Sazerac

I joined this thread rather late, and I'm trying to remember everything I wanted to reply to ... forgive me if any of this repeats what may have already been said in other threads (boy, have I got some catching up to do!) For whomever was worried about copyright issues regarding recipes, don't -- recipes, as in a list of ingredients, cannot be copyrighted, although the text that surrounds them can. If you just want to post a recipe or recipes for comparison, knock yourself out and rest easy. With regards to Torani Amer, I think it's terrific stuff, and I've been using it not only in original recipes but as a substitute for Amer Picon in old cocktails that call for it, including Picon Punch (the recipe for which is actually printed on the Torani Amer front label). I still haven't tasted original Amer Picon, but I shall soon. There has been a bit of disagreement over on the DrinkBoy forum: the eminent Dr. Cocktail finds the Torani product to be superior to the current version of true Amer Picon, which has changed its original formula and dropped its proof by half. However, "DrinkBoy" Robert (*wave*) has done side-by-side tastings and evaluations of both (the original full-proof Picon, that is) and has found that while they're both good products they were actually different enough such that he didn't consider Torani to be an acceptable substitute. That said, I have been using Torani in old recipes that call for Amer Picon, and different as though the cocktail may be I've been happy with the results. I'm really looking forward to doing by own taste tests (and I can't wait to see what a Hoskins Cocktail tastes like with real Amer Picon). Regarding maraschino, as much as I was in love with the Luxardo product I'm really liking Maraska better, primarily because it's drier (and not to mention the fact that it's a lot cheaper!) Regarding cherries for garnish, if you can't find that fabuloso-sounding Italian product, we've been enjoying the "Maraska Cocktail Cherries" sold at Williams-Sonoma. Expensive (as is everything there), but with a good cherry flavor and real cherry color (i.e., not neon red). I got a neat tip from Daniel, a local cocktailian bartender who has a website and business called Vintage Cocktails -- pour out the "juice" from your supermarket maraschino cherries and dump them into a colander; rinse the living crap out of them, then put them back in the jar and cover with Maraschino liqueur. This works amazingly well, and the cherries get better day by day. Um. I think that's it. Chuck

This sounds fabulous. Would you indulge me with answers to the following? 1) What is Mandarine Napoleon? Can I sub it with something else? (I have the rest of the ingredients already.) 2) What is a ringy dingy? Thanks! Re: #2 Um ... it's a joke. A reference to Lily Tomlin's character Ernestine, the telephone operator. "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company." I :heart: Lily Tomlin. Re: #1 I've never tried it with Grand Marnier, which would be different enough such that I might want to rename it if you're substituting. Perhaps that one would be an "Ernestine". Chuck

Hi trillium ... thanks for the kind words! As far as a recommendation, you can't go wrong with Martin Wine Cellar. There are two locations -- one Uptown on Baronne Street near Napoleon, the other on Veterans Highway in Metairie. Stellar selection of spirits as well as wines, and great prices. Don't miss the Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey at $34.99 a bottle, which is one of the reasons life is so good. Dorignac's, just a few blocks from the Metairie MWC, is a great local independent supermarket with an excellent wine and spirits section and great prices as well, sometimes stocking things you won't find at Martin. Other than that, if you're stuck in the downtown/French Quarter area try Vieux Carré Wines and Spirits, on Chartres St. next door to K-Paul's. The prices are a little higher and the service a tad surlier, but they've got what you need. I thank the Cosmos* that Herbsaint is both cheap and plentiful, and you can pick it up almost anywhere. If you're paying more than $13/bottle you're getting overcharged. * - And by that I mean the Universe, not the pink drink! Chuck

Which is, of course, the favorite apéritif of one Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Here's one I came up with a while back, loosely based on an old recipe fragment I found which I've never been able to track down in any of the well-known published sources. The Lillet Tomlin 1 ounce Lillet blond. 1 ounce Mandarine Napoleon. 1/2 ounce Maraschino. 1/2 ounce Cognac. Stir and strain. Garnish with an orange wheel, two ringy-dingys and serve to the party to whom you are speaking. =-=-=-=-= There's another Lillet cocktail we really like, invented in the 1930s at the Café Royal in London by Mr. G. W. Parker, and published in The Café Royal Cocktail Book: Melody 1-1/2 ounces gin. 3/4 ounce Lillet. 3/4 ounce passion fruit juice or nectar. 2 dashes Cointreau. 2 dashes Calvados. Shake and strain.

(I'm new 'round these parts ... hi, y'all. ) Here's one I came up with a few weeks ago, which has been enthusiastically accepted by everyone who's tried it so far (including the people for whom it was named, much to my relief). Subsequent researches revealed it to be a relative of the Fin-de-Siècle Cocktail and the Hearst Cocktail, but hasn't been done before as far as I can tell. Some old friends from Cambridge, England were visiting for the first time in five years, and one of our friends challenged me to come up with a new cocktail in their hono(u)r. Given that they're gin fanciers, and that Plymouth Gin is their favorite after Tanqueray (and my favorite English gin, period), the drink is based on that spirit. The deal was, if they didn't like the cocktail, I'd drink it myself, change its name and make something else for them. Fortunately, that was unnecessary. The only ingredient that might be a bit hard to find is the Torani Amer, a San Jose-made American substitute for the now-almost-impossible-to-find bitter orange aperitif Amer Picon (even though it's not quite the same). It's a great product, though, available for a good price via mail order from Beverages and More or Vintage Wines and Spirits. Once you've got it in your bar you can also make Picon Punch, Picon-Limón and more. If you actually do have some Amer Picon, particularly the now-discontinued high-proof one, I'd love to hear how this cocktail tastes with that ingredient instead of the Torani. The Hoskins Cocktail 2 ounces English gin (I like Plymouth). 3/4 ounce Torani Amer. 1/2 ounce Maraschino liqueur. 1/4 ounce Cointreau. 1 dash orange bitters. Orange peel. Stir with cracked ice for no less than 30 seconds, and strain into a cocktail glass. Flame the orange peel over the drink, making sure you get a nice slick of caramelized orange oil over the surface. Garnish with the peel, rind side up.