Does the quality of the liquor you are using matter for mixed drinks? I am guessing it would for a drink that only has one, like the Martini, but what about drinks that have multiple liquors in them?
Should you use quality liquor for mixing drinks?
- Thread starter mretzloff
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It depends on how many liquors are in there and how strongly it's flavored. Doesn't matter much for a long island iced tea or hurricane, but it does for say a margarita or rusty nail. Even the sazerac, which only uses a few drops of absinthe, benefits significantly from a good one, though the quality of whisky or cognac matters more.
I agree. I'm not of the thought that you must never mix good liquor. It's the same as cooking - if you cook with crap, it will taste like crap. If you want a bourbon and Coke there's nothing wrong with using your favorite bourbon, whether it be Woodford, Pappy, Weller's, or what-have-you.
Now, commence the avalanche of advice that will tell you that mixing good liquor is a waste...
My only personal rule is that I don't mix any of my liquors that I enjoy neat... which just by default rules out most of the bourbon and scotch I own. I'm all for mixing the absolute best gin, vodka, tequila, or rum I can find though, because for as much as I love those liquors, I don't enjoy them neat. Not yet, anyway.
You have to be willing to drink the liquor (neat or with water) to use it in a mixed drink. The flavor and character of the liquor will carry through, although the more mixed in the less it matters. If you think something is awful rotgut, then don't mix it - heck, don't even buy it! Mixing true top shelf liquors is generally not the best use of those spirits, or your booze budget, as an acceptable mid level product will probably be very nice.
Of course your sense of taste is in here too. For example I won't have Absolute vodka in anything (given any kind of choice, call me an annoying vodka snob), Smirnoff and Stoli are considered lower quality at most places and I feel they are superior, and acceptable in my drinks. Grey Goose is wonderful, and my wife will only take Grey Goose in her mixers, but I find the difference very minimal. I do enjoy Grey Goose neat, very much, but Stoli and Smirnoff are also acceptable neat to me.
Phil
Of course your sense of taste is in here too. For example I won't have Absolute vodka in anything (given any kind of choice, call me an annoying vodka snob), Smirnoff and Stoli are considered lower quality at most places and I feel they are superior, and acceptable in my drinks. Grey Goose is wonderful, and my wife will only take Grey Goose in her mixers, but I find the difference very minimal. I do enjoy Grey Goose neat, very much, but Stoli and Smirnoff are also acceptable neat to me.
Phil
I'm gunna take the middle road, dont go dirt cheap but dont go top shelf either. A bad quality booze with leave your mixed drinks with a bad taste, but IMHO its better to save the really good stuff for sipping. Go with a alcohol that you find a good budget drinker.
I used to work at a restaurant where we carried Louis XIII cognac, which sold for about $100 a drink, and we had a running joke about ordering a Louis and Coke.
On that note, I usually go for medium priced liquors for mixed drinks instead of the cheap or expensive ones. You can taste cheap liquor even in a mixed drink, but the subtleties that make a liquor expensive can be lost when you add mixers, IMO.
On that note, I usually go for medium priced liquors for mixed drinks instead of the cheap or expensive ones. You can taste cheap liquor even in a mixed drink, but the subtleties that make a liquor expensive can be lost when you add mixers, IMO.
I don't really do mixed drinks in general, but they are pretty much all the same to me. Evan Williams and Coke, Jack and Coke, Woodford Reserve and Coke, etc. I can't really say i taste much difference. On their own however, is a whole different ballgame. To each his own though. If it works for someone, go for it! It's not my money 
- Thread starter
- #9
Thank you for all the replies so far. Just for clarification, I was referring to cocktails, like a Long Island Ice Tea, when I said "mixed drinks", not rum and Coke and the like.
The obvious answer is: YMMV.
The longer version of this is that the specific context matters a lot, as does your individual palate for various flavors. Moreover, there are cocktails, and then there are cocktails. There's a qualitative difference, I would say, between a dirty martini and a Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall. (Yes, that IS a real drink, albeit probably more fun to order than to consume!)
