Liquor

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

[b]What do you think is the best bang for the buck?
Where do you buy yours?

[/b]

Back in the day - 1994 - I knew the answer. Been here a week … and haven’t had a chance to do a full census. Actually, I’ve had no chance to start.

Beer
Is the Taiwan Gold Medal (aka Gold Label) worth it vs. the regular Taiwan beer? How about what’s the winner between those 2 & the ‘draft’ version.

Do they still sell the Beck’s Dark?

What’s the “best value for decent beer” beer?

Liquor
I stumbled across an importer of scotch the other day in Taichung (near ChengDu lu downtown) … didn’t have time to write anything down (I was looking for a place to live).

What do you all think? Is 7/11 the miracle it once was?

2

I buy the ingredients and make this regularly. :beatnik:

Chewy’s Special Punch–you’ll laugh at the ingredients but it is the shit if I say so myself. :smiling_imp:

26er of Captain Morgans Spiced Rum.
Mickey of Bombay Sapphire Gin.
Two packets of Koolaid Fruit Punch.
One packet of Koolaid Grape.
4 lemons.
Half a cup of sugar.

  1. Get a fruit punch bowl
  2. Pour the Spiced rum into the bowl.
  3. Pour the gin into the bowl.
  4. Add the koolaid mixes.
  5. Add the sugar.
  6. Stir.
  7. Taste to determine if more sugar is needed.
  8. Dilute with cold water depending on how strong you want the drink to be (I never dilute).
  9. Slice lemons in half, squueze and throw into the bowl.

I’ve served this to bankers, bohemians, and hometown compañeros. Always been a huge hit.

3

Chewy

Sounds yummy.

Where u at?

4

I get my drinks and my rolling tobacco* from a 洋酒 place on MeiTsun (美村) road, just north of the XiangShang (向上) intersection. I’m not sure whether they’re the cheapest but they’re friendly and often have interesting one-offs.

*: Not for drugs, just for smoking. It’s an old broke-student habit. It seems to be completely unknown here because I keep getting interrogated in bars for rolling cigarettes.

5

[quote=“rawsushi”]Chewy

Sounds yummy.

Where u at?[/quote]

Across the ocean.

6

LOL.

When we lived in Shanghai (2002-2004) laowai were openly smoking joints in bars … apparently the locals had no idea what they were smoking.

7

Costco for liquor and RT Mart for wine. They’ve got a suprisingly good selection of affordable French and Spanish wines. If you prefer Australian, Californian or Chilean, you’d do better at Costco, IMHO.

8

What’s RT Mart? Is there one in Taichung?

9

What’s RT Mart? Is there one in Taichung?[/quote]

Surely, they’re everywhere:

rt-mart.com.tw/

10

Anyone know the law on absinthe in Taiwan and if it is sold there or needs to be ordered?

11

Absinthe is perfectly legal in Taiwan and available as a novelty in many bars in Taiwan.

The fact that it is a novelty, even though widely available, speaks volumes.

Absinthe is crap. I was expecting a hallugenic high and all I got was a minty mouthwash.

12

Heh, I don’t drink absinthe for any kind of “High”. I like the anise-flavored spirits like ouzo and sambuca. Absinthe taste smoother and often has a higher alcohol content than the others (so long as you don’t buy or drink the cheap crap).

Absinthe has an odd and often bad rap dating back to the turn of the century drought in France that caused a wine shortage. Many wine makers began making absinthe to replace their revenues and it was a popular drink at the time. After the drought ended many people did not wish to switch back to making and drinking wine as absinthe was cheaper on both counts. Later the bohemian movement was blamed for the “negative” aspects of absinthe and the hallucinogenic properties were greatly exaggerated. With several false examples of why it was “dangerous” the french government banned it. This was then followed by many other governments.

Of course most people never mention that it used to be mixed with Laudanum, an alcoholic opium derivative. As with any opium byproduct it is very addictive, mind altering, and fatal if overdosed.

PS.
Thanks for letting me know that it was legal in Taiwan. :smiley:

13

As I understand, even thought it’s legal in the USA now … what’s sold doesn’t contain the “good bits” … the psychotic enducing bits.

Are you ordering the real stuff from somewhere?

14

So, I have seen that The Taiwan Beer organization is again pushing something new & different… with ‘new’ being relative to my lack of being here for awhile.

Anyway, so last night I did a (not so scientific) blind taste test of “Gold Label” (GL) vs. “cheap but drinkable” (CBD) … in a can if it matters …

Well, blind is figurative. I closed my eyes.

1 I opened them
2 I closed my eyes
3 I randomly grabbed for the CBD
4 I took a moderate sized swig
5 I drank
6 I ‘experienced’ the CBD aspects of the CBD beer
7 After putting down CBD, I grabbed for the GL - eyes still closed.
8 I took a moderate sized swig
9 I drank
10 I ‘experienced’ the CBD aspects of the GL beer

I’m wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Conclusion: By the CBD, as the GL is 20% more expensive for a very similar experience.

Advanced Drinkers: Buy one (1) GL for each drinking session per drinker. Buy the rest CBD. Start with the GL. End with 1 1/2 liters of water.