Flavoring Recomended and NOT

[lyonacre]

Prestige Tennessee Mash is pretty good. Tastes like JD to me, perhaps a bit better!

[marc83]

Has anyone else tried Gold Medal Bodines Sour Mash bourbon?I have made a few bottles and after a month is bloody good.Has a smell i wasnt used to at first,and might put off a few people,but not a bad drop.So far my fave along with SS tennessee.
And made up a SS Spiced Gold Rum for my rum drinkin mate,once again hit the spot,he drinks it neat,and even i enjoy the smell of it as i dont touch rum anymore.

[Electrif]

Prestige Bombay Gin

Prestige White Baccara Rum
Both knock spots off any equivalent from Still spirits. Looking forward to the others.

[Deutscher]

Somebody should really sum up the 8 pages into 1 big Recommendation list.

[Deutscher]

Spirits Unlimited - Raspberry - Quite Nice - 7/10

AAABrewing Party Pack - Chocoholic - Sounds awful but yummy 7/10

AAABrewing Party Pack - Turkish Delite - Very Yummy 8/10

Edwards Essences - Southern Indulgence - Drinkable, but just 4/10

SS Classic - Tenessee Bourbon - 8/10 Smooth Bourbon like JD

SS Classic - Dark Navy Rum - 9/10 Highly recommended, 8/10

SS Classic - Single Malt Whisky - 7/10 OK but not wonderful

SS Classic - VSOP Cognac - 6/10 A bit iffy this one, tastes more like a cheap whiskey

SS - Amaretto - 9/10 Very nice indeed, 8.5/10 by Hangover.

SS - Southern Haze (Comfort) - 8/10 A good copy, 8/10 again.

SS - Tequilla - 9/10 Excellent

Top Shelf - Irish Whiskey - 5/10 too sweet

Still Spirits - Citrus Vodka[/b] - Horrible !! Nasty!

Still Spirits - English Gin - pretty good, better with clean smelling spirit 7/10

Prestige Bombay Gin - We liked this one, reminiscent of Bombay Sapphire 8/10, 9/10

Still Spirits Smokey Malt Whiskey - 8/10, 9/10

Prestige Dark Jamaican Rum - was really good, we enjoyed! 8/10

SS Top Shelf Scotch Whiskey - very nice, Johnnie Walkerish - 8/10

SS Top Shelf Bourbon - My favourite so far, close to JD - 8/10

SS Top Shelf Kentucky Bourbon - Bit too sweet/fruity for me, JB like - 7/10, 7/10

SS Top Shelf Ouzo - great for shots, nice aniseed flavour - 8/10

SS Herbal Liquer - so good, jagermeister, yum - 9/10

SS Tequila - not to my liking - 5/10

Essencia Blue Saphire - 10/10 Apparently it\'s as good as the real thing

Top Shelf Aussie Gold Rum - 9/10 x 2

Coconut Rum - 10/10 - Very very very close to the real thing

Cherry Brandy - 9/10 Very nice, tastes just like the real thing

[ozibrewer]

Great effort Deutscher - thanks.
I\'ve been thinking of trying SS \"Scotch Heather Heavenly honey based Whiskey liqueur with an infusion of herbs and spices\".
Has anyone tried this - I\'m looking for a Drambuie taste.
Cheers.

[Phantom]

Ditto the sentiment in ozibrewers post i.e. TVM and well done for the precis Deutscher.
Perhaps, to maintain that, maybe we should be doing copy, quote button on the reply box, paste the copy and then hit the quote again.
That way we can just keep adding to the list and retaining the same format of scoring.....
I just got a batch of essencia flavours through the post (all make up to 2250 mls - so it might take a while to mix and taste them before reporting back).
So when I\'ve mixed and tried them, I\'ll report in the same format.....
regards
P

[Opus 27]

Top Shelf Blackbery Schnapps. A winner with the Ladies, a really nice fruity tipple. 9/10.

