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I'll go for some spirits-related stuff: What's you're favorite cognac for under $200/bottle? For that matter, do you prefer cognac or armagnac? Have you found any seriously good sipping rums in Canada? I find most of the usual suspects (El Dorado, Zacapa) are way too sweet for me. Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros is probably the best I've found in Canada, but it's still not great. I'm not sure how connected you are to the business end, but do you know what would be involved in a small-scale importation of spirits (for sale or otherwise)? I'm led to believe the process for wine, and possibly beer, is a lot easier than for spirits.
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Jan 27, 2014 18:58
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Soggy Muffin posted:You've mentioned your dislike of Napa, and I tend to agree. I've worked in an upscale liquor store for the past 5 years and have had many tastings of expensive reds from that region and few really grab my palette. I was completely floored by how mediocre a 2008 Silver Oak Cabernet ($70) was in comparison to a 2011 CMS red blend ($12). It virtually had no body at all. I'd have to agree about Napa wines, but I'd like to add another question: have you found a single Canadian wine (excluding dessert wine) that provides any kind of reasonable quality and value? I've found wines that provide either [reasonable] quality or value, but never both yet.
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Jan 27, 2014 22:08
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How do you feel about Champagnes vs. other kinds of sparkling wines? I find most of the big name French wine to be, although excellent, considerably overpriced, but Champagne I would make an exception for, because I've never had a cava, prosecco, or any other sort of sparkling wine that even comes close to the quality of a entry- to mid-level Champagne. Am I unnecessary snobbish about this (i.e. are there better sparkling wines to be found)? On the NZ wine question, I will say I'm a big fan of their whites, and I say that as someone who doesn't care all that much for white wine. I don't even find them that expensive, for the quality. Maybe they just have no low-end market. Another question: what are some of your favourite Spanish wines? I've had consistent luck with Spanish wines from all regions, but I'm wondering if there's some real heavy-hitters (either quality-for-money, or quality outright) that I should make sure to try. One of my current favourites is Marques de Murrieta, but I think that's just because I've always had it on memorable, awesome occasions. On the more expensive (but not insane) end, I'm also a very big fan of Clio, if that gives you an idea where my tastes lie.
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Jan 28, 2014 19:04
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Professor Shark posted:No, just inspired by a type of beer I like. I'll try two bags, one Lady Grey (light, citrusy) and the standard Orange Pekoe and see how that goes! I'd try a green tea as well. I had a green tea wheat beer on tap at a brew pub in Montreal, and it was totally the best thing ever. Apparently everyone else thought so too, because I came back the next day and it was all gone.
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Feb 11, 2014 22:06
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Dusseldorf posted:Jeez, you guys have a 100% markup on wine? I was looking this up, and it's not actually that bad. The problem with it is that it's paid by the importer instead of remitted when the goods are moved, so markup is applied on the import duty at every level, and since most of the taxes are based on volume of wine or spirits, it hits cheaper products disproportionately hard. Ontario is one exception to the rule, as unlike (for example) Alberta, the provincial tax applied on wine (and possibly spirits, I didn't check) is an ad valorem tax, but it's still only 16%. The problem is that it will be marked up several times over, along with the per-volume taxes at the federal and provincial levels. Then, if you're comparing it against Ontario-produced wine, it seems doubly bad because the tax rate applied to Ontario wine in Ontario (and possibly all domestic wine at the federal level) is 10% lower to encourage people to buy local products. My guess is that California, or possibly the US as a whole, has similar policies, making it very hard to compare apples to apples. Our taxes are still very high compared to most other places, and the US especially, but it's not quite as bad as it might seem. Our tobacco taxes make our liquor taxes seem downright reasonable (67% of value federally, and up to 90% additionally at the provincial level in the case of cigars). Having vices up here is goddamn expensive.
