Words On Wednesday

It's been a minute since I bought a bottle of gin, but when I saw that Costco carried a new Kirkland Signature branded gin, I had to try it. Name: London Dry Gin Source: Kirkland Signature Style: Gin ABV: 44% Price: $17.99 Volume: 1.75L Price per oz: $0.30 In the early days after I could legally buy alcohol, I bought a lot of things that were new to me. I was raised in a teetotaling household, so I didn't get to try a lot of alcohol through my youth. Some things stuck, but others (like Southern Comfort ) were quickly abandoned. When I discovered that I liked Long Island Iced Tea, I decided to pick up the constituent ingredients (including gin) and make one at home. It would be cheaper per drink than buying them at a bar. I figured out the hard way that Long Islands are pretty tough to make well, so I bounced off that idea after the first one. I bought that bottle of Beefeater on May 24, 2014. That one handle of gin stuck with me for several years. By November 2016, it a...

After discovering that Costco's Tequila Reposado was almost identical in price per volume to their Tequila Blanco , I had to compare the two. Name: Tequila Reposado Source: Kirkland Signature Style: Tequila ABV: 40% Price: $14.49 Volume: 1L Price per oz: $0.43 I uncorked the new bottle and poured a shot of each side by side. Fortunately, I had a single shot left from the Blanco for the comparison. This would equip me with the information to decide if I would buy another bottle of Blanco or just start keeping Reposado on hand. Most obviously, the color of the Reposado was pretty visibly darker. Not quite bourbon or black rum dark, but something like a watered down cola. The Blanco is indistinguishable from water at a glance. Although I am frequently advised against it, I always have to smell a new alcohol before I drink it. The Reposado didn't really have much of a smell. I'm not sure if it's because of less volatile esters or if something about the process remov...

There are few things as satisfyingly affordable as the humble hot dog from the Costco food court. For just a buck fifty, you get a quarter pound hot dog WITH condiments, AND a drink with FREE refills. After you drop a few hundred bucks on groceries, clothes, and random cool stuff you found, it is the economical and filling lunch that you need and deserve. I became a Costco member in September 2009, fresh out of high school. Roughly two years after the Costco opened in Spartanburg, word must have gotten around to my mother and she bought a membership (Anderson, 2007). To this day, Costco is the first stop on every grocery run and frequently where I get clothes and electronics. The prices are just too low for quality goods. Why would you go anywhere else? For numerous years, I never really bothered with the food court. I remember getting a salad one time in college, and I think I tried the acai fruit smoothie on the recommendation of one of the cart guys. Alas, it just wasn't a compe...

I'm not big on tequila, but I do like to have some on hand for the occasional margarita or for my cousin who would never be caught dead without a bottle. Hence, cheap tequila from Costco is obviously the perfect solution. Name: Tequila Blanco Source: Kirkland Signature Style: Tequila ABV: 40% Price: $25.99 Volume: 1.75 Price per oz: $0.44 I've tried to do a better job about keeping a wide variety of distilled spirits on hand recently. I'd personally be set with just bourbon and spiced rum the vast majority of the time, but obviously not everyone likes those specific styles. Add a little tequila, some vodka, and a few other styles, and I have a pretty decently stocked bar that could appeal to most guests. The mango tequila was good, but it isn't exactly made for mixing. Unless you're making a mango margarita, it's a very particular flavor profile that isn't going to go with everything. Plus, it was a good enough spirit to stand up on its own. Most of the bot...

I’ve recently started experimenting with vodka infused with different types of peppers. The flavors have been all over the place, but it’s a really interesting way to spice up (pun intended) a boring spirit. Spicy drinks are very divisive. My first spicy beer was at an Independence Day party many moons ago. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t know if I liked it, either. Over the years, I tried a few other spicy beers, as well as the novel idea of putting hot sauce in a regular beer, and I’ve grown to like them occasionally. I’m not drinking spicy beer all the time, but I’ll drink one every now and then just for something different. After trying a few spicy beers, it occurred to me that I could infuse a distilled spirit with spicy flavor on my own. I had made Jolly Rancher vodka before, how different could spicy vodka be? I sliced up a jalapeno, threw it in a pint mason jar, and filled it up with Kirkland Signature American vodka . I let the jar sit for a few days undisturbed. I didn’t ...

Costco recently discontinued their “Original Spiced Rum” for a few months and brought it back as the simply named “Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum.” Is it the same thing in a different bottle? I had to find out. Name: Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum Source: Kirkland Signature Style: Spiced Rum ABV: 40% Price: $16.99 Volume: 1.75L Price per oz: $0.29 I used to love Costco’s spiced rum . I always kept a bottle on hand. It was super cheap and really good, with a high enough alcohol content to really pack a punch when you wanted to make a strong drink. And one of the really nice things was its availability. This isn’t one of those limited releases that you have to keep an eye out for before it gets bought up, or wait until something more expensive catches a rare sale. Every time I walked into the Costco liquor store, they had a full pallet of it, and the price was always the same. This is the type of consistency and dependability that I live for. At least, it was. I went for my regular Costco ...