Opus

[ozibrewer]

Ok, no-one answered my recent query re Drambuie flavours so I just went out and got a bottle of Edwards Essences \'Wee Dram\'. Mixed it in with the prescribed amt of sugar (no glucose base required - so too easy) and now have a reasonable approximation of the real thing. Mouth feel is excellent and taste is close but not quite there. Overall it\'s very drinkable and I\'m giving it 8/10.
List amended as follows as per Phantom\'s suggestion, and incl Opus 27\'s effort above.

Cheers.
Spirits Unlimited - Raspberry - Quite Nice - 7/10

AAABrewing Party Pack - Chocoholic - Sounds awful but yummy 7/10

AAABrewing Party Pack - Turkish Delite - Very Yummy 8/10

Edwards Essences - Southern Indulgence - Drinkable, but just 4/10

SS Classic - Tenessee Bourbon - 8/10 Smooth Bourbon like JD

SS Classic - Dark Navy Rum - 9/10 Highly recommended, 8/10

SS Classic - Single Malt Whisky - 7/10 OK but not wonderful

SS Classic - VSOP Cognac - 6/10 A bit iffy this one, tastes more like a cheap whiskey

SS - Amaretto - 9/10 Very nice indeed, 8.5/10 by Hangover.

SS - Southern Haze (Comfort) - 8/10 A good copy, 8/10 again.

SS - Tequilla - 9/10 Excellent

Top Shelf - Irish Whiskey - 5/10 too sweet

Still Spirits - Citrus Vodka[/b] - Horrible !! Nasty!

Still Spirits - English Gin - pretty good, better with clean smelling spirit 7/10

Prestige Bombay Gin - We liked this one, reminiscent of Bombay Sapphire 8/10, 9/10

Still Spirits Smokey Malt Whiskey - 8/10, 9/10

Prestige Dark Jamaican Rum - was really good, we enjoyed! 8/10

SS Top Shelf Scotch Whiskey - very nice, Johnnie Walkerish - 8/10

SS Top Shelf Bourbon - My favourite so far, close to JD - 8/10

SS Top Shelf Kentucky Bourbon - Bit too sweet/fruity for me, JB like - 7/10, 7/10

SS Top Shelf Ouzo - great for shots, nice aniseed flavour - 8/10

SS Herbal Liquer - so good, jagermeister, yum - 9/10

SS Tequila - not to my liking - 5/10

Essencia Blue Saphire - 10/10 Apparently it\'s as good as the real thing

Top Shelf Aussie Gold Rum - 9/10 x 2

Coconut Rum - 10/10 - Very very very close to the real thing

Cherry Brandy - 9/10 Very nice, tastes just like the real thing

Top Shelf Blackbery Schnapps. A winner with the Ladies, a really nice fruity tipple. 9/10.

Opus

Edwards Essences \'Wee Dram\'. Mixed it in with the prescribed amt of sugar (no glucose base required - so too easy) and now have a reasonable approximation of the real thing. Mouth feel is excellent and taste is close but not quite there. Overall it\'s very drinkable and I\'m giving it 8/10.

[Deutscher]

I wish there was an Edit button. After I posted I wanted to put them in order from highest to lowest rank.
I\'ve made my Italiano last night.
Took 700ml x% alcohol, added Liqueur Base C & Essence + water to make 1.125L.
I haven\'t tasted it yet, but the Liqueur Base hasn\'t fully dissolved yet. So far the substance is quite watery. I thought Vanilla Galliano was more firmer? I don\'t know what percentage alcohol, I\'ll have to test tonight. I\'ll post results.

[Deutscher]

SS Italiano - Very Close to Vanilla Galliano - 8/10

SS Melon - Very Close to Midori - 8/10
Italiano - Friend said Lemoney after taste - I couldn't taste any lemon flavour :S.

Melon - Co-Worker said tastes very similiar but a stronger alcoholic (40%) taste than normal.
Followed Instructions exacly as written on bottles. Each ended up with 1.125L @ 40%.

Edit: I used SS Triple Distilled yeast.

