jmfangio

Funny you mention that - when I saw the Omar Bradley recipe the first thing I thought of was using Korean Yuzu/Honey tea. I went through a phase a couple of years ago when I was trying it out in a lot of different cocktails. For those of you without a Korean market nearby, but with a Trader Joe's, the citron honey tea that Shantytownbrown mentions is the exact same thing.

Some good news on the violet front - the violet liqueur from Distillerie Pagès is coming to the US. I had a taste this afternoon, and it's really wonderful stuff. Much closer to the Hermes than the Rothman & Winter, but not quite as sweet. I also tasted their Fraise Des Bois, which was a little sweet for my taste. They're also bringing the Maurin Quina Le Puy over, but I don't know about their Gentiane d'Auvergne, which would be nice to try since we can no longer get Suze in the US.

I'm putting up the annual thread bump a little early, since last night I pre-ordered my green walnuts from Mount Lassen Farms. This year I plan to do a few things differently: 1) Make a double batch (I ordered 6 pounds). 2) Use demerara sugar instead of plain old C&H 3) Add orange zest Who else is planning to put up Nocino this year, and what do you have in mind?

Long dormant thread bump... I picked up some Dolin Blanc over the weekend, and my first thought after tasting it was that it would go beautifully with strawberries. I had a bunch of strawberries left over from putting up this year's batch of Tequila Por Mi Amante, so I decided to make a strawberry sorbet with the Dolin. As is my wont to do, I looked up a few different recipes, and combined them, ending up with: 1 cup Dolin Blanc 1 cup superfine sugar 18 oz strawberries 3 tablespoons lime juice Throw everything in the blender, whip into submission, let it chill in the fridge for a few hours, then pour into the ice cream maker. The results? Absolutely delicious, and the Dolin is low enough in proof that even in that quantity the end product holds together nicely.

Has anyone seen the new Beefeater 24 yet? I just learned about it, but can't find it anywhere in Los Angeles yet.

Is it too late to apply?

The new formula has finally started showing up in Los Angeles. Thus far only at my local BevMo; other places seem to be out entirely while awaiting new stock, or still have a decent supply of the old formula. I had a fresh bottle of the old when I saw the new, so of course experimentation was in order. I had a friend over for drinks, and we tried it first in a martini, 4:1 with a dash of orange bitters (I made both drinks at the same time, so we could sample them side by side, and my friend was tasting them blind). We both had similar thoughts - the new stuff is definitely sweeter, with a more pronounced herbal note - don't know what, exactly. Can't say just yet which we preferred, just that the old formula is what we're used to. Certainly enjoyed it, though, and want to experiment more with different gins/ratios. Next, I wanted to try a vermouth heavy cocktail, The Imperial. 1 1/2 oz each Beefeater and Noilly, dash of Angostura, 1/3 teaspoon Maraschino. Here, it really shined. The old formula is good in this drink, but the sweetness and herbal notes of the new stuff really came through in this one. The next night I made myself two Atty's (Beefeater, Noilly, Verte de Fougerolles, Hermes Violet), and I had much the same experience as I did with the Imperial. The drink with the old formula was wonderful, but the new stuff takes it to another level. A few nights later I made myself a 3:1 martini with the new formula and a healthy dash of my just strained Bergamot Bitters, and magic happened. The bergamot flavor, which really comes out in the aftertaste, complemented the botanicals in the new formula beautifully.

Just came across this today, a piece from her Air America radio show on

I just came on to post that - you beat me to it! It's nice to see that when she does these segments she's pulling out drinks relatively unknown to the general public.

Two questions: how long do you let this infuse, and I assume you add the sugar after straining? I'd like to try this with bergamots, if there are still any left at my farmer's market this weekend.

For those in Los Angeles, I found Bergamots at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning. The seller is Mud Creek Farms, on the West side of Ivar, about 1/2 block North of Sunset. They're also at the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Wednesdays. ETA: I just made a Friday After Five from the top of this thread, and it's a fabulous drink. Raising my glass in a toast to its creator. Alright, one more addition: I used the other half in a Last Word (with a dash of lime juice to round it up to 3/4 oz), and it's a really nice variation. The unique perfume of the bergamot really comes through. Makes me wonder how they'd work in lieu of the lemon juice in a Shanghai Gin, but that's an experiment for another night.

And this is why, aside from the occasional Hemingway Daiquiri or Mojito, I have yet to seriously venture into rum based drinks. I'm self aware enough to know that I'll become obsessed about finding the perfect rum for each drink, that I'll probably bankrupt myself in the process.

I'm just wondering why she didn't make a Liberal?

