Bricktop

Add Parfait Amour (I liked the name ) to the Bricktop bar. Off to find uses.

So far, I've managed to pick up MB's Apry, Poire William, and white creme de menthe. All have been excellent, but they are somewhat tough to find. I'd love to get the white creme de cacao. It is on my list, and now I'll add the orange curacao too. ETA: Wow, I looked at the link Sam provided. They have a lot of stuff I'd love to try. I am going to have to get to work on this.

Rye? ← Well played! [Golf claps]

Tonight, I went looking for more drinks using maraschino on CocktailDB For my wife I made Seventh Heaven 1.25 gin 1.0 Dubonnet 0.25 maraschino dash Angostura's stirred and strained into a cocktail glass, garnished with orange peel and cherry. and for me, Blue Barn Farm 1.5 gin 1.0 blue curacao 0.25 maraschino 0.25 Cointreau stirred and strained into a cocktail glass I'd definitely make both again, despite the Windex look of the BBF. If I were to pigeonhole them into seasons, the BBF is a summer drink for sure, while the SH would go very nicely in the cooler weather. Maybe for that reason, tonight I give the nod to the SH.

The site worked for me. Looks like it uses Macromedia Flash 8. That may be your issue. I don't want to violate any licensing stuff, but it looks like a lot of sugar, some water, corn syrup, vodka, and almond and vanilla flavorings.

My first time with Campari was 1972 in Greece. My family was on vacation there, and were in the hotel bar. A youngish American fellow who we'd become friendly with was drinking a Campari and soda with a slice of orange. I told him how good it looked, and he offered me a taste. Yikes, was that disgusting! How could something that looked so appealing taste so awful?? My parents just laughed. (BTW I was 14 at the time).Fast forward to Columbus Day 2006, when my wife and kids and I are at Union Square Cafe (NYC) for lunch, and their cocktail of the day was Campari, Aranciata and lime. Mrs. Polford slurped down two in no time at all. Tess, I am guessing it was the regular Aranciata, because although they presented the little bottle, I really didn't notice that part, but the lime converted it to a bit more amara. I bought a bottle of Campari that day, and had to buy another bottle yesterday, that's how much we've been hammering that drink. Today I noticed this thread, and made her a Romanza (top of thread). Add it to the rotation, it's a nice drink. Made myself an Aviation, my new go-to drink, but I think next up this evening is a Negroni or an Americano. I love this new hobby!

Bricktop, which maraschino did you use before? As far as I know in the states there are 3 available, stock, maraska and luxardo. I like the Maraska and Luxardo equally well, but the Stock is really bad. ← Stock. It is just godawful in comparison to the Luxardo. It is destined for the drain, I'm afraid. I can't take the chance that someone might actually use it.

... you have a cry for help on this forum replied to by a widely respected authority in the cocktail world, but don't know anyone IRL who's gets your excitement. ... you spend the best part of a day reading the archive of all Gary's "Professor" columns online, and make a shopping list. ... laugh out loud at this thread, and feel comforted that you are by no means alone in your mania.

I finally get what the fuss is all about with the Aviation. It's taken a while, but I stumbled upon a bottle of Luxardo Maraschino. I was using another brand before, because that was all I could find. Using the 2/0.5/0.5 ratio, it was a revelation. Lesson learned.

Not really fancy, but after making a rather pedestrian apple martini (2:1) for my wife, I decided to modify it a little. 2 oz vodka, 1/2 oz apple schnapps, 1/2 oz Belle de Brillet (my new favorite thing). Stirred over ice and strained into a cocktail glass. Much more complex, and a whole lot better.

Lately we've been slurping down Campari with Pellegrino Aranciata (Orange) soda. Over ice in highball glass, it disappears real quick. EDIT:spelling

I bought a bottle of Apry yesterday. When I got home, I poured a small glass, and it was not at all what I expected. No surprise it was viscous and sweet, but the predominant flavor was of almonds, the apricot pit rather than the flesh. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think fruitier would have been more versatile.

