Here I go again! But seriously now, hit me with the spirits you want to see me attempt to make decent drinks from, it'll be fun! Maybe! Midnight Local: ru-vid.com Twitch: bit.ly/2VsOi3d H2D2: bit.ly/YTH2D2 twitter: bit.ly/H2DTwit instagram: bit.ly/H2dIG Blog: bit.ly/H2DBlog Patreon: bit.ly/H2DPatreon Gear: amzn.to/2LeQCbW The worst liquor on Earth: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Qf_cvsm7dGs.htmlsi=0lcVLa2egHOX2z5T Big Trouble in Little China Drink: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iaOQUSudf38.htmlsi=J4rDPd9bBoPmRIg3 Can anything good come from this?: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RtTysUdghmg.htmlsi=_srhbKwFNOn2Gt1v
Ay Greg! Have you ever tried Jambú infused Cachaça? Someone was giving out shots of it at Burning Man as a prank. It was heinous, exhilarating, and overwhelming. And I immediately thought "HTD needs to try this!" The flavor itself is spicy and intense. But the jambú flower is what really sets it apart. The extract acts as an analgesic. So it numbs your mouth and throat much like Sichuan Peppercorns and makes everything taste weird. It is frustratingly, kinda hard to get outside of Brazil. But if you can make it happen, I think it would be well worth the adventure! Cheers!
STILL, the different Finnish spirits like Jaloviina, Gambina, Salmari, Minttuviina, Kyrö gin, Fisu shot, perhaps my favourite Shaman's Terva, and others. Some of them aren't that difficult to use BUT could be really cool. The Terva and Salmari are ones that might challenge you and be AWESOME. 🔥
"i like it, i will never drink it again." this how you end up as a receipt in the skull cup wondering who would ever order something like it and drink it too
The tails of spirits tends to contain a high amount of fusel oils, which are often described as spicy or hot off-flavors that give a solvent-like feel. And fusel oil concentrations have been reported as slightly elevated in sorghum rick baijiu so I think its safe to say that they do in fact not remove the tails completely. Fusel oils are an irritant, they are not known to be as toxic as the methanol found in the heads of spirits, but they are not pleasant. the name Fusel in german even refers to specifically bad liquor.
@@Ascendant7Justice Probably buy better alcohol, I guess if you knew what you were doing you could redistill it, but it would be a much higher proof so you would need to cut it back. From what I have learned by going down the rabbit hole, theres a lot of different types of Baijius. Theres some that are made with mainly rice that are like a really strong sake and then theres some that are high in sorghum which are the most divisive in terms of taste. Kaoling Baijiu although listed as a light aroma type is also described by most chinese as the finest paint thinner indicating it has high fusel oil content. I'm guessing we probably can't get ahold of the really good Baijiu or the more complex varieties because of importation restrictions. Baijiu also is more traditionally drank in like ceremonial practices than recreationally so theres probably that aspect that most Baijiu isn't meant to be consumed in large quantities
It makes me wonder if the "Really good" Baijiu drink Greg had at Disney World was distilled in a way that cut off the tails. I imagine that when it comes to Disney, they want to curate everything as much as physically possible, so going that extra mile would make sense and wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.
@@foolishsparky that is very likely the case, they may also have elected to use one of the rice based baijiu, in which case it's really more of a high proof sake. I also wouldn't be surprised if Disney has specific baijiu distributors that have to adhere to certain quality standards. What I gather is the rice based baijiu is more pleasant to drink than the sorghum based baijiu. There's also like variations in how they are fermented, such as some types of baijiu are sorghum based and fermented in mud pits, others are fermented in terracotta jars. Additionally baijiu does have a related name which translates to burning liquor. So clearly the tails are desired by some people
Baijiu distillation does indeed play around with the heads and tails more than other spirits. The outright toxic part of the head (i.e. the very first thing that comes out) is separated out from the head that might be used in the final drink. Different flavor profiles or "aromas" are created by fiddling with the percentage of head, heart, and tail, along with changes in the fermentation process. There's actually a type of cheap baijiu called erguotou that's made from *just* heads and tails, if I understand correctly.
