jmfangio

My walnuts from Mt. Lassen arrived this morning, and I just put my batch up a few minutes ago. Fingers crossed for the next six weeks!

It never occurred to me either, until I noticed flavor similarities to drinks made with Americano and when I made the Imperial Cocktail. Maybe they're using a grappa to fortify it and that's what I'm tasting? ← OK, I just made an Imperial (Plymouth, Noilly, Luxardo, Angostura), and I absolutely see what you mean about it reminding you of drinks made with Cocchi. There's something about the bit of dryness brought by the Maraschino, and the spice of the Angostura that reminds me as well of the flavor party that Cocchi brings to a cocktail. And it's a lovely drink, to boot. This one's going in the regular rotation. And I suspect that it might be even better with the Fee's Barrel Aged.

Quinine, orange, cinnamon...definitely. But, I just took a quick sip from my open bottle of Cocchi and couldn't really detect any almond note. This doesn't exactly help out with long term supply issues, since apparently it's not being produced anymore, but I just spotted two bottles of the Duckhorn King Eider vermouth on the shelf at a local wine shop. I haven't tried it yet, but the descriptions I'm reading sound a lot like the Cocchi.

What great timing - I just reread this entire thread over the weekend and meant to do a thread bump myself, as I'm planning to put up a batch this year. I have a friend in Pasadena with a walnut tree in his backyard and emailed him yesterday, but if his tree isn't delivering I'll order from Mount Lassen Farms. Just before St. John's Day I'm going to the wedding of an Italian friend of mine, and I'm planning to quiz his Nonna for her recipe.

Works like a charm. A few months ago I splurged and bought the fancy pants induction heating Zojirushi , and just made a perfect batch of sticky rice. Just as good as the soak/steam method. I don't know if this is common to other rice cookers (it wasn't in my last one), but I like how you set the timer for when you want the rice to be finished, rather than a start time. Edit: Deleted a superfluous comma.

Here the spread is usually between $17-22. The Rittenhouse 80 is usually around $15, and Old Olverholt around $13-16.

Wow. I guess this is one of those areas where we can see drastic price difference between states. Here in Los Angeles, I've always found the two to be between $2-3 of each other. The Rittenhouse is usually cheaper than the Wild Turkey, but not always. That said, I'm out of Rittenhouse, and I can't find it anywhere.

Since it's easy to get Creme de Violette, and I'll assume you can get Maraschino as well, make Aviations. It never fails - whenever I make one for someone for the first time, they immediately declare it their new favorite cocktail.

The best version I've ever made was with Junipero/Ciroc/Cocchi Aperitivo Americano, with an orange twist. I still have an unopened bottle of Cocchi, but I haven't been able to bring myself to crack it open, knowing that it may be my last. I've been looking everywhere hoping to find some still in stock, but no luck so far. I'd love to try that Rin Quin Quin mentioned above.

It's a bad pun, but I think I'm going to stick with my first thought: The Marguerita.

Giving a bump to this long dormant thread, since tomorrow, 5/28/2008 is Ian Fleming's 100th birthday, and I know that I'm planning on raising a Vesper in his honor.

Yup, what Kent said - try it in a Margarita in lieu of the Cointreau. Even better, now that it's strawberry season, make a batch of Tequila Por Mi Amante (I just put my batch up last weekend), and try this recipe out.

Just made one of these - same ingredients as above - and it's fabulous. And may I suggest an orange twist, as it plays nicely with the Cocchi.

I just put up this year's batch of Tequila Por Mi Amante, and when it's done I'd like to do some experiments with balsamic vinegar, since strawberries and balsamic are magical together.

They're online at the MoMa Store, or you may also be able to find them if you have a large Japanese market in your area. I'd love to get a set for home use, but if I find myself in an underground Osaka whiskey bar paying $50 for a glass of Japanese single malt, I want to watch my ice ball being carved by hand, dammit.

A few off the top of my head (far from a definitive wish list, and I'm going with spirits from all across Europe): Cocchi Aperitivo (which you already mentioned, and a fine choice) Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal Amer Picon Suze (no longer imported to the US) Plymouth Navy Strength Plymouth Sloe Gin (though it's supposedly coming here in a few months) Noilly Prat Ambre and I'm sure that there's a wide variety of Amaro's that have never seen these shores. And while in Italy I'd be curious to see if the Campari there is still the old formula, and if their Aperol is different than ours.

I think the Vya plays really well in a Negroni but, even better, a Negroni variation with Aperol in lieu of the Campari, finished with a flamed orange twist. Something about the flamed orange oils works beautifully with the Vya.

I'm so glad that I picked up a spare last time I saw a lone bottle on the shelf.

I got one of these from Ikea, and I love it. It's not on casters, but three out of four ain't bad.

There's a great post here with step by step instructions on how to construct your own out of a computer keyboard vacuum, and a bowl and screens from a head shop.

Actually, it was when I was trying to come up with Poison Dart #1 that I bought my first bottle of Green Chartreuse. I really have to try this one again - Poison Dart is too good a name to pass up having a worthy cocktail attached to it. The green spirits in my cabinet are Chartreuse, Absinthe, and Verveine Velay Extra. Time to get to work!

Sometimes I'll start with a cool sounding name and idea and go from there, but even when it's something built purely by accident and/or experimentation, I try to come up with something evocative of the ingredients. For example, a good friend of mine is part of a Lotus Elise owner's group, and during the LA Auto Show a couple of years ago we were hosting a dinner party for some Elise owners and Lotus executives, so I felt that I had to come up with an Elise cocktail - like the Elise (for you non-car people out there, a British sports car with a Toyota sourced engine) light, potent, and comprised of British and Japanese elements. So, I did a riff on the French 75 with Gin (Martin Miller's worked best), fresh yuzu, a dash of Rose's (the real British stuff), topped with sparkling sake. I'm also a longtime fan of Hong Kong action movies, and in my real life job (movie business) I've done a lot of work in HK, so some friends suggested that I start naming cocktails after kung fu movies. So, I created a cocktail using Korean honey/ginger tea (which is kind of like a marmalade) and called it the Golden Swallow, after the 1968 Chang Cheh classic. Another friend of mine loves the name Poison Dart for a cocktail, and wants it to be green, small, potent, and eminently quaffable. I took a go at this a few years ago when I was just getting into this hobby but, looking back, I think I can do better, so I'll have to take another go at this one.

A nightcap is a rarity for me, but I quite like Audrey Saunders' Good Night, Irene , which I first read about on the Cocktail Chronicles.

This isn't an obvious piece of cocktail gear, so let me explain. This an example of what used to be called a doctor's watch. The idea behind the duo dial design was that the sub dial would make it easier to count the seconds when taking a patient's pulse. I, however, can think of no nobler purpose than timing the stirring of my mixed drinks. Perhaps it's just the placebo effect, but I'm quite certain my martini was just a little bit more delicious than usual tonight.

That was my original thought, but then I did the math on the nearly monthlong project that making bitters can be, vs. five minutes or so of actual labor just to see if this is an idea that warrants further exploration. What the hell. I'll try fat washing some Angostura sometime this week. I'm not going in with the expectation that the result will be the ultimate version of Bacon Bitters, but I'm hoping that it will it least give me an idea of whether it's a good idea or not.