She is the host of her own show on MSNBC and, as I learned in this interview in the NY Times, among others, a self described 'hobbyist bartender', and hardcore cocktail geek. She's even worked a few cocktail references into her show. She did a two part segment on Repeal Day (for that, she recommended a Sazerac), and the other night she made an analogy (I can't remember the exact context) describing something as being like the Cherry Heering in a Singapore Sling. Personally, I freakin' love her. I watch her show every night, and keep holding out hope that she has an equally witty straight twin sister. ETA: her piece from Repeal Day.

A friend just pointed me to the Bond Martini glasses from CB2 (Crate & Barrel's new store and line). They look exactly like what I've been looking for - coupe shape, reasonable size (7 oz.), but their LA store doesn't open until sometime in the spring. I may order a couple just to see how much I like them before committing to a larger number, but things like this I usually like to have in hand before deciding.

Thanks for the timely thread bump. I just read about Seville Orange season the other day, and was planning to look for them at the Hollywood Farmer's Market this Sunday. Not that I need another batch of orange bitters, I think it would be interesting to make a batch entirely from scratch, including the drying of the peel. But, now I'm more intrigued by finding Bergamots. In addition to trying them fresh, I'd love to make a cordial or, perhaps, Bergamot bitters?

This thread just inspired me to buy the GE-1 Petty. I'll report back with my impressions after it arrives.

FYI, Here's an article from Newsday (that I first saw quoted in the current issue of The Week) about new labeling regulations for products using cochineal beetles:

FYI, for those of you in Los Angeles, Wine House in West LA has liters of Plymouth for $21.99. Great price, especially considering that I can't find it anywhere else in town for less than $26.99 for a fifth.

I threw out an original creation in the Naming Cocktails thread which I think fits the bill, whether it's really smart I'll leave for others to judge: but I'll be damned if I can think of another example. Interesting topic, though. This is going to keep me up at night until I think of something. ETA: Slightly off this topic, but as mentioned in the Naming Cocktails thread, I'd still like to come up with something worthy of the name Poison Dart, for no other reason than I think that it's a seriously cool name for a cocktail.

There's an article about the new Noilly Prat in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, and the author is not pleased. I haven't seen the new formula show up here, so I'm still neutral on this. Now, I like Eric Felten's column, and I love the quotation from Maugham, but I think there's a flaw in his logic in using it to shore up his argument that this is bad news for martini drinkers. If he's correct that this "has been the version sold in Europe all along", then wouldn't this in fact be the formula that Maugham deemed essential?

What they all said. To me the Bulleit is about the halfway point between a wheated bourbon and a good rye. In a very good way. I'm a big fan of Bulleit. I always thought it was pronounced Bull'-it, like bullet. ← I love the stuff - it's my staple bourbon. I always pronounced it like 'boo-lay', but I just did a bit of Googling and the consensus seems to be that it's pronounced 'like what comes out of a gun' which, I'm sure, goes over well in its native Kentucky.

A word of caution (or two, actually): Though I'm still seeing beautiful looking strawberries at my local farmer's market, I've found when doing infusions that if the fruit is less than perfect, the infusion tends to highlight the imperfections. Test the fruit first, and if they're not sweet and delicious, I'd advise holding out until they are. And, the recipe above worked for my 2007 batch of TPMA. This year's batch was quite a bit sweeter, so I found that a 50/50 blend of the TPMA/Reposado worked better. So, use the above a guide, and adjust accordingly. Also, I found that adding a quarter ounce or so of very tart grapefruit juice is a nice touch.

I love the little Oxo angle cups as well, and also keep a set of measuring spoons on hand. I also just picked up this set of kids measuring spoons at a Japanese market, which is a cool sort of spoon/jigger combo. It was the smiley faces on the spoons that pushed it over the top for me. Now I just need to convince my friends to let me teach their kids how to make them cocktails.

This is a great topic, and I'm really enjoying the discussion. For the current age, though, I think there's an argument to be made that we could split this in two, into the dedicated cocktail enthusiast community, and into the broader mainstream (which is slowly catching up - perhaps by the next decade, this point will be moot). For the former, I agree with the nods given to the Aviation and The Last Word. But, and please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't see anyone is going out and ordering these unless they're already a cocktail geek, or have been turned on to the drink by a trusted bartender. For the latter, however, I'll flip Sam's argument and say that sometimes the culture of a decade can start 2-3 years before the decade mark, and pin this one at 1997. Why 1997? That's the year Grey Goose was brought to market, launching the premium vodka craze, which we're still going through today. Don't hate me for saying this, but I think the drink of this decade may not be a cocktail at all, but a plain spirit. The plainest spirit, at that.