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Carolyn, Just be careful if you have whole spices in there. Things like Cassia and Clove can go from "just right" to "overwhelming" in relatively short periods of time. I had a cranberry liqueur that was perfect last year at Thanksgiving; but, I neglected to remove a cassia stick. By the time I was thinking of giving it as a gift for Christmas, I discovered it had become Cinnamon Schnapps. Squeezed, strained, and sweetened mine today at around 70 days. According to my notes this is about a half a month longer on the walnuts than last year. Be interesting to compare the end products.

Anyone have recommendations on particular suppliers for quality bartending tools and supplies? I find most of the fancy cooking stores and liquor stores have pretty poor selections. You're lucky to find a boston shaker. Specifically, I need to find some decent pourers for my drippy bottles, so I can finish these damn layered Angel's Cocktails in the Savoy without wasting too much more difficult to find liqueur. I also chipped the top glass to my boston shaker and would like to find some cheap tempered pint glasses (or maybe a stainless cheater tin). Stores open to the public in the San Francisco area would be ideal; but, online is OK, too.

Kent, I believe there are federal laws which specifically prohibit "marrying" bottles. It would be just as unwieldy for bartenders to handle and store those big bottles under their bars as it is for you. Probably more so, since the racks, shelves, and rails are usually designed with smaller bottles in mind.

"Fresh" or "wet" hop beers are made by adding freshly harvested hop flowers to the beer at some point during the brewing process. They are truly seasonal ales, as they can only be made at the time the hop flowers are harvested. This is usually in in August or September depending on climate. Interestingly, while they are extremely hoppy, the flavor of fresh hops is quite different from that of dry hops. The beers made with them often have a mellower, herbaceous, grassy, and floral hop flavor instead of the biting citrus or pine character associated with dry hops. Some West Coast examples of this style of beer are Deschutes' Hop Trip, Moonlight Brewing's Green Bud Ale, and Russian River Brewing's HopTime Harvest Ale. There is an annual festival in Yakima celebrating fresh hops, called, unsurprisingly, the Fresh Hop Festival. This year it takes place on October 7. I talked to the folks at Toronado last night and they are 90% sure they will be holding a Fresh Hop festival again this year near the end of October. PS. I could have sworn someone started a thread here about a fresh hop beer; but, I'll be darned if I can find it this morning.

Well, the only one I'm going to take a serious stab at is the noix de la st. jean. I'm guessing this should be a walnut liqueur of some sort. I make a walnut liqueur and have received mixed reviews as a digestiv. Some like it, some don't. My advice is, give it a try before offering, and don't over pour, even if you think it is the cat's pajamas. It may also make an interesting substitute for vermouth/bitters in manhattan type cocktail, if you are of an experimental bent.

If any of you read (or write) blogs which cover cocktails, you might know that Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles has been organizing a monthly online cocktail event he calls Mixology Mondays. To quote Mr. Clarke, "Bloggers and other participants focus on a predetermined theme for each scheduled event, then blog about that theme by a certain date (being sure to notify the event host of their relevant post). Following that date, the host compiles a link-rich roundup of the event, and posts it on his or her blog. Couldn’t be easier." Since I'm sure there are still at least a few eGulleters who might not have blogs, I thought I would start a thread here and encourage you to post your cocktails, ramblings, and pictures. After the deadline, I'll compile a list of the cocktails posted and contact the host of the event with them. Past themes have included Lemons, Coffee, Pastis, Aperitif Cocktails, Mint, and Grape based cocktails. The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (or MxMo) is "Goodbye, Summer", with the idea being to, "post whatever drink you’ve been enjoying this summer and bid it a fond farewell as we head into the apple cider and hot toddy season." The deadline for posting is September 18th at midnight. Gentle men and women of eGullet, start your shakers!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, September 08, 2006 TINY POURS EQUAL BIG BUSINESS: Tasting rooms are a crucial source of income for California wineries, W. Blake Gray THE SIPPING NEWS: STRAIGHT UP / MIXING WITH HERBS THE DRIPLESS POUR Enjoy homemade spiced nuts that go perfectly with a beer SOCIAL SWIRL / WINE FOR HIPSTERS ON TAP / Brewphoria in the city Spirits: Contemporary cuisine inspires vodka makers' exotic infusions, Linda Murphy Recipes: Lavendar Lemonade The Loh Down Red Gatsby Letters to Wine Your guide to good pours and tours Coppola: Keeping it casual in Geyserville, W. Blake Gray Parducci: Wine Country's northern outpost, W. Blake Gray The Cheese Course: Cheddar-like Flagship has a sweet side, Janet Fletcher Pairings: Braised meatballs have the zing for Zin, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Braised Meatballs The Chronicle's Wine Selections: South Central Coast Zinfandel, Lynne Char Bennett 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Kate's Kitchen, Amanda Berne CRITICS' PICKS: Pizza, Amanda Berne "When The Chronicle's Food section ran a pizza article in April comparing different styles, hundreds of passionate readers e-mailed in their favorites. This comfort food could start wars over thin or thick crust, fresh or aged cheese, lots of sauce or a mere smattering." Dining Update: Empire Grill and Tap Room, Miriam Morgan

