"The PDT Cocktail Book"

[FrogPrincesse]

How was it? I haven't tried any of the cocktails with grenadine as I don't have a good one and have ruined several cocktails with the one I have...

[mukki]

I really enjoyed it; much better than the version in Danny Meyer's book. A tad on the sweeter side, but not a problem. The grenadine I'm using is from Small Hand Foods.

[mukki]

Coda: El Dorado 12 Year Rum, Flor de Cana 4 Year white rum, lime, St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram, demerera syrup + whole egg. Note that the rums listed are my substitutions since I didn't have what the recipe called for. Rather light bodied and tasty, though I'm not the biggest fan of allspice dram. Allspice is great in a spice cake, but not so much in a cocktail (I have a similar attitude towards cinnamon).

[EvergreenDan]

Mukki -- Nice looking cocktail.

Try reducing the amount of Allspice Dram that a recipe call for, especially if using St. Elizabeth's. It is quiet a bit more potent than homemade variations, apparently. You need to adjust recipes accordingly. I agree totally with you. Any more than about 1 tsp in a cocktail just takes over. I do enjoy the flavor when you get it just right -- lingering in the background.

You might enjoy Nocino. I've only had the Nux Alpina brand, but it shares a similar spiciness with Allspice Dram, without taking over as much. I sometimes substitute it when I'm afraid that allspice dram will be too dominant.

Edited February 1, 2012 by EvergreenDan (log)

[JAZ]

We tried the Pink Lady -- not bad, but very sweet for our taste. I'll make it again, but with less simple syrup.

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful cocktail, mukki. I never had much chance with egg cocktails - I probably need to work on my shaking technique to achieve such a nice result.

Tonight I tried the Rio Bravo: Cachaça, lime, orgeat, and muddled ginger. Really fresh and an excellent vehicle to showcase homemade orgeat!

[mukki]

The Rio Bravo is on my (long) list of cocktails to try.

Here's a Luau from the tiki genre (3 rums, lime, simple, orgeat, passionfruit, Angostura) that's been half consumed. Nice balance, strong drink.

Edited February 6, 2012 by mukki (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

mukki - I love tiki drinks so I will have to try this one. It looks great!

A classic Martinez with the ratios from PDT: 1.5 oz each of Hayman's old tom gin and Dolin sweet vermouth, 0.25 maraschino, bitters (I used Angostura, the books calls for Boker's), twist (I substituted clementine for orange). Very enjoyable.

[mukki]

20th Century: gin, creme de cacao, lillet, lemon

[tanstaafl2]

So I have been thumbing through my recently arrived copy of the PDT Cocktail Book the last few days in anticipation of making a few of the many drinks listed (Have been battling a cold so not much cocktail-ing occuring at the moment).

I noticed more than few seem to use Deep Mountain Grade B Maple Syrup. Do I need to go out and track down a Grade B syrup? My understanding is the grades reflect the color as much as anything. I have lots of real maple syrup (not likely to find the specific Deep Mountain brand here) but most of it is Grade A (probably medium but not sure at the moment). Deep Mountain uses the Vermont grades which apparently are a bit more dense (slightly more sugar).

But in addition to being darker it seems to imply that Grade B also imparts more maple flavor.

So I suppose I need to go out and find a Grade B syrup (Vermont grade or otherwise) to best approximate the intended drink? Or can I use my scandalous Grade A syrup?

Edit: on further review I see on page 27 it notes that Grade A Dark Amber will do in a pinch. Odds are I don't have that either...

Edited February 23, 2012 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

Grade B Maple has a deeper, darker Maple flavor in addition to being darker in color. More like Maple Molasses if you will. It's not hard to understand why they're specifying it but you won't ruin a drink using a Grade A.

Personally, I never understood why Grade B isn't more popular. It's the jam.

[tanstaafl2]

Turns out that although it is a Canadian sourced maple syrup it is listed as US Grade A Dark Amber rather than using Canadian grades (I guess because it is sold here in the US?) so I suppose it will do in a pinch.

In the meantime I will look around for a locally available Grade B syrup to try just out of curiosity.

4 drinks called for it and I hadn't even gotten past the Betula!

An ingredient index would have been a nice addition. Of course that is the case with most cocktail books, at least to me.

