My Collection of Alcohol
All the bottles I've ever had over the years, and my thoughts on them.
103 Solera Osborne
Extremely low-profile brandy. Honestly it almost tastes like nothing.
Aalborg Akvavit
I’ll be honest with this you, this tastes disgusting. You gotta be looking for something real dank to drink this.
Absolut Elyx
I think this is the best vodka. I don't care that it's from Absolut. It's the best. I will always buy it.
Amanero Amaro Bavarese
Found this one at a spirits festival in Berlin. It’s a pretty bottle and a nice amaro.
Angostura Bitters
This goes in every cocktail. Those are the rules.
Angostura Orange Bitters
When you need bitters and want a hint of citrus. Nice addition to an Old Fashioned.
Aperol
It literally does not get more basic than Aperol. It’s fine, people love it.
Atenco Espanín
Listen, I love mezcal. I’m annoyed by how little there is in my collection, but it’s so hard to find in Berlin! I got this one at a craft spirits festival in Berlin a few years back. It’s awesome.
Averna
A standard classic. It’s in most bars. Love these classic ugly labels.
Baker’s 7 Year
I like it because it has a big B on it hehe. B-)
Bas-Armagnac Domaine “Le Basque” 2000
I’m not sure I really understand what Armagnac is. I love the undesigned simplicity of this bottle. The taste is really mild.
Benedictine
This is a strange liqueur. Pretty sweet, so it’s easy to combine in cocktails.
Berliner Dry Gin
I bought this because Berlin. It was unremarkable.
Blanton’s Bourbon
This is an excellent bourbon. The horse is always different. Cute grenade bottle.
Booker’s
Booker’s is excellent. Also I like the handwritten label.
Buffalo Trace
Standard fare. Some people keep this as their standard drinkin’ bourbon. It’s fine.
Bulleit Bourbon
Once I had a blind whiskey tasting party with 10 of my friends. With bottles from 15 to 75 euros, Bulleit won the taste test. I love it. I drink it all the time.
Bulleit Rye
A great standard to have around. I prefer bourbon, but gotta have rye around too, and this is a good one.
Campari
Much less basic than Aperol, but similar vibe and same pretty color.
Cave Creek
A friend brought me this one from Arizona. It’s blended with Arizona water or something. It was nice.
Chantré
Cheap brandy that’s nice to put in mulled wine. Nothing more, but always have it on hand in Winter.
Cherry Heering
When you gotta have some gnarly sweet cherry flavor in a drink, Cherry Heering is your stuff.
Clement 125th Anniversary Agricole Rhum
I bought this one at a store down the street from me. Weird, in a street full of mostly apartments, there's a Rum Agricole store. The guy in the store is really nice and talkative. Also funny, this is the Clement (fancy brand) 125th Anniversary edition bottle… this is what they chose. 🤷♂️
Cointreau
Gotta have it for margaritas. Olé bitch. I rarely use it for anything else. It’s extremely sweet and orangey.
Creme de Cacao
Here’s and extremely lame bottle of Creme de Cacao. But honestly it’s what I use. It’s awesome in coffee, or to add a strange hint of chocolate to cocktails.
Cuate 1 Year
This is the cheapest of the Cuate's. Berlin-based company, which is cool. The packaging ain't bad either. Nice to have around.
Cuate 13 Year
The crème de la crème from Coate. This one is excellent. 👌 Also not super expensive… maybe I have bad taste in rum. I love this one.
Cuate 4 Year
Nice mid-grade dark rum. Another from Cuate, which means the bottle is nice to look at and it’s in every Berlin bar.
Cynar
I love Cynar. Put it on ice with a lemon wedge and sip it at a club on the cheap. And it’s made from friggin artichokes!? Mama mia!
Dolin Red
Pretty standard stuff here. I mean it's the fancy standard stuff but nothing groundbreaking. Better keep scrolling.
Espolon Blanco Tequila
I got this as a gift once. It was one of my first real bottles of nice liquor. The packaging is great (love the fluorescent lettering) and it's a good tequila.
Fernet Branca
Chefs drink it so I drink it, lol. But really, I love the stuff. It’s fun to make complex deep cocktails with a fernet base.
