Booze Reviews: Budgeting while you Peruse

As a Millennial, I exist on a perpetual budget. There's nothing worse than spending our hard earned money on booze only to find out it was a huge mistake. I started this off for myself, taking notes of the alcohol I tried, so I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Keep in mind I'm not any kind of a professional. I rate based on my own personal taste and a scale out of 5. 1/5=Not good. I would only drink if it if I was already drunk. 2/5=I'll drink it if I'm at a party/event and it's being offered free. 3/5= Pretty good. I'll buy it again. I recomend you try it for yourself.  4/5=This is so good that it's going to be a regular purchase. 5/5=Use this to impress your inlaws. It's that good that. 

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1800 Reposado Tequila

Hmm, not bad, a nice peppery taste with the sweetness, a slight herbal taste to it, nice and strong with a bite that teases but doesn't burn, I'll give it a good 4/5 and I'd pay $25-30 for a 750 ml bottle. It would go GREAT in cocktails, but I could appreciate it on it's own as well

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7th Street Wheat Lemon Basil | Nola Brewing

A nice crisp tingle, pretty light and gentle, there’s a subtle lemon sweetness to it. The basil doesn't come on as strongly as basil specifically but there is a nice green under taste of herbs to it, maybe that sort of summer taste when grass is freshly cut. It’s not my favorite summer flavor or beer, but it is refreshing, goes great with rich seafood, and you can enjoy it 3/5.

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Absolut Grapefruit

Meh. It's not terrible, but it's not coming through with any kind of strong grapefruit flavor that I like. It's more the bitter part of the grapefruit, astringent bitterness, without the specifically nice part of the grapefruit flavor. The "fruity" part is more just a general kind of citrus flavor. The vodka element itself doesn't come through as really memorable. Just the bite of alcohol and and citrus. Honestly kind of the lecroix of grapefruit vodka. It's not disgusting or horrible, just kind of meh. 2/5

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Absolut Juice Apple

Its got a very bitter astringent aftertaste that's not good. The apple flavor is still just the jolly rancher apple flavor you find in lots of other booze. Nothing about it says “real” apple. It's really  not all that great. It's straight up tastes like you're drinking rubbing alcohol and candy. Like ugh. It's just plain bad. There's nothing apple about it, and even less good vodka about it. 1/5

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Absolut Lime

Not bad but not fantastic. Definitely a good citrus taste like the Absolute Lemon, but it’s not that different from the lemon, I don’t think I could tell which was which. If you were gonna use it as a base for other cocktails, then sure I’d buy it. I’ll buy the small nips of it once in a while, but I wouldn’t buy a huge bottle of it, unless it was on sale with a pretty good mark-down. 2.5/5 stars.

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Admiral Nelson Premium Spiced Rum

So it’s pretty obvious just from the name and the image on the bottle, it’s a knock-off of Captain Morgan’s. Knock-off in the bargain sense, so I have no doubt that a proper sommelier (I know that’s supposed to be just for wine, but whatever the term is for the rum equivalent) could tell the difference between this and Captain Morgan. That being said, I actually kind of like it. The alcohol burn that you find in cheaper booze is definitely there, but it does still have an element of the smoothness you want from higher tier rum. It has a definite vanilla, creme-brulee, toasted kind of flavor. I like it for the end of the day, to relax, let my legs go wobbly from strong booze, and sort of sink into the couch with a cozy feeling. The burn is strong, and not as smooth as top-shelf rum. But for quality, the price is more than fair enough. Marketviewliquor.com has it listed as $18.99 for a 1.75 mL bottle, which I’d happily pay. 3.5/5 stars

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Alamos Merlot

There’s a nice, decent dryness to it, without it being too dry or too sweet. It has a good balance of sweetness while letting the dry take the front seat. A very velvet texture. What I really like is sipping it, that astringent smell you get with very deep dry red wines is there, but it's not strong. There are some wines that are so strong just smelling it is semi painful. This however I can smell it and tell it'll be deep and dry, but not overpowering. It has a nice woodsy aftertaste, there isn't as much of a berry or claret aftertaste as some other red wines I enjoy, but it's not bad. I'll happily give it 4/5

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Apothic White Wine

It’s a crisp, green apple kind of flavor while still maintaining a green grass/herbal  flavor you find in a Pinot Grigio. It’s fruity but not quite a citrus fruit, more of a sweet orange or clementine. Unlike some bad white wines, it doesn’t have an oily aftertaste, there’s no unexpected bitter or acrid notes. It came out victorious when paired with rich seafood and cream sauces, and doesn’t coat the tongue with a fuzzy texture. All while it’s still balanced, full bodied, and still has a crisp light flavor. Almost a paradox 4.5/5

