Alcohol beverages for celebrations

Started by kbv
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
K

kbv

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I'm just curious to know what kind of drinks you'll serve or get served at a party celebrating this X'mas and New Year. Can you share your opinion of it with me, ex, good/bad, why, taste, etc...?

I also want to ask around if anyone knows the name of type of champagne that tastes sweet only. My girlfriend insists me to get her it but I don't know the brand.

Thanks and have happy holidays everyone.
 
I drank Freixenet in Germany, but you can buy it here too. It's not too expensive. The yellow one was sweeter. I liked both of them:

BottleShot_6.jpg


BottleShot_5.jpg


http://www.freixenetusa.com/Wines.php?Wine=Brut%20de Noirshttp://www.freixenetusa.com/Wines.php?Wine=Carta Nevada Brut
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Look under the dessert wines maybe at a local store? I've never heard of a sweet champagne before, but I'm sure someone's thought of it and sold it.
 
PBR and cheap champagne... I'm not a pharmacist yet!
Maybe a keg if there are enough people ~ pure class.
 
This is a very light an sweet sparkling Wine:
moz-screenshot.jpg
img-display.tcl

You can find it here or ask at your local wine store.

This is not as sweet but is a lovely wine with fruit or pasta or other light dish:
img-display.tcl

More information here.

Champagne buy definition is made in France in a specific region. Some more detail here.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
True! Although some California wineries will still slap the name on their bottles. Same goes for Asti Spumante....should only say Asti on there if it's from the Asti province in Italy.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about that, you could be right. Italy is not as persnickety as France. I love sweet desert wines. I get a wine called Loupiac. Which is literally across the road from where it could be called a Sauterne. It's just as good and 1/2 the price
 
Old Timer said:
I'm not sure about that, you could be right. Italy is not as persnickety as France. I love sweet desert wines. I get a wine called Loupiac. Which is literally across the road from where it could be called a Sauterne. It's just as good and 1/2 the price
Click to expand...

Have you ever read/heard why certain countries do not permit their wineries from labeling it Champagne? Whereas others (i.e. the US) don't enforce it? Has to do with the treaty of Versailles signed after WWII. US didn't formally recognize it, which is why you'll see some American sparkling wines use the name. Pretty interesting...

But you're right...Italy's nowhere near as persnickety. Although they do use the DOCG term for Asti now. "Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita"...translates to "Controlled Denomination of Origin Guaranteed". So it has to meet a bunch of requirements.

The Moscato d'Asti that you referred to is very nice...it's a frizzante (as opposed to the longer fermentation/bubblier spumante). I like both 😉
 
Old Timer said:
I'm not sure about that, you could be right. Italy is not as persnickety as France. I love sweet desert wines. I get a wine called Loupiac. Which is literally across the road from where it could be called a Sauterne. It's just as good and 1/2 the price
Click to expand...

I love dessert wines too 😀

I bring back a box from my fave winery every year: http://www.cantinazaccagnini.it/
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
I love dessert wines too 😀

I bring back a box from my fave winery every year: http://www.cantinazaccagnini.it/
Click to expand...

I don't know where you are at, but if you can get a Sparkling Gaillac, it is the best desert wine ever. We will open our last bottle tonight for my oldest's 21'st birthday.... Slightly sweet, sparkling. Just an outstanding wine....

If you are in NYC look up Moore Brothers Wine Company...
at moore brothers...

...we represent small, artisan wine producers from France, Italy, and Germany. Our direct, personal relationships with these producers, and our commitment to temperature control, guarantee that we only sell wines we love.

If you are in the Philly Area Some time, I'll take you to the store in NJ or Delaware. The best wine stores in the world. They are NOT wine snobs, but they really educate you about the wine, the soil, the climate, the grapes. They understand their customers....
 
PharmDstudent said:
I drank Freixenet in Germany, but you can buy it here too. It's not too expensive. The yellow one was sweeter. I liked both of them:
Click to expand...


I love this one because in my area you can get a mini pack of 3 in the section with the smaller bottles of wine. I call them winelets hehe. I can't drink a whole bottle of champagne by myself, and my bf doesnt really like champagne, and it doesnt keep well so sometimes I'll pick these up. It feels mightly luxurious to open up a mini bottle of champagne on a random Tuesday night or something.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Last week I had champagne, citrus vodka, and pineapple juice - it was so good, and you couldn't really taste the alcohol. It gets you drunk faster than you think!

When I'm too lazy to drink any kind of cocktail, I go with cherry vodka in diet cherry coke - or you can use regular coke if that's a little too sweet. Again, I barely can taste the alcohol - three drinks and I'm done for the night.
 
quady elysium black muscat dessert wine

it's only about 15 dollars but by god it's absolutely delicious. it's sweet and fruity and NOT dry!🙂


SpirivaSunrise: asti is amazing 🙂 it gets my vote
 
I do like the Asti too! Veuve Cliquot Champagne(sp?) is also a good choice. There was another good one that some friends had at their wedding, but now I can't remember. Maybe after I go to BevMo today, I'll see some and be reminded.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is a good seasonal beer. I also like Newcastle and Pete's Wicked Ale.

