99 Brand Mini Bottles
I normally gravitate toward large bottles of liquor for better value, but there is a time and place for shots or mini bottles. The place is here and the time is now. Let's talk about the party bucket from 99 Brand.
A coworker was telling me about a recent time when he had some friends over and they got a bunch of different alcohol to try. His personal favorite was a pack of 99 proof mini bottles in a variety of flavors. He claimed they were super cheap (like a buck per bottle) and really good, which is really the name of the game for me.
I was really curious to try them for myself. Normally the price per volume of mini bottles makes them cost prohibitive for me, especially if it's something I'd like a full fifth of anyway. The justification here is the plethora of flavors available here, and the fact that I live in a camper right now making storage space a premium. Mini bottles are tiny, hence the name.
One recent trip by the grocery store (yesterday), I decided to stop by the liquor store a few doors down and just see if they had some in stock. I made a quick pass around the store and didn't see anything, so I decided to save time and ask the clerk.
"You mean those in the bucket?" he asked, as he gestured behind me. I turned around and right by the door was a shelf of buckets with "99" plastered on the front in big, bold text. I am notoriously inattentive, so this shouldn't surprise any of you. Although I was expecting a smaller pack, a bucket of 20 mini bottles for $19 was still perfectly reasonable in my opinion. I grabbed one and checked out.
After I got home, I decided to crack one open. I reached into the bucket and grabbed a bottle randomly. First draw was black cherry. I'm not huge on cherry anyway, so I figured that wasn't a great representation for my first taste. Second was butterscotch. That was much more in line with my palate, so I popped the top off and took a sip.
At 99 proof, I was bracing myself for a pretty abrasive experience. Surprisingly, the flavor wasn't anywhere near as astringent as I anticipated. Sure, it had enough of a burn to know it had a pretty high alcohol content, but nothing like some of the stomach-turning cheap vodka that I've tried before. I'll chalk it up to the bold flavors masking the burn. The taste is slightly synthetic and very obvious, but not offensive. Think ice pops, but with alcohol.
The picture my friend showed me turned out to be the 10 count party pack. My haul was the 20 count party bucket. Flavors include apples, bananas, black cherry, blackberries, butterscotch, cinnamon, coconuts, grapes, oranges, peaches, peppermint, pineapple, root beer, watermelons, whipped, xxpresso, and mangoes. The company offers many other flavors, but those seem like the most popular.
At less than $20 for a 20 count bucket, the price per shot is a hair under a dollar. More than I typically pay for bottles of liquor, but still not what I would call expensive. You get a ton of different flavors to try, but the price is nowhere near what I would pay for a shot at a bar. And the point here is to have a lot of different options. Plus, the side benefit is that you'll probably have a lot less of a mess to clean up if you somebody knocks over the bucket, compared to an open fifth of liquor.
After I tried the butterscotch and root beer flavors, I noticed that I was feeling the effects of the alcohol very quickly. So I had to consider, what exactly does 50ml of 99 proof alcohol compare to? I crunched some numbers.
50ml * .495 = 24.75ml of pure alcohol
What does that mean in context? Let's see what that would look like in a 12 oz can.
24.75ml / 355ml (equal to 12 oz) = 6.97% ABV
So one of those shots has the same intoxication effect as a full 12 oz can at 7% alcohol content. Remember those canned cocktails I wrote about last month? The vast majority of those tend to be 7% ABV. So a mini bottle of 99 proof will get you as drunk as an average canned cocktail, in a fraction of the volume. That's dangerous if you ask me.
The brand's website gives a large list of flavors, as well as recipe suggestions for each. I had only thought to drink them straight, one at a time. These people had some next level ideas to take it over the top. Mix multiple flavors for a single large shot. If you're feeling like less of an alcoholic, add a bottle to some non-alcoholic mixer for a more traditional cocktail drink. Long Island Iced Tea 99 with lemonade? I could get on board with that. Too bad the party pack doesn't have that flavor.
Personally, I wouldn't grab a mini bottle of 99 proof liquor if I just wanted something to sip on while I'm cooking or hanging out with friends. However, it has numerous uses outside of that. Want to get the party started quickly? Shoot back 2 of them and you're already most of the way there. Curious to check out lots of different flavors? Probably not a cheaper way to do it outside the party bucket. Looking for a quick and easy way to make a cocktail without measuring anything? Add a bottle to any mixer and you're done. They're cheap, intoxicating, and fake tasty in the best way.
