Cheap stuff that you like

[jwaggs]

Okay, this is a kind of spin-off of the "retirement" thread.

I am on a quest to find less expensive versions of the good things I like.

I am having a hell of a time with single malt Scotches. It would be great if I liked bourbon as well as I like Scotch, but I just don't. You can get good bourbon, like Elijah Craig and Evan Williams, dirt cheap.

There is one good blended malt -- Monkey Shoulder -- that's $30.

Also, I like Hannaford (grocery store chain) store brand dark chocolate as well as i like any name brand dark chocolate.

Any ideas?

[bluenoter]

Also, I like Hannaford (grocery store chain) store brand dark chocolate as well as i like any name brand dark chocolate.

Any ideas?

If you have access to a Safeway grocery store, I like Safeway Select Dark Chocolate better than any name brand. I can't remember the prices (and couldn't find them quickly), but around here, it goes on a 2-for-1 sale for long stretches of the year. I wonder if Hannaford's and Safeway's are identical except for the branding.

I use a hot-air popcorn popper and buy any-store-brand popcorn kernels that are in plastic bags (dirt cheap), not fancy-ass jars. (I don't own a microwave.)

I buy CVS (drugstore chain) spices when the ones I want are available; so far, I've found them to be as good as or better than spice-specialty brands.

(I realize that those are all low-ticket items in the first place.)

[jwaggs]

Rita --

I used to shop at Safeway all the time when I lived in Arkansas. I live in upstate New York now, near Albany, and we don't have them. We don't even have a Wegman's which is supposed to be an excellent chain, and it is based in New York state.

Hannaford is HQd in Maine I think. Safeway is HQd in California, right? or Cincinatti? I might be confusing it with Kroger, which was the other big chain evident in Arkansas.

But, yes, I was surprised how often I prefer the store brand over the brand-name stuff.

The one place that I don't like -- and I may be saying something blasphemous here -- is Trader Joe's. Everything in that place seems to be loaded with sugar. A friend of my wife's gave her some Trader Joe's chili sauce this week. First two ingredients -- water, sugar ...

[BFrank]

Rita --

I used to shop at Safeway all the time when I lived in Arkansas. I live in upstate New York now, near Albany, and we don't have them. We don't even have a Wegman's which is supposed to be an excellent chain, and it is based in New York state.

Hannaford is HQd in Maine I think. Safeway is HQd in California, right? or Cincinatti? I might be confusing it with Kroger, which was the other big chain evident in Arkansas.

But, yes, I was surprised how often I prefer the store brand over the brand-name stuff.

The one place that I don't like -- and I may be saying something blasphemous here -- is Trader Joe's. Everything in that place seems to be loaded with sugar. A friend of my wife's gave her some Trader Joe's chili sauce this week. First two ingredients -- water, sugar ...

TJs has several varieties of chocolate, and their 72% dark is pretty good. Doesn't seem too sweet to me.
As far as stuff loaded with sugar, they have stuff that isn't. You just have to shop the labels.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Unfortunately, I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. I've learned to live with it.

[jwaggs]

i searched the Internet for best bang for the buck Scotches and found a site -- dramming.com -- that had a list. On this list was this:

Glendronach Revival 15 yo
by OLIVER KLIMEK on NOVEMBER 29, 2009
Recently re-introduced. 46%

My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Very rich, Christmas pudding, dried figs, pipe tobacco
Palate: Dry and a bit sweet, coffee, toffee, sultanas
Finish: Long and dry
Overall: Heavily sherried with quite some tannins, but not really bitter. A great and very complex single malt. Because of the mothballing of Glendronach in 1996, in a few years time new batches will be older than 15 years. Keep an eye on it!

I thought it was going to be affordable -- after all this is a "best bang for the buck" list. I had my local store look into it. He ordered it. I felt obliged to buy a bottle.

It cost me $90!

It's okay. I had the money, but I would rather pay half that for a bottle of Scotch.

[moldyfigg]

I prefer Dewar's, Pinch, Famous Grouse and Johnny Black over single malt which,to me, tastes like medicine. Not cheap. There is no good cheap Scotch.

In N' Out double double for about $3.50 is better than any $11 burger I've eaten.

[jwaggs]

yea, I can't stand the blends, which are almost always blends of single malts and grain whiskey, and the grain has utterly no flavor. It is just a way to dilute the the flavor out of single malts. JW Black might be the exception because I think it's -- unlike JW Red -- is a blend of malts, and it doesn't contain grain whiskey.

Unfortunately, there are no good burger chains in this area -- unless you like Five Guys.

[A. Kingstone]

I prefer Dewar's, Pinch, Famous Grouse and Johnny Black over single malt which,to me, tastes like medicine. ..........

Try a Speyside single. Or if you can find it, a Lowland.

[jwaggs]

I prefer Dewar's, Pinch, Famous Grouse and Johnny Black over single malt which,to me, tastes like medicine. ..........

Try a Speyside single. Or if you can find it, a Lowland.

If you like a light -- non-peaty -- single malt, I'd go for Old Pulteney or Glenmorangie, both Highland Scotches. Both are relatively inexpensive. I prefer the OP.

But I like the big, smoky Scotches the best -- the Islays.

In terms of the Lowlands, I think Auchentoshan is pretty widely available -- here in the U.S., at least.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Unfortunately, I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. I've learned to live with it.

Btw, for me, learning to live with it means spending as if I have a champagne budget.

[jwaggs]

Unfortunately, I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. I've learned to live with it.

Btw, for me, learning to live with it means spending as if I have a champagne budget.

Okay, spit it out... what kinds of champagne stuff do you buy on your beer budget?

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Let's see, for instance, instead of buying Bombay Sapphire gin, which I can live with, I buy what I really prefer, Hendrick's. Hendrick's costs twice as much as Bombay but I buy it anyway. If I'm in the mood for lobster I don't hem and haw waiting for it to go on sale. I usually buy four, two for me and two for Whitey.

Years ago when we had young children and a mortgage I would gaze at the shrimp and filet mignon in the supermarket and then head to the pasta aisle to pick up some macaroni instead. Nowadays I head straight for the rack of lamb and sea scallops. You get the idea.

I always had a saying. "In my house you will always be warm and always have plenty to eat". However, I've always lived in such a way as not to be wasteful. You know, sensible economical car, not a lot of "toys" and the philosophy of paying yourself first (savings). Now it's time to spend some of those savings.

[jwaggs]

Okay, I am kind of the same way with Scotch. I do buy the some inexpensive stuff, but I've been keeping a $120 bottle of Highland Park 18 on hand in case of emergency.

[moldyfigg]

The most I've ever spent on a bottle of booze was $80 for some very old Armagnac