Cheap drunk

Okay...the idea is not necessarily to get drunk...but how to drink cheap(ly). More specifically, how to drink WELL and cheaply.

Wine is a staple in our house. We usually drink it with dinner, we bring a bottle when we attend any function at a friend's or acquaintance's house, we like a glass in the late evening while working or reading. But, drinking a glass (or two) a night can add up in pretty pennies, which means we can't always drink the "good stuff". Thank goodness that some award winners exist on the bottom shelf. Here are a few of our favorites (for the price): Charles Shaw (yes, the infamous "3 buck Chuck" - $36 per case at Trader Joe's), Barefoot (about $6 per bottle - and almost every variety has won an award), Blackbox (indeed, it DOES come in a box - about $17 = 4 bottles), Jacob's Creek, Pine & Post, Alice White (in fact, most of the Australians come in below the Americans on price), Crane Lake (like, $3 per bottle - not great, but drinkable, esp. with food), Bear Flag blend (interesting...and a very cool label), Mad Housewife (the label will make you want to take it to every function as a hostess gift)...there are actually dozens of other options. Wine has become so mainstream that, really, the possibilities are endless. Lots of co-ops have killer wine sections, and local grocery stores sell by the box with discounts that deepen with the number of bottles purchased.

Best Cheap Wines Under $5.99
10 Dollar Wine

Beers: Session Black (not the regular Red...it sucks--and to keep up the nostalgia, get it in the stubby bottles), Henry Wienhard's varieties (always a cheap classic), Alaskan (goes on sale quite a bit - the IPA is my favorite), Deschutes varieties (probably the most expensive on the list, but worth the extra pennies if you don't buy too often).

Single-Malt Scotch: (max $30) Speyburn - highland and speyside, Lismore, Auchtentoshan

This is, of course, not to say that we don't enjoy our beverages in more expensive clothing, but...with the budget being the budget, there is no way we can drink expensive champagne on a cheap beer budget...(btw: wine almost always ends up being cheaper than beer--go figure).

Have any cheap suggestions? Leave a comment!