Angel's Tip Cocktail 3/4 Liqueur Glass Creme de Cacao (Bols) 1/4 Fresh Cream Use liqueur glass and float cream on top. --- I picked the easiest and most predictable of the Angel's to do first. The Savoy doesn't specify light or dark Creme de Cacao. I see some recipes on the internet call for dark, some for light, and some, like the Savoy don't specify. Probably dark would taste more interesting. It does look cool. I will say these Crate and Barrel Cordial Glasses are kind of sucky, as they are too narrow at the top to fit in a bar spoon. Now I understand why the vintage ones I see on eBay flair open at the top. Fortunately, they are wide enough to allow a teaspoon wedged inside.

get? Not familiar with that. Yeah, at least with Kirsch vs. Cherry Brandy, most of the time it is safe to assume, if the recipe calls for cherry brandy it's calling for liqueur and if it calls for Kirsch it is the Eau de Vie. Though, I think the verdict is still out on which is supposed to be in the Singapore Sling. Slightly off topic, is the Peach Brandy called for in the classic Georgia Julep meant to be the liqueur or Eau de Vie? Oh, and also off topic, by way of exceptions, I have found sweetened plum eau de vie to be an OK substitution for Maraschino liqueur. Much closer than any cherry flavored brandy, anyway.

Luxardo, many of the French liqueur companies (Massenez, Mathilde, Briottet, Vedrenne...), and a few german liqueur firms, make apricot liqueurs ; but, none of them appear to currently export to the US. I've seen the Maraska Apricot liqueur in the US. From the labelling, it appears to be artificially flavored. It's too bad the folks at Clear Creek, or some other US distiller, can't be convinced to make an apricot liqueur.

Sean, Nice little bar! You're in Salem? My wife and I were wandering around Salem earlier this year and definitely could have used a cocktail. All we found were tourist places. Ended up having mediocre pre-dinner cocktails at a bar in Gloucester. Very tasty lobster pie and oyster fry at the Causeway, though...

I picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace Binny's Hand Picked earlier this year. I've been trying to make my peace with it; but, have found it hard going. It reminds me a lot of its close relatives, the Sazerac Ryes, except the lean, grassy, almost musty flavor I associate with those whiskies is even stronger and more apparent. It is also a very dry bourbon with little apparent sweetness. I've been trying it in my usual 2 oz whiskey to 1/2 oz vermouth manhattans and finding them hard to drink. I really like Sazerac 6 manhattans made to this ratio. I'm begining to suspect I'm going to have to treat it like a scotch, and only include it in cocktails in dashes or equal (or more) vermouth to whiskey ratios.

I have a well stocked bar, too, and sure I could make most just about any drink a guest could choose. However, I find most don't know what to ask for, when confronted with that question. So, lately, I've been printing up cocktail menus with descriptions of a few "featured" drinks. So far this has gone well. Also guarantees I can have the ingredients on hand in appropriate quantities for at least those drinks. I've never been a bartender, so I do like to know I can make a drink well before a guest asks for it. If I have a menu, I can practise those drinks before the guests arrive. Entertaining this summer, the most popular have been Sazeracs, Floridita Daiquiris, and Rathbone Sours (note read next post down, as recipe should have lemon).

