Hot Buttered Rum

[IBrakeforPastry]

Ugh, rum and coke from undergrad years! What were we thinking?

I pretty much forgot about it until this thread. Maybe we thought we were being classy? Mixed drinks instead of beer?

Anything with coke is horrible, at least that's my opinion. I got the 4 year Ruhm Barbancourt because it was highly recommended at a moderate price. Appleton is a little less expensive. I've not had it but I know people who really like it. I've never been much of a drinker either.

Pizza. Pizza goes nicely with Coke, but I'm guessing you meant something mixed with it.

Maybe we could start a drinking for non-drinkers club

[Crankin]

I drank Rum and Coke in high school, and maybe a bit in college. I was not much of a drinker during this time, though. Of course, I lived in Florida, where rum was popular. Then I moved to AZ, where it was more beer. When I started working, I went through a Scotch phase, as that's what I had seen my parents drink. It kind of burned my stomach out! After that, it was wine and beer, but with no real knowledge of what was good. Then, when I was in my 30s, I had weird allergic reactions to wine, so I only drank beer or mixed drinks. Rarely, though. I started driking wine again in around 1997. We started getting more knowledgable about wine in around 2000, when we began visiting local wineries. I like a lot of the newer craft beers, too. And now I drink almost red wine exclusively, with some rosé.
I still don't drink a lot of mixed drinks, but last night DH made a cocktail recipe from Cooking Light for Thanksgiving. It was gin, Compari, and Rosé Prosecco, with simple syrup. It was fabulous, but a lot of work.

[OakLeaf]

DH made a cocktail recipe from Cooking Light for Thanksgiving. It was gin, Compari, and Rosé Prosecco, with simple syrup. It was fabulous, but a lot of work.

Simple syrup will keep in the fridge for a very long time. You can make a quart now and it will still be fine for your mint juleps on Derby Day and your summer margaritas and mojitos. If it starts to crystallize, just dump it into a pan and warm it up again.

That said, I'm more likely to grind up some bar sugar and deal with the cloudiness if it's just me and DH. It only takes a couple of minutes with a mortar and pestle to grind sugar fine enough to dissolve in a cold drink. Less than that in a spice grinder, if you can get yours clean enough that you're not introducing cumin and hot pepper flavors where you don't want them. It's just not as pretty and crystal clear as doing it with syrup.

Traditional Italian spritz is just Campari, prosecco and club soda with a twist of lemon. Terrific summer apėritif. Campari is plenty sweet enough you don't need any extra. Or you can use tonic water in place of soda, for extra bittersweet.

[Crankin]

My issues with wine started at a time when I was having all kinds of allergies and asthma issues. I went like 10 years without drinking it, way past the time when my allergies resolved.
However, there are wines without sulfites. I remember back in 1988, having dinner in a vegetarian restaurant, and they had organic wines, without sulfites.
I don't notice any weight gain with having one glass of red wine, most nights of the week. I have tested this numerous times, too, in my quest to figure out why I seem to gain/lose with no apparent trigger. Of course, if I started having more, or I drink a lot of beer, it does affect my weight.

[Pax]

I've been in a gin place for a while now and made this for Thanksgiving cocktail hour: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...nk-recipe.html It was really good!

I love gin but it doesn't love me back, gives me wicked stomach aches for some reason.


Crankin - I still love beer but good lord it bloats me out now. Seems to have started after menopause; so I mostly stick with really good bourbon or wine these days.

[Catrin]

I pretty much forgot about it until this thread. Maybe we thought we were being classy? Mixed drinks instead of beer?

Pizza. Pizza goes nicely with Coke, but I'm guessing you meant something mixed with it.

Maybe we could start a drinking for non-drinkers club

I did mean a mixed drink, but I don't consider soda of any type to be palatable. Haven't had one in at least 25 years...which means there is more for those who DO like it!

I've spent most of my life as, basically, a non-drinker. I've been known to go years between drinks. Occasionally I find something that I do like, like now but it never lasts. My body is so sensitive to alcohol to begin with, and then I start thinking about the empty calories, and then, well, I go back to tea/coffee/water until the next time. I am more likely to drink a little more in the winter. I've not been in the habit of drinking mixed drinks since my very early 20's, but am glad to have found something that helps to warm me AND doesn't appear to give me insomnia like a good craft beer does (never did like mass-produced beer). Love a good stout though, pity even one affects my sleep.

[IBrakeforPastry]

I did mean a mixed drink, but I don't consider soda of any type to be palatable. Haven't had one in at least 25 years...which means there is more for those who DO like it!

I've spent most of my life as, basically, a non-drinker. I've been known to go years between drinks. Occasionally I find something that I do like, like now but it never lasts. My body is so sensitive to alcohol to begin with, and then I start thinking about the empty calories, and then, well, I go back to tea/coffee/water until the next time. I am more likely to drink a little more in the winter. I've not been in the habit of drinking mixed drinks since my very early 20's, but am glad to have found something that helps to warm me AND doesn't appear to give me insomnia like a good craft beer does (never did like mass-produced beer). Love a good stout though, pity even one affects my sleep.

This sounds a lot like me, and I'm glad you mentioned the calories. I've been to a couple of wine tastings this past month and besides the tasting sizes being huge, and me ending up with a headache (I do wonder about some kind of allergy), I was also thinking "I don't need these extra calories".

I rarely drink soda and when I do, it's just a small amount. I won't open a can - it's too big.

[Catrin]

This sounds a lot like me, and I'm glad you mentioned the calories. I've been to a couple of wine tastings this past month and besides the tasting sizes being huge, and me ending up with a headache (I do wonder about some kind of allergy), I was also thinking "I don't need these extra calories".

I rarely drink soda and when I do, it's just a small amount. I won't open a can - it's too big.

There isn't anything wrong with a small drink as a treat, and hard liquor doesn't have as many calories as either wine or beer. Unless you go wild with the butter and sugar, that hot buttered rum isn't too bad in the calorie department. As far as the wine is concerned, you may be sensitive to the sulfates (assuming it was red wine). I DO drink more than I once did, over the years I've found things I enjoy, but still not much compared to others. In the winter it is usually no more than one or two a week - if what much.