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Bacardi Coconut Rum

Ooh this I like, I’d definitely buy more of it. Bacardi is a bit more expensive, but this is an occasion I’d say it’s worth it. The sweetness is strong and present without being cloying. What is the main note of the rum is the coconut. It’s not hints of coconuts, or coconut accents, or coconut flavored. It’s the proper flavor of the creamy, meatiness of real coconut. You could drink it straight (cold or room temp) or mixed with other ingredients. The texture does get a little bit syrupy on the tongue, but not terribly so. That usually gets a little better when it’s cold. 3.5/5

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Bacardi Gold Rum

It does have a definite burn to it, but there is an underlying sweetness of burnt sugar. It’s not quite caramel sweet, not quite as creamy a flavor as creme brulee, but imagine more of a vanilla-cinnamon spice sweetness. It doesn't have a major spice element like a traditional spiced rum, but it does have a warmth that comes through almost like a brandy or a cognac has. Similar to that buttery deep grape brandy kind of flavor. Its actually very smooth with the burn, which tingles on the lips but doesn't burn going down. 4/5

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Captain Morgan Apple Smash

Pretty good taste actually. The apple is a jolly rancher flavor, certainly nothing like real apple flavor. The alcohol bite is present, but it’s subtle and not unpleasant. The candy sweetness has a pleasant tartness that reminds me of party nights with my gal pals in college. Back when we didn’t have enough of a palette to tell when the bartender was watering down our cocktails, but we didn’t care, we were having too much fun badly singing along to karaoke. Technically it is rum, but it’s the appletini J.D. from Scrubs would enjoy. 4/5

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Captain Morgan Jack-o-Blast Rum

This makes me want to start bouncing up and down while yelling “THIS IS HALLOWEEN THIS IS HALLOWEEN” shoves head into a pumpkin like a helmet “EVERYBODY MAKE A SCENE” kicking in the neighbors door “TRICK OR TREAT TILL THE NEIGHBORS GONNA DIE OF FRIGHT!!!” Or maybe I’m just feeling festive for the season. Either way it’s delicious! It tastes like real pumpkin pie, the pie-filling you get for thanksgiving. Both the pumpkin-squash flavor and the pumpkin spice of cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...There is a nice bite to it underneath from the alcohol, but it doesn't come in too strong or overpower the sweetness. It also has a creamy side to it, like baileys. Overall I really like it, and I'd happily buy a larger version of it. 4/5

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Caravella Limoncello

It’s a decent example of limoncello, although not as nice as the other brand I love. The lemon taste is there, but it’s just a tad sweet for me. Very much embodying the Like a lemon twist candy. I like the other one because it's straight up real lemon flavor, this is more candy lemon or lemon dessert thing. It’d be great for mixing in cocktails. Not as much drinking it on its own like other limoncello. 3/5

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Charles Shaw Red Blend Wine

I mean, it’s not the woooorst, but definitely not the best. The weird thing is there's almost spiced notes to it. Something not quite like cinnamon or clove, but then add in, almost pepper? It's not bad per se, just not anything I'd normally expect in a red wine. So far it's the only red I've written about for Trader Joe’s line of wine, and I'd get it again, but really only for the price. It's not good, but if I need a $3 bottle of wine after a long day, whatever, it'll do. 2.5/5

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Charles Shaw White Zinfandel

-If you’re a white zinfandel, why are you pink?  -Oh my god Karen you can’t just ask people why they’re pink!

No but this tastes like something that would be served at a underage party in a teen coming of age movie to highlight the poor life choices the protagonist is making. It has an oily, syrupy texture that is just awful. Drink it cold and fast, because it is UNPLEASANT when warm. It also has a bitter aftertaste, but its not overpowering, more of a "oof" note. Reminds me of Hi-C, a kids fruit punch drink that you spiked. I can’t even say that the price is a redeeming point. It’s so bad. 1/5.

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Chila ‘Orchata Cinnamon Cream Rum

Very nice. It’s on par with brand name Rumchata. Sweet with a little bite of spice at the back of the sip from the booze. The sweetness is definitely comes from a dairy flavor, a lot like Bailey’s but it's just a little lighter. It's fantastic on its own, in coffee, and I'd buy a larger bottle happily. 4/5

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Christian Brothers Honey Liquor

Oh lord it is SWEET, and the sweet isn't necessarily a honey sweet. It is a somewhat spiced taste, and it would probably be good in tea or something with a bit of a lemon citrus edge. It’s too cloying to be mixed well with anything else super sweet. The buttery element is there which I can dig, however there isn't any of the other elements I usually enjoy, there isn't a toasty caramel element. In the end, it's not terrible, and it's not bad if you're mixing it, but its just not good enough to be noteworthy in any way. It's just too sweet to be a good liquor on its own. 2/5