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Feb 14, 2014 23:28
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I just did the WSET Level 1 course in wine tasting today, and I really have to recommend it. Tasting 8 wines back to back, some of the same varietal from different regions, others not (it was 8 each of white and red), and discussing the factors in growth and production that change the wine, really helps you understand the differences easier than doing it one glass at a time on your own. A lot of it is influenced by psychological factors, and there were certainly good, inexpensive wines and bad, expensive wines, but I don't think wine tasting is bullshit the way a lot of people say it is*. They also went over some basic food pairing principles, though I'm far from an expert after an 8-hour course. Honestly, considering some of the bottles we sampled were $80-100 apiece, it wasn't even a terrible value ($350 for the course, $50 for the tasting glasses). * I don't give a poo poo if it's possible to "trick" people. That doesn't make wine tasting bullshit. For wine tasting to be invalidated, you'd have to prove to me that there's a better way for me to select the wines I want to drink (and for the winemakers to create their wines properly) than the tasting process. As taste is subjective, it stands to reason that wine tasting cannot be objective, but that doesn't make it wrong or useless. EDIT: The other important bit is that they purposefully pick wines that make whatever point they want to make about the varietal or the style, and of course they also set a logical order for them to be tasted in. I probably learned as much in one day about wines than I have in the past two years of just drinking it frequently. PT6A fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Mar 30, 2014 |
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Mar 30, 2014 03:37
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computer parts posted:Maybe some sort of label to indicate the region they are from. Do you really, really want to bring this up, again, in the wine thread, of all places? The vast, vast majority of old world wine is labelled by region, and it does confer important information to the consumer of the wine regarding growing conditions, the production and maturation of the wine, and the varietals used. Additional, legally protected terms like "reserva", "gran reserva" and "crianza" (admittedly only protected in certain countries) also provide us interesting information. These things together are enough to get the wine consumer pretty close to what they would like to drink, after which they can sample different vintages and producers of that wine to determine what they like best. EDIT: I don't want to re-tread this ground, because I already got put on probation once for defending my position on the matter. If I can't zealously defend my position without risking probation, I submit that it's not a fair discussion to have. That thread got gassed for a reason, it would be a shame to see this one get gassed too. I didn't bring this up, so loving drop it.
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Mar 30, 2014 04:35
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20ozMonkey posted:Does Canada have strict "label approval" for all alcoholic products like the US does? From what I've learned the label approval process in the US is a nightmare in terms of the criteria that need to be met. Ours are probably more stringent if anything. It's usually more difficult to find an ABV on an American container than in Canada, for example (perhaps it's just selection bias, though). We allow stick-on labels for legally-required info on wine bottles, at least in Alberta. Sadly, those are often applied over the original labels, which is a pain in the rear end. Without knowing what the label approval process is in the US it's hard to say.
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Mar 31, 2014 06:30
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Masonity posted:Chablis is the next on our list, but it's hard to find a cheap bottle. Is Petit Chablis the same thing? I understand it's grown in the areas surrounding where proper Chablis is, but is the soil and grape variety still close enough to result in a similar wine? Petit Chablis consists of areas just outside and pretty much immediately adjacent to Chablis proper. The wines are produced with the same grape as Chablis, and tend to be of the same style, but the soil geology is slightly different, so the wines are not thought to be quite as good.
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Mar 31, 2014 19:00
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Kasumeat posted:
Fair enough, that makes good sense.
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Apr 1, 2014 17:21
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slidebite posted:I have a question about whiskey, Rye in particular. Try Alberta Premium Dark Horse if you're looking for something similar but distinct. It's casked in rum barrels, which lends it a nice bit of sweetness, but it's not as overly sweet as I find most corn whiskeys. I've also had very good experiences with any of High West's products. They aren't all 100% rye, but nonetheless they have the rye spiciness that you're probably after. I can't remember if you're in Calgary, but if you are, I know you can find some of their products at Vine Arts on 1st Street (great store, if you've never been). I'm by no means a bourbon expert or anything, but if you're willing to give it a try again, I'd recommend Four Roses Small Batch. It was the first bourbon I ever drank where I finally understood why people could actually like it.
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Apr 1, 2014 18:47
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slidebite posted:Thanks for the tips, I've never seen Alberta Premium dark horse but I'll look for it. I am actually down in Lethbridge, but we have a few really well stocked specialty shops so I should be able to track it down. I prefer all my whisk(e)ys with varying degrees of ice (scotch with only one or two cubes, rye with a full glass of ice, bourbon in the middle). Try it neat and on the rocks, and see which you prefer. It's 45% ABV I think, so dilution isn't the worst thing for it.
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Apr 1, 2014 19:07
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What do you think of Spanish brandies? I was in Spain last week and I drank a few glasses of 1866 Gran Reserva, which was really good for the price I was paying. The flavour reminded me a little bit of a tawny Port, but it's still very obviously brandy. I had some Torres 10 as well, which I didn't care for as much. Can you recommend me a Spanish brandy I have a decent chance of finding in Alberta?
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May 15, 2014 20:53
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Shbobdb posted:Spanish brandies are generally regarded as the best in the world. So, as long as you aren't buying the cheapest one, you are in for a treat! They are usually drier than French brandies, so which one you like more depends slightly on taste. Lepanto, Don Pedro, Gran Duque and Senor Lustao 1940 are all absolutely outstanding brandies. I thought Cognacs and Armagnacs were usually considered the best in the world? Or are they just more well-known and available?
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May 16, 2014 22:04
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Kanye East posted:A quick question, what regions do you recommend for Gamay? I'm not an expert, but the best examples I've had have all been Cru Beaujolais. I guess it depends what style of wine you're looking for, though.
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Jun 10, 2014 15:46
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