white zin, and red moscato. My beer preferences run amok... favorite is Leinenkugel Harvest Shandy. Regular day to day indulgence is along the lines of Dos Equis (regular or amber), Heineken, Killians Red, Moose Drool (microbrew from Montana), Shock Top Belgian... I read somewhere that many American brews are using GMO's in their products. Big names like Coors and Budweiser. I view these as nearly soda pop beers, not really good for anything but recycling the cans.

I'd love to grow all my own ingredients, but with only about 550 sq ft of "yard", my important crops are never going to be hops or barley!!

I've looked at books and online sources for how it's all done, and right now even getting a single carboy is out of reach. Ugh! Does anyone have any workarounds?

I also enjoy a couple of icy cold shots of Jagermeister SPICE!  

Have you tried making mead? If you like beer and wine, mead will no doubt be something you like too, and bees don't take up a lot of room.

This time of year I crave sweetness so it's Vodka or Gin in soda usually Mt Dew or Code Red.

Summer is for Beer. The hotter the day the colder the Brew. I absolutely can't wait!

I’m more of a red wine-person on the usual days, though I’ll take a decent Americano or Gin-tonic any time!

Not sure how much this counts as an adult beverage but I do brew a decent slightly alcoholic ginger beer that has great punch. Also looks and tastes exquisitely when fermenting the ginger alongside a mix of wild forest berries. Just look at that colour!

Deb Rebel wrote: Currently, I admit to Jaegermeister, I purchase it, and usually one doubleshot at a time (1.5 oz times two). It helps with some of my chronic pain and helps me sleep. I take it room temp and in company of real or virtual friends (chat).

I admit to the same!  My husband brews beer and I just can't stomach the stuff (carbonation has a terrible effect inside me), though I have learned a lot about it through him, helping to brew, and tasting and smelling but not drinking.  Wine gives me an instant hangover.  I don't drink much these days, unless someone offers me something socially.  I do love a frivolous mixed drink on occasion (like twice a year).

But, I will have a shot (or two) of Jager before bed for exactly the same reason as Deb.  Made with herbs and spices, it is supposed to be a respiratory and digestive tonic, and I consider it a medicinal nightcap with a very relaxing effect

When I was undergoing "German Cultural Awareness Training" in the army, the German language instructor told us that Jager was originally a tonic that men made to get their wives in the mood after they returned from a hunting trip, all smelly and whatnot. They collected the herbs and spices while out in the woods. He also told us that Germans consider it to be a stupid thing that only Americans drink more than a sip of at a time.

I try to be frugal in most things, but in some areas I just can't.

Not much of a drinker (almost never) but if one happens to have honey & some 'shine krupnik goes down mighty smooth during winter. According to a friend from Croatia there's a fruit based version called slivonick, or something like that.

krupnik recipe

as of right now.
Nettle beer is my favourite beer.

being a seasonal item i am making as much as i can right now!!

I like beer, wine, bourbon, and lots of other things.

My current drink of choice is lime seltzer, the juice of a whole lime, and whatever clear liquor I have on hand. Ran out of tequila (obvious pairing, and very tasty), didn't much fancy rum in it, and vodka has been a steady choice. I need to try bourbon, but wish I had rye on hand because it sounds interesting.

With warm weather coming back around I foresee this being a mainstay, right up there with tart lemonade and gin

I sometimes indulge in something I call a "Chocolate Kahlua-sion". I have no idea if it exists under a different name, I was making fun of the "Russian collusion" scandal that was dominating the news at the time. It's just chocolate milk with half a shot of kahlua, with ice. Sometimes I'll also add half a shot of amaretto, but not always. Treat it as a dessert, not a beverage.

I used to think I hated wine because, much like Bethany said, it all tasted like rotten fruit to me. Then I encountered 2 wines that didn't have that flavor. One was a wild grape wine made by my grandfather, and the other was a blueberry wine made by a very small local winery. After some investigation, I concluded that the foul taste was from one or more of the additives often used to control fermentation, and not the wine itself.

With that knowledge, I decided to try my hand at winemaking. I decided to start with squash, because I had some that needed used. I started by baking the squash, then loaded in a 1-gal pickle jar with brown sugar, molasses, distilled water, and bread yeast.

I wanted to use bread yeast to see how simple I could make the process. When my dad found out what I was planning, he started going to great lengths to try and convince me it was too complicated for me to possibly succeed. (He does things like that.)

After the initial fermentation slowed down, I ran it through a coarse filter, into a carboy with a little more brown sugar, and let it bubble some more. When it slowed down again, I ran it through a fine silk coffee filter, added more sugar, and let it bubble again. I was afraid the filter might have screened out too much yeast, so I did also take some of the liquid, swirl it around in the bottom of the previous carboy, and added the beige sediment to the new carboy. I have no idea if that was actually necessary.

(The leftover sediment worked quite well for bread-making. A good thing to know if yeast ever becomes scarce again.)

When the bubbling died down, I did a taste test. It was so good, I ran a few more taste tests just to be sure! I didn't have wine bottles, so I bottled it in canning jars. One jar we took to my grandfather, who is considered an expert on the subject. He loved it! The family had an informal home-brew competition, with him and some of the other older members as judges. They declared it the best they'd ever tasted, and couldn't believe it had been made with squash!

I had to cut way back on how much I drink, it was giving me acid reflux. I haven't made any in several years, although I might start up again if my melon patch does well.


(Edited because I decided this story got sidetracked too much.)

my summertime go-to last year was homemade tepache (fermented pineapple rind with spices - probably about as alcoholic as kombucha on it’s own) fortified with mezcal. like a serious step up from a margarita.