eje

I found out some more about the Secrestat Bitters called for in the Alfonso Cocktail. It was a French made drinking (aperitif?) bitters and a popular "tonic" during prohibition in the US. Still not sure about the flavor profile. Allen (Special) Cocktail 2/3 Plymouth Gin (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin) 1/3 Maraschino Liqueur (3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino) Dash of Lemon Juice (Juice 1/6 lemon) Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. (Garnished with an Toschi Amarena Cherry - eje) --- The Maraschino is the featured ingredient here, with the mildly flavored Plymouth and the dash of lemon in the background. Sweet; but, not cloyingly so. If you really want to taste what Maraschino liqueur is about, this is a good cocktail to try.

At long last the red long beans are back at the farmers' market! I have a picture to prove it! Mmmm... Dry Fried Long beans are in my very near future!

If they are ripe, they will be sweet, with a flavor not dissimilar to watermelon. Unfortunately, they may have tiny spines on the outside, and will have many small tooth breakingly hard seeds on the inside. I'd just peel them and eat them. I wouldn't put them in a fruit salad without warning your guests. You don't want to be paying anyone's dentist bills!

Or even better, somewhere I could go and say, "Hey George, I just read about the Alice Mine Cocktail in the Savoy Coctail Book, could you whip one up for me?"

Hi George, I'm not sure how close they are. I wish there was somewhere I could go and ask for a small taste of Kummel! I know they are both caraway flavored, one is a liquor and one is a liqueur, and there are only so many bottles of obscure liquors and liqueurs I can clutter the house with before I start to question my own sanity. I would guess Kummel is sweeter and less complex than my 1 oz of Aquavit plus 1 barspoon rich simple syrup. But after the Alfonso Special on Thursday, I was getting kind of tired of dessert drinks. I was quite pleased with the drink as is, even though it might not be exactly the same as intended.

Alice Mine Cocktail 1/2 Italian Vermouth (1 oz Cinzano Rosso) 1/2 Russian Kummel (1 oz Linie Aquavit, 1 barpoon rich simple syrup) 2 Dashes Scotch Whiskey (1 barspoon Compass Box Asyla) Shake well (I stirred - eje) and strain into a cocktail glass. --- When I was researching this one, I came across some oddities. First, the recipe is often given as using the exact same ingredients as the preceding Alfonso (Special). I found this to be the case in Duffy's "Official Mixer's Manual". In other cases, it is just a Rob Roy with slightly different proportions. While I don't know how close I am to replicating kummel by mixing Aquavit with rich simple syrup, it's too bad this version of the Alice Mine appears to be the least common. Where I regretted making the Alfonso Special so large, I regretted making this one so small. The vermouth, caraway, and scotch are a complex and amazing combination. edit - BTW, I wasn't sure what to garnish this one with. After trying it, floating a thin slice of cucumber might be nice. I think I'd stay away from citrus.

Alfonso (Special) Cocktail 1 Dash Angostura Bitters (generous) 4 Dashes Italian Vermouth (2 teaspoons) 1/4 Dry Gin (3/4 oz Beefeaters) 1/4 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Pratt) 1/2 Grand Marnier (1 1/2 oz Gran Gala) Shake well (I stirred, instead. - eje) and strain into a cocktail glass. --- I'm not sure what the Alfonso (Special) has to do with the preceding Alfonso, as it is, more or less, a Satan's Whiskers Cocktail with inverted proportions. It is nice looking; but, I didn't find it all that interesting. By the time I got to the bottom, I was tired of it.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, August 17, 2006 Westside story: Russian River Valley veterans raise the standard for Pinot Noir, Linda Murphy Benefits Conflict threatens Israel's wine harvest: Upper Galilee grapes are almost ripe, Janet Fletcher Cocktailian: The 411 on a Cool Cucumber, Gary Regan Recipe: The Cool Cucumber Adapted from a recipe created by Shell Thomas for Bong Su Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco. Bargain Wines: 10 bottles for tonight's takeout, W. Blake Gray "Maybe it's just me, but by mid-August I need a break from the kitchen. Between the months of visiting relatives and kids who've been home all summer, my barbecue, oven, stove and microwave have been running at full speed. It's time for takeout. " Pairings: Marry little lamb kebabs with Pinot, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Spiced Lamb Kebabs The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: Traditional Chevrot from France is a beauty, wrinkles and all, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Troya, Jane Tunks CRITICS' PICKS: Dining near Devil's Slide, Bill Addison "The reopening of the panoramic 4 1/2-mile length of highway on Aug. 4 gave locals cause for celebration -- and impetus for tourists and Bay Area residents alike to come chow among the rolling hills and picturesque towns." Dining Update: Sociale, Bill Addison Dining Update: Chez Papa, Michael Bauer

