OT: 21

Slow down kid, you’re gonna hurt yourself. Just kiddin, congrats.

What part of town do you live in?

I’m quite well versed in the local bar scene. As a raging alcoholic and drummer in bar bands for the last 20 yrs., I feel more qualified to talk this subject than Browns football. I’m a lifelong Westsider though, never got a passport to get across the Valley View Bridge. I have snuck over the border and made it back safely a few times though.

I mean… youre 21… spend a little money! Get something super good.

The only mixed drinks I really drink very often are White Russians (hanging out, relaxing) and Long Island Iced Teas (little more party oriented). I really like a cider called Strongbow too. Beer, I dig Sam Adams Winter Ale, thought it was really good. Harp isn’t bad. Dunno how much they cost off the top of my head, I dont drink too often.

But at the end of the day, I’m of a mind that even a little Natty Lite will get the job done just fine as long as your in the company of good friends.

Happy Birthday Bross. Be safe.

Stopped reading at “Jersey Shore.” No but really Happy Birthday.

Bross, I highly recommend pacing yourself, sampling things and doing some reading. You only have one liver, and it must die – but enjoy killing it slowly.

Beer – there was on OT thread either just before or during this preseason. Myself, Pwnd and Rufio seem to be some of the most well versed in microbrews. You could spend a lifetime sampling variations of styles – especially in Clevelands beer scene. Go to The Brew Kettle in Strongsville by Pearl and 71. At least 40 beers on tap and you will not even find Great Lakes there. Ask for a Miller or Bud and someone may laugh at you. Get a sampler flight or 3. If you’re closer to Lakewood, check out the Beer Engine.

Vodka – don’t spend a lot of money if you’re going to mix it. Foo foo Vodka is not my thing either. I don’t understand the trend of flavoring vodkas. The mark of a perfect vodka is that it has almost no taste or smell and just a slight burn. Let the women drink Three Olives Cherry.

Bourbon – learn the difference between whiskey and bourbon. Jack Daniels is not Bourbon. Get hammered doing shots of Jack or George Dickel. Sip some Knob Creek or Woodbridge.

Scotch – another learning experience, but expensive. Learn the difference between a blended Scotch and a Single Malt and you’ll just scratch the surface the differences in Scotch.

Tequila – for gods sake NEVER drink El Toro!!!! Tequilla is a lot like bourbon. There’s plenty of low end garbage out there, especially when you’re going to mix it, and the top end stuff doesn’t even taste anything like the Rot-Gut. Personally, when I’m looking to change things up I like the occasional Golden Margerita, on the rocks. With salt and lime. Stay away from the crushed ice ones, if you want a slurpee go to. 7-11.

Rum – I’ve kinda been on a little Rum kick as of late. Nice flavor, and a good price range. The islanders in the carribean insist that rum doesn’t give you a hangover. They must not drink 151.

I with I could tell you about wine, but I haven’t gotten into that……much…….yet.

The important thing is to forget all this tomorrow. Go out and celebrate with the people you love and the best friends you can surround yourself with. Get wrecked and let them take care of you. You’ll have what’s left of the memory to last a lifetime!

Never bother to buy any thing higher shelf than Smirnoff. Svedka is usually what I rock. If you’re going to a bar with people to get drunk, order Rolling Rocks. They’re usually cheaper than everything else.

Happy birthday! I’ve only been drinking socially for about a year now so I can’t offer much advice, but I haven’t seen anyone mention Killian’s Irish Red yet. That’s usually my choice if I want to have a couple and be sociable.

Lastly, any wine drinkers out there?

Yes. I started tasting this past summer. It’s awesome. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the really dry stuff.
Personal favorite: Contero-Brachetto D’Acqui

Bross!! Happy Birthday sir!!

First of all, take DaveDawgs advice. You have one liver and you can’t really fix it so pace yourself. Also, when you pace yourself, you’ll usually end the night with all the pretty girls while the idiots around you are puking and passing out.

Now, about beer. Different times call for different beers. On a hot summer day, playing golf with the bros, you’ll want go with a really really cold American beer like Bud Light or Coors Light served in a pounder by a lovely cart girl. The key here is that its easy to drink and extremely cold. Also there is usually a really cute cart involved which you will hit on harmlessly for which you will tip her very well.

