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Camper makes a great breakthrough, basically turning his cooler into a giant ice cube tray! Homemade, Giant Crystal Clear Ice Cube Tray Awesome!

One interesting tidbit I got from the Kazuo Uyeda book, was the idea that ice had a grain which must be respected when chipping blocks. I do find that the big, clear blocks of sculpture grade ice are much more apt to break in straight lines. Much easier to carve into diamonds. Chipping the imperfect large ice cubes I freeze in my home freezer, I find they are much more apt to go astray or shatter. Not a big deal, as I am usually using them for stirred cocktails, but interesting all the same. I assume the same trapped gasses and expansion flaws also affect the crystal structure of the ice.

From what I've heard, aside from the difficulty of finding vibrators with AC adapters, vibration only works significantly well in combination with the type of layered freezing and/or water circulation done by commercial ice producers. The beauty of Camper's method is that it requires nothing more than a freezer and an insulated container. Well, and a saw.

Can't believe no one has linked to Camper English's Experiments in Clear Ice. Igloo Cooler Ice Long story short, the most consistent results he has gotten come from something which could be termed "directional freezing". That is, he places an open insulated cooler in the freezer, forcing the ice to freeze from the top down. The unclear part is isolated to the bottom percentage, which can then easily be cut from the block. Short of buying giant sculpture grade ice blocks from a vendor, this is the closest anyone has come to consistently, and easily, creating perfectly clear ice at home.

Cold River Vodka gets a gin sibling "Head distiller Chris Dowe bases the gin on a 400-year-old traditional gin recipe that utilizes seven botanicals -- the requisite juniper berries plus coriander, lemon and orange peel, cardamom, orris root and angelica root. The base spirit is made from potatoes grown at the family-owned Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, ME, just as the signature vodka is made. The finished product is gluten free with no added sugar." Wacky, Gin on a potato vodka base? Anyone had a chance to try this one yet?

I had to take off my tie, ties and chainsaws just don't mix. Both of the knives Andrew were using were pretty heavy, the smaller one is a Shun from their professional line, and the larger one another Japanese brand, I'd have to ask, but very heavy for its size as well. I think an extra bit of heft really helps, especially with the parts where you see him cracking the ice in his hand. I tried to do the same thing with a cheapo japanese style veggie knife and it was much less successful. Some of the prep cooks at work do swear by bread knives for cutting ice, though, I have an irrational fear of them.

While Solera style aging is well defined for certain products, say Sherry and some vinegars, it is less clear exactly what R(h)um manufacturers mean using that term on their bottles. A friend of mine visited Zacapa, came back thinking he understood, and after much back and forth with the producer, has come to the conclusion that he really doesn't understand it well enough to write an article about it. I believe it is safe to say it is not a strict Solera System, as is practiced for Sherry, where a container is filled each year until the desired age is reached, then some portion removed from the oldest container, and liquid cycled forward from the oldest. On the other hand, it also appears not just to be a blend of rums of various ages, either. Whatever they do, it is delicious, so who can argue?

Boy, choosing between the El Dorado 15 and Zacapa 23 year, that's a tough one! First, because they are so different! Zacapa 23 being a heavy, sweet rum and the ElD 15 being a bit lighter in character. Both are fantastic examples of their styles, incredibly complex cane spirits. As much as I love both, I think I would probably say the ElD 15 is the more useful all around rum, though I would be sad not to have a bottle of Zacapa 23 around for occasional sipping.

Even though I like many of El Dorado's products, I've not heard good things about their current 151. Some of my Rum fancying friends were pretty scathing in their opinions. They did say that the Master Distiller was aware of these criticisms, and wanted to re-invent the product at some point in the future.

St. James' Rhums are, unfortunately, no longer imported into the US.

I don't know if it's a reasonable representation, but a mix of Bols Genever and Plymouth is tasty in older cocktail recipes which call for Plymouth style gin. Plymouth and Genevieve doesn't really work, I blame Fritz' fondness for Star Anise, but Junipero and Genevieve is pretty good. Ransom has more citrus flavor than either of the above, but is fun to play with too.

In a recent issue of Saveur, Mr. Wondrich had an article in which he turned up some 19th Century quotes which described Plymouth Gin as something like (don't have the article on hand), "being flavored with the wash of whiskey distilleries". Since that article, while chatting with some folks who worked for Pernod-Ricard, they said they had tracked down a vintage sample of Plymouth and confirmed those descriptions of the product. Anyway, it makes sense, at least in terms of English Gin's evolution from something heavily resembling Genever to modern day London Dry Gin.

One interesting departure I see between French Vermouth and Modern is the wine used. For French Vermouth, it is noted that the wine used was often Picpoul de Pinet, aka Lip Stinger. From what I understand a rather tart wine. I have a bottle sitting around that I have been meaning to experiment with. Do you think modern vermouth producers are using still using similar wines? I know as a grape, Picpoul de Pinet fell out of favor with wine producers after the Phyloxera epidemic, due to its susceptibility to fungal disease.

The other drinks which make me wonder about the historical character of Dry Vermouth, are those modeled on a sour, but with Dry Vermouth instead of Lemon Juice. Some early recipes for the Clover Club, Snicker, etc.