A coworker was telling me about a recent time when he had some friends over and they got a bunch of different alcohol to try. His personal favorite was a pack of 99 proof mini bottles in a variety of flavors. He claimed they were super cheap (like a buck per bottle) and really good, which is really the name of the game for me.
I was really curious to try them for myself. Normally the price per volume of mini bottles makes them cost prohibitive for me, especially if it's something I'd like a full fifth of anyway. The justification here is the plethora of flavors available here, and the fact that I live in a camper right now making storage space a premium. Mini bottles are tiny, hence the name.
One recent trip by the grocery store (yesterday), I decided to stop by the liquor store a few doors down and just see if they had some in stock. I made a quick pass around the store and didn't see anything, so I decided to save time and ask the clerk.
"You mean those in the bucket?" he asked, as he gestured behind me. I turned around and right by the door was a shelf of buckets with "99" plastered on the front in big, bold text. I am notoriously inattentive, so this shouldn't surprise any of you. Although I was expecting a smaller pack, a bucket of 20 mini bottles for $19 was still perfectly reasonable in my opinion. I grabbed one and checked out.
After I got home, I decided to crack one open. I reached into the bucket and grabbed a bottle randomly. First draw was black cherry. I'm not huge on cherry anyway, so I figured that wasn't a great representation for my first taste. Second was butterscotch. That was much more in line with my palate, so I popped the top off and took a sip.
At 99 proof, I was bracing myself for a pretty abrasive experience. Surprisingly, the flavor wasn't anywhere near as astringent as I anticipated. Sure, it had enough of a burn to know it had a pretty high alcohol content, but nothing like some of the stomach-turning cheap vodka that I've tried before. I'll chalk it up to the bold flavors masking the burn. The taste is slightly synthetic and very obvious, but not offensive. Think ice pops, but with alcohol.
The picture my friend showed me turned out to be the 10 count party pack. My haul was the 20 count party bucket. Flavors include apples, bananas, black cherry, blackberries, butterscotch, cinnamon, coconuts, grapes, oranges, peaches, peppermint, pineapple, root beer, watermelons, whipped, xxpresso, and mangoes. The company offers many other flavors, but those seem like the most popular.
At less than $20 for a 20 count bucket, the price per shot is a hair under a dollar. More than I typically pay for bottles of liquor, but still not what I would call expensive. You get a ton of different flavors to try, but the price is nowhere near what I would pay for a shot at a bar. And the point here is to have a lot of different options. Plus, the side benefit is that you'll probably have a lot less of a mess to clean up if you somebody knocks over the bucket, compared to an open fifth of liquor.
After I tried the butterscotch and root beer flavors, I noticed that I was feeling the effects of the alcohol very quickly. So I had to consider, what exactly does 50ml of 99 proof alcohol compare to? I crunched some numbers.
50ml * .495 = 24.75ml of pure alcohol
What does that mean in context? Let's see what that would look like in a 12 oz can.
24.75ml / 355ml (equal to 12 oz) = 6.97% ABV
So one of those shots has the same intoxication effect as a full 12 oz can at 7% alcohol content. Remember those canned cocktails I wrote about last month? The vast majority of those tend to be 7% ABV. So a mini bottle of 99 proof will get you as drunk as an average canned cocktail, in a fraction of the volume. That's dangerous if you ask me.
The brand's website gives a large list of flavors, as well as recipe suggestions for each. I had only thought to drink them straight, one at a time. These people had some next level ideas to take it over the top. Mix multiple flavors for a single large shot. If you're feeling like less of an alcoholic, add a bottle to some non-alcoholic mixer for a more traditional cocktail drink. Long Island Iced Tea 99 with lemonade? I could get on board with that. Too bad the party pack doesn't have that flavor.
Personally, I wouldn't grab a mini bottle of 99 proof liquor if I just wanted something to sip on while I'm cooking or hanging out with friends. However, it has numerous uses outside of that. Want to get the party started quickly? Shoot back 2 of them and you're already most of the way there. Curious to check out lots of different flavors? Probably not a cheaper way to do it outside the party bucket. Looking for a quick and easy way to make a cocktail without measuring anything? Add a bottle to any mixer and you're done. They're cheap, intoxicating, and fake tasty in the best way.
Black cherry and coke zero sugar sounds like 🔥
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