I am a firm believer in having a bottle of “the good stuff” for special occasions. Be it a wedding, a new job, a funeral, or any other noteworthy moment, I like to have a particular spirit to commemorate the circumstance. Normally, this demands a premium price. Somehow, this Costco branded bourbon manages to bring the “good stuff” quality at what I would call a steal of a price. Name: Kirkland Signature Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Source: Barton 1792 Distillery Style: Bourbon ABV: 50% Price: $24.99 Volume: 1 Liter Price per oz: $0.74 This one almost slipped by me. I was looking for what to write about for the next Thirsty Thursday Eve, and I couldn’t find anything interesting. I almost skipped over this bottle because I thought I had already written about it. Fortunately, I checked and noticed the glaring omission. You all really need to hear about this one. As bourbons go, this is one of the better ones that I’ve had. I can’t definitively say that it’s the best, ...

These canned cocktails are EVERYWHERE now, but are they any good? In my experience, yes, but not quite as good as the real thing. They are undeniably drinkable. They are even close to the flavor of the drink they're trying to imitate. I spoke a while back of the Bud Light Mixx Tail, and these are even closer. With the Mixx Tail, you can see what they were trying to get at. Most of the canned cocktails I've had, I'd say it's very clear what the drink is supposed to be and it's pretty close. I worried at first that most of them would taste like a very synthetic form of the intended cocktail. In at least most of the versions I've tried, that isn't the case. My first exposure was the Jack Daniel's Whiskey & Cola. I feared it would taste like it was trying to be a Jack and Coke, but no, it genuinely tasted like a pretty strong pour of Jack and Coke. Now, mind you, we have to look at the companies who make these drinks. Mixx Tail was made by Budweiser, a b...

Two vodka options, two countries, two prices, one label. Which is the better option? Name: French Vodka Source: Kirkland Signature ABV: 40% Price: $18.99 Volume: 1.75L Price per oz: $0.32 I’ve been buying vodka from Costco for several years now, but I’ve always opted to go for the American vodka . I knew they offered French vodka, but it was more expensive for the same volume and proof. If I’m just mixing it anyway, why pay for a premium if they both have the same amount of alcohol? After several sources described how good the Kirkland Signature French vodka was, my curiosity grew. I wasn’t big on vodka anyway, but this stuff was apparently legendary. Many described it as being better than Grey Goose, which is top dog when it comes to common vodka brands. Maybe that premium is worth it. One day, I ran by Costco to restock on Evan Williams. While I was in there, I noticed the vodka area. I still had a little bit of American vodka left, but I was getting low. May as well save the trip an...

You know what’s hilarious? Seeing a bunch of kids barely out of high school cowering in fear at “brown liquor” after they’ve been shotgunning cheap beer like champs for hours. Really puts things in perspective. But Evan Williams is good for a lot more than just that. Name: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Source: Evan Williams Style: Bourbon ABV: 43% Price: $19.99 Volume: 1.75L Price per oz: $0.34 I’m a fan of bourbon. I won’t say that it’s my favorite spirit with any certainty, but it’s often the liquor that I reach for to sip on straight. I’ll mix vodka or rum with almost anything, especially for buzz maintenance, but I’m not just pouring up shots or highball glasses of vodka. Bourbon, though? I’ll hit a glass with 2 or 3 fingers and just sip, because it’s gosh dang delicious. Previously, Jim Beam was my bourbon of choice . It’s cheap, it’s accessible, and it’s pretty good. My local liquor store still has a deal on 2 fifths for $20, and really, it’s hard to get cheaper for anything ...

I’ve often heard the adage that “storage is cheap,” when referring to computer drive sizes. And honestly, it is. Plus, it continues to get cheaper year after year. I got a 5TB external hard drive from Costco a few years back for about $120 if memory serves. This past summer, a similar drive from the same company at 8TB in size was available at the same price. This trend isn’t just for hard disc drives, either. I’ve seen some popular solid state drives at roughly $100 for a 1TB external. The same goes for SD cards as well. The storage capacities continue to rise, while prices stay mostly similar or drop. Not to mention data transfer speeds that tend to go up as technology improves. Realistically, if you wait a few months or years, any drive that you might want is going to be cheaper, larger, faster, or some combination of the three. In almost every case, a superior drive will be available later on. The problem then, is how soon you need the drive, or how much you need it now. This isn’t...

Hard Seltzer is the hot thing lately, and Costco finally got in on the game. Say hello to Kirkland Signature Hard Seltzer Name: Hard Seltzer Source: Kirkland Signature (Costco) Style: Seltzer ABV: 5.0% Price: $19.99 per 24 pack Volume: 12 oz Price per oz: $0.83 per can Everybody has tried a hard seltzer at this point, and every company that makes alcohol is selling their own version. Truly was the first one that I can recall. Soon after, we started seeing hard seltzer from White Claw . Then, household names like Budweizer and Jose Cuervo started making hard seltzer. It’s everywhere. It only makes sense that Costco would eventually throw their lot in. At my local warehouse, you can get a 24 pack for $19.99 plus tax. The distribution is 6 cans of each flavor: Mango, Grapefruit, Black Cherry, and Lime. Let me just point out how much I love the even distribution. I hate it when companies do more of one flavor than others. Those flavors seem to be pretty standard for hard seltzers, especial...