lostmyshape

exactly! i think i used cruzan aged rum, which is still fairly light bodied (the rum selection in PA state stores is positively dismal - if it doesn't taste like suntan lotion they don't carry it here, save very few exceptions). my intention was to make the brandy version, but i was out of brandy. so i moved on to the rye and only had about an once left at the end of the bottle. so i rumbled around the bottles and came up with the cruzan. tasted pretty damn good! (and it's probably time to visit the liquor store.) actually, for those of you who don't own this book, yet (which, on this forum, i'm guessing is very few) that's one of my favorite things about Imbibe!: so many of the recipes are not liquor specific. dave just gives his recomendations for each cocktail and then suggestions as to adjusting for each spirit. half the fun is in experimenting!

did the improved cocktail from Imbibe! with rum a couple nights ago. a really simple and delicious drink. i agree: Sporty!

ed... i totally agree. i'm not looking for a free copy from Martin (that wouldn't exactly work anyway), but rather the possibility of using a bit of his code base or, at the very least, his advice on developing a community driven and supported home-use cocktaildb. there's quite a bit of open source, community software out there (linux, etc). i'm interested in getting together a group of people who could develop a workable solution. if Martin thinks he can sell his code and would rather do that, i completely support him. however, i'd love to have him aboard a project like this, as i think he'd have a lot to offer. don't worry. none of us have any interest in "stealing" his code. in fact, cocktaildb.com is free already, isn't it? there is no subscription fee to use the service! i'm already super appriciative that he has developed this for free and (along with the museum of the american cocktail) made it free for any of us to use! of course, we haven't had Martin's input on this. i'll send him an email and see what he thinks.

i was thinking this same thing today and wanted to revive this thread. a database driven solution with indexed ingredients would be the best bet. a sort of home-version of the Internet Cocktail Database. you could easily implement this on a home webserver (OS platform-independent) with an apache/php/mysql stack -- all open-source, free (and excellent) software. in fact, i wonder if Martin Doudoroff, who created cocktaildb.com, would allow us to use his code base to develop an open-source solution. i'm thinking a front-end very similar to the internet cocktaildb where you could search by name or by ingredient, with a backend very similar to blogging software, where you could add new ingredients and recipes with a form. installation would require a little know-how, but wouldn't be too difficult. does Dr. Cocktail still post here from time to time? perhaps he could get us in touch with Mr. Doudoroff. any developers post in this section? maybe we could send out a request egullet-wide. i'm sure there are a few developers that post here from time to time. or maybe we could take this to the open-source community and see if anyone has an interest in it. i have rudimentary knowledge of php and mysql, but not enough to develop a program from the ground up. any other interest in this? other comments on it?

^what they said... people here get so exact in their technique and process! talk about obsession! err, rather, love! could anything inspire more devotion than booze? money? bah! power and success? for the suckers! women? well... slkinsey makes a reasoned argument as to the amount of sugar to use (and i think that's what made me go with a 1.5:1 ratio in the first place). as far as dilution, be sure that it happens. my pineapple syrup is much more runny that my 1.5:1 raw sugar simple. i'd say this stuff is pretty stable for a resonable amount of time. i've had mine in the fridge for about a month (almost gone...) and i'd say it's only nominally less pineapple-y than before and there are no off-flavors. as far as adding the alcohol... someone with some real math skills could do the alcohol content math, but it does seem the resulting mix would have a quite low abv (in the 1% range). seems right to question it's preservation ability. i only included the rum because it was in so many recipes i read. anyone with real knowledge of this want to weigh in?

yep... that's how i did it. except i used a raw sugar instead of white. that changes the flavor a little, but i don't see why it wouldn't be delicious with white sugar, too. um, and soaked the pineapple overnight. i imagine you could change the ratios to 1:1 or 2:1, also (i can't remember why i settled on the 1.5:1, but any ratio should work fine). the more sugar, the longer it should last (the high sugar content acts as a preservative). the rum isn't essential, but should also keep it longer.

use the same process as you outlined for the raspberry syrup. i used a 1.5:1 simple because i figured that the pineapples (1 fresh - i just bought pre-cored and peeled from whole foods) have a lot of water in them. i fortified with a table spoon of 151 rum. it's super pineapple-y and sooo good in rum and tequila drinks!1 man those squished pineapple peices were delicious once they came out of the sugar syrup. have ice cream handy and use as a topping once you sqeeze them!!!