Drinks with lots of ingredients, like the Long Island iced tea (have you ever read the recipe?), are basically meant to get you trashed without tasting the alcohol clearly. Since the whole purpose of the drink recipe is to hide the booze, using good liquor is completely wasteful.
For simple mixed drinks with one liquor and one non-alcoholic mixer – for example, a gin and tonic, or a whiskey and ginger – I would argue that liquor quality matters more, but needn't keep you up at night. I'm not going to use a $60 bottle of bourbon for a whiskey and ginger, but I also wouldn't use any whiskey that I wouldn't drink neat. There are plenty of serviceable mid-range liquors that I like to buy specifically because I can take them neat or mix them with no regrets. Don't use anything in the plastic jugs on the bottom shelf at the liquor store. On the other hand, some strong-tasting mixers, like Coca-Cola, are so dominant that you often can't taste the character of the booze at all, unless it's really terrible.
If we're talking martinis or another drink composed almost entirely of liquors meant to complement each other, quality becomes a bit more of an issue. Really, my answer for this is the same as for simple mixed drinks, with the proviso that you really cannot use cheap stuff here. The flavor profile of the base liquor will define the drink, so you need to get something good enough that it won't ruin the drink. As always, I incline toward using a liquor that I would be glad to sip neat.
BUT, make sure the bartender knows his/her business before you order top-shelf liquor in a delicate recipe like a martini or Manhattan. A carelessly mixed cocktail will just taste like a bunch of stuff thrown in a glass together, which makes good booze a waste of money (and possibly a way of upselling you to increase the bar's nightly profits). In a serious cocktail bar where the bartenders know their craft well, it can be worth it, IMHO, to splurge for whichever top-shelf liquor they recommend, since they will really know that, for instance, their recipe will work with Russell's Reserve but not with Woodford Reserve.
The longer version of this is that the specific context matters a lot, as does your individual palate for various flavors. Moreover, there are cocktails, and then there are cocktails. There's a qualitative difference, I would say, between a dirty martini and a Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall. (Yes, that IS a real drink, albeit probably more fun to order than to consume!)
Drinks with lots of ingredients, like the Long Island iced tea (have you ever read the recipe?), are basically meant to get you trashed without tasting the alcohol clearly. Since the whole purpose of the drink recipe is to hide the booze, using good liquor is completely wasteful.
For simple mixed drinks with one liquor and one non-alcoholic mixer – for example, a gin and tonic, or a whiskey and ginger – I would argue that liquor quality matters more, but needn't keep you up at night. I'm not going to use a $60 bottle of bourbon for a whiskey and ginger, but I also wouldn't use any whiskey that I wouldn't drink neat. There are plenty of serviceable mid-range liquors that I like to buy specifically because I can take them neat or mix them with no regrets. Don't use anything in the plastic jugs on the bottom shelf at the liquor store. On the other hand, some strong-tasting mixers, like Coca-Cola, are so dominant that you often can't taste the character of the booze at all, unless it's really terrible.
If we're talking martinis or another drink composed almost entirely of liquors meant to complement each other, quality becomes a bit more of an issue. Really, my answer for this is the same as for simple mixed drinks, with the proviso that you really cannot use cheap stuff here. The flavor profile of the base liquor will define the drink, so you need to get something good enough that it won't ruin the drink. As always, I incline toward using a liquor that I would be glad to sip neat.
BUT, make sure the bartender knows his/her business before you order top-shelf liquor in a delicate recipe like a martini or Manhattan. A carelessly mixed cocktail will just taste like a bunch of stuff thrown in a glass together, which makes good booze a waste of money (and possibly a way of upselling you to increase the bar's nightly profits). In a serious cocktail bar where the bartenders know their craft well, it can be worth it, IMHO, to splurge for whichever top-shelf liquor they recommend, since they will really know that, for instance, their recipe will work with Russell's Reserve but not with Woodford Reserve.
It depends on who your making the drink for. Yourself or a lady you're trying to impress, the good stuff. Your friends or work associates that just want to get lit, the bottom shelf. There's a huge difference between a top shelf tequila margarita, and Cuervo and Mountain dew. Most of your buddies could care less if you salt the rim of the glass. Most of my buddies anyway.
