Bricktop

At the urging of Andy and Erik, I used Noilly Prat in place of the Vya in the Metropole this evening. What a difference! What was vile is now delightful. I am going to have to be very careful about where and how I use the Vya dry down the road. In this case it just clashed too violently. On the other hand, the sweet has had no conflicts. Thanks, guys!

From the Mixology Monday thread, a Metropole 1.5 oz cognac (Germain Robin Alembic) 1.5 oz dry vermouth (Vya) dash Fee's orange bitters 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters. stirred and strained, garnished with a homemade maraschino cherry. My first real disappointing cocktail. Maybe the brands, maybe just me. Down the sink it went.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Rye, Jeff. The first time I had a proper Manhattan, it was an eye opener. Now, it's the only way I roll.

As Bill from Chappaqua might say, "It depends on what your definition of 'soon' is." In Dave Wondrich's Esquire piece, he said "Truth be told, we find that two or three dashes of Fee Bros. West Indian Orange Bitters (call 716-544-9530) does wonders for the drink." I couldn't agree more. I came back to the Algonquin this evening, but this time with Rittenhouse BIB rye, and M&R dry vermouth, and two dashes of Fee's Orange Bitters. Yowzer. It's a different (and much better) drink. The bitters just round off and finish the drink. I love the Rittenhouse, my new house rye for sure, and it works great here. Given that it and the M&R outshone the more expensive Wild Turkey and Vya, this is the way I'll go from now. I'll give those guys a shot with the Fee's, for scientific reasons only of course, you understand.

I haven't used Punt E Mes itself in my Manhattans, but have used Carpano Antica. I used Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters, but I am not sure it was needed with that CA. Oh, and it was fabulous. When I go all out, I make my Upper East Side Manhattan with Sazerac 18YO Rye and CA. Simply decadent.

My quest for Bluecoat ended today. One sip had me thinking I wanted my bottle of maraschino and a lemon. Good stuff.

That hurts. The Harmony looks like a good drink, but how can the be considering a twist on a sazerac? Because it has a chartreuse rinse maybe? I'm sorry, but if someone gave me a Harmony, I doubt the first thing I would think is, "Hey, that's a nice riff on the Sazerac".

I just picked up a bottle (OK two) of the Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond. I poured myself a little sip, and it's VERY good. I can see this becoming my house rye, and at $12.99 a bottle, why not?

John, how much will all that yield?

Hanging out watching the Colts and Ravens, I decided to make myself an Algonquin. 2 oz rye (WT 101) 1 oz dry vermouth (Vya) 1 oz pineapple juice Shaken and strained. No garnish. I have been wanting to try this one for a long time, mainly because of the cool name, its Dry Manhattan roots, and I like pineapple. I have been burning through my rye big time of late, and I have less than a 1/4 bottle each of the WT 101, Jim Beam, and baby Sazerac. No way I was going to use the 18 YO Sazerac in here (sequestered for my Red Hooks ) so with the 25% juice component, I went with the WT 101. It is a lovely, balanced drink, but with so many more cocktails to try, I won't be revisiting it too soon.

John, I have not looked at my copy yet, but just the fact that a mainstream publication is mentioning a bitters other than the Angostura's, or even rarer Peychauds, is a great sign for cocktail lovers. One of these days, I may actually try to make my own.

Interesting thoughts. Not to drag too far off topic, my baby Sazerac Manhattan's use a heavier hand with the rye than 2:1. I just like them better that way.Now I need to find a drink to get me off the Negroni jag I've been on the last 3 nights.

I have become very attached to the Sazerac "baby" rye also. It has a grassy thing going on which I really like in my Manhattans. Today, I think it's going to be a G&T day, about 70 degrees in metro NY.

Tonight, a Negroni. 1:1:1 Junipero Gin:Vya Sweet Vermouth:Campari. A lovely drink. Added to the rotation.

For the last few weeks, I have been drinking my cocktails out of champagne flutes. I read it somewhere (but I don't remember where), and I like the way the drinks look in them.

John, I need friends like that.

