BTR

Trader Joe's actually sells an absurdly cheap grappa---absurdly cheap for grappa, that is. I assume it wouldn't be all that great straight but maybe it would make for an interesting substitute for vodka as the base for a batch of limoncello.

Clear Creek, at least, has a different opinion: (and they say similar things about their other products). Ditto Aqua Perfecta.

There seem to be two categories of plum eaux de vie on the shelves of the liquor stores I've been to: the ones that run around $20-$25 for 750ml and describe themselves as slivovitz, and the ones that cost twice as much per unit volume and call themselves plum brandy or an eau de vie. The liquors in both categories claim to be distilled from plums; I've therefore obtained a bottle of an eastern European slivovitz and ... it's fairly underwhelming. Not exactly plummy, the way, say, the Clear Creek pear eau de vie is definitely peary. Is that just a stylistic difference, or does the plum flavor not come through very much even in the pricier eaux de vie, or am I a victim of false economizing? Or, of course, I could just have gotten an inferior slivovitz (this), so if anyone's got recommendations, I'd welcome them.

There's a fantastic little French bistro in, of all places, Irvine, CA with a stunning (considering its size (miniscule) and usual occupancy (practically vacant)) selection of wines & liquors, including several marcs and eaux de vie. The last time I was there I had an aged Alsatian poire william that was utterly fantastic--not even a hint of the fireyness or potential harshness I associate with even high-quality unaged eaux de vie, like Clear Creek's. Couldn't find anything like it at Hi Time, and they're pretty comprehensive.

A jigger being how much?

Ginger is kind of hard to puree, since it's so fibrous--I tried doing that for a ginger liqueur a year or so ago and I ended up just using a microplane grater. You might have more luck with something like that (unless your blender is more powerful than mine, which wouldn't be too hard).

I'm pretty sure bitters have alcohol, but are treated separately because they're so damn bitter.

Aspirin may promote gastrointestinal bleeding (in this context). Better that than acetaminophen, though.

Hmm... I have some homemade ginger liqueur and some store-bought; the former has more bite, I think, but I should probably try this one. Probably get rid of the sugar (both liqueurs are rather sweet) and fiddle with the proportions, but maybe with a different source of the ginger flavor it'll be better.

Sumile has a yuzu mojito that's pretty good.

It's a parody of Orff's "O Fortuna". I think it's considerably less cool than it could have been--the crowd is CGI.

Isn't grappa properly the result of a distillation, and therefore illegal to make oneself?

Do you have proportions for the gin/calvados/absinthe 75? Sounds interesting.

By this logic, if anyone in England wanted a cocktail, he'd have to leave the country. Kind of an expensive proposition.

A liter of Cointreau for $30? That is a bargain.

Make a syrup with the juice and add some ginger liqueur. Mix smallish quantities of the result with tonic water. (I used 1 cup juice : 2/3 cup sugar : 1/2 cup liqueur when I did this.)

Any opinions here on Jules Domet orange liqueur or Patron's Citronge? They're both relatively high proof (the former is 80 proof), and a sight cheaper than Cointreau (and my extraordinarily brief searches around Palo Alto haven't turned up any Marie Brizard). I'd try them out my self but I'm a poor grad student.

Admin: This discussion split from the Pegu Club thread. Heh--I was in Seattle a few days ago and I sort of craned my neck around to peer into the Zig Zag Cafe, which was closed (before five). Didn't get to go in for a variety of reasons.

If you slice some ginger thin and put it in your syrup as it forms, and let it barely simmer longer than you otherwise would, it'll be somewhat gingery by the end. You'll also have some candied ginger. Not too precise but you can experiment, experiment, experiment.

I've not tried Campari and limoncello, but I can tell you that Campari goes very, very well with bitter lemon soda.

Man, you New Yorkers have all the luck ... This sounds absolutely fantastic. I'd be sure to bankrupt myself if I lived in the city.

Cherry cider! That sounds like it has a lot of potential. I recently had for the very first time a starfruit, which, though it was underripe and kind of bland, seemed like it could be a pretty useful ingredient for cocktails--citrusy and a little bitter without being very sour. Probably a pain to get juice out of, though.

I used up the last of my rye making what amounted to Old Fashioneds, with peach instead of Angostura bitters. I imagine it would work well with bourbon as well, though it might be too sweet.

Oh, to live in New York...

My understanding is that Gran Gala is to Grand Marnier as Marie Brizard triple sec is to Cointreau, so, while it would be a good sub for Grand Marnier, it wouldn't really be appropriate for a margarita.