Reminded by Osok's post...
I currently have 6 litres of home-made sloe gin marinading gently in the cellar of my parents house. Having first made it when I was a young 'un (and my father drank most of it, but allowed me to have some diluted with lemonade on special occasions), I've now graduated on to making various flavours of drinks. Experimenting has taught me that plums soaked in vodka do not taste quite right, whereas plums in brandy (or even better, slivovitz) are heavenly. Eating the plums after a year or so gets you pretty wasted on a couple of mouthfulls...

Things that do not work:
home-made "chilli" vodka.
Home-made "chilli" gin, in the hope it'll taste better than the vodka. Don't...just don't.
Anything in chartreuse. Some alcohols just shouldn't be meddled with.
Strawberries (but rasberries in vodka, or blackberries in whisky, are ace). Gooseberries are too sour for anything.
Mint works ok with rasberries, in rum, if you don't mind picking sludgy bits of green from out of your teeth for hours afterwards.

And whatever you do, don't add a bit of soot to cheap whisky to give it the peaty flavour more commonly found in a good single-malt. No matter how drunk you are, it will not taste like Talisker. At all.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 14:51, 22 replies)

...
I have several bottles of fruit gin marinading. Blackberry gin is lovely with Canada Dry.

A friend of mine soaked coffee beans in brandy, but never got to try it: her brother and father found the bottle and demolished it. Neither could remember, in the aftermath, whether it was nice.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 14:53, closed)

*Remembers*
I've made Skittles vodka, that was fantastic.

I tried to make mint vodka, but it ended up tasting like mouthwash, horrible, it went against your natural instincts to swallow it.
( Cawl, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 14:55, closed)

It must have been a good night
for the decision to be made that adding soot to whiskey would improve it.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 14:55, closed)

you should have added
dettol. Scotch tastes strongly of dettol.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:06, closed)

@CHCB
Well, Laphroaig does, at least...
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:08, closed)

Quality
Made the skittles vodka was really good did the chilli vodka as well and nearly killed some friends who were stupid enough to drink it

Did jelly baby vodka as well they swelled up and went massive and got you pretty smashed as well
(Scoobiedoo79, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:28, closed)

Soot
Actually, that's a fairly logical suggestion. Soot contains polycyclic hydrocarbons, which are partly responsible for the antiseptic flavouring of some of the more peaty malts.

They're also carcinogenic. But that's less of an issue than cirrhosis, statistically!

Edit: BobFossil - I've never soaked my plums in vodka, but I don't fancy it either.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:28, closed)

@K2k6
I got my plums soaked in vodka on Saturday night.
Last orders had been called, I got back to my table, but my double vodka (with ice) down, only for some damn fool to knock into my lap.

Then the bar closed.
I wasn't happy.
( Cawl, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:40, closed)

Ooh, you've given me an idea...
Shall I put a few chillis in my bottle of home-made wine?
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:53, closed)

CHCB
Search out a bottle of Springbank. Trust me.


Although I was drinking Irish Whiskey on Friday night with a native of Norn Iron and quite nice it was too, if a bit light in flavour and girly.

A giggly, pert teenager of a dram if you like.
(osok Rebel without a clue, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 15:53, closed)

^
Which Irish whiskey?

A 15 year old Jameson is hard to beat.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 16:03, closed)

Home-made stuff
Coffee beans soaked in stuff sounds nice, I might give it a go. However, due to the fact that I can't even smell Kahlua without retching (an unfortunate incident where I had to down a pint of the damn stuff is to blame) I might not be able to swallow...

I've tried skittles/jellybeans/marsbars etc vodka, it's just far too sweet for me.

The "sooty whisky" incident was at the end of a very long, very drunken night. Sitting round a hearth with friends, we'd long since drunk the good stuff, and only had a bottle of Bells that some cheapskate had brought along. As we'd been discussing the various merits of Laghroaig/Talisker etc, it was only natural that we bemoan the lack of "peatyness" in Bells. Then we stared into the fire, and some bright spark (probably me) said "I know! Letsh add shome shoot! That'll make it tashte like REAL whishky!". So we gathered it up from the fireplace, poured it in, shook the bottle around, had a swallow each, then retched. Copiously. I now have only friends who know the importance of good whisky, and of stopping me from carrying out any brilliant plans until I'm sober.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 16:53, closed)

DIY Baileys
Good quality whiskey + Camp coffee essence + Nestle's sweetened condensed milk.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... schleeeeuuurrp!


*edit* it needs a *good going* in a COCKtail shaker with ice - tis all in the wrist action woop woop!
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 16:53, closed)

^ Bob
I read your drunken acshent in a Sean Connery acshent....
Shtill funny :)
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 16:56, closed)

Tourettes
Funnily enough, when I'm drunk I turn into Sean Connery. Beard and all.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 16:59, closed)

Ah yesh, Mish Moneypenneh...
I too read thish and hears Mishter Connery. Naturally, as I mimic him conshtantly- his is one of the easiest to imitate that I know of.

Beshides, no woman can reshisht you when you shound like Sean Connery.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 8 Apr 2008, 17:05, closed)

Sean Connery joke...
What time does Sean Connery like to get to Wimbeldon?


Tennish...

Ba-dum TISH, and profushe apologiesh...
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Tue 8 Apr 2008, 17:13, closed)

CHCB
Sainsbury's!

Seeing as there only 3 (I think) malt whiskey distilleries in Oirland it's a narrow choice. We did have a sensible discussion about where it was from, but then got too pissed for coherent tasting.

Playing 'spot the distillery' is a good way to spend an evening, as those pesky supermarket buyers get some interesting whisky/ey under their own labels.

Hic.

(I'm also quite fond of Power's Gold Label but don't tell anyone)
(osok Rebel without a clue, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 17:33, closed)

@Osok
I agree, the supermarkets get some pretty decent stuff if you can get past the snobbery. I'm working my way through a pretty good bottle of Sainsbury's own brand, I haven't worked out the distillery yet. and Morrison's have their own distillery, which I've heard good things about.

Give me a good highland malt, and I'll sit happily in the corner quietly dribbling myself to death... Islay malts can go down the drain though, it's all they're good for.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 19:39, closed)

^Heretic
Each to his own, and all that, but there is a special place in Hell for those who don't appreciate Isla malts.
(osok Rebel without a clue, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 22:05, closed)

Vodka goodness
Chilli can be great, just have to use good chillis nd wash them incredibly thoroughly to avoid vodka going mank.

As for the comment about mint, i can believe it. However, After-Eight - now you're talking bigly superb...

Milky bar vodka tastes great but looks like jizz. Or was that the other way around?
(pev, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 23:12, closed)

Mmm... sloe gin...
I've made sloe gin for years, to the point where I now have to fulfil orders for about 20 bottles each year for family and friends. We've started experimenting a bit with it, adding a vanilla pod to the bottle produces fantastic results. Also tried putting a cinnamon stick in, but that was less successful.

I did made liquorice gin once too - that was very pleasant, but you have to ignore the thick black goo at the bottom of the bottle.

Raspberry schnapps is also a favourite, though greatly improved if you dry the raspberries in a cool oven to take out most of the water first.
(Photon wasting your time since, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 23:12, closed)