I got my friend some bar supplies for Christmas this year as she likes to entertain. The coctail shaker is cool - it's a stainless steel with "dial a drink" capability. You look on the outside of the shaker for the drink you want and it gives you all the components of the drink. Cool stuff!

31QF8VJ2CBL._SS500_.jpg
 
Old Timer said:
I don't know where you are at, but if you can get a Sparkling Gaillac, it is the best desert wine ever. We will open our last bottle tonight for my oldest's 21'st birthday.... Slightly sweet, sparkling. Just an outstanding wine....

If you are in NYC look up Moore Brothers Wine Company...
at moore brothers...

...we represent small, artisan wine producers from France, Italy, and Germany. Our direct, personal relationships with these producers, and our commitment to temperature control, guarantee that we only sell wines we love.

If you are in the Philly Area Some time, I'll take you to the store in NJ or Delaware. The best wine stores in the world. They are NOT wine snobs, but they really educate you about the wine, the soil, the climate, the grapes. They understand their customers....
Click to expand...

Cool! A sparkling Gaillac? Never tried one...I'll see if I can get my hands on a bottle.

Moore brothers...are you affiliated? If so, I shouldn't be telling you anything about wine 😛

I'm in the Maryland area...so not toooo far...the wine stores sound great!
 
I'm not affiliated. I love wine, though I know little about it except I like to drink it.

Moore Brothers is without a doubt the best wine store in the world. Their knowledge is unsurpassed. The specialize in low production European wines where they have a personal relationship with the wine maker. They only sell wine that is kept at 55 degrees from the time it is made until the time it is sold. The stores are kept at 55 degrees at all times. When you go in, you tell them the types of wine you like and they walk around with you and explain the wine, the soil, the area. It's a phenomenal experience. They have a store in Wilmington Delaware. If that's not too far of a trip, they have a sale where you get 10% off the last week in January. If you wanted to drive, I would be happy to meet you there....
 
Riesling is another sweet wine that is easy for the non-wine drinkers to enjoy. It comes in a pretty blue bottle. LOL It will cause a hellacious hangover if you don't watch out too!

One of my clients gave me a bottle of white wine that's half from Napa and half from Sonoma (CA wine regions). It's part chardonnay and part viognier. I've never had Viognier, so I'll be interested to see how it is. We'll be drinking it tomorrow with Christmas Eve dinner. I think I need to get some white wine glasses now since we have reds to drink too...

Merry Christmas everyone! Be safe.
 
This thread has been on my mind, so I bought a bottle of Freixenet. We're going to drink it after having a luxurious🙂rolleyes🙂 meal of tacos and burritos 😛. I also picked up spinach and artichoke dip and doberge cake for my work party tomorrow.

I'm excited about the party! Too bad I can't bring the bubbly.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
Asti Spumante...it's my fave sparkling wine. I don't drink most champagnes (French) because they're too dry. But Asti (Italian) is made from moscato grapes, and it's nice and sweet. She'll like it 😉

mrasti.jpg
Click to expand...

my absolute favorite. this is what dreams are made of.
 
beer....actually I work overnights for the next 8 days, so no celebrating for me 😡
 
how about ice wine? from the greater niagara region. Ice wine is as sweet as they come and a great dessert wine. It is expensive at 50 bucks from a small bottle but great if you get a great bottle. It is pretty amazing about the whole ice wine making process, read up about it sometime
 
kbv said:
I'm just curious to know what kind of drinks you'll serve or get served at a party celebrating this X'mas and New Year.
Click to expand...

I'm making caipirinhas right now for everyone...very labor-intensive, but very tasty...think we'll switch to margaritas soon.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
mmm...margaritas. class starts up again next week which means the heavy drinking will resume as well.
 
Old Timer said:
I'm not affiliated. I love wine, though I know little about it except I like to drink it.

Moore Brothers is without a doubt the best wine store in the world. Their knowledge is unsurpassed. The specialize in low production European wines where they have a personal relationship with the wine maker. They only sell wine that is kept at 55 degrees from the time it is made until the time it is sold. The stores are kept at 55 degrees at all times. When you go in, you tell them the types of wine you like and they walk around with you and explain the wine, the soil, the area. It's a phenomenal experience. They have a store in Wilmington Delaware. If that's not too far of a trip, they have a sale where you get 10% off the last week in January. If you wanted to drive, I would be happy to meet you there....
Click to expand...

Is it the entire last week of Jan? Maybe I can take the train up.

