Bricktop

That's the one I have, and I bought it from Amazon. Works great with my Rosle Boston shaker.

Outstanding segment. Dave made a Blue Blazer, Clover Club, and an Improved Brandy Cocktail. There was a great rapport between them. Civil War General had me hooting! (Sorry, Dave) Conan was Conan, and the best part was his drinking the Blue Blazer. Burned his innards, but he just kept on it. The pink frothy thing was not my bag, but it was fun to watch Dave shaking the heck out of it. I didn't catch what Dave spooned into the last one first, but did see the Luxardo Maraschino and cognac. Was it bitters? I thought I saw some Fee's Orange Bitters on the table. Pity the segment was not longer.

Tivo set. Yay!

Benedictine, Drambuie or a nice Grand Marnier (100 or 150 if I am feeling flush), maybe with a dark strong coffee on the side.

James T. Kirk, William Shatner. OK, back to sushi talk.

Now I am slobbering! Amazing pictures. The best prime rib I ever made was following Jeremiah Tower's recipe where he rubs it with vodka. Link

If you can (ie have room), I'd pack the confit and some fat in the bags, not seal, fold back the tops of the bags, refrigerate to harden the fat, THEN seal. I did this with some braised short ribs that had the gelatinous juices attached that I didn't want to lose/get sucked out/ruin the seal, etc. It worked great.I made confit about 20 years ago. Don't freak, I ate it after 6 months and a year, and it was amazing. I'm pretty sure it was Paula Wolfert's recipe too. I remember the salt-in-the-jar comment.

I picked up a bottle of the Sazerac 18 yo Fall 2007 bottling. I'll be curious to see it side by side with the 2006 version, and if I can pick up any differences. I doubt I will, but hey.

I mail ordered from Fee Brothers because they had no-one in NJ.

I picked up a bottle of Creme de Violette yesterday at Julio's on Route 9 in Westborough yesterday. Tonight, an Aviation.

I just saw a bottle of this today. Thanks for the great ideas. Now I will have to grab one. The bottle is also very cool too.

I have been downloading and just finished watching the second season of GBM her in the US. Usually, I can get them the same day you folks in the UK do. I really enjoyed the show, especially the razzing the chefs gave each other. They seem to be really enjoying themselves too, and most of them seemed naturals on TV. As for the show itself, they should package all the food-sourcing bits as a piece for the British Tourist Board. "Here's the chef in his wellies in a beautiful pastoral scene." etc. The food seemed pretty good, but the only recipe I have downloaded so far was the Marcus Wareing dessert of Earl Grey custard and Eccles Cakes. It seemed a nice English twist on the French Laundry's Coffee and Donuts. I would love Food Network to do a show like this over here. I'd give it a 9 out of 10. I knocked off a point for the hostess. I'm glad to see a lot of you Brits didn't like her too, and that it was not just a view for the Colonies.

Sometimes you find the strangest things in the strangest places. Last week, I went into a liquor store that I have not been back into since before I got interested in cocktails. To my delight, they had 5 bottles of Carpano Antica on the shelf. They now have 2.

Could anyone suggest somewhere in Boston where these bitters might be available to buy ? My business partner is going there next week and it would be great if he could do one useful thing while he's there ! I'd also like to add at least one bottle of something interesting to his shopping list - is there any chance of him finding Bluecoat gin there ? gethin ← Your best bet is to email Fee Bros. info@feebrothers.com and ask for retail outlets in Boston. They had none by me, so I was able to buy direct from them. ETA: You may be SOL though, because I don't see them on the website any more.

I'm curious where you bought it if it was Sunday. I think Frederick has some liquor stores open but I'm not sure. Most all stores are closed for liquor sales Sundays. I'm also a bit sad to see the price was $10.99, which, while a good value is $3 to $4 more than I'm used to paying. I bought 3 bottles some time ago so maybe there was a price increrase. LOVE Pikesville Rye!!Kevin State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD. Where can you get it for $7.99?

I got two bottles today. A quick taste test in the palm of my hand reveals a delicious Christmas pudding flavor profile. This is going to be a fun one.

