Your favoite from each non-whiskey type of drink.

[EricABQ]

Rum: Rhum Barbancourt 15 yr. old. This is a very sweet, creamy sipping rum. Not overly fruity, which is why it is my favorite. Aged rum is a category I'd like to explore some more. Selection is a bit of an issue in my town, though.

Tequila: Sol Dios Anejo. A three yr. anejo, the agave has faded quite a bit, and the wood is at the fore. I could see this being described as a whiskey drinker's tequila. Tequila purists may find it too "untequila" tasting. Pricey, may be hard to find, but easily recognizable from it's blue pyramid bottle. (as an aside, I have to hand it to the tequila marketers for making the tequila aisle the most interesting from a visual standpoint.)

Vodka: I was always an Absolut buyer, but I really don't know much about this category.

Gin: Again, I don't know much, but Beefeater always did the trick.

Beer: Any good quality IPA for me. Ice cold, in a chilled glass........that's good drinking. The hoppier the better.

Brand, Cognac, etc.: Never tried any of it.

[OneCubeOnly]

Rum: I haven't really explored this spirit a whole lot, beyond doing the typical college rum & coke thing. I have Bacardi Gold and Black Seal in the bar, but neither is anything I'd drink straight.

Tequila: Another segment I haven't explored...the typical tequila I'll have on hand isn't 100% agave or high-end stuff, it's just typical bar-fare that people can slam down with a lime slice, so I'll abstain here.

Vodka: Now I can start to name names--Pearl. Although I think the whole 'superpremium' vodka market is a big scam, this one is actually worth the price.

Gin: No competition to me--Plymouth. Make your favorite martini with it and you'll see.

Beer: I've never met a porter I didn't like.

Cognac: Remy Martin 1738. I don't particularly care for cognac, but on those rare occasions my father-in-law wants something after dinner, this one does the trick. Good stuff.

[ratcheer]

Interesting question. I'll give it a shot.

Rum - Mount Gay Sugar Cane Brandy from Barbados

Gin - Beefeater's or Bombay, both in the regular variety.

Cognac - Remy Martin XO, Courvossier VSOP

Scotch - The Balvenie 15-yr single-barrel

Beer - Bass Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Yuengling Traditional Lager, plain old Budweiser, lots of good beers.

I don't care for vodka or tequila. I enjoy red wines, but I don't know much about them. About once every decade, I enjoy a glass of Pernod.

This is really a big question.

Tim

[kbuzbee]

Rum - Rum is on my list of gotta get out and try new stuff. Right now, I guess it would have to be Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum (but that Cabot Gary was talking about has my attention.)

Gin - Tanqueray #10 (though again, would love to try Junipero)

Cognac - Don't drink much Cognac, I suppose any of the mainstream VSOPs. Wouldn't go the extra nickle for the XO at this point.

Tequila - Espolon Anejo. For me, this is just a wonderful Tequila. I've tried a lot of the mainstream brands (Patron, Tres, Jose etc) and Espolon beats 'em all. I'm sure there are Mexican only or high end stuff that crushes it but I haven't seen them.

Vodka - Grey Goose. Although the goal of Vodka seems to be the removal of all taste so......

Beer - Foster's Lager for a commercial. We have several micro breweries around here that all have great beer.

Ken

[brian12069]

Rum: I would have to say Gosling's Black Seal.

Tequila: I have not had many Tequila's but have to go with the standard Jose Cuervo here. I just recently started to enjoy the taste of Tequila...so give me time friends

Vodka: Honestly...Vodka is Vodka...I have had quite a variety of vodka and it doesn't excite me, and it's all the same.

Gin: No experience here.
Beer: Corona Extra with lime hands down.

Cognac: Can't get into it.
Scotch: It all tatses like bark.

[Vange]

Rum: Ron Zacapa 23 as of now, but I have an Appleton estate 21 on it's way to me as we speak. There are some nice rums out there. I hear a Pyrat 23 year cask strength is trully amazing. At $200+ a bottle it best be!

Tequila: Wow, too many favs to describe, but here are my top ones off the top of my head. Heradura Seleccion Suprema, Don Fulano Imperial, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia, Porfidio Single Barrel anejo, Rey Sol, El Tesoro Paradiso.

Vodka: Stoli Elit though I do like chopin and for a flavored vodka I LOVE Hangar One mandarin.

Gin: Anchor Junipero. I like Old Raj too.

Beer: If I had to pick one, Guinness

Cognac: Not too familiar with cognacs to put up a favorite, but I would love to try a snifter full of Louis XIII!

Single Malt Scotch: Macallan 25 (i know its whiskey, but its not bourbon so..)

[Hedmans Brorsa]

RUM : El Dorado 15yo from Guyana. Enchanting Demerara sweetness.

