Drinks I have deep experiences with. Very subjective so feel free to disagree.
- Bordeaux List: Wanted to make my own Bordeaux tier list
- Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d'Asti: Sweet sparkling wine, very tasty and wine novice friendy. ~$15
- Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut NV: Delicious Champagne, toasty and lots of complexity. Wallet friendly. ~80.
- Krug Vintage: I've only had the pleasure of having the 2004. Chocolatey, cocao-ey, deep, wood, serious champagne. ~$350
- The yearly editions are also good, but hit or miss IMO, ~$200
- Pol Roger Winston Churchill: Super fragrant, big champagne. ~$380
- Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay: Flavor explosion, very acidic and tasty, great fruit expression. Malolactic fermentation is buttery, but not overwhelming. Available in California Costco for $35.
- Moreau-Naudet Chablis: Very minerally, dried hay, intense. This is such a serious wine for its price, and a good introduction to complex Burgundies. $35
- Francois Chidaine Les Bournais: Super tasty chenin blanc from the Loire valley. ~$40
- Luis A. Rodriguez Vazquez A Teixa Ribeiro: Delicious, floral and creamy aromas with fresh fruit. Medium body and med+ flavor. $40.
- Jermann Where Dreams have no end: Such an artistic wine, amazing, sharp smells, and you can barely tell this is Chardonnay. ~$60.
- Far Niente Napa Valley Chardonnay: If you want a more serious Napa Chardonnay, good oak balance, old vine flavor and that dried grass herbal flavor. This is your wine. $60.
- Chateau Montelena Chardonnay: Really ripe and rounded Chardonnay, not too buttery. ~$60.
- Prager: The Gruner Veltliner are so vibrant, intense fruit, slight smoke and long finish. ~$80.
- Emrich-Schonleber - Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Grosses Gewachs: Really intense flavors, fresh and vibrant. Very tasty and long finish. ~$85.
- Kongsgaard Chardonnay: While the Judge is more well-known, this (much) cheaper Chardonnay still has the intense funky native yeast and old vine flavor Kongsgaard is known for. Very interesting and serious wine. ~$125.
- Caroline Morey: She has many wines. I've only tried the Premier Cru ones and they are already really good. ~$250
- Jean-Claude Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru: The smells and flavor on this is crazy. ~$2500.
- La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi: Great expression of Tempranillo for only $25.
- Turley: Their Zinfandel is amazing. Even their Juvenile, for around $25, is great. Their single vineyard wines are worth trying. $25-80
- Odoardi: Giovan Battista (GB): big, savory, oily wine that goes will with all tasty foods. Great expression of Southern Italy. ~$50.
- Merry Edwards Pinot Noir: Really loved how juicy and concentrated the fruits were. ~$60.
- Château Langoa-Barton: Deep fruit, very ripe, thick candle-like aromas. Good minerality and elegant. A joy to drink. ~$60.
- Chateau de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape: I like how fragrant, cocao, tobacco, slightly muted blueberry and blackberry, medium tingly, dancing tannins, long lasting mouth feel. It's very nice, not too big, and just makes me feel happy. Got for $67 at Costco, which is a steal.
- Johann Michel "Cuvée Jana" Cornas: Had the 2015 vintage, but super meaty, smoky, dusty, big wine. Would go really well with bbq or gamey meats. ~$80.
- Caymus Cabernet: Crowd pleaser as well, but sewet, pine, wax, earth, mushroom, and stewed fruits. Excellent expression of Napa. ~$80.
- Williams Selyem: Their Pinot is so gamey, wild, savory...it's really good. Wine making is very strong. Their Pinots start around $90.
- Château Smith Haut-Lafitte: Who doesn't like this classic from Graves, Pessac-Léognan? ~$125.
- Château Lynch-Bages: This is your smoky, cigar/tobacco, complex, powerful, snobby Bordeaux. $120.
