Rob Simmon

<p>Seven measured drops of <em>imported</em> dry vermouth? I fear this guy has never had a proper martini:</p> <blockquote>2 parts gin (Hendrick's, perhaps) <br />1 - 2 parts dry vermouth (I prefer made in the U.S.A. Vya) <br />a dash of orange bitters <br />lemon twist <br />shaken, not stirred</blockquote>

Margarita, all the way. If you go heavy on the tequila and light on the lime, the smokey flavor of the tequila should marry perfectly with the BBQ.

How about a Jack Rose? Applejack, lemon juice, grenadine, lemon twist or New Jersey Squirrel [(I think it should be named a Jersey Girl) from Regan's Mixology]: Applejack, lemon juice, and creme de noyau, lemon twist 2:1:1

What kind of grapefruit did you use? It's my understanding that most cocktail recipes call for white grapefruit (tart and slight bitter). I made a pair of Romanzas today and they were hardly sweet--adult all the way through! As an aside, the "star ruby" and "rio red" grapefruit varieties were created by irradiating ruby red grapefruit seeds at Brookhaven National Laboraties: http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/fruits.asp

I went on Saturday. If you can get past the omnipresent display of Ray Lewisness (do we really need a life-size series of photographs of Ray Lewis doing what appears to be an end-zone dance? Door handles shaped like "52"? Magazine covers touting Lewis' toughness posted above every table? High-school age Ray Lewis posing before a sign reading "Ray Lewis, state wrestling champion"?) the BBQ is ... OK. Not great, pleasantly smokey, huge portions, mediocre sauce drizzled on top. The best part of the meal was the corn muffins spiked with just the right amount of jalapeno.

The Modern--next door to the renovated MOMA in NYC--is serving a collins-type drink with Lychee syrup--Damask Gin, Lychee Syrup, and club soda, served over ice.

I've been pouring over a series of cocktail books--especially Intoxica and the Grog Log--and many drinks call for passion fruit syrup, specifically Trader Vics. The only places I can find it are online, and shipping rates seem a bit out of hand--twice the cost of the syrup itself! Considering the cost of the alcohol that goes into the average cocktail, it's not really a problem, but it's the principle of the thing. Searching online, I've also found passion fruit syrups by Torani, Monin, and Rose's. Are these acceptable substitutes? Or better yet, likely to use real passionfruit? I've tried mixing passion fruit concentrate with simple syrup but haven't liked the results. thanks for any help.

I'm a big fan the the Montgomery County stores -- some of their weekly sales are astonishing, like $19.99 for a bottle of Hendricks (I think I've seen it as high as $33.00) They have one or two really good bottles of the base liquors on sale at any given time, so I'm trying (without too much success) to limit myself to just picking stuff up at a discount. Fortunately there are a lot of good liquor stores in DC, so the limited MC selection doesn't hurt so much. As far as price disparity, I bought a bottle of Van Gogh chocolate liqueur for $5 (maybe even 4, I can't remember) and have seen it for $16.

My girlfriend got a bottle of "Leyden Dry Gin" somewhere in DC or Baltimore, but she doesn't remember where. Made in the Netherlands in a pot still , but perhaps not a genever gin? It says to call "1-888-Leyden1" on the back, perhaps they'd be able to point you towards a retailer. It didn't strike me as particularly distinctive, maybe a little bit sweeter than normal? This coming from a fan of Tanqueray Ten and Hendrick's. (maybe I just like wimpy gins in my martinis, although for cocktails with citrus juice I generally use a more junipery gin--Citadelle at the moment.)

It's good, but after going through a bottle, I don't think it was worth $50. Maybe try it after you've had everything else.

And what would the rest of the list be? I'll nominate Lemon Hart Demerara and Matusalem Clasico.

In that spirit, what are the preferred cognacs for a Sidecar? I'm not happy with Croizet VSOP (too dry?) and can't remember what my previous bottle was that I did like. In general, I prefer the smaller labels over the big corporate distilleries (for just about everything alcoholic, not just cognac!).

The purple--created AFAIK at Pod, near the University of Pennsylvania--5 parts Sake, 1 part Chambord. (proportions are the result of later tinkering, not a recipe from the restaurant) They had a menu of single-color cocktails: red, blue, green, and so on. The purple was the only one my friends and I found notable. I think one of the fuller and rounder sakes would work best (as opposed to dry).

Admin: Split from Reverse Cocktails thread. All I can say is the Hiram Walker creme de noyaux is horribly sticky-sweet, so I'm desperately searching for the real french stuff.

Has anyone else heard of Collins Orange Bitters? I got a bottle a few years ago (I forget what I was supposed to be making with them) at Addy Bassin's MacArthur Beverages in Washington, DC. They came in a small plastic squeze bottle. Tasted like orange plus a bittering agent (but not a flavorful one, purely bitter), in a glycerin base. I tossed 'em after getting a bottle of Fee Brothers and doing a comparison, but now regret it.

My theme for the evening was champagne cocktails, from Dr. Cocktail's new book. We tried both a French 75 and a Seelbach, with Pommery champagne. I was much happier with the French 75--all the liquor in the Seelbach muddied the champagne flavor. We also mixed a recipe from cocktaildb.com, but I can't remember what (go figure). In any case, I think I prefer my champagne straight, rather than adulterated (although a simple Champagne cocktail with Angustora and a twist can be quite nice).

That's because the flavor of rye bread is ... caraway. Some brands of aquavit are flavored with caraway, as is kümmel. The only rye whiskey I've ever had is Sazerac, which is out-of-this-world. Woodford is one of my favorite bourbons for Manhattans, followed by Maker's Mark, and the slightly cheaper Bulleit. I'm not a big fan of Eagle Rare, Knob Creek, Wild Turkey, or Basil Hayden's. (Perhaps I just prefer sweeter brands.) In a stilleto [bourbon, amaretto, and lime juice (it works, really)] I like Wathen's. There's still a lot of interesting bottles out there I haven't gotten a chance to try. Of course, none of this is very helpful in picking a <em>cheap</em> bourbon—Bulleit is the least expensive, running about $13/750 ml on sale at Montgomery County (MD) stores.

Is the Marie Brizard Pear Liqueur their Poire William? Is it different from a pear eau de vie (i.e. sweet or dry)? And is their apricot liqueur the same thing as Apry? Also, has anyone experimented with Manzana Verde? I'm interested in making a version of a sour apple "martini" and still live with myself. (My other ideas in this vein revolve around Apple Jack or Calvados) Are there any brands available in the US?

A manhattan with Punt e Mes is also worthwhile ... with or without a few dashes of Angostura bitters. And even though it's sacrilegious, I usually add a splash of syrup from the maraschino cherries.

I'm interested in the group's opinion on preferred brands of "generic" liquers. Specifically white creme de cacao. Is white Godiva liquer an equivalent, and worth the extra money? I got Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails for Christmas, and need to widen my selection to make half the drinks. Also, what about Creme de Noyaux? I've got a bottle of Hiram Walker, and in addition to being a scary red color, it doesn't really taste much more than sweet (I'm drinking a sample glass at the moment, just to make sure). Thanks for the advice ...