Post your favorite budget liquors
The vodka thread got me thinking about my favorite budget liquors, and by budget I don't mean low quality. I like a $60+ bottle of booze as much as the next guy, but there's just something about a really good bottle of booze in the $20-25 range, especially since I go through at least one bottle per month. I drink most of my booze neat, so it has to taste good or at least it can't be total shit. My recommendations here are based on liquor that I've tried because they were on sale.
Vodka:
There's really no reason to pay a lot for a bottle of vodka because there's so many great vodkas out there which aren't expensive. Thank the Russians, Ukrainians, and Slavs for flooding the market with great vodka that's not expensive. I could post an extensive list here, but if I were to narrow it down to a couple, here's my picks for quality, availability, and value:
Titos
Stoli
Whiskey:
I like wheated American whiskeys. That's not to say there aren't some great Scotch/Irish whiskeys out there, but I just prefer American whiskeys although I always keep a bottle of Jameson on hand for Irish coffee. When it comes to American whiskeys, I find really expensive bottles are hit and miss. Some I find really good, many I can't stand. It's not really that much different with cheaper whiskeys, it's just that you expect greatness from an expensive bottle and I haven't always found that to be the case.
Maker's Mark
Weller 12 year
Brandy:
I have one interesting choice here which I found recently. It's an American apple brandy made by Laird. Normally I'm a cognac drinker when it comes to brandy. The caramel flavor is really easy to distinguish (perhaps I'm just a sucker for caramel).
Laird's 7 1/2 Apple Brandy
Courvoisier VS
Tequila:
One of the few things I miss about living in El Paso was I could go across the border and get really great Tequila for a really great price. I drank a lot of Tequila back in those days because all my friends there did. I don't drink so much anymore, but when I do there's only one I have gone to recently. I'm sure there are many other good values out there.
Jose Cuervo Reposado
= new reply since forum marked as read
.
.
.
... was some pretty decent tequila (long before the tequila boom that's still happening).
.
.
.
We decided to go to a really nice place with an AMAZING amount of top-shelf liquors
behind the bar (maybe a coupla dozen scotches and bourbons and rums, etc.) and
the ONLY tequila they had was the generic CHEAP-ass well tequila (not even Cuervo
level -- it was Pepe Lopez or something).
.
We all downed one shot and several of us seriously almost hurled. We pointed to the
impressive stocks of other liquors and asked WTF. It was an English pub atmosphere
(though that was no excuse) and the bartender looked at us and actually sniffed a
little bit and said, very properly... "We really don't like to ENCOURAGE tequila drinking
here."
.
.
.
.
Funniest thing? We all understood and it didn't piss us off in the least.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
... and MiddleFingerMomSis would tease him by telling everybody that he
could read in bed with all the lights off.
.
.
.
In a grocery store one Christmas season, I found a display of 12-year-old
bottles of The Macallan (my personal favorite) with two nice rocks glasses
for $14.95 (I think normal price at the time was about $45 -- JUST for the
bottle itself). I bought all eight gift boxes.
.
Now, used to be when I'd go out drinking, I had a capacity that allowed me
to drink up to a whole bottle of Scotch and still function, however a bottle
at home might literally last me a year or two (I've never been a home-drinker).
So, for the next couple of years, my really CLOSE friends were always amazed
at the quality of the gifts I would give them.
.
.
.
Yes, they're all long-gone -- so you can all forget about the PM's you were
about to send pledging your undying really close friendship.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Seriesly?
You have no memories at all of Rudy's or the "Milf Plaza"?
Come to think of it, maybe you don't. 
I concur on that. They also put out a Wild Turkey liqueur, which is great for sipping. Both are good for colds, too. 
Honey Turkey, although I like the Honey Jack better; I'm like a bear.
Night Train has a certain appeal if you're just lookin' for a quick, cheap buzz that probably won't kill ya' - at least not right away. Look for it in the convenience store booze cooler close to where that weird guy is standing who looks like he might have a .45 tucked in his belt under his T-shirt.
