All countries are different, tell me a fact about your country.

Yes the bulgarian cognac sounds interesting, I guess it might be available from specialist shops in places like London but not generally available in England, at least I don't remember seeing it. I guess from the viewpoint of Bulgaria we are right out on the western fringe of the continent facing the atlantic... the barely civilised barbarian wildlands! 😅 It would be nice to try some one day.
 
vmisev said:
I would like SO MUCH to try this! 😋 Also, I never had Irish Single pot 😭
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Well, if you're ever in Leeds, Manchester, Bradford... if you get talking to the locals, you might find someone who still sells the illegal stuff. It looks like there are legal versions of it too, I don't know where you would buy it, but it must be sold somewhere. When I lived up there it was all illegal, there were no legal versions of it; but that was many years ago. As that wikipedia page says, "legal poteen is an oxymoron, poteen is illegal and can never be sold". So what they are selling as "legal poteen", I don't know!
 
blackbird9 said:
Yes the bulgarian cognac sounds interesting, I guess it might be available from specialist shops in places like London but not generally available in England, at least I don't remember seeing it. I guess from the viewpoint of Bulgaria we are right out on the western fringe of the continent facing the atlantic... the barely civilised barbarian wildlands! 😅 It would be nice to try some one day.
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Check winestyle
 
blackbird9 said:
Well, if you're ever in Leeds, Manchester, Bradford... if you get talking to the locals, you might find someone who still sells the illegal stuff. It looks like there are legal versions of it too, I don't know where you would buy it, but it must be sold somewhere. When I lived up there it was all illegal, there were no legal versions of it; but that was many years ago.
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I was able to travel, I'll go to Glasgow, look for a Celtic fans' pub, say there that Jimmy Johnstone and Henrik Larsson were GOAT, and probably I'll be able to get everything I ask for (as long as I stay very, very quiet about fact that I'm actually West Ham supporter) 😉
 
blackbird9 said:
Of course here we have Irish Potcheen/Poteen, which used to be illegal for sale in England, I'm not sure about nowadays, but certain pubs would sell it to you if you knew the right person to ask. It's very strong. I used to see it when I lived in the north of england years ago but have not seen it being sold in the south where I am now, then again I haven't gone looking for it! I seem to remember there were health risks with it, you had to be careful because some of it was contaminated (with methanol). From reading this wikipedia page perhaps it is now properly regulated. Though I expect you can still get illegal poteen if you try.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitín
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Great, you just gave me another bucket list booze to try!
 
my country: Austria. I may post here several times, but one funny fact that comes to mind is: many know the sausage "wiener" which actually comes from Vienna. "Wien" is how we call our capital in our language (german), and therefore we call those residents "Wiener". This may be funny for some of you 😁

Apropos food: while "Red Bull" is probably the most well known Austrian brand, Austrians are probably most proud about how well known our "Schnitzel" ("Wiener Schnitzel" is the traditional name, coming from Vienna) or also "Milanesa" (it is believed that a trader from Milan "stole" it from Vienna, however, even in Milan which is not too far away from Austrias border you cannot get a proper Schnitzel) world wide. I've spent years on backpacking this planet, however, I have not had a Schnitzel or Milanesa that any Austrian would call Schnitzel somewhere else (in the regions near the border you may get also a meal that is worth being called Schnitzel - in Hungary or Bavaria for instance).
 
Vienna... That's where I ordered a chocolate cake and a beer. A Swiss guy thought that was incredibly funny. Later, I read that Germans would not bat an eyelid at that.

As for Red Bull - it never really hit me that it was an Austrian brand. With its penchant for energy drinks and adrenaline, as well as being a pop culture item in the US, I was totally under the impression that it was a US brand... it took a quick read on Wikipedia for my impressions to get corrected.

I am a fan of Viennese chocolate - that stuff is good. Viennese sausage - now I'm thinking that the American interpretation of it is just bad. I'll have to try the real thing next time I get to Europe. I know the difference between an American-baked croissant and a European-baked one - it's like night and day, the European-baked ones are MUCH better. And I suspect something similar applies in case of Viennese sausage.
 
astyle said:
You seriously in Oregon??? Because that's the only state (IIRC) that fits the bill.
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I am afraid not my friend. Many of the "Commonwealth States" have 'state stores' only for liquor.

Virginia included as a commonwealth. Probably Massachusetts too.

In Philly you go from State Stores over the bridge to NJ where they have SuperLiquor stores. Private selling everything from Liquor to beer and smokes.
What you might call the "Free Market" versus state control of the vices. Included is a very health round of state tax. Pretty seal on top to prevent border crossers.
Up north smuggling cigarettes is a thing. Got to have your tax stamps.
Going to beach? Got to have a Beach Pass. They have armed people who canvass beach looking for beach passes. You will not get away with free beach.
Yup pay to sit on public beach. That is the Free Market experience.

That all stops with the tolls on I-95. Up North you pay. Virginia and south is free. All the way to Key West.
 
Also, i recently found a perfect advertisement (from a bakery here): while you may find specific types of bread around the world which are great (also some expats here and there with selling great bread), you will not find the vast amount of different types of delicious bread our bakeries are selling (well, actually not only in Austria, but central Europe). It is the thing I miss most when travelling. Side note: that's the reason Austrians in general do not like a wide-known burger bun very much. In this picture also: apples, it's basically our national fruit.

austria.jpg
 
I will give you that. Europe has the best bakeries.

We used to have small private owned bakeries where I grew up then grocery stores overwhelmed them. We have shit choices now. Real cakes with butter are hard to find anymore.
Specialty shops now where they really command a premium. A real cake costs >30 bucks. Wedding cakes are stupid expensive.
 
Phishfry said:
I am afraid not my friend. Many of the "Commonwealth States" have 'state stores' only for liquor.

Virginia included as a commonwealth. Probably Massachusetts too.

In Philly you go from State Stores over the bridge to NJ where they have SuperLiquor stores. Private selling everything from Liquor to beer and smokes.
What you might call the "Free Market" versus state control of the vices. Included is a very health round of state tax. Pretty seal on top to prevent border crossers.
Up north smuggling cigarettes is a thing. Got to have your tax stamps.
Going to beach? Got to have a Beach Pass. They have armed people who canvass beach looking for beach passes. You will not get away with free beach.
Yup pay to sit on public beach. That is the Free Market experience.

That all stops with the tolls on I-95. Up North you pay. Virginia and south is free. All the way to Key West.
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I'll just stick with Hawaii and PNW, thank you very much. It's where you can buy Bacardi at Costco by the gallon. Oh, and in Hawaii, there's no such thing as a 'private beach'. Only one beach I know of even charges for access, but it's gone so far downhill that it's not worth paying the access fee: Hapuna beach. How far downhill? Showers and toilets don't work at that beach. Other beaches, which give Hapuna a run for its money, those are free, and have working showers. In Hawaii, it's a state law to give public free access to water, Hapuna merely charges to park in a nice parking lot.
 
rootbert said:
Also, i recently found a perfect advertisement (from a bakery here): while you may find specific types of bread around the world which are great (also some expats here and there with selling great bread), you will not find the vast amount of different types of delicious bread our bakeries are selling (well, actually not only in Austria, but central Europe). It is the thing I miss most when travelling. Side note: that's the reason Austrians in general do not like a wide-known burger bun very much. In this picture also: apples, it's basically our national fruit.

View attachment 23805
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You guys also have this, I guess for well-educated tourists:
Screenshot_20251004_002328.png
 
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