Likes It Rough

Likes It Rough

Last night, coming home from a grueling out-of-town experience, I felt deserving of a reward, so I stopped by a liquor store to get some expensive Scotch. After wandering around eyeing $100+ bottles, I realized what I really wanted was bourbon, nothing super-smooth, just a $17 bottle of Elijah Craig, not rot-gut by any means but with enough cojones to ensure I knew I was drinking some serious loud-mouth kool-aid, slightly aggressive, flavorful and not too…refined.

Today, I was cruising around various websites, seeking out some high-end olive oil, and it occurred to me, why? I like the gruff cheap variety my grandma used to have in her kitchen, the stuff she’d spill over hard-boiled eggs and use whenever a basic fat-bearing liquid was called for, just splashing it on carelessly, pennies a pint.

I like a good cut of meat, an old Bordeaux, but for many of the basics – whisky and olive oil, bread and cheese – it’s fine by me if it’s still got an edge. Coming to this realization – that I actually prefer the grosser, harsher big-taste of unrefined foods – will probably save me a lot of money and might even be good for my health.

David “Go ahead, hit me” Hammond

In the world of scotch, high-end doesn't always mean that you've lost the edge or the grittiness. Thanks to the peaty seasides of the Scottish highlands and islands, there are some very high-end distilleries that produce a scotch with more "edge" than a 5-blade razor.

Best,
Michael

The 10 year Laphroaig, for example. Deemed "undrinkable" by my father. Smells like someone lit a fire in your glass.

Bite-wise, and in the "I'd drink this every day" category, I can't get enough of Wild Turkey Rye. Look for the green foil. And put a cube or 2, at least a splash of water, something, because the 101 catches up with you quick.

When I was a kid, I would make a salad out of raw yellow onion, feta and red wine vinegar. That's a big taste.

I don't know if they still do it, but when Reza's first opened they always presented warm pita wedges and a plate of feta, raw radishes, parsely sprigs and olives. That's a nice mouth-occupying bunch of unrefined tastes and textures.

As noted in the thread, the problem with our partially hydrogenated, emulsified, Archer Daniels Midland-infused age, is that the old ratio of dollars spent to "refinement" of taste no longer applies. Now, as often as not, you have to spend premium bucks to get any flavor at all. Cheaper doesn't get you aggressive, rustic tastes and textures, but completely deracinated, flavorless blandness.

Though that Wild Turkey Rye sounds promising.

David Hammond wrote:Last night, coming home from a grueling out-of-town experience, I felt deserving of a reward, so I stopped by a liquor store to get some expensive Scotch. After wandering around eyeing $100+ bottles, I realized what I really wanted was bourbon, nothing super-smooth, just a $17 bottle of Elijah Craig, not rot-gut by any means but with enough cojones to ensure I knew I was drinking some serious loud-mouth kool-aid, slightly aggressive, flavorful and not too…refined.

Maybe it's time to see if we can get you back on the Tequila train then...

In The Wine Trials: 100 Everyday Wines Under $15 that Beat $50 to $150 Wines in Brown-Bag Blind Tastings (Robin Goldstein, Fearless Media Critic, 2008), the key finding is that in a study of over 500 blind tasters, it was found that most drinkers (including everyday and experienced oeniphiles) preferred the cheaper wines to the more expensive wines by a statistically significant margin.

There are several possible explanations for this, but my personal theory is that the rougher, ruder, cruder, more raw, less refined and less expensive wines have a more distinct flavor, a more powerful impact on our increasingly jaded palates. This is especially true of the palates of “everyday drinkers,” like me.

You can read the first chapter of this book here: http://www.thewinetrials.com/wp/wp-cont ... pter-1.pdf

There are certain things that I don't afford myself on purpose, for fear of generating a taste for the finer (read: expensive) things. On that list:
Evoo.
1 liter of Tannina for 3.99-4.99 is fine by me. It's bold, yes, but I'm used to it.

Oyster Sauce.
I'm 100% sure that those 15.00 bottles are umpteen times better, and better for you. Problem is, I use it a lot, and if I liked it more, I'd use it even more. I'll stick with those 1.00 bottles of the LKK cheap stuff that the Asian grocers have on sale on the end cap once in a while.

Red Wine.
I love digging through the 4.00 bargain bins. Pop it open, let it breathe for an hour or so, and you never know. I've found PLENTY under 10.00 that kick @$$. Also plenty of 4.00 bottles that are better than 15.00 bottles. My current lower priced favorite - actually has been for 5 years or so is Mcpherson. Think they are an Australian. Their Shiraz is deelish. Of course, you do get some stuff that's hard to swallow, but not a lot.

My personal theory is this: A lot of people are sheep, and think that if something is more expensive, it must be good. I run a business where I use this theory constantly. I do pretty well. I have friends who I give this advice to sometimes, and they do well when they use it. I won't give specific examples, of course, but trust me when I tell you that it's borderline amazing. Marketing is a powerful tool. Sometimes, simply adding a few dollars to a price tag is GREAT marketing. Sometimes adding TENS of dollars to a price tag is even better.

Conversely, I generally can't settle for cheap (mid grade) scotch, white wine, soy sauce, or tequila. If I find a cheap one I like, however, I'll start using it religiously.

McWilliams (aussie) shiraz is a staple in my house. Always less than $10, and I compare every other shiraz to it. I agree on the EVOO, I have brought it home from multiple countries and I always go back to the one on sale at the grocery store. Scotch on the other hand, I am always good with Dewars, but I will pay for Scapa.