Mrs. HD is a big fan of the Stella Artois, as well as the actor who endorses it. I would highly recommend this as a nice afternoon cafe beer. For an evening beer where you would like a nice buzz but keep it under control, Bells Two Hearted ale is fantastic. If you want something a little more zippy, Spaten Optimator will get you going. That’s all I’m going to say about beer because, as you know, there are tons of different styles and really you should try them all. When I drank more beer I’ld usually get stuck on a certain one for casual drinking like MGD or Rolling Rock. I would avoid these unless you’re playing cards all night in which case its all good.

Now, let’s move on to liquor which is my drink of choice. Vodka is always something you should have on hand. It’s like the chicken of liquor and can be consumed any day of the week. You made a nice observation that SKYY is a good quality vodka but really its quite affordable for its quality. I personally think as long as you get something Smirnoff, Svedka or above you’re fine, but if you’re entertaining its OK to get some Grey Goose or Belvedere. Personally I think its a waste of money but at my age, sometimes you just have to play those sorts of games and buy the expensive stuff. At 21, don’t waste your money. Stick to Svedka, mix it with whatever you like. Be creative. In summer, iced tea with some simple syrup is awesome. Try it with a peach flavored vodka for a snapple ice pick. In winter, I prefer to drink it straight or mix it with a splash of dry vermouth and warm up with a nice martini with blue cheese stuffed olives. They may be passe but they’re delicious.

Now Gin is a different story, New Amsterdam is a good cheap gin. Mix with tonic and a squeeze of lime, Also there’s value to Tanqueray and Bombay, but really the difference is subtle. I think in time you’ll enjoy gin, and premium gins at that, but for now, don’t overspend on it. Also I had a bad night on gin and tonics which ruined them for me for a bit but really it is a splendid drink that can be enjoyed year round.

Bourbon and Scotch (ie Whiskey) is where you’re going to get the most out of spending a little more. But don’t be in a rush. Whiskey is for slow evenings and an entire lifetime. Single malt scotches are something I think you will enjoy as you get older as you seem like someone who will appreciate the different flavors you’ll taste based on where the barley and malt is produced. You will really notice the different flavors from speyside to highland. But again, this is something that’s fairly expensive and can wait until later in your life. Don’t be afraid to enjoy a blended whiskey like JW red label and water on a chilly evening. I personally enjoy all bourbons equally, but my sister swears by the high end stuff like Knob Creek. I don’t see it, but I love going to Kentucky, watching the Rolex 3 day event and sipping bourbon for all of them.

I used to enjoy wine a lot more, but recently I’ve avoided it because of allergies. That said, no matter what anyone tells you about wine there are no real rules. There are hundreds of varietals and I spent years as a bartender watching pretentious people order the popular labels and watched the adventurous try as much of the grape as they could. Wine is beautiful because of how different each bottle can be. Don’t be the person who’s stuck to a certain brand because that’s just a waste. Like any other agricultural product, wine is subject to a wide range of flavors. If you want to drink wine, be sure to try as many as you can.

Now I’ve barely scratched the surface here. There are all sorts of brandys, cognacs, grappas, desert wines (a bottle of Dolce from my youth kindles memories of a night spent with a beautiful and amazing waitress) and everything else that humans have figured out how to distill.

Enjoy in moderation and enjoy all that our world has to offer. Don’t get stuck drinking just one thing because there are plenty of spirits to discover.

Happy Birthday again, be safe and remember

“You only live once, but once is more than enough if you live it well!”
- Woody Allen

A lot has been said already. Here’s what I got for you:

1. Get a f*#$&g cab. Never, ever drive drunk. You want to mess with your own life, there are plenty of fun ways to do that. Never ever put anyone else at risk because of what you do.

2. There’s getting drunk and there’s enjoying the taste of a fine adult beverage. If you are just looking to get drunk, don’t spend any sort of money on liquors or wine, drink 40s, and go with any cheap beer that doesn’t taste terrible to you. Drinking a 40 down to the top of the label, then refilling it with orange juice is amazing. And you can sing old school Beastie Boys. Getting older and being out of school and really not that much of a big party kind of guy, I am enjoying fine adult beverages more and more and getting drunk less and less often. I like PBR, Bud light, Guinness and Dos Equis as cheaper beers. Carlo Rossi is a great cheap wine. King Cobra and Steel Reserve (if you are ready for the high alcohol %) are good 40 choices.

