trcroyle

Adding an egg white when making a sorbet definately makes it smoother and fluffier. I'm not sure if frozen drinks mixed in a home blender would get mixed enough that you could tell the difference, but it's worth a try.

I'm in the process of building a home arcade game (a sit down cocktail cabinet, naturally) and am finally getting close enough to finishing that I'm beginning to plan the christening party. What goes better with an arcade cocktail cabinet than arcade themed cocktails? Oddly enough, there don't seem to be any in my cocktail books. So I'm stuck with making up my own, which is turning out to be a more daunting task than I'd originally anticipated. That's where you all come in! Here are some quick ideas I jotted down, The Frogger (just a renamed Leap Froghttp://cocktaildb.com/recipe_detail?id=3296) Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain 3/4 oz fresh lime juice (2 cl, 3/16 gills) 1 oz light rum (3 cl, 1/4 gills) 1 oz apricot flavored brandy (3 cl, 1/4 gills) 1/2 oz grenadine (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) I made this the other night and it was tasty enough for me to have another (I used Fees Brothers grenadine). It looks like a ton of grenadine, but the lime really cuts the sweetness here. It comes out blood red, so I dropped a lime wedge in for a frog garnish. Game over! The Ms Pacman This one is still vague, probably something with lemoncello since I made a ton this year. As soon as Bing cherries come in season I'm going to buy up a jarfull of twins and start them soaking in Brandy for the garnish. The Spy Hunter I'll stick with a James Bond theme here that people will recognize: Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred. The Donkey Kong While it's tempting, no creme de banane in this one! I'm thinking either go with Mario and make an Italian drink, or go with Kong and make something bourbon based (What else do you think is in those barrels!). A flamed orange peel garnish seems de rigueur. The Asteroid Rocks, and lots of them! It might even be fun to mix up some normal size ice and some crushed ice. The drink almost seems superfluous. Maybe just something simple and clear like a gin and tonic. The Pole Position I can't believe there isn't already a Racecar cocktail. Maybe a sidecar or one of it's variations. A little checkered flag as a garnish would be a cute touch. Tapper Some wise guy always asks for a beer. Marble Madness I'm thinking a Gibson, but use a red cocktail onion instead of the standard white to stand in for the Marble. Other classic games that could lend their names: Robotron, Galaga, Joust, Centipede, Gyruss, Tempest, Defender, Tron, Dig Dug, Gauntlet, Galaxian, Missile Command, Time Pilot, Elevator Action, Scramble, Moon Patrol, Mr. Do!, Track & Field, 1942, Gorf, Phoenix, Qix, Berzerk, Burger Time, Stargate, Battle Zone, Rampage, Xevious, Dragon's Lair, Sinistar, Zaxxon, Q*bert, Space Invaders...

I found this recipe at United Service Punch 2 pints hot tea 3/4 lb. sugar 8 lemons 1 pint arrack Dissolve, in two pints of hot tea, three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, having previously rubbed off, with a portion of the sugar, the peel of four lemons; then add the juice of eight lemons, and a pint of arrack. From Bon Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas, 1862 They recommend zesting the lemons (since the recipe instructions assume load sugar) and steeping it all for a few days. These are the basic ingredients for Swedish Punsch and it sounds plenty sweet enough to be right. Anyone with an actual imported bottle want to try it and compare?

IMO, blood oranges aren't all that exciting for 'cello. Most of the flavor is in the flesh, the zest isn't significantly different than a regular orange. On the other hand, they're pretty cool for things like ratafias, where the juice and zest of the orange is used. I haven't ever made one; but, I think you also use the whole orange for vin d'orange. edit - fix typo ← I'll have to disagree here. I made a run of cellos this year lemon, bergamot, etrog citron, lime, and grapefruit. But far and away the tastiest was the blood orange-cello made with Moro blood oranges. I give every citrus at the store a good finger scrape looking for intersting fragrances. I won't claim that the taste is demonstrably different than a genreic orange-cello since I didn't make any this year to compare, but I would certainly call the finished product exciting. A side note: I think, if nothing else, the color is more interesting since the ruddier blood orange peel makes for a darker orange extract.

I invented this last year right at the tail end of bergamot season. This year I'm freezing as much juice as I can fit in the freezer: 1.5 oz gin .5 oz yellow chartreuse 1 oz bergamot juice splash of campari (enough to turn the drink a delicate orange) Shake with ice and strain into a coctail glass. Garnish with a twist of bergamot peel. I'm still trying to come up with a name.

I just picked up a bottle Saturday after seeing the Bouchon recipe listed above. I made a standard Negroni and have to say was the best I've ever mixed.

Maybe what's needed isn't a different name for the good bartenders, but a different name for the bad ones.

It's not like I asked for something obscure. If there were a list of 50 basic drinks every decent bartender should know off the top of their head, I'd argue long and hard for the Negroni to be on it. So for me ordering a Negroni some place new is how I scope out the quality of the person behind the bar. It's very rare that I find a bartender who has the ingredients but doesn't know how to make one. This place even went so far as to have a changing list of house cocktails, which is usually a sign that the bartenders think they know their stuff. Negronis (negrones?) also really let a good bartender shine. If they make me a great one, I'll follow up by telling them what I'm in the mood for and see what they suggest. For me, drinking out is much more about the experience. If all I wanted was a good drink, I'd stay home. It's certainly a lot cheaper!

Maybe what's needed isn't a new title but a qualifier? Something like Master Bartender (to borrow from the world of gardening). Of course this begs the question of what is a good/great bartender? To give an example: Waiting for a table at one of those mid-level trying to be fancy restaurants that seem to be everywhere these days I order a Negroni at the bar. Three bartenders behind the bar and not one of them has even heard of it. One of them thinks there might be champagne involved. They refer to that black spiral bound book that has all the frat boy drinks in it and can't find it (it's in there, I checked). I finally have pity and tell them how to make it. The drink they hand me is actually a pretty good Negroni. A few nights later I'm in a dive bar for karaoke night. Normally I'd play it safe and just get a beer, but I notice they have a pretty nice back bar so what the hey. The bartender , who looks like she could work in a biker bar, doesn't even blink. She reaches behind her and with one hand grabs the campari and vermouth and the gin in her other hand without even turning to look at the counter. It was a god-awful cocktail (probably due to the ingredients, the proportions were fine). I'd go back to the dive, but I'll never go to that restaurant again even though in the ned they gave me the better drink.