Taylor’s Favorite Thing

Her favorite whiskey things:

  • Whiskey tasting glasses — The NOSR and the NEAT whiskey tasting glasses are my two favorite ways to sample whiskey outside of the classic Glencairn. Each of these glasses does a great job pulling tasting notes out of the whiskey and when I’m really interested in a whiskey, I’ll taste it in each of these glasses. Glencairn glasses are the most common whiskey tasting glasses, and the NOSR and NEAT glasses are on the newer side of things.

  • Whiskey tasting tools —

  • Cocktail making tools — My initial response when I saw a cocktail shaker for $70 was, “Absolutely not.”, but as I became the go to bartender for my family and friends, I wanted to have a one I truly loved and decided to give this cocktail shaker a try. Here are the top reasons why I love it: 1 - it’s insulated so my hand doesn’t get cold while I shake my cocktail and I can let a cocktail sit in this shaker for hours without the cocktail being diluted much. 2- You twist to seal the shaker so it doesn’t leak a single drop. 3- it’s larger than my current cocktail shaker so I can make multiple cocktails at once. 4- the top half of it doubles as a measuring cup. Making it so I have one less thing to clean or carry with me if I’m doing cocktails on the go. Even if you have this cocktail shaker, I find it useful to still have a jigger for cocktails that aren’t meant to be shaken. When I first started making cocktails, I assumed all jiggers were created equally. After breaking a few, I now know I was wrong. I have grown to appreciate a sturdy jigger that has multiple measurements clearly marked, so this OXO jigger is a no brainer. Once you have a cocktail shaker and jigger, I’d suggest you check out this muddler and strainer. To kick cocktails up an additional notch, get you a whiskey smoker.

  • Ice molds — The larger the ice cube, the longer it will take for the cube to dilute your libation. For this reason, I always opt for large ice cubes in my cocktails and whiskey. Depending on your preference, I’d recommend these large spherical molds or this medium spherical and large cube combo pack. Before you ask, I do NOT like chilling rocks. Companies usually market these chilling rocks as a superior option to large ice cubes because they don’t “dilute your drink”. BUT that dilution is exactly what cools your drink. The heat from your libation is absorbed by the ice cube, causing the cube to melt, in turn chilling your libation a bit more. The chilling rock will absorb heat from your libation for about 20 minutes, then after that, your drink will be room temperature.

Her favorite misc. items:

  • Protein bars — I thought folks were lying when they said these things taste like actual candy bars, but they were spot on. None of that chalky mess some protein bars have, just tasty protein packed goodness. Caramel Cashew and Cookies and Cream are my favs.

  • Waterproof wireless speaker — this purchase has upped the quality of my daily shower concerts significantly. Stellar sound quality, waterproof, great battery life, and compact enough to easily travel with. I love this damn thing and at $100, it’s also a great gift option. Fun fact: if you have more than one of these speakers, you can link them together to play sound!

  • Sonos — I didn’t want to believe the hype, but after receiving a Sonos speaker as a gift, I have to admit that they are truly exceptional.

Her favorite books:

  • My two favorite “get your money right” books are I’ll Teach You To Be Rich and The Psychology of Money. I recommend the former for folks that don’t have a solid financial foundation. Then the latter for folks that would like to broaden their mind when it comes to how they view and utilize money.

  • Verity — it’s a bit creepy at times, but this is the first book in awhile that I was desperate to finish. I couldn’t go to bed without figuring out how the mystery ended. If you’re looking for a cliff hanger, this may be the book for you.

  • Small Great Things — another novel that had me hurrying home to crack it open again. The story was flawlessly told and it shines a light on issues in the Black community that many people never think about.

  • Where The Crawdads Sing — this one’s a book that hit almost every emotion with me while also keeping me continually curious. I love how tied I felt to the characters and how they told the story of an outcast.

  • Little Fires Everywhere — a nail biter that does a magnificent job of subtly pointing out the similarities between two families that on the surface couldn’t be more different. I loved how the book highlighted how the lives we often envy aren’t what they appear to be. We’re all human, fighting our own little fires as we navigate life.