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Author Topic: learning about wines and other liquer  (Read 5127 times)

Micro102

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learning about wines and other liquer
« on: April 24, 2012, 01:40:38 pm »

I've got a new job at a liquer store and don't know much about alcohol. I need a good source thar can give me some basic knowledge if some asks me for my opinion.

EDIT: Ahem... liqueur  :-[
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GlyphGryph

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2012, 01:55:48 pm »

Kung Fu Girl. The answer is always to get them to buy some Kung Fu Girl.
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RedKing

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2012, 02:03:04 pm »

Drink some of everything, that way you have personal experience. And a new liver.

If serious tho, grab a bartender's guide for a start.

This appears to be a pretty good web primer.
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GlyphGryph

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2012, 02:06:16 pm »

wait wait, Liquor or Liqueur?

Veeeery different things. Might want to learn the difference between those as a good first step. :P

More seriously, yeah, some personal experience might be  valuable. It will take time, but with dedication, you can manage. Take notes, though, it gets... ehm.... easy to forget, sometimes.
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Micro102

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2012, 10:20:55 am »

wait wait, Liquor or Liqueur?

Veeeery different things. Might want to learn the difference between those as a good first step. :P

More seriously, yeah, some personal experience might be  valuable. It will take time, but with dedication, you can manage. Take notes, though, it gets... ehm.... easy to forget, sometimes.

Ah-ha! I knew I was spelling it wrong. I know the difference, just didn't know how to spell it so I read a liqueur bottle instead of going outside and reading the name of the store  :P
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nenjin

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2012, 10:30:07 am »

Getting a bartender's guide is probably a good start.

I'd imagine most people coming to the liquor store already know what they want, they're simply going to need you to point them do it. So once you learn all the brown liquors (bourbon, whiskey, scotch, rum, cognac, ect...), all the clear liquors (gin, vodka, ect...), you'll probably want to start learning brands. So when someone comes in and asks "Do you have Grey Goose?" you'll know that's a top-shelf vodka that you store may or may not carry.

The worst is going into a liquor store, asking about a brand of liquor and having the clerk go "Uhmmmm....you know I don't really know."

That's not an excuse for someone whose job it is to know what liquors their store carries. At the very least you need to know what they're talking about and be able to point them to the section where their liquor should be contained (if your store carries that brand.)

I wouldn't worry about knowing what liquors taste like. The people that come in looking for a random recommendation on what to drink are pretty rare. At bars, it's a different story.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2012, 10:32:50 am by nenjin »
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G-Flex

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2012, 10:36:13 am »

wait wait, Liquor or Liqueur?

Veeeery different things. Might want to learn the difference between those as a good first step. :P

More seriously, yeah, some personal experience might be  valuable. It will take time, but with dedication, you can manage. Take notes, though, it gets... ehm.... easy to forget, sometimes.

Ah-ha! I knew I was spelling it wrong. I know the difference, just didn't know how to spell it so I read a liqueur bottle instead of going outside and reading the name of the store  :P

You're still getting it wrong. "Liquor" and "liqueur" mean different things. You're going to want to learn the difference.

"Liquor" refers to alcohol in general, or more commonly, to distilled spirits.
"Liqueur" refers to sweetened, flavored spirits, e.g. Kahlua (a coffee liqueur).

So yeah, if you work at a "liqueur store", that is a pretty weird specialty shop. You almost certainly mean "liquor".
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penguinofhonor

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2012, 10:37:00 am »

Luckily I don't think you'll need to know about specific mixed drinks, and that's a good portion of drink knowledge.

You should probably at least know which brands of alcohol is which kind, so if some guy comes in and says he's used to Smirnoff but wants something fancy for a special occasion, you can recommend him some Grey Goose since you know that's a fancier vodka.
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i2amroy

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #8 on: April 26, 2012, 02:10:11 am »

More seriously, yeah, some personal experience might be  valuable. It will take time, but with dedication, you can manage. Take notes, though, it gets... ehm.... easy to forget, sometimes.
The funny thing is that because of the way that your mind works things that you learn after some "personal experience" are easier to remember right after you've had some more "personal experience". Things you learn in one state of mind are easier to remember then normal when you are in the same state, and harder when you are in a different one. It's the same reason why it can be so hard to remember things during interviews or exams that you could spot off just fine before you went into the room and became more nervous.
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RedKing

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2012, 04:26:00 pm »

Here's some basic tips:

Most liquors (whiskey, rum, tequila, bourbon, Scotch, cognac, brandy, Vodka) are going to be in the 60-80 proof range. Liqueurs (Kahlua, Grand Marnier, Contreau, creme de menthe, creme de cacao, etc.) tend to be more around the 30-40 proof range. "Proof", BTW, is an archaic measure of alcohol content (today mostly replaced by ABV -- alcohol by volume -- for drinks like beer and wine). To know the percentage of alcohol in the beverage, simply half the proof. I.e. 80 proof = 40% alcohol. 200 proof would be pure ethyl alcohol. Everclear (which I'm sure you stock) is about the strongest commercial thing you're going to find, clocking in at around 190 proof.