COGNAC : varies. At the moment I´m enjoying Chateau Fontpinot, Grande Champagne. Incidentally, my limited experience tells me that when it comes to stuff older than 25 years, Cognac almost always outclasses. whisk(e)y.

BEER : traditional Anchor Steam. Fritz Maytag never lets you down.

WHISKY : Balvenie 15yo single barrel. Moderately peated and no influence from sherry cask. Scotch as it should be.

I´m afraid that I´ve find Gin to be repulsive and I´m not sure if I´ve ever tried Tequila other than as a base ingredient in drinks.

[alphaiii]

Rum: I really don't drink rum. The best I've had would probably be Matusalem Gran Reserva, but I haven't explored much in the aged rum category.

Tequila: Aaahh, my favorite liquor. I don't drink anejos. If I want to taste oak I'll have some bourbon. For reposados, Casa Noble is my favorite. As far as blancos, my top pick is El Tesoro Platinum (or maybe Casa Noble Crystal). Whether I prefer reposado or blanco really just depends on my mood at the time.

Vodka: Pearl is my top choice, but lately I've been buying either Kutskova or Viking Fjord since they're so inexpensive. Both are incredibly good for the price.

Gin: Tanqueray No. Ten is my favorite, but I don't buy it often because it's too expensive. I just go with Beefeater since it's cheaper and damn good too.

Beer: I like alot of different styles of beer, again depending on the mood I'm in. I like IPAs, Porters, Oatmeal Stouts, and American Pale Ales mostly, but I also like some Barleywines, Irish Dry Stouts, Pumpkin Ales, and Oktoberfests.

Along with bourbon, that's what I drink.

[Jake_Parrott]

Let's see here.

Cognac: Most of the grandes marques are crap. Kelt VSOP is OK. Look for small, single-distillers. If you get the wines of Robert Kacher Selections (an importer), you may be able to get Paul Giraud, which is pretty good. Not a lot of QPR here.

Armagnac: Laubade and Darroze are the best, and you pay for them. If you live in a big city, you can often get closeouts on smaller producers.

Marc/Grappa: Not a lot of marc imported now, but some dusty old bottles available. For grappa, Inga is a nice, affordable line of grappa--the Nebbiolo is particularly expressive, like walking through a pine forest full of mushrooms. For a bit more money, I just opened a bottle of the Mastroberardino Grappa di Taurasi--extremely smooth, tasting almost like a great, unwooded sauvignon blanc wine.

Other: Bassano's unwooded and wooded Acquavite de Uve are very nice.

Fruit spirits: Trimbach rules the way here with their Alsatian fruit eau-de-vie, if you're looking for nationally-available. In the Northwest, there are some small guys doing fruit spirits (Clear Creek, Koenig, etc) which are usually pretty good and expressive.

Rum: For aged, look to Saint James from Martinique. Zacapa Centenario is also very nice. Doorly's is interesting (finished in sherry casks). I actually prefer Barbancourt 8 to Barbancourt 15. For white, there are some new ones from Martinique coming in that I haven't yet tasted. Matusalem white is very good for Mojitos and 'ti-punches.

Gin: I use Bombay white for everyday drinking. I like the juniper. Anchor Distilling's Junipero is the higher-end category killer for me, but I like a hard, juniper-y gin.

Vodka: I don't believe in vodka. I keep a bottle of regular Hangar One around because I think it's geeky (10% viognier must), but I don't think I've hit it in over a year.

Tequila: Cazadores is now available widely in this country. It's very nice, taken with a dash of water. Tonala is very nice as well. I have a bottle of Tonala Reserva Especial, but I haven't cracked it yet.

Vermouth: Vya, only Vya. Use less than you would of others.

Beer: The one I always get wistful for (from university days) is Ipswich ale. Bright, complex, lowish in alcohol, hoppy enough to refresh. But I like a lot of stuff, though I shy away from drinking the high-alcohol ones; I admire the craftsmanship, but I'd rather drink a complex, low-alcohol brew.

Wine: I'm in the biz.

[camduncan]

Well, here goes - this really shows my limited drinking experiences...

Cognac: never tried it
Armagnac: never heard of iy
Marc/Grappa: never heard of it
Other: Kahlua - love the stuff - chocolate milk shakes with punch
Fruit spirits: not sure what these are
Rum: Bacardi Rum. Used to drink Aussie Bundaberg Rum, but made myself so sick on it once that I can't stand it now.
Gin: Can't stand
Vodka: 42 Below Honey flavoured Vodka
Tequila: don't drink
Vermouth: don't drink
Beer: the taste makes me gag - same as when I eat kidney or brussel sprouts
Wine: some reds, and definately any port...particularly Grant Burge or Barros 10yo