Based on this thread, I grabbed up a bottle of Belle de Brillet (about $35 at Sherry Lehman) and just made the pear martini. I used Absolut Mandrin as the citrus vodka. Certainly delicious, but for my taste, I am going to throttle back the lime a bit from 1 oz as it was too forward for me. I got a blast of acidity first, then the smooth peariness of the BdB came on. Less lime hopefully will balance it better.The color is glorious, and I could see this being a regular quaff of my wife. A keeper for sure, and I can see how it would work with ersters.

I am giving a lot of thought to doing this. My local stores are good-not-great, especially with regard to liqueurs needed for some cocktails I'd like to make.

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. I went to Home Depot at lunch and bought a small rubber mallet. A couple of pops, and we were back in business. Luckily I listened to my wife and did it outside.

Thanks, Splificator. My hands are killing me from the effort, and still no luck. I'm going to try heating the metal part with boiling water to see if I can expand it enough. (Nice of you to mention that this is a common deal. The drink was for my wife. I made a Bacardi Classic for myself first, which she polished off while I did battle with the shaker. )

OK, so I made a cocktail this eveing (a White Lady for those keeping score at home), and I shook it perhaps too vigorously, and I can't get the bastard open now. I have whacked it hard several times, and no joy. Any tips or tricks to free the Lady from her glass and steel prison?

Resurrecting this thread after reading Raymond Sokolov's piece in the WSJ Weekend Edition on Michelin's notations in the French edition of those up-and-comers who may be upgraded. It was interesting reading and was critical of Michelin's errors and omissions. (While we're at it Mr. Sokolov, Bernard Loiseau tragic suicide was not because of a Michelin demotion - they kept him at ***. He was afraid of losing a star from Michelin, but it didn't actually happen. It was a Gault Millau demotion. He likely saw that as an omen.) Anyway, back on topic. It got me thinking about the next edition for NYC. I really can't see them making any substantial changes for 2007. I doubt any new three stars, and very little change in the other ranks, deserved or not. I'm not suggesting the ratings will be preserved in amber, but any changes will be at the margins.

Great report Jeff. Craft NY gave us muffins for breakfast the next day as a little parting gift. Did you get anything in Dallas?

Our experience was that it was by the bottle.

[cough]Red Bank[/cough]

I went to Craft a few weeks ago with my wife and a friend from England. We started with round of cocktails. A Craft Cocktail (prosecco & blood orange) for my wife, a Manhattan for me, and a Brown Ale for my friend were all enjoyed by the recipients. Our amuse was salmon belly over apple cubes, and was very nice. Apps were foie gras with apple and applesauce (wife), green salad (Rick) and scallops (me). I tried the foie, and it was very good, but not $24 good. My scallops on the other hand were excellent. They came sliced in an overlapping row, and were dressed with fine meaty bits and some microgreens. I was very pleased. I didn't bother with Rick's salad. Entrees were quail (wife), braised short ribs (me) and a fish I don't remember (Rick). Our sides were Jerusalem Artichokes, carrots, assorted mushrooms plate, gnocchi and potato gratin. Rick finished his fish, but we only got through half the sides and half our mains. All were excellent, but I think we ordered way too much food, and perhaps should have been cautioned about that by the waiter. OTOH, it did make a great late night snack and lunch for my wife the next day. The short ribs were superb, everything I wish mine could be, but the star was the Jerusalem Artichokes. The gratin was a bit too firm for our taste, but reheated as leftovers was just fine. Still, we had to have dessert. We had a dessert amuse in a shot glass which I remember I liked but couldn't tell you hat it was if you held a gun to my head. I then had Meyer lemon and blood orange sorbets (excellent way to finish), my wife had the warm chocolate cake with coconut sorbet, and Rick had apple crepes with caramel ice cream. We were all pleased even though Rick felt his was a bit heavy. All tasted fine to me. We were given muffins as a little parting gift which was very nice the next morning. A bottle of Pinot at about $60 gave us a bill of about $440 with tax and tip. While we were generally very pleased with everything, I think that was more than a bit steep. We could have done it a bit cheaper, I'm sure, but all the prices were clearly marked on the menu.

Same here. Also, I have the complete original set of Cooks, a complete run of MSL (not really just food though) and Gourmet back to 1980. And about 500 cookbooks.

Treacle toffee was what I remember.

Is that a seasonal thing, (ie back next spring) or for good?