My new friend, Red Stag.
On Sunday afternoon I went to the new Cosentino’s in Liberty to pick up ingredients for dinner. While I was there I decided to look through the liquor section to see if I could find something to make a refreshing new springtime cocktail. I’m tired of bourbon and Diet Dr. Pepper. I made mint juleps for the past few weeks, and although they’re good I got tired of them pretty quickly.
Since it was only the second time I had been to this store, I checked the beer selection (good, but not as good as some other stores), the wine selection (huge), the mixer selection (they’ve got real olive juice… check) and then started to look for the foundation for a spring drink.
That’s when I saw Red Stag.
Red Stag is a new bourbon by Jim Beam that has been slowly infused with black cherry. That sounded interesting enough to me, but of course, I was mostly swayed by great package design. Even though I was trying to find something besides bourbon, I put it into the cart and headed home.
While I was getting the grill going, I splashed a little bit of the ‘Stag over some ice, just to see what it is I’m dealing with here. The aroma was fantastic and the first sip was heaven. I’ve read some online reviews that say there’s a little too much cherry flavor and not enough bourbon flavor. I don’t know, I think it’s about right. After all, this is a FLAVORED bourbon and the bottle is very clear in stating that.
I gave it to Robin to taste. Normally she acquiesces, takes a sip of bourbon and then quickly curses me for making her try it, but this time she didn’t grimace. In fact, I think she said, “I could probably hang with that.”
This might make you automatically say, “That means it’s girly.” No. It’s not girly. It’s different. I still enjoy Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam Black in their own rights, but Red Stag is great in its own special way. Besides, I don’t drink girly drinks, so suck it.
I also read in most reviews online that Red Stag is not as suited for drinking straight as it is suited for mixing into drinks. I’m going to disagree with that too. I’ve yet to try it in a drink. I only want it on the rocks because the flavor is so distinctive and, in my opinion, stands up well on its own. That doesn’t mean that I’m not looking forward to making a mean Manhattan with this stuff, because I am. One reviewer also said that it’s pretty awesome with a splash of Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters in it. As luck would have it, I have some of that, so I’ll be giving that a try too.
In the end, if you’re a bourbon fan and you’re looking to try something new and different, take a look at Red Stag. If you’re a bourbon purist, umm… try it, but don’t bitch at me if you don’t like it.