You can't make a Zombie with crappy rums. Can you imagine serving someone a Harvey Wallbanger with Popov and some Neapolitan?
UGH, the horror.
That bottom shelf, cheap booze in plastic bottles is for drunks and hobos. It should never get anywhere near a proper bar. Most of it is distilled spirits flavored with some crappy version of whatever it says on the label. It doesn't belong in your bar or body.
UGH, the horror.
That bottom shelf, cheap booze in plastic bottles is for drunks and hobos. It should never get anywhere near a proper bar. Most of it is distilled spirits flavored with some crappy version of whatever it says on the label. It doesn't belong in your bar or body.
I would say yes, there is more to a quality spirit than just taste 
A single poor quality ingredient will ruin a drink, even the coke, juice, or a dried out lemon, so I'm all for using good to top shelf for all my drinks. You still need to consider how a particular liquor will affect the drink. Many high end liquors are best served alone because they're distinctive, and the subtleties could be lost in any mix. I don't know of any hard and fast rule because each liquor and recipe is different. Margarita & Kamikaze are the same recipe except for tequila vs vodka, but I treat them differently. I wouldn't make a margarita with a top shelf aged tequila, though I will use a top shelf fresh tequila. The subtleties of aged tequila just don't stand up to the lime and orange. I always use Cointreau for my kamikazes because the bitter orange easily stands up to lime juice, especially the sweet Roses brand. I much prefer fresh lime juice from normal limes in my margaritas, and Cointreau isn't cost effective for this since it kind of gets overpowered by regular limes--though I still use it just because I have it on hand. On the other hand, the vodka needs careful selection--any hint of rye will ruin the delicacy of Cointreau and combine with the bitterness, and probably calls for a sweeter, less subtle triple sec.
On the cost-saving side, I do think a top shelf fresh tequila is wasted in a margarita, so I'll only use it for a treat. But that's no excuse to go for the cheap stuff. At least not for "occassions" or small gatherings of friends. I save the standard names--Bacardi or Cuervos--for drunken parties and barbecues. (Though I always keep a bottle or two or Cruzan or Don Julio hidden for people I like that know better.) Now if you're trying to scare off your guests so they don't come back...
On the cost-saving side, I do think a top shelf fresh tequila is wasted in a margarita, so I'll only use it for a treat. But that's no excuse to go for the cheap stuff. At least not for "occassions" or small gatherings of friends. I save the standard names--Bacardi or Cuervos--for drunken parties and barbecues. (Though I always keep a bottle or two or Cruzan or Don Julio hidden for people I like that know better.) Now if you're trying to scare off your guests so they don't come back...
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- Thread starter
- #15
Would you use either Cruzan's light rum or Don Julio's silver tequila for a mixed drink, or do you think that is a waste?
I agree whole heartedly!!!! If you have to mix it, then you really don't appreciate the flavor anyway, so why drink it. IMO...JRI don't really do mixed drinks in general, but they are pretty much all the same to me. Evan Williams and Coke, Jack and Coke, Woodford Reserve and Coke, etc. I can't really say i taste much difference. On their own however, is a whole different ballgame. To each his own though. If it works for someone, go for it! It's not my money
i think its a continuum, there is a point at which improving the quality of your liquor doesn't present enough tangible gains in flavor to warrant the extra cost. take a margarita for instance, use a high end reposado and it doesn't appreciably improve your flavor over something in the midrange (my 'goto' for a margarita is Sauza Commemorativo), but you do get a nice improvement over the crap gold tequilas that are out there that most bars use on their rail when you step into the middle ground area... I would never use a $50-70/btl tequila on a margarita, I've had 'em, didn't believe it to be worth the extra ching. the key is to find the sweet spot between flavor and price and hang in that area.
Jawaburger said it best. Keep the expensive stuff for drinking neat, and use the medium range for quality drinks.
I'm not much of a mixed drink guy, but I do love me a manhattan when the mood strikes....
