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Wellness Wednesday for November 16, 2022

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

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In this post, @Walterodim confessed to his coffee and whiskey habits, which got me wondering:


How does The Motte enjoy its coffee and whiskey?


Coffee

I prefer buying fancy, freshly-roasted light roast beans and doing a pour over in a Chemex. I grind my beans in a DeLonghi grinder (middle of the road quality wise), put the grounds in an unbleached paper filter that has been rinsed to remove the papery taste, and then pour hot water (slightly cooler than boiling) from a gooseneck kettle over the grounds. Then I drink the coffee black, in silence, while it's still piping hot.

These days I've moved to a place where I can't get good beans at an affordable price, so I often get mediocre stuff and put a splash of milk in it to take the edge off of some of the less appealing flavors.

Occasionally, on Saturday morning or during holidays, I'll make myself an Irish coffee. I make a cup of coffee, add a shot and a half of Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey, whip some cold cream with a cheap little milk foamer, and then pour the cream over the back of the spoon so that it settles on top of the coffee. These days, since it's autumn, sometimes I'll sprinkle a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on top of the cream. It's a nice little treat for a lazy morning.


Whiskey

Ah, the water of life. I prefer Irish whiskey and Tennessee whiskey. I usually have a bottle of Red Breast 12 for sipping, Tullamore for mixing (or for my second glass), and then Four Roses as a "multipurpose whiskey." I like to drink my whiskey neat with a small splash of water. I used to make old fashioneds, but I don't feel that they're much of an improvement over just drinking the whiskey neat (and I'm lazy).

When it gets cold, I like to make a nice hot toddy with some cheaper whiskey. I boil some water, pour it in a mug, stir in a bit of lemon juice and honey and add a shot or two of whiskey. I like to use a covered Miir mug because it prevents the drink from cooling down too quickly as I sip it. This is one of my favorite winter drinks.

Back in my college dorm days, I used to make do with pouring instant coffee powder into a bottle of cold water and swigging it like that.

Being less depressed and living with a girl who would leave me if I indulged in such habits, I just make reasonably decent instant coffee, hot water and all. Really bourgeois, but the things we do for love..

As for whiskey, my opinion is the cheaper the better, because fuck me if whatever ineffable taste and aroma the expensive ones have are worth the steep increase in price. Although I'm partial to a little JD these days, that's about the sweet spot as far as I'm concerned. On the rocks if the mood takes me, with a bit of soda or water otherwise. I drink to get sloshed anyway, it stops mattering pretty quick!

Back in my college dorm days, I used to make do with pouring instant coffee powder into a bottle of cold water and swigging it like that.

Good lord, I thought I had seen the depths of college depravity... I stand corrected. I hope you're ok now bud.

Oh and for cheap whiskey I highly recommend Rebel / Rebel Yell. (They rebranded for wokeness.) Although not sure if you can find it in the UK.

The abyss and I prefer comfortable silence rather than speaking terms these days haha

Thanks for the rec, I haven't seen any of it around in the UK supermarkets, but I'll keep an eye out! And even Jack Daniels seems cheap af compared to Indian prices, so I'm not complaining either way haha.