Liquors
A. Rum -- made from fermented sugarcane. As you might expect, tends to be sweet. Because alcohol is produced from fermenting sugar, rum tends to be on the strong side, and you probably stock Bacardi 151 which is (as the label indicates) 151-proof (75.5% alcohol). Rums are usually classed based on color (white, golden, dark, black) which is a factor of aging (the longer, the darker) and molasses content (the darker, the more natural molasses left in the product). Popular brands are Bacardi and Captain Morgan's. Personally, I'm partial to Gosling's Black Seal Rum, a product of Bermuda which is rich and sweet and lacks the harsh bite of lighter rums.

B. Tequila -- made from fermented agave. Most tequilas don't actually have a worm in them. Good tequila tastes almost like butter. There's a wide variety of brands and quality levels out there. Don't really have a recommendation.

C. Whiskey -- pretty damn big category that includes Scotch and bourbon as subtypes. Made from a fermented grain mash. The tastes run all over the place depending on what its made of, how long its been aged, and how good the distillery was. Single-malt Scotches alone could take up an entire post. As far as bourbons, Jim Bean and Johnny Walker are popular large-scale ones in the US, with Maker's Mark being a good "craft" bourbon and Woodford Reserve being one of the better craft bourbons. I'm rather fond of bourbon myself.

D. Vodka -- made from distilled potatoes. Not a lot of flavor on its own, so typically mixed with other things or flavored in the bottle (e.g. Absolut Citron). Technically you can make vodka from all sorts of things, but the major commercial vodkas are potato-based. I'm partial to Finlandia, but that's probably my wife's doing more than anything. Not a huge fan of flavored vodka.

E. Gin -- Gin is a "neutral spirit" very similar to vodka (no inherent flavor) which is then flavored usually with juniper berries. I am not a fan. To me, even high-quality gin tastes like drinking one of those car air fresheners shaped like a pine tree.

F. Brandy -- made from distilling wine. Despite what you might expect (that starting with something alcoholic as the base, you'd get something really potent), most brandies are actually milder than grain liquors. Cognac is a subtype of brandy named with a regional appellation of origin, the same way that champagne is a subtype of wine. Brandy and cognac used to be really highbrow drinks until Remy Martin and Hennessy became popular among the gangsta-rap circuit for their sheer cost (and hence bling value).

I think that hits all the major types of liquor.

Liqueurs:

Main thing to know here is what flavor the major ones are.

Cointreau, curacao, Grand Marnier, triple sec: orange
creme de cacao: chocolate
Kahlua: coffee
Chambord: raspberry
creme de menthe: mint
absinthe, Becherovka, sambuca, ouzo: anise (which means they taste kinda like black licorice)
amaretto: almonds and/or apricots
Frangelico: hazelnut
limoncello: lemon
Maraschino: sour cherries
Midori: melon
Southern Comfort: bourbon infused with peaches

Schnapps are also a type of liqueur, but one made with a neutral spirit base, so they typically pack more of a punch and the flavoring can be quite intense. Popular flavors are peach, peppermint, cinnamon, and root beer.
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penguinofhonor

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Re: learning about wines and other liquor
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2012, 09:21:52 pm »

And then I decided that I should write down a bunch of random stuff to add to Redking's post, starting with the mysterious exclusion of Jaeger. I'm not going to go into compositions of alcohols that RedKing already covered. I can offer a mostly college-oriented view, which could be a good portion of your customers.

Jaegermeister is a drink that's apparently ridiculously complicated to make. It is excessively German and tastes like black licorice, so not too many people like the taste, but it also has hardly any of the burn of similar strength alcohols (70 proof) so some people are willing to tolerate a bad taste more than a burn. It's technically a liqueur but most people treat it like a liquor due to its high proof. I've mostly seen people drink it straight, though mixing it with Red Bull creates a jaegerbomb which is popular at colleges (and also not a nice thing to do to your body).

Vodka is the most common party liquor, from my experience. Plain Vodka burns a lot, but otherwise it just has a very neutral flavor that won't really hurt anything it's mixed with besides adding a slight burn to it. This is good because it's easy to just throw in a tub of punch. Vodka is popular both because everyone is typically willing to tolerate it and because it's pretty cheap.
Everclear is a 190 proof vodka that's used when you just want to make something alcoholic for your party hosts to drink. You sure as hell shouldn't be drinking it by itself. Vodka's neutral taste also lets you throw it in basically anything to make a cocktail. Think of any juice and it's probably got a cocktail that's just juice+vodka. Burnette's is a super cheap brand of Vodka (read: popular at colleges), Smirnoff and Absolut are middling in quality/price, and Svedka and Grey Goose are higher end. Grey Goose is something adults buy for fancy parties, and Svedka is more something college kids get when they can afford it to show off.