I'm running a fantasy bar at a festival, where we are considering offering fowl or poisonous orcish "potions", and this was very very helpful, and I jusgt think you would appreciate knowing that Greg. Toasting Gregs Grog. Thank you. 🍹
Thats nice! I want to, at some point in life, renovate my grandparents' house. There are a lot of unused rooms, because they lost their original functions. I want to turn one into a bar of sorts. I want to stockpile a huge number of liquors and have a big drink menu for my guests. Of course, I would also add stuff like this to the menu. I think it would be a lot of fun offering relatives all sorts of funny drinks.
There's a beautifully rancid digestif I use for an orc drink at a larp, it's an Italian Artichoke spirit, it's faintly green and HIDEOUS. I reccomend it.
15:55 In case anyone is curious, here's the context for the phrase "Beyond the pale"! The noun pale, from the Latin palum, meant “a stake for fences” or “a fence made from such stakes.” By extension it came to be used for an area confined by a fence and for any boundary, limit, or restriction, both of these meanings dating from the late 1300s. The pale referred to in the idiom is usually taken to mean the English Pale, the part of Ireland under English rule, and therefore, as perceived by its rulers, within the bounds of civilization.
@@crow-jane It's likely that was derived from the concept of the English Pale of Settlement in Ireland. The Russian Pale seems to have come into being during the 18th century, while the English Pale seems to date back to the 12th century.
Oh, cool. I often wonder about a lot of old sayings, but somehow this one never really made me curious. I love it when the comments section drops knowledge like this :)
I lived in China for a while and i still remember that flavour of that stuff till this day. I tried all different versions of it as well. I even tried one in a bar that had a snake and a turtle soaking in it for several years (the bar periodically topped it up with more bijiu as needed). Interestingly, the snake stuff actually tasted better than the non snake stuff. The mustiness of old snake actually masked the wretched taste of the bujiu
For the Kaoliang and Coke, the ways your were describing it made it sound like a real primordial set of flavors, like a real rough and tumble adventure. So for that reason, maybe you could also name it Journey to the West?
He did once before, a long time ago. He kept laughing at how dismayed he was that he liked the drink. I forget the video, but he was adamant that you have to come at Kaoliang "with guns blazing," because there were other powerful flavors.
For naming the Kaoliang and Coke drink I'd have to suggest the "Wax Tadpole", from the original phonetic transliteration of Coca-Cola, before the company provided an official translation, which ended up spelling out something like "bite the wax tadpole" in Chinese characters.
As a distiller I'd definitely echo the opinion of the other distillers, that the tasing notes you described are dead on for a spirit containing "tails." But to give a little more insight for those curious, the flavors origin is generally that of volatile carboxylic acids (think vinegar-acetic acid, cheese-lactic acids, vomit-butyric acid, over ripe fruits, mildew, that kinda stuff) which begin to distill over with the water once a distillation gets closer to being finished and higher temperatures force the breakdown of what's left in the boiling pot. Which is mostly water and other organic compounds by about half way through the distillation. Pulled along with the H2O's polar nature due to those intermolecular forces acting upon each other🧪🔬 Unscrupulous moonshiners will often heavily activated carbon filter the liquor made from "hearts cuts" that've that's been improperly separated or not separated at all. Typically that inferior liquor is then used to make sugary sweet liqueur's such as the infamous "apple pie moonshine." But often there's no covering those volatile acids and their subsequent esters which can only really be removed through a secondary distillation with much tighter cuts made on the run 🤢😆 From what I know about the fermentation and distillation style from that region though is it's exactly that, a tails heavy spirit, but worse... sort of... they do things completely differently from the way it's done here in the west. Typically, they're doing a longer "solid state fermentation" which utilizes a fungus/mold called "Koji" along with yeast to perform both the saccharification of starch into sugar and