We often speculate about how much "Italian Vermouth" might have changed since it's commercial invention, but people seldom question the nature of French Vermouth. I often wonder when I come across cocktail recipes that call for a dashes of French Vermouth. It just makes no sense to use modern Dry Vermouth. I might as well add a dash of water. How have the formulations of French Vermouth producers drifted from what might have been produced at the beginning of the 20th Century? Were the "French" vermouth formulations of that time closer to what is sold today as blanc/bianco vermouth? Like most other aperitifs, has "French" vermouth drifted towards drier and lighter?

Rather interesting sounding gin recently released by a micro in Brooklyn, New York: Breuckelen Distilling Company Starts Selling Booze Early From Robert Simonson's article: Sounds like a very similar process to that used for Bols Genever, I would be interested in how it compares.

I've read the main difference between the regular Tanqueray and Tanq 10 is the inclusion of fresh citrus. It would make sense to me that they would need to do the distillation of the fresh citrus separately from that of the main gin botanicals, given the water content. London Dry cannot be a compounded gin, all the botanicals must be present at the distillation. If they have to do some sort of blending of essences, it can't be called a London Dry. PS. Sounds like a question for Angus Winchester!

I don't really get this point? Are you talking about 'new-world' gins versus London dry? I was indeed generalizing about micro-distilleries in general, not specifically gin manufacturers. Though, I guess I am frustrated by all the newer distilleries who seem to see their niche as creating products for people who don't enjoy the best example of that category. Those who create Gins for people who don't like Gin, Absinthe for people who don't like Absinthe, or Tequila for those that don't like Tequila. In general, I believe these companies are going about this wrong. In my opinion, what they should be doing is making a unique product which follows the rules of the category, then educating the spirits professionals and retailers about why their product is great. Then these people will (hopefully) pass this along to the consumer. If the producer doesn't love the spirits in the category they are working with, that is sort of a red flag for me. Gin distillers who don't like gin, or Absinthe makers who don't like Absinthe. C'mon! I also agree with Sam's point, as much as I like to support local distilleries and local products, if your "gin" (or whatever) doesn't behave as a gin should in cocktails, and I can only use it in specifically formulated cocktails, the odds of it seeing much use around my house are slim. Heck, I have had better luck with Square One Botanical in some classic gin cocktails, than I have had with many "New world" or "New Western" gins.

Yes, I understand this. Very few distillers produce their own Grain Neutral Spirits for Gin or Vodka. Even those that do, often only produce a small portion of "flavoring spirit" and then blend it with purchased Neutral Spirits. And it makes sense, the types of large scale continuous stills which are able to produce highly refined GNS are not really economical for a micro-distillery. However, when talking to the folks at House Spirits they told me there are many different grades and types of Grain Neutral Spirits which can be purchased from these companies. From stuff that will be used for perfume to basically unaged whiskey, they allow you to specify what grains, proof, quality, etc.

Regarding Bluecoat, I tried it once at a bar and thought it was horribly distilled and harsh. I thought maybe it might have been the bartender's technique and bought a bottle on the strength of other people's recommendations. I again found it horribly distilled and harsh. As someone who spends their own money on booze, that's all the chances I'm going to give it. The last straw was an article I read with the distiller, where the interviewer asked about the base spirit for the gin. He replied with words to the effect, "We use really cheap Grain Neutral Sprits as the base for our gin. They wouldn't work in a vodka, where you can actually taste the base spirit, but in a gin, where the botanicals cover the flavor of the base spirit, it is fine." That tells me about all I need to know, and no, the botanicals don't cover the flavor of your cheap base spirit. Which sort of segues to a larger point, with the explosion of micro-distilleries in the US, how many great distillers are there in this country? What makes every one of these little distilleries think they can make a product and instantly come to market with a product that can compete with the resources and traditions of decades or centuries old producers? Another point, Americans tend to take the attitude of following their own muse, when it comes to making spirits (and other things). I've met distillers who hadn't even tasted Absinthe before deciding to make their own. They just asked their friends for their opinions, finalized the recipe, and released it to the public. One of the reasons I kind of like Square One Botanical, not just because it is a quality product, but because they DIDN'T release it as a gin. If you're going to go as far outside of the box as some of the modern gins have, why even bother labeling it Gin?

Yeah, WaPo has the Greenpoint recipe wrong. The Greenpoint should be: 2 oz Rye, 1/2 oz Italian Vermouth, 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse, dash Orange bitters, dash Ango. Stir, strain, Lemon Peel. Neighborhood Cocktails Edit: well, they do say, "Adapted From..." Though why they would adapt it thus, is beyond me.

Just a note, a while ago I found it too much of a hassle to post to both my blog and eGullet. So I moved all the new Savoy posts to the blog: Underhill-Lounge I hope you'll visit me there.

Congratulations on the Wedding Anniversary, Kathryn! Wonderful pictures from Alinea (Why am I not surprised?) We recently had the chance to dine there, and I have to agree, among the best dining experiences (so far!) of my lifetime. Amazing food, interesting wines, great service, and personable staff. Blew us away, glad to hear your experience was as enjoyable.

Hm, I doubt Chas. Baker, Jr. would ever turn down a cocktail, before or after dinner. Pretty sure this was David Embury. If not, it might have been Kingsley Amis from one of his books on drinking.

It's not cheap, but I sure do like Charbay's Tequila. My current favorite Blanco. Smooth and well distilled. Nice vegetal apple/pear character. Incredible length. Very tasty.