And I just bought my wine fridge yesterday, so I have to fill it up 😉
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
Asti Spumante...it's my fave sparkling wine. I don't drink most champagnes (French) because they're too dry. But Asti (Italian) is made from moscato grapes, and it's nice and sweet. She'll like it 😉

mrasti.jpg
Click to expand...
I keep staring at this bottle every time I go to the grocery store. I'm going to buy it... I just don't know when. I've heard about these cute 2008 champagne flute "glasses" (actually plastic), so maybe I'll get a bottle of Asti when I buy the "glasses".

My friend already bought another bottle of the Freixenet, so I'm hoping to get a bottle of the Asti too. We need a little bit of variety.

It will definitely be a bubbly New Year!
(I just hope the gym doesn't get too crowded 🙁.)
 
My dad was given a bottle of Dom Perignon for Christmas from one of his clients. We drank it with our formal Christmas Eve dinner but I didn't think it was $100 special. We also made French 75s with Cook's Brut ($5). The Dom was definitely smoother than Cooks, but I'll stick with the cheap cheap choices for now.
 
Ok Spiriva. The Asti was awesome. Great with bitter-sweet truffles too. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter champagne!

I had a really great time tonight. My friend and I had the champagne and truffles. We tried to take a street car to the French Quarter, but they weren't taking passengers, so we parked close enough to walk. Once we got to the Quarter, we went to one club, hung out with my sister, and then headed to Pat O'Brien's. There, it was midnight before we knew it. Someone sprayed some "lesser" champagne into the crowd. I should have brought the Asti 😍.

Next, we went back to the previous club and danced our tails off. I haven't been out to a club in ages, and I'm only a P2 😛. It was great! The stamps on my hand should last a few days... perhaps a little New Years Eve memorabilia???

Spiriva, thanks for recommending the champagne. It really kicked off a great night!

Now, it's time to eat a bite of pizza, drink a bit more champagne, and hit the sack. My feet are soooo tired. I walked so much my toe started bleeding 😛.
 
Bloody Mary, White Russian, and Long Island Ice Tea. I only order the Long Island when I'm out though since there's so much alcohol in it (I only keep bottles of Vodka and Kahlua on hand).
 
PharmDstudent said:
Ok Spiriva. The Asti was awesome. Great with bitter-sweet truffles too. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter champagne!

I had a really great time tonight. My friend and I had the champagne and truffles. We tried to take a street car to the French Quarter, but they weren't taking passengers, so we parked close enough to walk. Once we got to the Quarter, we went to one club, hung out with my sister, and then headed to Pat O'Brien's. There, it was midnight before we knew it. Someone sprayed some "lesser" champagne into the crowd. I should have brought the Asti 😍.

Next, we went back to the previous club and danced our tails off. I haven't been out to a club in ages, and I'm only a P2 😛. It was great! The stamps on my hand should last a few days... perhaps a little New Years Eve memorabilia???

Spiriva, thanks for recommending the champagne. It really kicked off a great night!

Now, it's time to eat a bite of pizza, drink a bit more champagne, and hit the sack. My feet are soooo tired. I walked so much my toe started bleeding 😛.
Click to expand...

Yeay; I'm glad you liked it! 🙂 Sounds like you had lots of fun! I've been sipping Gatorade and watching football all day...not very exciting. It's no fun when your team loses, but to watch it when you're sick is not the ideal way to start off the new year! 😛 I'll save my bottle of Asti and celebrate another night 😉
 
Do any of you drink local wines? I admit my favorite reds are Chilean and Spanish, but I like to drink local wines. Here in VA, we have a ton of small wineries, but the closest ones to my home are actually in NC. Those two in NC make some lovely dessert wines (blueberry, strawberry, peach) and a muscadine that's wonderful in white cake (replace the water with an equal amount of muscadine wine, also make a thin glaze with muscadine and powdered sugar to drizzle over the top).

I just spent Christmas in Alabama and was able to buy some Alabama wines (go ahead, make the jokes). They are sweeter than I normally care for, but I managed to choke them down...... ;-)

Everyone's heard of California and New York wines, but it's surprisine how many other states have respectable wine industries. Most small wineries will have tastings, where you purchase a glass and the vintner or other employee, though not usually a sommelier, will take you through the selections. It's pretty interesting to see what can be grown in the various regions; here in VA we have 5-6 distinct growing regions, each having their own selection of grapes that grow best. Drink local wines!

Although , you're probably no going to turn many heads by bringing an Ohio white to a party...... 😉
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
FDA jobs for pharmacists
Replies
2
Views
2K
baronzb
B
N
Any resource recommendations for Texas pharmacy law?
Replies
2
Views
980
baronzb
B
I
Infection Risk of Adding Bacteriostatic Benzyl Alcohol to a Single-dose Vial to Make it a Multi-dose Vial
Replies
4
Views
6K
sunnyandseventytwo
sunnyandseventytwo
sunnyandseventytwo
Help, I can't stop volunteering for holidays.
Replies
2
Views
2K
sunnyandseventytwo
sunnyandseventytwo
Mr.Smile12
Call for nominations for 2025 Advisor of the Year
Replies
0
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12