the fermentation itself vs. us who use the amylase enzymes from malt with hot water to convert the starches into sugars, then ferment with yeast in the liquid state... So, as one could imagine with a mostly solid but highly alcoholic "mash" of sorts takes a slightly different distillation process utilizing a steam chamber built around the semi solid center mass to help vaporize the ethanol to distill out which is also collected at a much higher temperature then here in the US and is also generally not really separated into the same cuts either. They tend to keep A LOT more both heads and tails for a lot of eastern made spirits. So yeah, I'd be willing to bet that's mostly just a chill-filtered, mostly "tails" spirit... as majority of the run is honestly the combination of heads and tails called "feints" which we consider negative congeners and don't often showcase in our spirits ⚗👨🔬😅 --🧿RuneShine, Michigan's Norse-Druid Alchemist🧪🥼🔬
@@howtodrink 😅Thank you! 🙏🤘 Always more than happy to share my knowledge and opinion whenever I have insight on a particular topic 😁 You're always more than welcome to consult me whenever you think a scientific distillers' opinion could be useful at all🤷♂ I study the microbiology of fermentation and chemistry of distillation, just as hobbies currently... 🔬🧪 Simply because I find the science that creates spirits and their flavors absolutely fascinating. I'm even contemplating after getting my licensed distillery up and running; hopefully within the next couple years, I might end up going back to college for an actual degree in food science too. So I can study it officially and give the knowledge I share more credibility as well ⚗👨🔬 But on the topic of consultations and my distillery... I just had a thought. Since I'm a fairly talented distiller, but certainly no mixology genius 🤔 I was wondering, if you'd ever be willing to use your incredibly talented palate for some consulting work for my distillery? 🧐 After I get it legally licensed for spirits in about a year or so, first, of course 🤫 I think the two or our talents could really combine to make some spectacular spirits and cocktails, maybe even one that may end up helping shape the future of the industry for years to come... Just something for you to consider 🙃😋 Regardless, keep up the good work and doing what you're doing. As you're an extremely impressive mixologist/beverage connoisseur IMHO 🥃🍻 --RuneShine, Michigan's Norse-Druid Alchemist✌💚🙃
Kaoliang, Malört, and Fernet-Branca: The Sensory Overload. Might be usable as an emetic. I enjoy Greg's tasting notes more than actually drinking any cocktail! 🤣
Never tried this, and never will.. but the tasting notes sound like a concentrated version of the "barnyard" flavor notes that are actually desirable in certain styles of beer and wine.
That was actually my first impression when I tried it. It's got very strong "barnyard" flavours. Kind of vegetal but musky. I think I'm one of the only people here that likes to drink it once in a while. But to be fair, "wet dog" is also a fitting description. I'd recommend Greg to visit Taiwan at some point and check their usage of it. It's not extremely common in cocktails but there are some bars that know how to mix it well.
30:10 Goodness no, Greg. The Chinese monarchy was conclusively overthrown in 1911. The Nationalist-Communist conflict only began in 1927, when Chiang Kai-Shek corralled most of the regional warlords to recognize the central government in Nanking.
indeed. The closest thing to a pro-monarchist faction was whatever the fuck Pu Yi was trying to do, when the Japanese weren't running his "country" for him.
For the Gunpoint Export drink, the Zhanmadao would work. It means "horse chopping saber" and was used heavily with the Song dynasty's campaigns against the Jin. Otherwise the Long March for Mao's Long March would've also worked.
Lol I used to work at a country club. Some Japanese businessmen brought a bottle to share with some local businessmen. They kept pressuring them to take shots one of the local guys got so drunk he puked in the banquet room and all down the hallway then he ran and pushed the golf cart kid and stole the cart. We found him passed out in a church parking lot. He came back the next day and tipped me $300.
Oooh, I absolutely love this episodes and moments, where Greg finds something truly interesting and fascinating - not just making cocktails by mixing and matching different usual flavours but creating totally new ones, the majestic chemistry between several things that make something innovative!
