Best alcoholic drink for the price?

[travelling]

What is your go to alcoholic drink (wine, beer, hard alcohol, etc.) that gives you the best value for your money? Do you prefer a particular brand and why do you think it gives you a good value.

I'm trying to open up my horizons with different types of drinks, so I thought this would be a good way to explore value alcohol.

[disneysteve]

I think it depends how you define value when it comes to alcohol. Are you looking to get as drunk as possible for as little money as you can? Or are you looking to actually enjoy what you're drinking without overpaying?

I can't really speak to the first question. As for the second question, it is largely personal preference. For example, I happen to like vodka. In recent years, the vodka market has exploded with choices including many super premium brands. I think there is a huge difference between the really cheap no-name stuff and the big national brands like Smirnoff and much less of a difference between that and the premium stuff. And again, personal taste matters. Grey Goose is a huge favorite and considered one of the best. Personally, I don't like it. I much prefer Skyy or Absolut, both of which are considerably cheaper.

So drink what you like and fits in your budget.

The best advice is to never buy alcohol when you go out. The markup is insane. If you want to enjoy a drink, do so at home.

[feh]

So drink what you like and fits in your budget.

+1

I drink either bottom- or mid-shelf gin and bourbon.

[JoeP]

+1 on defining value

Personally, I value the complex taste experience I get from single malt scotch whisky. There are lots of selections as far as region (speyside, islay, highland, etc), distillery, and whether it is smoked or aged in certain barrels.

A good single malt whisky runs $60 and very good whisky runs around $100. That sounds expensive, but consider my usage as an example: I never use them as mixers, the quantity enjoyed is generally half a shot, and a conservative consumption rate will make the bottle last a couple years. So it is feasible to have 3 bottles in rotation for 3-4 years...even $300 is low for that kind of treat when you consider the time span.

I'll nurse that half shot for an hour sometimes!

[Nika]

Alcohol is a luxury purchase, so if I am spending on something that is not a need, I might as well go and buy what you enjoy, otherwise there is not much point to it.

The value factor is not in how drunk you can get for the least amount of money.

[disneysteve]

if I am spending on something that is not a need, I might as well go and buy what you enjoy,

Exactly, and what you enjoy may differ from what I enjoy due to personal taste. Try different brands and find the cheapest one that you like.

[LizfromtheBronx]

In my waitressing days, when people asked me what the best value for the money was, my response was always a Long Island Iced Tea. (Please note, I didn't say it was the most delicious drink or the best idea - just a simple analysis of alcohol content to price ratio.)

For my personal consumption, I tend to agree with Steve. It's too variable depending on your personal preference. At home, I drink a lot of red wine. I enjoy finding decent wine for around 12-13 a bottle, so I subscribe to several wine newsletters that offer deeply discounted wines.

It's so much more expensive to drink outside of the home (not that it stops me...just means I go out less often). Because I buy a lot of wine, I know fairly well how bad the markup is on a bottle, and will choose accordingly. I do prefer cocktails made in a bar, they have the right pourers, etc to make it right - I've bar tended for years and there are very few cocktails I can manage to make taste right at home. My go to liquors are vodka and gin...for plain vodka, I prefer Ketel One but for flavors, I'll go with any brand except Absolut. Their plain vodka is fine, but their flavors are revolting. For gin, I adore Hendricks, but it's pricey and not everywhere has it, so if not, I'll take Bombay Sapphire.

I live in NYC though, so a $13 cocktail isn't an insane idea....(Hence the red wine drinking at home!!!)

[autoxer]

The best value for me is what I make at home. I can brew a case of craft beer for about half of what the commercial ones cost. The wine is even easier to make and the ingredients come to about $2 - $3 per bottle.

If you really want to explore alcohol, go to some brewery or distillery tours. They usually have tastings and it's great to talk to the people that really understand their product. All of the tours that I've been to so far have been free.

[snafu]

We have a signature drink, Mixture 50:50 clam broth & tomato juice, vodka with Worcestershire and a kick of hot sauce. It's served in a tall, slender glass with a celery stalk as stirrer. .It won't make you tipsy and while served cold, it lets you feel warm. I think it has a modicum of healthy via tomato juice and clam broth

[disneysteve]

I've bar tended for years and there are very few cocktails I can manage to make taste right at home.

That's a really interesting comment. Why do you think that is?

Personally, I tend to find that drinks made at home taste better usually because I'm using higher quality ingredients. For example, if I use Tropicana OJ instead of the typical bar's no-name OJ, that makes a huge difference, or real Coke instead of the stuff sprayed out of the handle thingy.

Being a bartender, I would think you could do it as good or better at home.

One issue could be the ice. If your home freezer ice picks up any flavors from the food in the fridge/freezer, that might alter the taste of the drink.

[travelling]

Thanks for all the replies. I like the idea of going to beer tasting events and I think wine tasting might do well too. That got me thinking to look to see if there are any conventions or other gatherings in my area that would allow me to try a lot of different drinks. I haven't found any yet, but I will keep my eyes open.

[disneysteve]

Thanks for all the replies. I like the idea of going to beer tasting events and I think wine tasting might do well too. That got me thinking to look to see if there are any conventions or other gatherings in my area that would allow me to try a lot of different drinks. I haven't found any yet, but I will keep my eyes open.

Depending on where you live and what you like to drink, you can also visit breweries, wineries, and distilleries and taste product that way. We went on a wine tour last spring to several wineries here in NJ. At each of them, we were able to taste between 5 and 20 different wines. When traveling in other areas, we've often stopped into a local distillery and tasted products made there. For example, in NH, we visited Anheuser Busch. Though I don't drink beer, I tasted some of their other products. In San Juan, we toured the Bacardi factory and got to taste a number of things. In Vermont, we went to a distillery that made vodka and a maple sugar liquor.

[LizfromtheBronx]

That's a really interesting comment. Why do you think that is?

Personally, I tend to find that drinks made at home taste better usually because I'm using higher quality ingredients. For example, if I use Tropicana OJ instead of the typical bar's no-name OJ, that makes a huge difference, or real Coke instead of the stuff sprayed out of the handle thingy.

Being a bartender, I would think you could do it as good or better at home.

One issue could be the ice. If your home freezer ice picks up any flavors from the food in the fridge/freezer, that might alter the taste of the drink.

I think it has a lot to do with ratios - every factor affects the ratio....glass size, ice cube size, the amount of your liquor pour, the amount of your mixer. My ingredients are all definitely either the same quality (liquors, etc) or higher quality (mixers) than in a bar. I'm a visual, non-measuring type...so not having a pourer on the bottle really screws me up (sometimes I tend to make the drinks a bit strong )...I can usually tweak it a bit, but in a bar, I get it right the first time, every time.

I also agree with the ice comment - bar ice is very different than the ice made in trays in the freezer. Even the texture and consistency of it is different, which means it melts differently in your drink.