Grand Marnier
I really dunno why I have this, but my dad always uses it on Thanksgiving to season a turkey. And there's a wax seal on it. idk, nothing special…
Green Chartreuse
This stuff is so green! I initially bought it to make a cocktail that lights on fire… oh right it lights on fire. Badass.
Hakushu 12 Whisky
I got this as a gift for Christmas one year. It's a really fancyish whisky. It's usually in bars where they have a Japanese whisky selection. Love a Japanese label.
HSE Rhum Agricole Blanc
Got this Rum Agricole at the store down the street. The first night I bought it, I drank a little too much and went absolutely nuts. I don't recommend that. It's very high ABV and I did not realize that.
Hudson Baby Bourbon
One of the most delicious bourbons I’ve tasted. Whenever I have this around, it’s a treat.
Hudson Double Charred Whiskey
Hudson is just great. This was a special run (I think?) that I picked up a while back. A bit deeper flavor but pretty standard I'd say. Looks more intense than it is.
J.J. Kurberg Chilli Pipar Vodka
Another one from the Craft Spirits Festival in Berlin. This one is great. Nice little spicy bite. Very pretty bottle if you're into the apothecary vibe.
Jagermeister
🤷♂️ I think Jagermeister is fine.
Joyas Oaxaqueñas
This is a pretty nice mezcal. I remember others from this label being a bit better but much more expensive (so is mezcal in Berlin…).
Junipero Genevieve
I learned about Jenever in Amsterdam. It’s very Dutch. This one is made by Anchor in San Francisco and is pretty nice. Not a normal sort of flavor, gotta be ready for a kick.
Junipero Gin
This is an excellent gin. It was my favorite for many years. They changed the label in the last few years and I just can’t look at it anymore. but I’m sure the gin is still great.
Kahlúa
There are much better coffee liqueurs. But… I have this in my collection.
Knob Creek
Standard stuff. Worth having around I guess.
KR/23
This is an herbal liqueur, like Jägermeister. Made in Berlin and has a nice label and cool name, so I guess that’s good. It’s really tasty.
Kuemmerling
This is like Jägermeister but even more German. It’s nice after a big meal.
Lagavulin 16
Just excellent Scotch. You really can't go wrong with this. It's a beautiful bottle, tastes incredible, makes a great gift. It's 16 goddam years old.
Laphroaig 10
Another very nice scotch. I don't have many but those I do have are great. You'll sometimes see this for 10 bucks a shot in clubs. I've done it. Sometimes you want scotch, man.
Letherbee Bësk
This stuff is soooo gnarly. Like it’s straight up real nasty. Originally Letherbee brought it out as “Malort” the classic Chicago shot, but they got sued so it’s called Bësk now.
Letherbee Charred Oak Absinthe
This is my favorite absinthe. I’ve had the same bottle for years. Nice to drip over a cocktail to make it more interesting.
Letherbee Fernet
This fernet is a bit smoother than the Branca. Plus it’s local made (in Chicago) and has a nice bottle.
Letherbee Gin
I love how extremely boring this label is. Letherbee makes really solid stuff. This is a great gin.
Lillet Blanc
Sometimes I splash this in a gin martini to give it a bit more body. It’s also nice on ice.
Luxardo Maraschino
Gotta have it for Manhattans. It’s extremely sweet, I’m not sure there's any other reason to have it. Cool weavy basket label though…
Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
Def one of the more delicious things you can put in your mouth. Typically a few are tossed into a Manhattan, but you can also eat them straight or stick em in other cocktails. The syrup is also perfect for a sinking deep red gradient in a light cocktail.
Malibu Rum
I seriously don't even care. This tastes good with pineapple juice. You wanna sit on a beach? Drink it, done.
Meermaid Infused Rum
Another one from the Craft Spirits festival in Berlin back in 2016. This one has a nice ceramic bottle, and the guy who sold it to me was a really nice tall fellow. Pretty balanced rum.
Meukow V.S.O.P. Superior
This is the craziest bottle of liquor I’ve ever had in my collection. There’s a damn jaguar formed around the bottle. A good friend recommended it and it was great.
Mikkeller Spirits Botanical Gin
This was a really junipery gin. And of course anything by Mikkeller is beautiful to have around. Nice for expressive gin cocktails.
Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Gin
I love this little apothecary-style bottle. It’s a beautiful bottle, cute size, and really solid gin. And made in Deutschland!
Montenegro amaro
Can’t pass up this funky bottle. All amaros got freaky bottles with funky fonts.
Myers's Jamaica Rum
Why are there even two S's in this? Ever notice that when you see this one on the shelf in every shitty bar? Bet not. I don't know why I have this one. I think I bought it before I knew what rum was.
Noah’s Mill
I was really excited about this one during a blind bourbon tasting. It turned out to rank low… which is strange because it’s expensive and highly reviewed. I need to try it again.
Noilly Prat
Funny enough*, although I go for the Dolin Red for my sweet vermouth, I’ve always been stuck on Noilly Prat for my martinis.
Old Grand Dad
Man that is a badass bottle I don’t care who ya are. Who makes a bright orange label with an orange cap? This is my standard drinkin’ whiskey. I always have a bottle. It’s super cheap and tastes great.
Penninger Blutwurz Black Edition
Another herbal liqueur. I bought this one at a craft spirits festival in Berlin. The bottle is ceramic, which is kinda cool. It’s like twee badass…
Pimm’s No. 1
I’m like still not really sure what Pimm’s is. It’s some British shit I think. I always thought it was an essential part of a complete bar, but I barely ever use it.
Pisco Barsol
Everyone loves a Pisco Sour. It’s a classic.
Punt E Mes
This is an interesting option when you’re out of sweet vermouth. I mean it holds up on it’s own too, it’s nice to use, but somehow I’ve always just used it for a sweet vermouth sub.
Rakomelo
I bought this at a Berlin Christmas Market one year. It tastes kind of like sweet tea… and thus tastes great in hot tea. 😏
Ramazzotti
In every bar, but a classic amaro. Tastes great in a mulled wine in winter.
Ratzeputz
This is like top 5 favorite things to have in my bar y’all. It’s insanely high in alcohol content, and also is GINGER liqueur, so it burns extra extra hard. Fernet plus Ratzeputz sounds crazy but it’s a great cocktail.
Rowan’s Creek
I saved this bottle for years and finally drank the thing after a rough time in my life. I think it tasted great…
Satsuma Shiranami
I do not know what this is, but a splash of it tastes great in a gin martini. It's also nice to just use as a vodka substitute when you want the flavor to be a little more funky.
Smokecraft
I will be very honest here. This one's a weirdo. I'm pretty sure it's not cool… Like no one likes fake smoke flavor pumped into stuff. That's basically what this is. I've had it for years and it's still half-full.
St. George Absinthe
Found this absinthe at a St. George tasting in Oakland. It’s solid.
St. George Botanivore
St. George makes magical spirits. This is a nice solid gin.
St. George Dry Rye
This is the most interesting gin I’ve ever tasted. I like having it on hand for a unconventional martini or just for sipping.
St. George Green Chile
I love St George so much. This vodka is absolutely delicious. It has a perfect chili pepper flavor. I don’t know why it looks like a dollar bill.
St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur
This stuff is straight up delicious. I love everything St. George does, and this is no exception. It's an excellent, dark, luscious liqueur.
St. George Terrior
The terrior from St. George is so wild. Like I almost don’t like it, it’s so botanical. It’s like eating pine tree needles. But it’s really well-made. Hard to mix, but fun.
Suze
I honestly have no idea what this really is. I bought it to make white negronis once (made with white vermouth, and Suze acting as the bitter). Handsome bottle.
Tanqueray No. Ten
Is this just repackaged Tanqueray? I dunno but the bottle is nice. At some point I decided it was my default gin to always have around. I think it’s a great neutral gin.
Tanqueray Sterling Vodka
I like Tanqueray, so I tried this vodka. It’s a good standard neutral vodka. The feel of the bottle is also really nice too—like velvet.
Three Sixty
Cheap vodka, good to have around for parties. Plus, the label is actual black velvet! Cute!
Vecchio Amaro del Capo
I love this lil’ square bottle. And those big ol’ red letters. 👌
Żubrówka Bison Grass Flavoured Vodka
This is a funny vodka. I don't really understand the flavor. It's a bit sweet. Definitely drinkable alone. A friend brought it to my birthday party once. There's a real piece of grass inside it. Why?