I dont know much about alcohol unless we are talking chemistry and I don't drink a lot but when I do it tends to be darker liquors. I enjoy them for their robust taste if that makes sense. Like whiskey, and rum things like that. Are there any drinks from the lighter or clear alcoholic beverages that give that nice strong taste like that? I have had clear rum but due to the excessive nature of one night with it it is difficult to palate but its been a while so maybe that has changed.
Also general info on different types of alcohol and their characteristics would be lovey.
That would be quite a guide and it'd take me a while to write it. As for the question about lighter spirits, there are a few. Brazilian cachaça and other spirits distilled from sugar cane tend to have robust flavor. Unaged whiskey is clear because it hasn't been aged in charred oak barrels. There are a few out there. Buffalo Trace makes some widely distributed ones. However the ones I had from them were high in alcohol and kinda gross to be honest. They were super strong and really bready/yeasty. Blanco/white/unaged tequila is aged less than 3 months in oak barrels. It has more "raw" agave flavor than the more aged reposado or most aged añejo tequilas.
Vodka is basically all the same shit. It comes from either wheat, rye, potato, or even some in America are distilled from corn. Ciroc is distilled from grapes, which I read makes it technically brandy and not vodka, but that's a technical distinction I don't care to research. In any case, vodkas to me are really similar. They basically taste and smell like rubbing alcohol. Some have less alcohol burn than others. There are differences, but mostly I drink vodka mixed. When I drink it straight I like it straight from the freezer. Most vodkas have a sort of bitter taste to me.
Rums are another good bet for clear spirits. Especially sugar cane rums. I had one from Nicaragua called Flor de Caña 4 year blanco. It was aged in oak barrels (not charred ones). Had a really nice flavor. Havana Club from Cuba has a white that I think is 3 years IIRC. It's delicious. Bacardi makes trash so don't drink their rum. The best cheap light rum I've tried in the US is from Cruzan. They used to age their white rum for 2 years in oak. Now it's 1 year. Very sad. I did a side by side right after they switched in 2008. Huge difference side by side. Their old product was far superior. I still drink their 2 year "dark". It's fairly light for a "dark" rum. Has good flavor. Alcohol is present but muted. It's easy to slam. Mixes well too.
There are other spirits like Ouzo, absinthe, and other herbal spirits like gin that are clear. I don't like gin. Ouzo tastes like black licorice. The few absinthes I've tried were similar with a lot of anise.
Anyway this is just a start. There is a lot to be said about booze.
