cocktailgeek

I've used hibiscus to make a syrup, then used that in cocktails. I steep the hibiscus in hot water, then strain out the flowers and make a 1:1 syrup with sugar. 1.5 oz gin .75 oz. lemon juice .75 oz hibiscus syrup shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. top with champagne. lemon twist. ← That sounds like another interesting way to use it. I assume that when you steep the flowers, you aren't using sugar since you essentially use that "tea" as the water in a 1:1 simple? You're drink sounds like a interesting twist to the French 75. Do you have a name for it? ← Correct on the sugar. Also on the French 75. That was the inspiration. For some reason, the hibiscus seemed like an asian ingredient, so I called the drink a Tokyo 75. I now know that hibiscus grows from Mexico to Egypt. Ah, well.

I've used hibiscus to make a syrup, then used that in cocktails. I steep the hibiscus in hot water, then strain out the flowers and make a 1:1 syrup with sugar. 1.5 oz gin .75 oz. lemon juice .75 oz hibiscus syrup shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. top with champagne. lemon twist.

"In New York, we’re obsessed with historical drinks and techniques. Out West, they’re shopping the markets. You probably won’t find them reading old cocktail books at home and pondering the difference between a flip and a sling." As a cocktail geek, I find plenty of kindred spirits in SF to discuss historical origins and such, but agree that our access to fresh produce is a key element of the local cocktail scene. What are these "non-spiritous ingredients" of which you speak?

How I wish it were true! Actually it's a trick of a bad photographic angle. In reality what you see are the remnants of 2 sleeves of Malacca nips that are sitting on the bar just behind the mixer. I might have 20 left and I use them (almost) only for Pink Gins. But a floor stack of Malacca cases...now that's the stuff that dreams are made of. myers ← While touring the 209 gin distillery here in SF, I peeked into a side room whose door was ajar and spied dozens of bottles of Malacca...

This is just the thing for those people who circle the parking lot to find the closest possible parking space to the front door... of the gym.

I know you said you knew about PDX places, but Molly @ Roux has a grapefruit bitters, and the guys at Teardrop Lounge make their own as well...

We are splitting hairs. To be technical so is Grand Marnier, but I was really referring to well brand triple secs (Bols, DeKuyper, etc) ← Actually, Grand Marnier isn't a triple sec, it's an orange liqueur with a cognac base. Cointreau is a high-quality triple sec. I think what kills a margarita most of the time is the use of Rose's Lime and Sweet & Sour mix. If you use 100% agave tequila and fresh lime juice, Bols triple sec may be just fine.

A good bartender should know that Cointreau IS a triple sec. I prefer the Negroni as my litmus. If I get a beer ("you DID say Peroni, right?"), I move on. Bonus points for not looking it up in the rolodex. More points for reaching for the orange, not the lemon, for garnish.

When I lived in Oregon, it seemed as if there was never enough of the Clear Creek Pear Eau de Vie with the pear inside. The explanation offered was that the rednecks in eastern Oregon near the orchards thought it great sport to shoot the bottles off the trees from their pickup trucks...

As they state on their website, it's VERY peaty. The peated malt is brought over from Scotland and made into a mash by Widmer. They compare it to Lagavulin, but I think it is more like a young Laphroaig. It IS only 3 years old...

I'm not sure which you are referring to, the Clear Creek Framboise Eau de Vie, or the Clear Creek Raspberry liqueur. On the website, the eau de vie is listed for $24.95 and the liqueur for $21.95 (both for the 375 ml.). http://www.clearcreekdistillery.com Sorry, just figured out your source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/paci...2005/taste.html And I got the price wrong on the eau de vie. It is around $50. I musta been looking at the Kirsch Sorry.

Right, so if I had a beer-and-wine-only liquor license, I could still offer an "Americano" to my guests, even though I can't carry Campari.

The Gancia Americano is likely a reference to the Americano highball (Campari/Sweet Vermouth/Soda). Enrico's had a cocktail on the menu made with Cocchi Americano and Prosecco, but that was almost 10 years ago, and I don't recall the name.

For "is" read "was." In the UK, proof used to be measured as alcohol by weight, not by volume. A proof spirit was 50% alcohol by weight. Since alcohol is lighter than water, this yielded a spirit that was 57 to 58% alcohol by volume. The degrees of proof you saw on those old bottles were the percentage of that 57% by weight that was in the bottle. There are plenty of conversion charts for this on the internet. ← I think UK degrees proof are still measured the same, only now bottles are labeled with ABV instead. For instance, The Plymouth Navy Strength Gin is labeled 100 Proof/57% Vol. but the Plymouth Damson and Sloe Gins are labeled 26% Vol. with no mention of proof.

If someone could take pity on my poor fraction enfeebled brain and explain in simple terms, I would appreciate it! 100 Proof is what ABV? ABW? In the US, my understanding of 100 proof is that it is 50% alcohol. I guess that is by volume? 70 Proof is what ABV? ABW? ← Proof is calculated differently in the US than the UK. In the US, we simply double the ABV and call it proof (100 proof is 50% ABV). In the UK, 100 proof is 57.15% ethanol. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_%28alcohol%29 )