- Mayacamas - Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder 2014: This was absolutely wonderful, candle-like thick aromas, very fragrant, great fruit expression, and good balance. $150.
- Vice Versa: Great Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. ~$160.
- Tignanello: Grippy tannins, full bodied fruit flavor. It's amazing wine, and yes it's mainstream. ~$180.
- Kongsgaard Cabernet: Wild, earthy, old vine flavor. Really liked the wine and just how interesting it is. ~$200.
- August Clape Cornas: This is classic Northern Rhone and it's so sophisticated and the berries, both dried and smokey give that long lasting flavor. ~$200
- Château Lafite Rothschild: The crowned big whig of all the wine world, and also mainstream. But this is what got me into wine, so I have to put it here. It's elegant, oily, and evolves with time, a classic to behold.
- Promontory: Man this wine is incredible. I throw my hands up in disbelief what Mr. Harlan has created. ~$1000+.
- Dow's Vintage Port: ~$80.
- Toko Ginga Divine Droplets: Slightly sparkling, clean, fruity, floral -- serve chilled and it goes great with sushi and any lighter-flavored meal. ~90
- Dewazakura Karesansui 3 Years Old: Very well-balanced and aged sake that has a complex and long lasting flavor. ~$120.
- Umenishiki Junmai Daiginjo: I accidentally aged this in bottle for 3 years, and it tasted very similar to the Dewazakura 3 years. Very intense and thick fruit flavor, a pleasure to smell. ~$120.
- Akabu Junmai Daiginjo "Gokujo no Kire": Wow this sake ROCKS. So fresh, so much flavor, so fruity...so much goodness. ~$165.
- Kirin Ichiban: Seems like beer fanatics are not about this, but I like how crisp and clean this beer is.
- Flower Power from the Ithaca Beer Co: Unsure why I remember this so much and like it, but it's good.
- Lagavulin 16 or the 11 Offerman Edition I like a lot. For me it's the perfect balance of sweet, peatiness, smoke and intensity. Obviously to each their own, but this is the one I can drink neat, with ice, or in a cocktail (whiskey sour preferred)
- Speyside Sour from French 75 in NOLA: This is basically a whiskey sour shaken with egg, except you use 1/2 bourbon and 1/2 scotch for the whiskey portion.
- A variation on this drink I make at home is 4:2:1:1 parts of Whiskey:Orange Juice:Lemon Juice:Syrup. Shake egg white with ingredients before adding ice and shaking again.
- Copa de Bomba from French 75 in NOLA: Tequila based
- Dead Rabbit Cocktails (Parlour room, downstairs is good too):
- Doppelgänger from The Dead Rabbit: In their own words "Here’s another of our new Parlor cocktails, also from the ‘Manhattan’ section of our menu. Chocolatey and floral, the Doppelgänger encapsulates the intricate process behind the creation of its base ingredient, a homemade Walnut Stout Vermouth. First, we make our own Guinness clone, adding foraged Green Walnuts during the primary fermentation stage, which impart a distinctive character. After the beer reaches maturation, we add a blend of Black Walnuts, Calendula, Field Ivy, Wormwood, and Marigold Greens - stirred down with Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon Whiskey, Stauning Rye Whiskey, and Apricot. Nutty, roasted grains are the highlight here - a somewhat traditional classic cocktail with an extra Fall flourish"
- Electric Momisette: super basil syrup concentrated fruit drink
- Irish Coffee: best in the world, better than Ireland
- Dead Rabbit also has a lot of other good drinks and if you like whiskey-based cocktails I think this is the best in NYC
- Martiny's:
- Tea Ceremony at Martiny's: Ceremonial matcha and whiskey cocktail, really really good
- Mole Grenada: savory and sweet and foamy and delicious
- Grand Martiny: wine + martini
- Vesper Bar at the Dorchestor (London): The Vesper
Generally I am a very classic cocktail person, so these drinks will make me happy:
- Last Word
- Whiskey Sour
- Manhattan
- Highball