I like just making a club soda highball with it. The taste is concentrated, so it really stands up to the dilution. Becomes like a glas of sparkling, funky, sake
Strong agree! I tried this when my liquor cabinet ran dry a few weeks back. Baijiu and soda was the surprising winner of all the random things I threw together. Idk if it is like Durian or cilantro and some people just can't taste the off notes. But for me, Baijiu has always been a pleasant drink. Of course, I started on it by getting absolutely plastered in China on a college trip. So maybe, I leaped past any initial hangups. 😂
Huh, the cilantro take is a fascinating explanation, you’d have to have a genetic predisposition to like or dislike the stuff based on your tastebuds. That would be impossible to test for tho, who would volunteer for such a peer reviewed study?? “Please sign up to drink possibly the worst drink you’ve ever tasted in your life for science!”
@@NAJALU It took me a good couple tries, but yeah, baijiu wasn't too hard for me to acclimate to. Durian would be tougher, I think. I've only had a durian-flavored candy, but that alone was pretty foul.
@@leahwilson9152 I couldn't point you to any scientific studies, but the common popular explanation is that there is a gene which makes cilantro "taste like soap" to some people. Personally, I do hate cilantro, and although I wouldn't say it tastes like soap (not that I've tasted all that much soap in my life), it does have overpowering "off notes" which most people apparently can't taste, or at least don't mind. Sometimes I can detect something pleasant and sort of lemony _underneath_ the dominant flavor of cilantro, and the seeds of the plant (i.e. coriander) have that pleasant flavor without the off notes.
The heads of a distillation are the things that are dangerous. That contains wood alcohol (methanol) Tails, aren't generally dangerous, but they don't taste good. With everything that Greg has said, i think Kaoliang would be a good base for a Shrub Drink. Shrubs are Sours that use Vinegar or Kombucha instead of a sour citrus juice. After that, you could try salt modifications. If the Kaoliang has an amine note, you want to keep the pH low, to break up the rot and allow it to reform into something good. Calcium Chloride is bile-flavored. Which doesn't sound good initially, but depending on how much ammonia the Kaoliang has in it, it could turn into an absinthe flavor without much effort and the calcium would smear some of the flavors together. Finally, you could try Ammonia Chloride as your salt.... that should impart an absinthe flavor.
Some people must like the taste. Recently, I met up with a friend who had once sneered in mild disgust at me ordering an aperol spritz because he can't stand the taste. This same friend then went and ordered a *buttermilk and soda water* and enjoyed drinking it!! People are weird :D.
Where did you go that even had buttermilk available to order at all? My grandma used to drink it, but it never seemed like an "order in a restaurant" sort of thing even then. I can see the logic in buttermilk and soda though. They mix milk, soda, and flavorings in India. Doodh, I think it's called. Buttermilk isn't too big of a leap from that.
the buttermilk you get in austria is something entirely different from the American buttermilk drinking it is something quite divisive, though. Many people like drinking it at a Alm up in the mountains after a hike, many people absolutely hate it.
I'll note, this is a type of baijiu and there are good varieties of baijiu, as there are good varieties of most things. Keep in mind baijiu is traditionally a participatory group drink typically served in shot glasses that are only 11ml, so you'll have many little shots but not big swigs or 1.5oz shots. I agree that bad lower-priced baijiu certainly seems like it includes some of the off-still cut, but I think it has flavors from the sorghum that would go really well if general whiskey mash bills included some amount of it.
The first thing I thought of when you mentioned the salty notes in the coke was to try it with peanuts in the glass, Coke and peanuts is already a thing and the lime with it then funk from the kaoling could almost give some of the flavour notes of a pad thai. Weird thing for a cocktail but could be interesting
One request I do have and think would be fun: Take the tasting notes from old episodes you might not remember as well, and make drinks based purely on those. I figure it would be fun to see just how 'unhelpful' they really are in understanding a drink, and what might come of it.
