It might as well be the defining trait of this nation’s liquor consumers as a collective, so it’s only natural that New Amsterdam would have one group of rabid supporters and an equally vocal group of detractors. It’s no surprise to see why it has fans-Americans love sweet, artificially flavored drinks with a blinding, addictive intensity. It belongs to the group of products variously described as “new western” or “contemporary” gins, but even among these citrus-forward, juniper-decreased offshoots, New Amsterdam stands out-in a bad way, unfortunately-for the sheer intensity and artificiality of its flavors. Since the moment it burst onto the scene, New Amsterdam has been one of the most divisive gins on the American market, and after tasting it blind we can now see why. New Amsterdam Straight Gin Distillery: Modesto Distillery ABV: 40% (80 proof) The Rankings: All 10 Gins, Ranked From Worst to Bestġ0. Entries were judged by how much we enjoyed them for whatever reason, not by how well they fit any kind of preconceived style guidelines. Gins were judged completely blind by how enjoyable they were as individual experiences and given scores of 1-100, which were then averaged. All gins in this tasting were acquired directly from liquor stores in Georgia.
Gins were available to tasters both neat, and mixed with equal ratios of tonic water, although tasting neat proved to be considerably more illuminating. Some of the bottles we used in the tasting were merely pints, but every brand on this list was available for $15 or less on Total Wine at the time of writing. This is a tasting of gins, with a strict price limit of $15 or less for a 750 ml bottle. If you’re on a budget, this is the list for you.įirst up? Gin, the foundational liquor behind so many classic cocktails, as well as some of the world’s most popular mixed drinks, such as the ubiquitous G&T. You won’t find anything here that can’t be found in a 750 ml bottle for $15 or less. We’ll be tasting the real bottom shelf heroes in every genre, from gin and tequila to bourbon, scotch and blended whiskey.
#Best bottom shelf tequila series#
Using the same basic methodology that we’ve refined in our years of blind tasting various craft beer styles, Paste is beginning a series of truly bottom shelf liquor tastings. So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. None have the inherent objectivity you get with a one-day, comprehensive, blind tasting of everything on the list. For all you know, you’re reading entries written off months-old memories, or tastings conducted over the course of weeks. Secondly, most of these articles don’t even bother to make the claim that they rounded up all the liquors on the list for an actual, in-person tasting. This isn’t the information a reader is looking for when they type “best cheap gins” into Google. They simply aren’t “bottom shelf.” This is the mid-shelf, and you don’t get to pretend otherwise. Suffice to say: Everyone already knows these brands are decent, and everyone should be able to expect these brands to be decent, because you’re going to pay almost $30 for most of them.
Likewise, no gin drinker needs a list like this one to tell them the same about Boodles and Aviation. I don’t need a list like this one to tell me that Bombay and Tanqueray are quality gin brands for under $30.
Through a combination of laziness and an apparent reluctance to sample brands that might actually taste like bottom shelf rotgut, you end up with lists such as “the best cheap gins under $25,” or “the best cheap gins under $30,” which we should consider an automatic failure on the “cheap” front. And for the most part? These articles suck.įirst of all, almost all of the “best cheap _” lists you’ll find online are way off base on a reasonable definition of what is actually “cheap” or “bottom shelf” to the average consumer.
#Best bottom shelf tequila how to#
There’s no shortage of articles online that purport to tell you how to find the best “cheap liquor” or “bottom shelf” picks for various styles of booze.
Click here to view all entries in the series. This list is part of a Paste series of bottom shelf liquor and craft beer style tastings.
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