3. The Grog Shoppe down in Coventry is a cool bar, and they will have bands playing on some nights. It is all ages when bands play and it’s usually punk/indie/ska/something like that. It will be really loud if there is music going on. Very low chance of bros. If you are looking to avoid bros, don’t go anywhere with dancing. “Clubs” or anywhere with pop music is going to be bros. I used to like Peabody’s, especially for 80s nights but don’t know if it still exists. I am probably not the guy to go to for bar suggestions in Cleveland. There’s also a place on Front St. in Berea that is pretty small and serves a lot of good beers, I think it’s called Mikes. If you are in Columbus ever, I can recommend some places.

4. If you are drinking for taste, Sam Adams is probably the cheapest you’ll want to go. Anything microbrew is worth trying. In Ohio, you’ll probably be able to find Bell’s, which will all be good. I don’t know how much pre-21 tasting you’ve done, but if you know what you like I can make suggestions.

5. Don’t waste your time and money with more expensive stuff until you can distinguish between a wheat beer and an IPA, or between Whiskey and Bourbon and Scotch. Learn the differences, develop your palette, and then discover why people pay so damn much for this stuff.

6. Look for happy hours at first. It’s cheap and could be a great way to try new/good things to see if you like them before committing bigtime money to something “good” only to discover you don’t like that style.

I am 21 and my liver hurts right now

Wow, I thought you were a bit older. Happy Birthday, friend.

I like bourbon. I usually drink Maker’s Mark and Coke. Kessler’s is a similar flavor for much cheaper. I don’t drink much beer but I love the smoothness of Molson Canadian when I do. Don’t know much about Cleveland Bars, although I have partied in the Flats after games back in the day. I can tell you that if you’re ever stuck in Erie on game day and it’s not televised, there’s a little bar called the Greengarden tavern. Good folks, good food, cheap prices and 100% Browns. Happy birthday, I hope you feel better.

Happy Birthday.

I’ll throw out the idea to avoid the expensive stuff until your tastes demand it. In my 20’s I was quite content with Jim Beam; now I can’t stand the stuff. I’m in my 40s and pretty soon I’ll be saying the same about Jack Daniels. Fortunately, I’m content with Busch and “easy drinkin’” Busch Light – because money doesn’t grow on trees…

The other recommendation is to take the time to learn about wine – there is nothing worse than sitting down to an important dinner date and being perplexed by the wine list. First, get an understanding of the difference between the different grape varieties; then the difference between growing regions and some of the basic terminology on the tastes/flavors. Finally, get a good $15-$20 “go-to” wine you can feel comfortable bringing to parties and events (Liberty School Cabernet is a pretty safe).

Find the closest American Legion Post, get a membership, and drink Busch Light with the old guys. Trust me, it’s great fun.

congrats and happy birthday. take it easy and have fun sir.

Go to the Winking Lizard in Coventry and take the world tour.

While we are kind of on the subject, if you all are looking for something pricey but REALLY REALLY DELICIOUS, check out the restaurant in the Mariott at W. 150th and I-71. I think it is called AMP 150.

Holy crap is it delicious. But expensive. Homemade potato chips with brewer’s yeast and a Dortmunder dipping sauce. Also, the open-faced bleu cheese wedgeburger. Wow.

bross, i assume you live in my neck of the woods regarding some of the comments. most journeys into craft beer start with imports, into spiced beers(holiday ales, pumpkin ales) and fruit beers (shandys or flavored wheats/hefeweizens), and into your various styles made popular by craft breweries.

If you want to try a couple by the bottle, Warehouse Beverage sells singles at a lower price than you’d pay sitting/tipping at Winking Lizard.

Whole Foods at Cedar/Warrensville has 6 handles for growler fills, but samples are only 25 cents. Feel free to stop there to try some different styles, and if the blond haired guy with glasses and a goatee is working (Joe), he’s always more than happy to talk beer, and well-qualified to.

Heinens on South Green is having a Belgian beer tasting tomorrow for only $10. The beer guy there, Glenn, is also very knowledgeable and willing to talk.