I believe there's a chart in Gary Regan's "Joy of Mixology" listing various liqueurs and liquors and their specific gravities. Idle question for the bartenders in the group: Do customers order these sorts of drinks? I can't recall ever seeing one prepared in a bar, at least recently. I do remember noticing there were quite a number of layered shots in an English cocktail magazine I picked up, (Difford's Guide 5.1,) and wondering if it was a European thing.

I think a 1 1/2 or 2 ounce narrow straight sided cordial glass is what you might be looking for. Cocktaildb link I didn't have any, (need them for various cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book,) and found some passable examples at Crate & Barrel. It doesn't seem like Riedel or Spiegelau have anything appropriate.

Apricot Cocktail (Dry) (6 People) Cut 2 Apricots (1 Apricot) in half, break the stones* and let the whole soak for 2 hours in a glass and a half of Congnac (2 oz Korbel VSOP Brandy). Add two teaspoonfuls of Peach Bitters (1 tsp fee's Peach Bitters), 2 glasses of Gin (2 oz Beefeater's Gin) and 2 glasses of French Vermouth (2 oz Noilly Pratt Dry). Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Garnish each glass by dropping in a thin, ripe peach wedge) --- Skipped ahead to this one, as probably next week I won't be able to get any apricots at all. I really should have made it a few weeks ago when the apricots were at their peak. In any case, it is a pretty odd bird of a cocktail. An apricot scented Martini? I can't think of any other fruit flavored cocktails that aren't at least somewhat sweentened. I liked it and will definitely give it another try next summer during apricot season. As a note for other who might attempt this cocktail, I tried to double strain, so no one would get apricot shell shards in their cocktail; but, the semi-pulverized apricots made that pretty much impossible. *I will note that the kernels of all members of the rose family, including apricots, contain cyanogenic glycosides which on ingestion release hydrogen cyanide. The amounts of these chemicals vary from plant to plant and species to species. Bitter almonds generally contain the most, and eating 50-70 bitter almonds in one sitting is enough to be fatal for an adult human. I would not recommend sitting down and drinking 50 Apricot cocktails at once. Fortunately, in most people, these chemicals are rapidly broken down by your liver, and do not build up over time, so small doses are generally regarded as safe.

A lot of the breweries will just put "Kolsch Style Ale" on the label, instead of actually calling them Kolsch. Pyramid's Curve Ball and Alaska Brewing's Summer Ale are good examples.