Nice gig, Andy. Congrats! I love the Vya too, and it is a bit (but no much) more available than my new heathrob, Carpano Antica. Both are guarded jealously.

Not remembering my own thoughts on the amount of maraschino (shocking, eh?), I revisited this drink tonight, but this time I used Sazerac 18 YO, and added 4 (yes FOUR) good dashes of Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters. The bitters thread had a post advocating a heavier hand with bitters, so I did. If this isn't the best frigging cocktail I have had to date, I can't think of one better. The Luxardo's viscosity gives a fabulous mouthfeel, and the bitters help balance off the inherent sweetness of maraschino. I'm really proud of this one! Cocktail Nirvana is within sight.Tonight, YARHV (Yet Another Red Hook Variation) 2 oz Sazerac (regular, nor 18 YO) 1 oz Carpano Antica 0.5 oz Luxardo Maraschino. 4 dashes Forest Floor bitters. To quote the Beatles, "It's Getting Better All The Time". Next and possibly last change will be to the 18 YO Sazerac. That will be my Christmas Day drink. Well, now I've gone and done it. I cut back the Carpano Antica to 0.5 oz, and went back to the Fee's bitters, and used the 18 YO Sazerac. My new benchmark for what a (cold weather) cocktail should be. Perfection in a glass.

That book was under the tree for me. I haven't read any of it yet, but will move it to the top of the stack now.

Restaurant: Not a new dish by any means, but the "Oysters and Pearls" ( at quotes) at Per Se was perfect. It would be a fixture in the "Name the top 2 things you've eaten in your life" list. The other spot would rotate. Home: Last February, I made a braised short ribs ravioli so good I couldn't believe it was me who made it.

Goslings Christmas Gift Set included a jar of their own brand Hot Buttered Rum mix. I haven't tried it yet though, when it's 60 degrees out.

Not remembering my own thoughts on the amount of maraschino (shocking, eh?), I revisited this drink tonight, but this time I used Sazerac 18 YO, and added 4 (yes FOUR) good dashes of Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters. The bitters thread had a post advocating a heavier hand with bitters, so I did. If this isn't the best frigging cocktail I have had to date, I can't think of one better. The Luxardo's viscosity gives a fabulous mouthfeel, and the bitters help balance off the inherent sweetness of maraschino. I'm really proud of this one! Cocktail Nirvana is within sight.Tonight, YARHV (Yet Another Red Hook Variation) 2 oz Sazerac (regular, nor 18 YO) 1 oz Carpano Antica 0.5 oz Luxardo Maraschino. 4 dashes Forest Floor bitters. To quote the Beatles, "It's Getting Better All The Time". Next and possibly last change will be to the 18 YO Sazerac. That will be my Christmas Day drink.

I went into Crossroads today and picked up a bottle of Carpano Antico and Luxardo Amaro. The staff could not have been nicer. That Carpano Antica is some good sh!t. Fun times ahead.

I just added a bottle of Vermont Gold, distilled from Maple sap. I figured it would be fun because heck, tis the season, and I have a friend who is gluten intolerant and I was looking for something other than another potato vodka. A small taste yesterday told me there was something else in there, but whatever it was would get blown away in a cocktail. Also, it has an idiotic wax-dip seal that makes opening it a bitch. For future reference, it's a stopper like a sherry bottle, so cut through the wax near the top, not as I did thinking it was a screwcap.

I was inspired to start this thread by the NY stores thread. Since I have been bitten by the cocktail bug, I have been on the lookout for places that sell more than just the common or garden variety of beverages that other like-minded folk might be looking for. Hopefully this will be useful to the community, especially if you add your favorites to it. Here are a few I have stumbled across recently. I will come back and edit the info on why I liked them when I get a bit more time. MA: Julio's Liquors, Westborough Fee's Bitters, lots of single malts, Velvet Falernum, Forest Floor Bitters MD: The Wine Source, Baltimore Luxardo Maraschino, Fee's bitters, Peychauds Bitters MD: State Line Liquors, Elkton Sazerac 18YO, Peychauds Bitters NJ: Shoppers Vineyard, Clifton Luxardo Maraschino, single malts, Rittenhouse rye