A suggestion for the coke drink, The Flying Tiger, combining an american soft drink with a chinese liquor, reminds me of the American Volunteer group in china in 1941
At around 8:00, all I could think of was "like putting an air freshener in an old morgue" :P That aside, as one who does not drink, Kaoliang sounds like the essence of some sort of sentient mushroom that takes offense to the eating of its brethren and has thus decided to take revenge upon humanity. Either that, or a mortician decided to try their hand at this whole fermentation business because "its close enough to their job, how hard could it be?"
I’m sort of grateful to have never experienced a liquor I thought might make for a good episode in this series, but for the sake of engagement I’ll say that I’d love an episode of black drinks in time for Halloween.
The Spirit of Doom sounds like a great name. The two I would suggest are Feni (and Indian Cashew Fruit Spirit) and Arak (a Middle Eastern Anise liquor that you are supposed to dilute with water which turns it white. Something cool to show on the show). Also, with Kaoliang, have you tried to "Last Word" it?
Taiwan has a 'delicacy' that is popular in the night markets that is fermented and fried tofu. The flavor profile of Kaoliang sounds like that. BTW, it's called 'stinky tofu' and it lives up to it's name. I walked by the booth and it about knocked me over it smelled so bad.
Hello, the Slovenian is here again. You noted Eastern Europe, old term, kinda dying. But if it works for you, fine. It's a kind of "rakia" that I suggested, an unaged brandy made from juniper berries. It's less a spirit to enjoy and more emergency breaks for when you have a very upset digestive tract, while tasting like lingering poison, I imagine turpentine ish. You'll find it under the name "Brinjevec" [Breen-yea-vea-ts]. There are maniacs that age these, I haven't tried them. Also you might use this like absinthe: misting or coating glassware than pouring, because your body rejects it so hard.
The taste profile of the Kaoliang feels like it's asking for a spookified cocktail something maybe horror themed, fog covered graveyard, living dead, eerie swamp
This episode reminds me of something you said back in a 'customer is always wrong' episode. You mixed Chambord with a few things after the old-fashioned and you said there might be something to mine in the idea of substituting very sweet alcohols for the simple in recipes. This Coca-Cola and Kaoliang concoction strikes that cord a bit.
The names I think would fit these... concoctions would be: 1. "Pacific Patch Margarita". 2. "Summer Landfill". 3. "The Forbidden Fruit", "The Bitter Charge".
When you're at the ponyville ciderfest, someone brought a bottle of Unicum. Because of the name. The consensus was that it tastes like tobacco spit and malort. That's why I don't mind malort now. It's not a terrible alcohol but I don't know what you would do with the tobacco notes.
hey i have to say watching you find joy in making interesting things with this was so so much fun to watch compared to "ew gross this tastes bad." your willingness to play and explore in these spaces is really what makes this series great and i wish that thoughtfulness was present in more stuff in general!
Great episode Greg! Loved the transitions and graphics in this one. Super fun to watch you refine these drinks just by using your palette and knowledge of other drinks
When greg was making the negroni, I was thinking it might be interesting to swap the campari with fernet (and then I usually use an amaro in place of the vermouth) - I usually like fernet in negronis when I'm using an earthier base spirit. It was cool to see Greg reach for the fernet at the end and validate some part of my instincts! :D
Traditionally, kaoliang is served either warmed to reduce the taste profile (and because it’s popular in the Northern provinces where it’s cold) or nearly freezing cold like vodka, to make it smoother. It’s a drink for macho old men and young punk types because it’s cheap and difficult to enjoy. I think it also can be drunk in sips, holding it in the mouth to warm it, and then swallowing. I wonder if you greatly changed the temperature, if a hot toddy or a frozen grasshopper, this would be less challenging? I’d love to see how you experiment with temp on these less appealing spirits in the future.
Not surprising that salt and Coke went well with it, since these would be flavours that you could have with Chinese meals. Should Greg want to do a follow-up episode, this could be an interesting idea, ie, how to replicate the flavours and aromas of Chinese foods as drinks.
