jmfangio

How long is the infusion time for fat washing? Just long enough for the fat to solidify, or longer? There was some discussion of fat washing going on a few months ago in the molecular mixology thread and, tongue planted firmly in cheek I brought up the idea of Bacon Bitters. Thing is, though, I haven't been able to get the idea out of my mind. It may be one of the worst ideas I've ever had, or sheer genius. As a proof of concept shortcut, rather than starting from scratch I'm thinking of fat washing a bottle of Angostura, which is cheap enough so that I'm not taking a big hit if this turns out to be a bad idea (no way I'm sacrificing my bottle of Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged just yet).

It looks like they're readily available in the UK, but I haven't been able to find them here either, and whenever I've asked about them at a spirits shop they've never even heard of them, and can't find them in their distributors book. I just checked their website and couldn't find any information on them being available in the US, but I just sent them an email, so fingers crossed that I hear back with good news.

I'm lazy. Can I just submit a class photo?

On my second batch of bitters. My first was Regan's #5, and this time I'm using the same base recipe, but replaced the dried orange peel with dried tangerine and goji berries from a Chinese herbal shop, so I think I'll call these my Qi Tonic bitters, since all of this is purely medicinal, you know.

Speaking of the Wray & Nephew, back in 2006 a Belfast hotel took the Guinness World Record for the world's most expensive cocktail with an original Mai Tai.

Two questions, heading into "G". Any new info on Hercules? I just looked at my copy of Savoy and noticed that it appears early on. And I don't know if I should be encouraging you to skip ahead too often, but Friday seems like too good an opportunity to pass on making the Leap Year cocktail.

Well, my brother is the CFO of a pharmaceutical company, and a Campari drinker. Now I just need to convince him that this is a good use of company resources. ← Sent my brother an email, and got a frantic call back (after he'd just checked his own bottle and been to the Bevmo down the street from his house to check their labels). Long story short - tomorrow I'm sending him a couple of mini bottles of the bug juice formula, and he said that he'd "put the boys in the lab on this."

Well, my brother is the CFO of a pharmaceutical company, and a Campari drinker. Now I just need to convince him that this is a good use of company resources.

Well, I figured that I'd do one last taste test before putting the issue to bed. I had a friend over the other night and gave her a bit of each at room temperature with a splash of water, then made two Negronis to see if the difference was apparent in a cocktail. She was able to correctly call them both, and the comments were very much in line with before - I come back to Chris' line "slowly enveloping, steamy warmth compared to a bucket of hot water over the head." I was a bit surprised by how much we could each tell the difference in the Negroni.

We're not quite there yet. Today's NY Times has an article on Cointreau's spherification kit.

I tried a slightly more scientific experiment today on two volunteers. First, a chef and Campari loving friend of mine visiting from out of town. I didn't tell him anything about the formula change, or even that I was giving him Campari, just that my palate is messed up because of this cold, and I needed him to taste test something for me (he's used to my mixology experiments). In each glass 1/2 oz Campari, with 1/4 oz water. He tasted the old school first (said, "Hmmm...tastes like Campari"), then the bug free version. Asked if he thought there was any difference, he said he thought the first definitely had a longer finish. Then, on my Mom, also a Campari lover. She tried the bug free first, then the original, and had much the same reaction - that the newer version comes at you all at once, while the older version builds in layers. I mentioned Chris' analogy, "slowly enveloping, steamy warmth compared to a bucket of hot water over the head", and they thought that summed it up quite well. So, the results of today's experiment? I just made a grown man cry, and my mother very, very sad.

I just did a quick side by side taste test of the old school bug juice and the new formula. I'm fighting a little bit of a cold so my palate isn't at 100%, but I thought that I detected an unwelcome, slightly metallic aftertaste in the latter. I'll try this again when I'm back to normal, but I'd love to hear some opinions from other people who have both formulas on hand. However, I made a Negroni the other night with the new formula (my first drink with that bottle), and I didn't think that it was quite up to snuff, but at the time I thought that maybe my bottle of vermouth was a touch past its prime. Now, I'm not quite so sure.

Yikes! I just ran to my liquor cabinet to check the bottle I picked up a few weeks ago, and there were the words I was dreading: artificially colored. I'm going on a hunt for the real bug juice. Update: Stopped by a local spirits shop this afternoon and they only had the new formula on the shelves, but I was able to dig out a couple minis of the old school. I'm fighting a bit of a cold, so my palate may not be at its sharpest, but I'll try a side by side comparison as soon as I can.

Perhaps one could say that "bitters are the Umami of the cocktail world." I have no idea if that analogy will hold up to scrutiny, but I do like the sound of it. Peter - there's a good collection of bitters recipes at The Art of Drink that should help you get started.

Could you use a glass teapot strainer (should be VERY easy to find in Japan), perhaps inserting a smaller glass into the strainer if you need to weigh the ingredients down?

I'm all for twisting onto the drink - watching that little cascade of droplets is one of the joys of the process. The only exception that I follow is for the Flame of Love Martini.

Hmmm...so Harry may not have just been cribbing recipes, but quotes as well. I believe it was James Thurber who said, "One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough." (My apologies to Harry's memory if indeed it was Thurber who was cribbing from him).

That is sweet! But, now I'm in trouble. I Googled 'Pullman's cocktail shaker' for more info, and came across this gallery of beautiful vintage cocktail shakers. I'd better hide my credit cards. Hey, we could all chip in and get David Wondrich the 'Esquire Man' shaker!

There was a similar recipe for a homemade lime cordial on The Spirit World last month. I made it with yuzu and lime, and it has a wonderful depth of flavor, and (so far) is holding up very well in the fridge. (I couldn't find tartaric acid so I made it without, and I don't think that it suffered for it). edit: fixed wonky quoting.

I picked one up last year at a local Thai market when I was looking for a new channel knife (I think I mentioned it somewhere in the Spirits and Cocktails forum). It's sort of a Swiss Army Knife for traditional Thai fruit and vegetable carving., combing several tools in one. I don't think I'm quite up to carving a peacock out of an acorn squash, so I pretty much just stick to cocktail twists.

Toby and Gethin, Thanks! I passed both of your recipes along.

This company looks like a good source as well. Haven't ordered from them yet, but I always save cool looking bottles like this one (yes, I'm one of those people who will go to the Japanese market and try a new brand of sake based solely on how pretty the bottle is) and I'd like to get some of the orifice reducers.

Posting a question for a friend, whose mother fell in love with these when they were living in South Africa. Neither of us can find a definitive recipe anywhere online, but the common thread seems to be brandy and ginger liqueur, topped with ginger ale. Does anyone here know this drink, and have a recipe? Thanks

I don't know about this - I checked it out on the Luxardo website, and I really think it's just for using in confections. It's 140 proof, so that's one Aviation that wound certainly have you flying!

What do you folks think about the Prunier Liqueur d'Orange? The money quote from the linked LA Times article: I picked up a bottle just before Christmas, and have tried it in a couple of cocktails that usually call for Cointreau. I'm making what I'm now calling the Corpse Reviver 2 1/2, swapping out the Prunier for the Cointreau, and Cocchi Aperitivo Americano for the Lillet. Fabulous.