A Great Philosophical Question.

[Alex K]

Then again...

[Pyrrho]

Indeed, I don't really drink cognac. Maybe I should emigrate to England, sometimes I get the feeling that I have more in common with them.

Maybe you just have not tried the right one.  Try some Hennessy Privilege VSOP or, if you have more money for drinking now that you have a child, you can try something more expensive.

---

Then again...

---

It surprises me that Germans would buy less cognac than the English.  So if you want to emigrate to England, you had better start drinking cognac or you will not fit in so well.


Regardless, you should try some Hennessy Privilege VSOP:

If you do not have the right glassware, you can use an ordinary glass.  If you decide you like it, then you can buy the right glassware for it.


I find that after drinking wine, if I want something stronger, I prefer going with cognac instead of Scotch.  But if I start with beer and want something stronger, then I prefer going with some type of whisky (usually Scotch).  Of course, if I start with something strong, then it is a matter of mood.

Judging from your broad tastes in alcohol, and your fondness for both wine and strong drinks, I think cognac is a natural for you.  But, if you are like me, you need it to not be the cheap stuff.  So maybe you have just never tried a good cognac, and that is why your life is so empty and meaningless.

[Angrboda]

I'm the same way with tequila, you have to hit a certain price point before it's drinkable. Maybe the answer is not on the cognac side of the equation?

[Pyrrho]

I'm the same way with tequila, you have to hit a certain price point before it's drinkable.  Maybe the answer is not on the cognac side of the equation?

Perhaps not.  I was hoping for other people with experience with both to get an idea if my situation was common or not.  But your idea that it is something about me rather than about the cognac is certainly a good thought.

[Lemonvariable72]

I would like to weigh in that I think make is more important then price. For example there two whiskies I like, one is blended and the other a scotch. The scotch is Glen fiddich, and the best stuff is actually the cheaper 12 year. Beautifully smooth. The other I like is called dark horse, its smooth with a hint of sweetness and will kicked your ass at nearly around 95 proof. Now the absolute shit whiskey called Royal reserve( I'm not sure if the US has these brands) is like about 25 a bottle and I wouldnt let yahwrh himself drink it. But the dark horse is about 3 dollars more. So I say experiment as not all cheap booze is created equal.

[Pyrrho]

I would like to weigh in that I think make is more important then price. For example there two whiskies I like, one is blended and the other a scotch. The scotch is Glen fiddich, and the best stuff is actually the cheaper 12 year. Beautifully smooth. The other I like is called dark horse, its smooth with a hint of sweetness and will kicked your ass at nearly around 95 proof. Now the absolute shit whiskey called Royal reserve( I'm not sure if the US has these brands) is like about 25 a bottle and I wouldnt let yahwrh himself drink it. But the dark horse is about 3 dollars more. So I say experiment as not all cheap booze is created equal.

I agree that it is not the price, per se, that makes the difference.  (Usually, though, more money allows one to get better quality.)  And I agree that some cheaper things are acceptable.  However, after trying a variety of options (though obviously not everything possible everywhere in the world), I have found that inexpensive cognac is not something I want to drink.  Right now, the most expensive beverage in my house (per ounce, not per serving) is cognac.  The less expensive cognac that I have, one of which is at least as expensive as the least expensive scotch that I have, I find I do not like.  But I like the scotch at that price.  Really, from what I have tried thus far, for something I personally find acceptable to drink in a whisky, rye works best for me, if I am wanting to be cheap.  Then I can get scotch and Irish whisky for just a bit more that I like, and then at more than twice the price of the rye, I find a cognac I like.  Now here is the strange thing.  I very, very much like the expensive cognac, enough to justify the price.  But I do not like the cognac that costs the same as the rye, scotch, or Irish whisky that I can enjoy.  Still, I am willing to pay more for better scotch and so forth, and enjoy the better whiskies more, but if I had to keep to $20 per bottle, I would never, ever, buy cognac, except for use in cooking.  I would be drinking rye at that price.  If I had to keep it to $30 per bottle, I would mostly be drinking scotch.  (Irish whisky I like, which, to me, seems like scotch but without the smoky flavor [which I believe is from the peat that is used in making scotch].  Irish whisky is good, when one gets a single malt.)

As for the specific brands you mention, I do not recall ever seeing any Dark Horse or Royal Reserve whisky.  I presently have a 12 year old single malt Glenfiddich, which I have not yet tried.  They have some cheaper stuff that they make that is swill, but I hope that this will be worth drinking.  It is one of my cheaper scotches I have at present (to be exact, it is my second to cheapest of five scotches that I presently have), so it will not have to be great to be satisfactory for its price.  If it is a little better than the cheapest one I have, I will be okay with it and not terribly regret buying it.

Right now, I am drinking some of my expensive cognac, which is something that reminded me of this thread.

[bennyboy]

You guys all suck.

Obviously, cool philosophers like me drink only laudanum, and you all should know better than to talk about lame stuff like whiskey.

[Alex K]

I hate to say it because it is so mainstream, but Johnny Walker Black Label is a very decent blend for the price, dare I say excellent. Red Label is swill.

Of course, in my eyes nothing beats that exclusive single malt you feel inferior to me for for never heaving heard of it, Lochkneaghlearchvulagalochinn 100 year old, matured in barrels treated in troll piss. It's the only drinkable stuff on the market, really

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

There is not even one great philosopher in the entire history of philosophy who did not drink.

Right enough, at least according to the lads:

*****

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
Who was very rarely stable.
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table.
David Hume could out-consume
Schopenhauer and Hegel,
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel.

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya'
'Bout the raising of the wrist.
SOCRATES, HIMSELF, WAS PERMANENTLY PISSED...

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away;
Half a crate of whiskey every day.
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
Hobbes was fond of his dram,
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart: "I drink, therefore I am"
Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed!

*****

Boru

[Pyrrho]

You guys all suck.

Obviously, cool philosophers like me drink only laudanum, and you all should know better than to talk about lame stuff like whiskey.

If the local shop sold laudanum, I might try it.  But as things are, I try things that I can get without too much trouble (and without breaking too many laws).