I quit drinking a while ago, but before I did I was exploring quite a few different things. Kind of amazing how much different alcohol there is.
Some highlights:
Belgian beers. Trappist stand out in this field but it is very difficult to go wrong. This encompasses very high quality beers (best in the world, IMHO) of dizzying variety. Sour (NOT bitter like an IPA...SOUR), fruit beers (lambic), wheat, doubles, triples, reds, browns, and more. Here is a nice guide.
Rye whiskey. several varieties exist and most of them very unique tasting. Search enough and you'll find some very unusual ones.
Vodka martinis. The drunk's drink.
Sipping tequila. Costco had some sort of house brand that was amazing. I only recommend agave but there are less good varieties.
Bloody Marys. Some places make these with so much food in them they could be a meal. I like spicy.
Ouzo chased by Coke is an amazing taste. Try it sometime if you never have.
Pepper vodka. I had some I bought in Ukraine (years ago) that was amazing. Pepper meaning spicy pepper not black pepper. Do not buy the absolut version it is shit.
I normally like my liquor with just a splash of water, but I do make a mean mojito. The secret, which I discovered by accident, is adding a bit of catnip along with the mint. It has a smoother minty flavor which compliments the lime juice really well
Also, catnip tea is commonly used to help people sleep, so you get nice and relaxed without drinking too much.
I have both of these, dry, in jars next to each other. If they weren't labeled I'd have to smell and maybe even taste to tell them apart. Fresh they look similar with smallish deeply textured leaves.
Other than cheap domestic beer when im trying to get drunk, I stick to Old-fashions. Great drink to sip as the liquor slowly mixes with the water from the melting ice, smoothing out the flavors.
1.5 ounce whisky
.5 ounce of simple syrup (I like mine extra sweet)
Decent whisky, bitters, club soda, ice in a short glass.
Gin, flavored fizzy (LaCroix etc), splash of lime juice, ice
Gin shaken with ice, small rinse of dry vermouth in glass, 3-4 blue cheese olives
4:3:3:4 añejo tequila, grand Marnier, key west lime juice, honey simple (50/50 honey and water) shaken or blended with ice. (Could sub honey for sugar free sweetener to be “healthy”)
My favorite margarita is just 2oz tequila (yes añejo or reposado), 1oz orange liqueur, juice of one lime. No sweetener, the liqueur provides enough sweetness.
If I have to pick one drink to take to a desert island, it’s the classic Sazerac.
That is what I will want most of the time when I want a cocktail. However, I will allow a few others to enter rotation, depending on mood, time/temperature, and place:
Margarita.
Vesper.
Pastis.
And, finally, my embarrassing guilty pleasure (which I never order except when I am in company I know well or I am on a Caribbean island): piña colada.
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