Bourbon! As a Kentuckian, I'm obligated to be opinionated about my Bourbon because Kentucky is the only state true bourbon can be made (see: Bourbon County, Kentucky). Because of this it's probably not as popular or cheap when you're not near Kentucky, but it still tastes better than any other whiskey has its fans. It is imbibed similarly to most other types of whiskey, either straight (from a lowball/rocks glass) or on the rocks (with ice in a lowball/rocks glass). Although rum and coke is more popular, whiskeys also mix very well with coke, but most people will only do this with plain whiskey because mixing your scotch/Irish whiskey/bourbon means you're a wimp is kind of a waste of the money you spent getting a fancier liquor.
Old Crow is a dirt cheap bourbon, while Jim Beam is more of a moderately priced one. Wild Turkey is on the higher end of middling bourbons and is where you start getting slightly fancy. Maker's Mark is a high-end brand that's popular among adults.

Wine in college is strange. You can get a bottle of crappy wine for $5, and it's not going to be horrible, but most people are going to want something that gives more immediate inebriation. You might see some people purchase box wines when they don't want to make their own punch, but box wines are generally very shitty. Adults like drinking wines that are actually good, though. Special occasions and whatnot, though some people like drinking it daily as others drink beer.

Gin is another very neutral-tasting drink, similar to Vodka, though typically a little more expensive so not seen as often. Some people really like gin and tonics, though.

Rum has its own dedicated following. It's very rarely sold unflavored, most popularly being sold either spiced (this is the brown stuff, intended for drinking straight) and coconut (clear, intended for mixing). The average rum is going to be 80-95 proof rather than the 70-85 proof that most liquors are, and Bacardi 151 is probably the most popular ridiculously high proof drink. A shot of that is quite the experience. Bacardi 151 is also known for being quite a fire hazard.

Tequila is most often drunk as a shot (with salt and a lime slice, very enjoyable) or in a margarita. Jose Cuervo is one of the most popular brands, and they stock several different brands. Silver is the cheapest, gold is medium, and black is the most expensive. The color depends on the type of barrel the tequila is aged in as well as how long it is aged.

Liquors I've never seen because they aren't really popular among college kids:
Sake: An eastern rice alcohol. I've been told it's good but you're most likely to see this at a restaurant than bought from a liquor store. I'm not sure most liquor stores even sell the stuff. Served hot, and I've been told is an enjoyable drink.
Brandy: Pretty much exclusively a higher class and/or adult alcohol. You drink it from a brandy snifter. Don't ask me why.
Scotch: Fancy whiskey from Scotland. It's never cheap.
Irish Whiskey: Fancy whiskey from Ireland. It's cheaper than scotch, but don't point that out to an Irish whiskey fan.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2012, 09:25:57 pm by penguinofhonor »
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GlyphGryph

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2012, 10:02:26 pm »

Sake is definitely a popular drink among some college crowds, but its generally a specialty thing, so not many stores have it. If there's already a shop meeting the need, you probably won't ever be asked about it, because people already know where to get it and one shop can probably meet the local demand. You'll probably only get a couple dozen sake drinkers at most colleges, and while they'll drink a good deal, in my experience, it's a pittance compared to the other numbers.

I do wonder, though - does your store really only sell wines and liquors? No beers?

Also, someone should probably do wines and beers, I love reading this stuff. I've tasted at least a bit of everything, but the only thing I bothered remembering was what was good and what was bad, hah.
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RedKing

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #12 on: April 27, 2012, 07:29:45 am »

Wait, what? Sake is like a thing now? Guess I was hipster for drinking it 15 years ago when everyone else was "WTF is that shit?"

I remember drinking a lot of fortified wine in college. Me and one of my buds, if we had a few bucks we could go down to the corner store and buy a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 or Wild Irish Rose. It was like drinking cough syrup, but it would get you good and fucked-up cheaply and quickly.

Yeah, I completely forgot about Jagermeister (not a fan personally). Goldschlager is another popular college drink (cinnamon schnapps with bits of gold leaf in it). Because, AWWWWWWW YEAAAAAAAAHHHHH WE'RE DRINKING GOLD! WE GOT A BADASS UP IN HERE!

Seriously, that's about the only reason I can think of for the popularity. Oddly enough, it's often drunk with Jagermeister. Both of those were popular fraternity beverages back in the day, which could explain my distaste for both.
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GlyphGryph

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #13 on: April 27, 2012, 07:44:22 am »

RedKing - Japanophiles and anime-freaks loooooove Sake.

Personally, I'm happy with a bit of Riesling and some Smithwicks. (Not together, mind you)
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RedKing

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Re: learning about wines and other liquer
« Reply #14 on: April 27, 2012, 08:21:15 am »

Oh. Well, duh. They probably even drink it from choko.

I kinda lost my taste for sake after the Great Sushi Explosion of 2002 (i.e. my batchelor's party).  :-\

Sadly, Sinophiles don't have a lot to compare. Chinese beer is mostly weak-ass lager copies of Qingdao, Chinese "wine" is either cloyingly sweet fruit wine, or baijiu which is essentially rice vodka rotgut, occasionally flavored with things like ginger, dried seahorses, dead snakes, and hunks of pork fat. WTFCHINA?
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