Odd, I've had mine for at least 2 years with problems. I have the ones I linked to, and they've held up well. ← well... maybe they've improved. i bought mine at the store 4-5 years ago. broke if you looked at them crosseyed!

just a warning on ikea glassware: it's pretty much junk. bought a set each of the cocktail and wine glasses. i set one (empty) down on a carpeted floor. it tipped over and shattered! on carpet! another shattered in my hands as i washed it. we broke all 12 glasses in less than a month. and it's not that we're clumsy. other than those we break like 1 glass every 4-5 months. it's cheap, but you almost have to think of it as disposable. anyway, not online, but pottery barn renews their glassware line every 3 months or so. i always check in there because they clear out old inventory. i've got some pretty nice stuff for $1 per glass. gotta be in there at just the right moment, though.

i actually think that's a great comparison, toby. i've really been into punches (thanks to Imbibe!) and daquiris lately, which really can be a mish-mash of ingredients. yet, if you don't go too sweet, they can be complex and refreshing. their sort-of homey and you don't have to be too fussy with the proportions. like stew. a great cocktail is almost architectual in the way a lot of high-class cuisine might be. a few ingredients, some seasoning and very precise technique (which might resemble alchemy... at least when you see toby and others do it) and you have a striking concoction. salt, pepper, hanger steak:sugar, citrus, whiskey (or brandy or...)! potatoes, garlic, rosemary:gin and vermouth and bitters! etc. etc. really, those cocktails are a testiment to the mixologist's skill and even moreso to the skill of the master distillers who craft such fine liquor! did we go off topic? a-hem... mostly my love of coctails has me drinking more! i don't think my tastes have changed much though. still love a great beer, or a brandy after dinner. i never went in for wine, and i guess i drink wine a lot less even now.

[sLIGHTLY OFF-TOPIC]welcome, TVC. i see you're new! mind posting that recipe for your sassafras bitters in the All About Bitters thread? i'm planning on cooking up a bunch of recipes from the thread soon and that sounds really good![/sLIGHTLY OFF-TOPIC]

living in pittsburgh, i have absolutely no option for even passable cocktails (except McCormick & Schmick’s, but they tend to make all their cocktails on the sweet side), so when out i almost always order a beer (that's the flipside of pittsburgh -- great beer everywhere). however, at home, it's almost always a cocktail. and when i'm at a friends house and they offer me a drink ("um, yeah, i think we have some whiskey, let me check."), i'm also asking if they have lemons or limes. so, out, not at all, but, in, totally changed.

this is all very interesting, as i love yerba-mate. it's great when i want a caffiene kick without the acidity of coffee. it seems like a great addition to an alcoholic beverage and i'm not supprised that it was incorporated with wine (or, as it looks, a quinquina). the flavors would seem to go well in those. eje, any reason that you added the stuff in addition to the mate (the anise, fennel, etc.)? what suggested that to you? i also have an old half-bottle of dubonnet in the fridge (how long should i expect that stuff to last?). might try some experiments. i'll report back.

i haven't found any of the recipes in this book "difficult." however, a few require some tricky ingredients. go with one of the simpler recipes -- something with just a base spirit, fruit, and simple syrup (and maybe bitters or a easily procured liqueur). and don't be afraid to make some syrup the day before. it takes 10 minutes to make syrup and, with the addition of raspberries or pineapple, you can make a fruit syrup really easily. i'm totally with Scottos on the punch section. the glass punches were my revelation from this book (admittedly, i'm still ony halfway through). i can't stop making that brandy punch. the notes say it's a slow-sipper, but i finish mine faster than is good for any one person. it's just too tasty. oh, an fishing out that booze-saturated garnish fruit at the end... too good.