re: American Beauty I did find out that, aside from being the title of a Grateful Dead album and the name of an old garden rose variety, "American Beauty Rose" was the name of a song published around 1910. Mostly, it's one of those, "Yeah, girls from other countries can be kind of hot; but, I prefer my good old fashioned American Beauties," type songs. No idea if there is a connection. Oh, and I ran across an article in NY Magazine which noted that they have or have had a version of the American Beauty on the cocktail list at WD-50. Angel Face 1/3 Calvados (1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy) 1/3 Gin (1 oz Beefeater's Gin) 1/3 Apricot Brandy (1 oz Vedrenne liqueur de Abricot) Shake well (stir - eje) and strain into a cocktail glass. --- This is a pretty good cocktail. I thought the Beefeater's flavor detracted a bit, however, and next time would probably reduce the amount or make it with a softer gin like Plymouth. I thought of the idea of the apple angel's wings garnish on the way home and actually the flavor of the garnish and the cocktail complement each other nicely. The idea of trying to reproduce an angel's face also occurred to me; but, then I could only think about the Rilke poem which sez, "every angel is terrifying," and discarded the idea. Googling didn't seem to turn up any relevant information for the name of this cocktail.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, August 31, 2006 Please note, starting next week the Chronicle will be re-organizing it's Food, Wine, and 96 Hours sections. They will be adding features to the wine section and moving it to Friday. The "dining updates" now in 96 hours will be moving to the Food section. SAKE'S REGIONAL REVIVAL: Japanese breweries embrace terroir and a return to local flavors, W. Blake Gray Harvest Report: This year's crop looks smaller as harvest season begins, W. Blake Gray Wine Business Insider: Zinfandel bill terminated, Cyril Penn "Though it has been grown in the state for more than 150 years, Zinfandel will not be officially designated as "California's historic wine." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Monday that would have given it that status...Vintners and growers in the Paso Robles wine region are working on a proposal to create several new American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)...Constellation Wines U.S., a division of the world's largest wine company, last week celebrated the grand opening of an expanded state-of-the-art crush facility at Blackstone Winery that increases capacity in Gonzales to 75,000 tons, making it Monterey County's largest winemaking facility. The winery previously had a capacity of 45,000 tons." Uncorked: Winemaker gets down to earth, W. Blake Gray "(Mike) Benziger has become a true believer in -- and evangelist for -- biodynamic viticulture, which he says gives both grape growers and eventual drinkers of the wine a much greater connection to the land." Cocktailian: Ouzo gives margarita a Greek accent, Gary Regan Recipe: Greek Margarita Adapted from a recipe by Heather Branch, beverage director at Dona, a southern European restaurant in New York City. Benefits: "New Orleans in Oakland...New Orleans in Sebastopol...Cannery festival in San Francisco...California flavors in Oakland...For chocolate lovers in San Francisco...A day in Yolo County celebrating its bounty." Bargain Wines: Hot deals from below the equator, Leslie Sbrocco Pairings: Pull some pork for a crowd on Labor Day, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Pulled-Pork Sandwiches with Kalamata Coleslaw The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley Syrah, Lynne Char Bennett The Cheese Course: Clisson -- a bathing beauty washed in Sauternes, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Crepevine, Miriam Morgan CRITICS' PICKS: Kid Friendly, Bill Addison "Neighborhood spots like Picante in Berkeley and Chow in San Francisco and Lafayette are natural destinations for harried parents and hungry kids. Ella's in San Francisco and Hobee's in Belmont offer family-friendly breakfast menus that appeal to adults and youngsters alike." Dining Update: Destino, Amanda Gold Dining Update: Foothill Cafe, Michael Bauer

Did you shake that Sazerac? If so, BAD Chris! I'm abivalent about the Sazerac Rye for Sazeracs. I think I prefer the Wild Turkey. I do think it makes the world's best Manhattans, though.

Finally got around to giving a try to the Hess bitters I made. Ingredients: 4 cups rye (Old Overholt) 3 tsp dried gentian 1/2 cup ginger (julienne) 1/8 cup whole cloves 3 Tbs cardamom pods (cracked) 8 whole star anis 8 sticks cinnamon 2 tsp. Allspice Followed general liqueur/bitters procedures, crush ingredients, steep for a good long while, filter, sweeten lightly (molasses), rest, and filter again. I find them pretty long on spice but short on bitter. I know he is trying to reproduce a particular brand of bitters; but, if I do them again, I'll probably up the gentian and reduce the spices (especially the clove).

I asked the guy at Binny's specifically, and he said the Handy will be an addition to the line, and they will continue releasing the 18 year old as well. When I asked about the age of the Handy, he replied he's heard that it will be a 10 to 12 year old Rye.

Should you have any money left after purchasing the Rittenhouse 21 Year old rye, Sazerac will be releasing a new uncut, unfiltered Rye Whiskey as part of their Antique Collection at the end of September It will be named Thomas H. Handy Sazerac after the bartender who allegedly first used Rye Whiskey in a Sazerac Cocktail. Oh, by the way, the price for this should be in line with the rest of the Antique Collection, in the range of $50-60.

I was excited about this until I found out what they'll be charging. $110-115 a bottle! I've heard sooner, though for release. The folks at Binny's told me it would be leaving Kentucky at the end of August.

Stone Brewing turns 10 this year and is throwing a 10th Anniversary Celebration and invitational beer festival on September 9th. They are also brewing a special 10th Anniversary IPA released in 22oz bombers and 3 liter bottles. Here is how the brewmaster describes the beer: