Jack Daniel's Single Barrel

I am a big fan of ole Jack Daniels. So I obviously try to taste all of their other products as well.

Review :

This particular incarnation was starting to show up on shelves in the early 2000s. Obviously before I was 21, so I only got to try it a couple of years ago. Needless to say, I made the fatal mistake of popping the bottle open and just taking a swig like it was the original Jack. It would have been the only whiskey I would have ever spit out in my 25 years on this Earth. Not from the taste, but just out of surprise because of the slightly higher alcohol content and because this is not a drink you do shots of. After I chugged a good amount of my coke to avoid losing my lunch, I did a bit of research on it. Turns out, this is supposed to be more of a sipping whiskey. With that in mind, I poured some in a glass on the rocks. WAY better then the first drink. I found myself slowly drinking this stuff like a weird looking Bond Villain, and thoroughly enjoying the shit out of this stuff. It smelled exquisite, and had a sweet, yet smoky taste to it. Like I said, it does have slightly more alcohol content, as it is 47% or 94 Proof, but that doesn’t ruin the flavor at all. After doing my research I didn’t bother mixing it with anything, for the first few drinks, but general curiosity had me mixing with coke later that evening. Must say, not bad. I personally prefer it by itself though.  I have seen it at every liquor store that I visit, and in most grocery stores in that little case where they keep all the expensive stuff, so if you want to try it out it should be readily available.


Breakdown :

The Bottle : I have to give the makers some credit on this one. The bottle is fairly unique in that it totally looks like something you could sit on your counter and call it the start of your own bar. It’s the type of thing that you might see some evil executive from some crappy movie or TV show *cough* Mad Men *cough* offering someone sitting in his office. Pretty classy Jack Daniels.

Score : 20

Taste : If you are going to just drink this stuff out of the bottle, first, you’re crazy, and second, you might not like it much. However, if you do treat it like a nicely aged Scotch, and just nurse it, you are in for a treat.

Score : 20

The Buzz : I drank my whole bottle in one night, and must say that I had a fairly mellow buzz. Not too drunk to be aware that Family Guy made a great joke, but not so buzzed that I would dare think of watching anything on the CW. I have a feeling that if I would have finished a second bottle, I wouldn’t have puked or anything, but with everything else, too much of anything isn’t always a good thing.

Score : 15

The Cost : The only real downside about this stuff is the actual cost of it. If you can afford it, definitely worth the price. If you are looking to get drunk for less, this stuff is not for you. I personally enjoyed the hell our of this stuff, but know that I can’t afford to drink it all the time, so it is pretty much just a special occasion thing for me. You can find it for around $45 a bottle, depending on where you go.

Score : 10

Total Score : 65

Aside from the price, the only other thing I will say that keeps this from being higher up in the score is the lack of marketability. What I mean by that is that you aren’t going to sell this as easily to someone who enjoys a Jack and coke as you would someone who enjoys your aged dark liquors. This stuff is not for everyone, but I would say that If you know somebody who has a bottle to at least try it and decide for yourself if it is worth the price.

Cheers.

UV 103 Vodka

I Like Vodka, especially the strong ones.

Review :

I remember the first time I tried the regular UV Vodka. That was a fairly good quality vodka, and I made sure to thank my liquor store clerks for recommending it. So, naturally, when I saw that they had an even stronger product hitting the shelves, I had to take a test drive. Let me say, worth it. Obviously, with the added alcohol content, this product is a fairly spicy vodka if you will. I started out as usual by just pouring, then knocking back a shot, and believe me, the initial mouth feel will tighten up your vocal chords. It has that burn you would come to expect from a cheaper bottle of vodka all the way down. The thing that made this one different for me was what I was also drinking a coke, and the burn cooled a hell of a lot quicker than it did the last time I had the $5 gallon of Popov vodka. Major plus in my book, since that warm sensation makes it a little harder for me to do consecutive shots. As for mixing, I know I am weird in that I mix virtually ever liquor I drink with coca cola, but a shot of this in a glass of coke with some ice and you are set. I also find the classic combinations work as well, like orange juice, lemonade, and even strawberry soda. So you can probably find a mixer that works for you. If you can’t tell from the name, this stuff is 103 proof, meaning it is 51% alcohol. That would account for the burning sensation. I have been able to find the original UV Vodka, and its various flavors at most grocery stores, but this particular one I have only been able to find at liquor stores.