Sir, you speak the language of my tribe. ← you guys are my heroes... haven't laughed so hard... when you use the violette, do you leave out the maraschino? crap... i can special order the R&W creme de violette from a PA liquor store, but looks like the min order is 3. anyone in the pittsburgh area want to split an order?

fair enough... however, being quoted in an article about cocktails with such an intense opinion sort of implies you're serious about cocktails. however, many reporters have "go-to" sources when it comes to a subject. it sounds like Yoon is the LA Times food writer's "bar source." of course Yoon will probably answer any question the LA Times asks, because it's great publicity for his bar.

that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard! the above is what i always go by. this dallying over how cold or how diluted a drink is when stirred or shaken just seems silly to me. if you use good ice and technique, your drink will be properly cold and diluted either way. i just go by two hard rules: shake if 1) required to combine an ingredient (e.g., a thick simple syrup) 2) one needs foam (usually via egg white). otherwise it's just preference for mouthfeel... and either is just as valid as the other. and although the traditional way to make a martini is stirred, who needs tradition every time (and to the point of not even having a shaker is dumb). i like my gin and vermouth (and bitters) slick and oily - stirred - but my wife prefers it alive with bubbles - shaken. although i'd love to see them whisk that pisco sour!

presumably written by Mr. Kazuo Uyeda, the theory of the Hard Shake: this claim just seems slightly dubious to me. i can understand that finer bubbles totally change the texture of a drink, and i'm sure that texture influences our perception of taste, but i really don't think we "taste" the bubbles. and is it really any "smoother?" one of the "smoothest" drinks i can think of is a carefully stirred martini (especially with orange bitters and a twist). when it's really chilled and totally bubble-less, it almost has an "oily" texture -- sooo smooth. on top of that, am i the only one who totally dispises little chips of ice in my drink? they're all crunchy and sometimes even hurt my teeth because they're too cold. report back when you guys do the side-by-side.

i use Miro to download and watch Art of the Drink (which is so-so, but has pretty girls mix the competently made drinks) and Cocktails on the Fly (which is in HD and is good and fun once you get used to Alberta). but i really posted to echo what others have said about Toby's videos -- holy smokes, we need to get you a real show (and some lights) right away. if i lived in chicago, i'd be rounding up a film crew and heading to your bar asap! wow, just wow. another quick question: what's with the beakers that you fill in addition to the glass? just extra? do you serve that with the chilled glass? if so, do you chill that also?

got to experience little branch last week. my wife and i get to the (inconspicuous) door, surrounded by who i thought were just smokers and the door man turns us away. points to the smokers, indicating that there's a line. we were like, "oh, crap," i didn't think it was this type of place. however, we only waited 13 min, and when we got in, the small space wasn't so packed that we couldn't enjoy ourselves. the line at the bar was long, but the bartender was great. as soon as i caught her eye she leaned toward me a took my order. superb drinks, and i'm actually glad we had to wait rather than being packed in. i'm all for sensible rules!

just bought a bottle of Amaro Ramazotti on a whim and i've been trying to figure out what to do with it. tasted a cocktail at the flatiron lounge (La Rosa, i think) that paired it with tequila. the black pepper spice worked really well with the amaro. also, Ramazotti reminds me of a sweeter, more intense sweet vermouth, so i messed around with a variation of a manhatten (maybe my favorite cocktail... and kinda a no-brainer here). i'm calling it the Midtown, and this is the variation i think worked best: 1 oz Bourbon 1 oz tequila reposado (i imagine any peppery tequila would work) 1/2 oz Amaro Ramazotti 1/2 oz sweet vermouth 1 dash Regan's orange bitters 1 dash Angostura bitters stir, garnish

huh... didn't know i needed one of those. i'd only buy it if it did the dishes, too. however, i really thought that this thread would be about the crazy obsession some people have over cocktail makin' robots -- Roboexotica

i just read the above and now i'm so friggin' jealous. hmm... this is a drink i'm unfamiliar with... must try.

well... i couldn't see the difference as far as functioning in the recipe... i mean beer is beer and the draft/stout are about the same amount of alcohol (although the draft is nitrogenated). BUT, i think they taste significantly different. the draft lacks the bitter coffee notes of the extra stout. the draft is a little less flavorful, plus the sweetness comes out more. both should work fine, but the end result will probably taste different.

nathan: you're photography is spectacular. makes me feel like i'm there and sorry i'm not at the same time. thanks for sharing!