I'm hoping this episode does well enough to get a sequel, I'd love to see you exploring a couple more cocktail styles and building on what you found out in this episode
Baiju from Taiwan = prob not poisonous as long as its made/bottled there. BUT sorghum should be listed as 'non-edible' it is truly disgusting flavor. Kaoliang also sounds like Kawloon (the most densely populated place on Earth until they condemned/knocked it down in 80s)....and that is VERY fitting, cuz that baiju prob tastes like I imagine the winding alleys of Kawloon smelt: every bad smell known to man
9:00 Durian, especially certain cultivars of durian, can smell intimidating with a kind of rotten onion stink. However, once you get past that initial reflex and actually taste the fruit, that stink somehow becomes a kind of aroma, a sophisticated undertone to how the fruit's taste and consistency are. Which, to me on my first tasting of durian were similar to a custard flavoured with amaretto, if there's such a thing? And then I quickly learned to crave durian. All of which goes to say, those who like durian don't like the taste of rot.
If durian tastes like gasoline it's rotten. Fresh, high quality durian tastes like creamy, garlicy, pineapple salsa with varying balance on the bitter-vs-sweet continuum depending on the cultivar and individual fruit. There's a lot of relatively crappy durian sold, particularly in the Philippines and Thailand (but also elsewhere) that would make you really not like durian. But a very fresh durian from a good plantation in Malaysia can be worth the high prices they command. It's really unique and special.
I was offered durian filled profiteroles when I was in Singapore. They had an onion aftertaste, but otherwise I thought they were pretty good. I think my ‘Spore friends were slightly disappointed that the foreigner didn’t gag.
Wet dogs in a hoarders house? So he's saying it reminds him of his grandparents. Here I thought nostalgia was a flavor everyone enjoyed. Maybe it doesn't taste enough like gold, girlybeers, and diabetes medication. (See the episode on why Greg loves tiki. It's a genuinely fun to hear memory from his past along side a delicious Zombie recipe.)
26:26 What you need here might very well be a Cinnamon extract/infusion. The Cinnemaldehyde would probably bind with the fusel oils and temper them, or even chemically "defuse" them, and allow you to keep the unique notes from the lime, kaoliang and coke combo, without the late-arriving wet dog/carpet aftertaste.
I haven't seen anyone else comment on it, but the shift from 24 FPS to 30 FPS has been super well done and I like the extra movement we see Greg do when describing things.
Greg vividly describing one of the most repulsive things he has ever consumed Greg: "So I'm gonna try to make a margarita with it." Me: *surprised blinking*
I think Ratzeputz would be challenging, but manageble. The taste is VERY strong, but I feel like you should be able to do some interesting things with it tasting of ginger.
That description of Kaoliang sounds like you're trying to describe the drink as predation in a lush plain. Full of long-since expired corpses in the grass.
So you're telling me, Kao-Liang is never gonna give you up, say goodbye or turn around and desert you, but it might let you down, make you cry or hurt you?
Bless you for finding a way through this. And also not going with the least awful kaoliang from your tasting session. You're a brave man! And a seasoned flavorsmith, apparently
If the spirit truly is that of rot and decay, would it make a great addition for another RotLD cocktail? Perhaps the "dead dog" in it could make a nice flavor for a "Cerberus" cocktail from resident evil?
My first and pretty much only exposure to this alcohol was in grad school, a professor brought it for a promotion after-party, and let me tell you, as someone who spent some time working on a chemistry lab, the flavor tastes like what a putrid/acrid solvent cabinet smells.
@@matthewcox7985 Might be. But I think it's something else in that booze that makes it horrible. Worst I ever drank was some cheap russian vodka which tasted like acetone and burned car tire.
That pic of Greg in the thumbnail is staring into my SOOOOOOOOOOOUL… Also that description of what you put into your margarita reminds me of that one scene in Archer. “FIVE INGREDIENTS! Tequila! Cointreau! Lime juice! Ice! Kosher salt!”