[EvergreenDan]

Maple grades date from with the best maple syrup has as little maple flavor as possible, imitating neutral cane sugar. I like grade B, too. It has the advantage of getting more maple flavor into the cocktail without adding so much sweetness.

[weinoo]

Personally, I never understood why Grade B isn't more popular. It's the jam.

I have a feeling it's probably a lot more expensive to produce.

[thirtyoneknots]

Personally, I never understood why Grade B isn't more popular. It's the jam.

I have a feeling it's probably a lot more expensive to produce.

Really? I thought it was a byproduct of maple sugar production. It's been a long time since I visited Vermont but I don't remember a significant price difference.

[weinoo]

I don't think it's a byproduct, but I also (after reading some more) found out it's not any more expensive to produce. There just appears to be a lot less of it produced.

[thirtyoneknots]

I don't think it's a byproduct, but I also (after reading some more) found out it's not any more expensive to produce. There just appears to be a lot less of it produced.

I would bet a significant majority of maple syrup consumers aren't even aware of Grade B, leading to low demand, answered by low production, vicious circle. It would certainly qualify as a specialty item here in Texas.

[Dave the Cook]

Grade B isn't as prevalent as A, but it's not hard to find. When I lived in Houston (late 90s), it was available at all the major grocery stores. Here in Atlanta it's the same story: of the three or four brands on the shelf, at least one of them will be B.

[thirtyoneknots]

Grade B isn't as prevalent as A, but it's not hard to find. When I lived in Houston (late 90s), it was available at all the major grocery stores. Here in Atlanta it's the same story: of the three or four brands on the shelf, at least one of them will be B.

I need better grocers. I only seem to see more than one brand/type of maple at the ritzier places.

[tanstaafl2]

Grade B isn't as prevalent as A, but it's not hard to find. When I lived in Houston (late 90s), it was available at all the major grocery stores. Here in Atlanta it's the same story: of the three or four brands on the shelf, at least one of them will be B.

I need better grocers. I only seem to see more than one brand/type of maple at the ritzier places.

Was planning to make a pass by Whole Foods here in Atlanta to see if they have it. But if it is fairly available I might look in the Publix or Kroger first to see. Don't recall a Grade B but I never really looked that close before. Usually just bought the least expensive pure maple syrup I could find. Even then it isn't exactly cheap!

[FrogPrincesse]

Trader Joe's sells both grades.

[slkinsey]

I don't think it's a byproduct, but I also (after reading some more) found out it's not any more expensive to produce. There just appears to be a lot less of it produced.

I think it may be a "time of the year" thing rather than a "production method" thing.

[EvergreenDan]

I have fond childhood memories of maple syrup. First, my mom would sterilize glass jars -- the kind with a wire bale holding the glass lid on, with a rubber gasket. We'd take them to the sugar shack. There a horse team would pull a sled through the woods, with a tin tank in the sled. They would empty each tin bucket from the tree. The sap from the tank would go into a big enclosed boiling tank, fired by cord wood. The guy would take the jars and fill them with boiling syrup from a tap. We would also get some maple cream and maple candy. I remember the billows of steam and the smell of a nice campfire.

The jars would go in the "fruit cellar" in the basement. They often formed a little mold on top, which we'd scrape off before use. The supply would last the year.

In later years, plastic tubes replaced the buckets and sled, and gas replaced the firewood. It wasn't the same.

[haresfur]

I think there is less demand for Grade B because an A is a better grade in most people's minds. Not a lot of choice here so I buy Costco Grade A medium amber.

Dan, what a great memory. I have heard of them throwing some fresh syrup onto the snow to make instant candy. We always felt cheated where I grew up because it was too cold for sugar maple trees.

[weinoo]

I don't think it's a byproduct, but I also (after reading some more) found out it's not any more expensive to produce. There just appears to be a lot less of it produced.

I think it may be a "time of the year" thing rather than a "production method" thing.

I don't know if it's either. The grade appears to be based on the translucency of the finished syrup.

But it does look like the darker syrups are produced later in the season...

As the season extends, the sap thins out and grows watery. More of it must be boiled down to yield a syrup of equal sweetness. The last of the sap may yield only a sixtieth of its weight in syrup. Concentrating the sugar also concentrates all the other substances in the sap, making late-season syrup also darker, thicker, and more flavorful.

Interesting article in The Atlantic.