Firstly, it was an amazingly lucky coup in getting the reservation for 6 of us. That is all they can take for a seating at Minibar, and it was fortunate that I was the first caller. I was put on hold a few times while other slower dialers were given the bad news. Quelle dommage. Clearly the word is out, and a Friday or Saturday night reservation is a hot ticket. As discussed before, Minibar is in Cafe Atlantico, on the third floor. The whole space is very cool, and when we were there, it was packed. At the bar before dinner, I had a delicious caipirinha with grapefruit infused cachaca, muddled limes and sugar. Gone in less than sixty seconds, and it was a generous serving. Sorry there were no pictures, but the ones already posted are pretty indicative of the space, and also of the menu items. In any case, I am a crummy photographer. As we had the whole Minibar to our group, we decided to go with bottles of wine instead of the pairing, but followed their suggestions. As I didn't do the ordering, I have no idea as to what was precisely served, but we started with champagne (Pol Roger?), a few whites and a red dessert wine. All worked very well with their food partners. The menu is divided into 4 sections. Munchies "Americano". A foam of Campari and fresh blood orange juice. A fun start. Tumbleweed of Beet. As pictured. A one bite golf ball sized serving. Papaya and olives. A very thin slice of papaya, candied with sugar syrup and dried, with dried olive bits. Salty, sweet and crunchy. "Mojito". An encapsulated fizzy drink. Very much fun when broken in the mouth. Olive Oil Bonbon. A thin caramel shell containing outstanding olive oil. Mouthcoating and delicious. "Cornbread". A superstar of a course, but all I remember was the base, which was a crunchy meringue of pure corn flavor dissolving in my mouth. Rapture. Cotton Candy Foie Gras. Great contrast between the cotton candy and the cube of creamy foie gras. Bagels and Lox, A cone as pictured above. Awesome delicious bite, with crunch, creaminess and the salty pop of the caviar. I could eat a dozen. Curried Chicken Wing. Boneless wing, crispy with curry. Very good, but not as mindblowing as others. Conch Fritter. Very clever, crispy shell with hot liquid center. Lobster Americaine. Oh so sweet chunk of lobster tail, on a pipette of sauce. Again, very clever and fun. Ferran Adria "Olives". The classic. Brilliantly creative, and damn tasty too. Flavors and Textures Salmon-pineapple Ravioli with Crispy Quinoa Deconstructed Glass of White Wine Zucchini in Textures Feta "Linguine" Caesar Salad Egg 63 degrees with Caviar Sea Urchin Ceviche Corn on the Cob Guacamole Smoked Oyster with Apple New England Clam Chowder Breaded Cigala with Lemon Philly Cheesesteak All of these have been pictured above. Can I pick a favorite? All were really delicious, but the cigala stands out as a dish that will live in my mind forever. The texture of the cigala was simply amazing, a synthesis of firm and tender, and oh so sweet. The crunch of the caesar salad, the creaminess of the chowder, the salty sweetness of the sea urchin, the surprising chill of the sorbet in the guacamole, intense corn flavor of the corn on the cob, I could go on and on. Genius at work! Dessert Baby Japanese Peaches with Yogurt Pistchio-beets and mixed berries Thai Dessert. The last one was the star. This is coconut and peanut brittle one described above. It has a little cayenne in there too. Brilliantly original and delicious. Sweet Endings Matchaball. A Meringue with lie zest. Saffron Gumdrop with Edible Wrapper. Pina Colada. Pineapple with coconut sauce in the pipette. Refreshing and delicious. Maracuya Marshmallow. A marshmallow filled with passionfruit. Bravo to Michael and Ryan. You guys worked your asses off. I would be hard pressed to name a better meal I have had. Simply stellar!

Celebrating my two weekend scores, a Manhattan 2.5 oz Pikesville Rye 1 oz Noilly Prat sweet 2 daskes Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters Luxardo Maraschino Cherry garnish. I happened into Dean & Deluca in Georgetown and relieved them of 3 jars of the Luxardo. I figured I would be too cautious in using them if I got just one or two jars.

Coming back from DC on Sunday, I felt obliged to stop in MD, and purchase a bottle of Pikesville Rye. It's 80 proof, but man, it is an excellent value at $10.99 a 750. They also have it in 1.75's for about $18 but I passed on that size just in case. Next trip down, it will be a must buy. I must say, it absurd that you can get a rye of such quality as this and the Rittenhouse at bargain price. Not complaining, you understand, just commenting.

6 of us dined at Minibar last Friday night. Without doubt, it was the most fun meal I have ever had. Not just that, virtually everything would get 10/10, and the worst mark I would give to any dish is 8/10. Some I would give extra credit to for being that freaking good. When I unpack, I'll dig out the menu, but there are many many items chinorlz and docsconz had, as well as a few twists, and at least one new one.

I get far more useful information from sources like here than from books like Zagat's. Compare it to Parker's Wine Advocate. There you have a number rating sure, but the text is the key. The "text in Zagats" is "really just a joke". It has "no value at all" when "compared to even review posts here on eGullet". It's useful as a compendium of phone numbers and addresses though. As far as the grade inflation goes, "If everybody's somebody, then no-one's anybody."

Check out Shoppers Vineyard. I don't know what the shipping to TX will be, but at $12.99 for a bottle of 100 proof it might be worth it. Rich ← Leave some for me though. I will be in there Monday.

It's an interesting concept. I doubt it would be the best use of Louis XIII cognac to use it in a Metropole, to use a recent cocktail I made. However, the best Manhattan I have had used Sazerac 18YO Rye and Carpano Antico. Sure, the Rittenhouse BIB and M&R vermouth versions are very good, a shitload cheaper, and more than satisfy me most days, but sometimes, the kicked up version is fun. There is a line somewhere, I am not sure where though.

I have them package it in 1/2 lb lots, then I seal them with the Foodsaver when I get home. Then I freeze them. I have successfully kept them 6 months, no problem. Edit for clarification: I refer to the salmon and sturgeon.

Interesting to see this thread bumped. In the Drinks! thread, I just posted about my experiences making a Metropole. The version with the dry Vya was as repulsive a drink as I have had, while the Noilly Prat version is (I am savoring it now) delightful. The Vya was just clashing, while the NP is harmonious. I think I have successfully used the dry Vya dry elsewhere, (Martinez Cocktail Variation), but I honestly don't see a recurring place for it in my bar. I preferred M&R dry over Vya in my Algonquin's also. On the other hand, the Vya sweet is lovely, and has had no conflicts. It will always be second choice to the Carpano Antica in my top shelf Manhattans and Red Hooks, but that's no slight. It is not as hard to find as the Antica, so while I am very sparing with the latter (ie for my gullet only), I have no problem in serving Vya sweet to company.