[optic]

Has anyone tried the Essencia VSOP brandy?,it would be good to know what its like before I commit 2.25ltrs of alc to it,have done the Essencia walkers red label whisky that was ok I left the whole lot in a DJ for amonth before it was bottled,during this time I opened the DJ and had a sniff daily and for the first couple of weeks it smelt horrible,it does say on the essence to age for seven days so if anyone tries this essence give it time to develope overall I would rate it 7/10
Optic

[ozibrewer]

Hi Optic, why not just do 500ml for starters. I know this would mean tossing the rest of the essence if not liked but...essences are relatively cheap.
With my runs (and am only onto my second), I am just making a bottle at a time while trying various combos.
Cheers.

[optic]

Hi ozibrewer,think thats what I will do seems a shame to bugger up good clean spirit just incase its a bit iffy like quite a few essences are,dont know about you but some that ive mixed up and tried that dont taste anything like what spirit they are meant to resemble,and I think to myself the makers surely cant have tasted it and thought they have made a good copy of brandy/whisky or whatever.
Optic

[ozibrewer]

OK, have just tasted some more essences over the past week. Reviews below at the bottom of the consolidated list:
Cheers.
Spirits Unlimited - Raspberry - Quite Nice - 7/10

AAABrewing Party Pack - Chocoholic - Sounds awful but yummy 7/10

AAABrewing Party Pack - Turkish Delite - Very Yummy 8/10

Edwards Essences - Southern Indulgence - Drinkable, but just 4/10

SS Classic - Tenessee Bourbon - 8/10 Smooth Bourbon like JD

SS Classic - Dark Navy Rum - 9/10 Highly recommended, 8/10

SS Classic - Single Malt Whisky - 7/10 OK but not wonderful

SS Classic - VSOP Cognac - 6/10 A bit iffy this one, tastes more like a cheap whiskey

SS - Amaretto - 9/10 Very nice indeed, 8.5/10 by Hangover.

SS - Southern Haze (Comfort) - 8/10 A good copy, 8/10 again.

SS - Tequilla - 9/10 Excellent

Top Shelf - Irish Whiskey - 5/10 too sweet

Still Spirits - Citrus Vodka[/b] - Horrible !! Nasty!

Still Spirits - English Gin - pretty good, better with clean smelling spirit 7/10

Prestige Bombay Gin - We liked this one, reminiscent of Bombay Sapphire 8/10, 9/10

Still Spirits Smokey Malt Whiskey - 8/10, 9/10

Prestige Dark Jamaican Rum - was really good, we enjoyed! 8/10

SS Top Shelf Scotch Whiskey - very nice, Johnnie Walkerish - 8/10

SS Top Shelf Bourbon - My favourite so far, close to JD - 8/10

SS Top Shelf Kentucky Bourbon - Bit too sweet/fruity for me, JB like - 7/10, 7/10

SS Top Shelf Ouzo - great for shots, nice aniseed flavour - 8/10

SS Herbal Liquer - so good, jagermeister, yum - 9/10

SS Tequila - not to my liking - 5/10

Essencia Blue Saphire - 10/10 Apparently it\'s as good as the real thing

Top Shelf Aussie Gold Rum - 9/10 x 2

Coconut Rum - 10/10 - Very very very close to the real thing

Cherry Brandy - 9/10 Very nice, tastes just like the real thing

Top Shelf Blackbery Schnapps. A winner with the Ladies, a really nice fruity tipple. 9/10.

Opus

Edwards Essences \'Wee Dram\'. Mixed it in with the prescribed amt of sugar (no glucose base required - so too easy) and now have a reasonable approximation of the real thing. Mouth feel is excellent and taste is close but not quite there. Overall it\'s very drinkable and I\'m giving it 8/10.
Edwards Essences Ouzo. 9/10. Very much like the real thing and clouds nicely when adding the mixers. I did use 5ml glycerol but I\'m not confident it made any difference when taste tested against the no-glycerol sample.
Edwards Essences Khaloola. 9/10. Am giving it such a high rating because it\'s delicious. However I didn\'t have any Khalua to compare it with so I\'m not claiming it tastes the same.
Edwards Essences Saphire Blue Gin. 9.5/10. I compared this with the original Bombay Saphire and could hardly tell the difference - I did use 5mls glycerol. Once mixed with tonic there was no taste difference - at least to me..