Breakdown :

The Bottle : The UV products have a pretty standard bottle. The cool thing about the different flavored ones is that they are colored to look how they are flavored. This one comes in the standard bottle, but with a black plastic film, with a gnarly font for the “103” part. It has a pretty cool design behind the lettering, but nothing too spectacular. It does stand out though. In the vodka section at my liquor store, my eyes were immediately drawn to this dark colored bottle amongst all of these others with their frosted look. You see it, and you know you are in for something different.

Score : 15

Taste : If you are going to do shots, and are not a fan of either vodka or particularly strong liquors, you probably aren’t going to like this. However, it does mix very well with other beverages, and they do mellow out the burn that you would get from drinking this stuff straight. I don’t really recommend it on the rocks because it is not much of a sipping vodka like a Belvedere, even though I liked it, but I’m a lush.

Score : 15

The Buzz : I will say this now, no matter what your tolerance to alcohol is, any time you have a stonger product, you are bound to get shitfaced drunk. I was able to finish the entire bottle, and had a pretty happy buzz. Probably one of my better buzzes I have had from vodka.

Score : 25

The Cost : Do not be fooled by the price of this product. I have seen it between $12 and $15. A fairly good bargain considering how drunk you will get, but nowhere near the really cheaper stuff that could strip paint just by popping the top. Granted, it is not the same quality vodka as the before mentioned Belvedere or Grey Goose, but still a good vodka.

Score : 20

Total Score : 75

While not the greatest vodka ever, it is sure to get you smashed, and for a good price. You may have noticed that I gave this product the ranking as the Crystal Skull, but with higher marks in different categories. This stuff has it’s advantages and disadvantages when compared to other products, but based on how drunk I got for the price I paid, it was totally worth it.

Cheers.

Bud Light Lime-A-Rita

I know I said that I wouldn’t be reviewing beer on here, luckily, this isn’t considered a beer product.

Review :

I have to admit, that when I had first heard that Bud was going to come out with this, I was a little skeptical. I have heard of people who would put beer in their margarita, my mother included, and it sounded interesting, but not something that made me jump out of my seat. The first time I tried this little concoction, It wasn’t on ice, it wasn’t blended, it wasn’t even in a cup, I just swigged it out of the can. In doing so, I had some very bad things to say. Immediately I tasted the lime, but I have never been a big fan of artificial lime flavoring, and that is what it tasted like. Then there was a bit of sweetness, but that got overshadowed by a strange flat beer taste. Didn’t like it at all, and I made sure to make my initial feelings known to my Facebook friends. However, I was told from about 3 or 4 people that I needed to drink it like it was an actual margarita, not a margarita flavored beer. So I tried it again, this time on the rocks. I must say that it helped the taste immensely. It wasn’t as syrupy and the harshness I experienced in the first trial was mellowed out once it was diluted a bit. I did a bit of research as to why I had the flat beer taste initially, and found that it is was probably because this product is not beer based, but a malt liquor based beverage similar to a Mike’s Hard Lemonade or a Mickey’s. I did enjoy the fact that it wasn’t overly carbonated, because if it were it would probably have just reminded me of a really weird tasting soda. The version of this product that I tried was the 8 oz can size, and I do say version because it does come in three sizes, and the alcohol content may vary depending on where you live because of local laws. Luckily, where I live, we are able to have the 8% variation. I have found it in at least 3 major grocery store chains, so I have to imagine it is fairly easy to get a hold of.


Breakdown :

The Bottle : Apparently, this stuff comes in a 8oz can, which looks like one of those Starbucks Double Espresso Shots you can get at the gas station, an 12 oz bottle, which I have yet to see, or a 24 oz can which is about the size of your average beer can. All in all, I will say it was cool of Budweiser to give some variety as far as how much you can purchase based on how much you plan on drinking. The smaller cans seem like they would be easier to carry around if you wanted to bring these to the beach or something. I wouldn’t know, I hate the beach.

Score : 15

Taste : Like I said, if you try to knock one of these back straight out of the can is not recommended. Just follow my friends advice and don’t treat it like a margarita flavored beer, treat it like a ready made margarita mix. It was way better tasting on ice, and I have to imagine that for the people who prefer blended margaritas that the lack of carbonation would make it easier to keep everything in your blender.

Score : 15

The Buzz : I didn’t get one. I will however attribute this to the fact that I did not actually go out and buy a 12 pack of these things, I just snagged two from my moms fridge. If I were to drink an entire 12 pack or even a 24 pack, I know from other malted beverages that I probably would have gotten a short, but mellow buzz.

Score : 0 (can’t Honestly Judge)

The Cost : I have seen this stuff go for about $12 for the 12 pack of 8 oz cans. Depending on where you go, you might be able to find it cheaper. Which would make the cost of this product about $1 per margarita, which is actually better than most bar’s happy hour price.

Score : 20

Total Score :50 (+/-)

If I had actually went out and bought a case and found whether or not it gave me a buzz would have definitely affected the score. If it was at all similar to the last time I got drunk off of Smirnoff Ice, then I would probably be able to give it a seal of approval as “Must Get” item. Nonetheless, It was fairly decent for the price that I have seen it go for, so there you go.

Cheers.

Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade

Like I said in the last review, I am a big fan of Lemonade. Deal with it.

 

Review :

This particular product happened to be rolled out around the time I had turned 21, so when some douche at the grocery store was handing out samples, I was luckily able to try it. I have purchased it since then, just for the purposes of this review. Let me start out by saying that this stuff taste great. Unless you’re a genius like me and insist on the first sip out of a bottle being a room temperature shot. After I stuck the bottle in the freezer for a bit, then drank it in a glass on ice, you get some ridiculous lemonade flavor. Since this stuff is made with Limoncello, a citrus liqueur if you couldn’t tell from the name, that’s probably where they get the “Tuscan” part of the product name. Sad news though, it’s only 15% alcohol by volume. Sure it mellows out the alcohol burn you would probably get from a higher alcohol content, but it prevents getting a REALLY good buzz from finishing off a whole bottle, for me at least. The draw is supposed to be that you can pour yourself a glass and sit on your porch for hours watching the sun set and sipping your drink. In other words, its booze for chicks. Since it is distributed by one of the biggest vodka makers in the world, you should be able to find it anywhere you find Smirnoff. Luckily, I haven’t seen it taking up space at my liquor stores, but you can get it at BevMo and most grocery chains.


Breakdown :

The Bottle : I think Smirnoff has a pretty standard set of bottles. This one is no different than the one that their original vodka comes in, so it is nothing really special.

Score : 5

Taste : Like I said, this stuff does taste great if you are a lemonade fan. It has a really good balance of sweet and acidic flavors. Unlike your kamikaze mixed drink, you don’t get too much of an actual alcohol taste that comes through. It might be because of a lack of actual alcohol content. If I were to get this again, I for one would probably add a shot or two when I pour myself a glass.

Score : 20

The Buzz : Didn’t get one. I drank an entire bottle, and I know that I have a higher tolerance than most, but I got no buzz. I had to go out and get a bottle of Jack to finish the night.

Score : 0

The Cost : When this stuff was first released, it was around or in some places MORE expensive than their vodka was. Since then, the price has gone down. I checked the price at BevMo, and it looks like you can get the 1.75 Liter bottle for about $16, depending on whether or not you have a Club Bev membership.

Score : 20

Total Score : 45

I realize that 45 is probably a low score for a product that I say both tastes great, and is fairly affordable. That is why I grade on four criteria instead of just taste and price. If you are going to come out with some new product that you are going to try and market to an even wider demographic than your normal product, at the very least make it look cool, and try and make it both tasty and pack a punch. If I were able to actually get a buzz, and if the bottle would have been a bit cooler, this would have probably been rated between 70 and 80. However, since the only two things this stuff has going for it are it’s taste and it’s price, I wouldn’t recommend making this something to purchase very often if you’re a big drinker like myself.

Cheers.