Trying to replicate the Velvet Cane from Rye here in San Francisco. Components are 10 Cane rum, tangerine juice, lime juice, orgeat, egg white and angostura. I'm trying to avoid buying 10 cane rum, as, I if I have to spend $30 on Rhum Agricole, I would prefer to spend it on one of Ed Hamilton's rums. Unfortunately, it's pretty much impossible to find fresh tangerines this time of year. First try: 1 oz Flor de Cana white rum 3/4 oz La Favorite blanc 1/2 oz lime juice 1/2 oz passion fruit nectar barspoon orgeat dash angostura Thoughts. The cocktail was enjoyed; but, it didn't taste much like the Velvet Cane I had at Rye. Left out the egg, as the dinner guests were vegetarians, and it definitely impacts the drink. I don't remember noticing any real rhum funk in the drink at Rye. The La Favorite definitely brings more of that to the party than the 10 cane. I was also under impressed with the Ceres passion fruit nectar. I think the looza stuff has better passion fruit flavor. Fresh orange juice would be a better sub for the tangerine. Probably needs more orgeat and bitters. Further experimentation is required.

We were just talking about igniting liquor elsewhere, and Mr. Ed Hamilton had sage words. Flames are likely and explosion is possible. Any time you raise the temp of your liquor you vaporize alcohol, increasing the likelyhood of flames, especially if you have a gas range. (I tell you man, Ham n' Ale Flip could be the next breakfast of champions! I'm going to work on it! Though, I don't know why you insist on the using flavorless vodka for your experiments...)

Found this tasty sounding recipe, as it is blueberry season, on the Luxardo site: Tequila Smash (created by Jim Meehan from the Pegu Club Soho - NY) * 2 ounces Herradura Silver * 1/2 ounce lime juice * 1/2 ounce Luxardo Maraschino * 4 muddled luxardo cherries * 4 muddled blueberries Muddle ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice, shake well, and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a blueberry skewered with a lime wheel and cherry.

Been meaning to post these links re: the Aviation Cocktail. Robert (Hess, I believe) has a nice piece about the Aviation cocktail over at The Spirit World. Aviation David Wondrich also recently wrote a column for Drinks magazine which featured the Aviation cocktail, currently available online: Mixology: The Aviation Nathan, not sure where the apricot brandy came from, though it sounds like a pleasant enough substitution, in combination with the kirsch, for Maraschino liqueur.

Drink-addled? ← Well, Wisconsin, actually. Though, after a couple of my father-in-law's very stiff and tasty Overholt Old-Fashioneds it's definitely better if I don't find my keys. Nathan, what proportions do you use for your Aviation?

Do you add sugar or simple syrup, then? Maraschino is a liqueur made from wood aged and sweetened cherry brandy (kirsch). I was recently traveling in a state where I could find no Maraschino liqueur, so substituted Clear Creek plum brandy mixed with simple syrup. It was actually not that far from Maraschino liqueur in flavor. I was going to substitute sweetened Kirsch(wasser); but, the only brand I could find was Le Roux. It was one of the most horrible tasting things I have had recently. Cherry cough drops dissolved in kerosene.

Or all those "interesting" looking Asian liquors with snakes and other various animals steeped in them. Personally, as much as I like hot dogs, I'm hoping further experimentation will involve bacon somehow... (Now that I'm thinking about old-school drinks like cock ale, some form of bacon or ham in an Ale Flip doesn't sound that bad at all!)

Some Sonoma friends have been enthusiastic about Seaweed Cafe in Bodega Bay. I haven't been there yet, so can't vouch for it myself; but, it sounds interesting. The Pine Cone Diner is great for breakfast and lunch. I had dinner at the Station House once a few years ago and wasn't over impressed. I doubt I'd return unless I was staying in the region for an extended period.

On the Bond Street series web page, under the announcement of the Pilsner, it sez, "Next up, HOP TRIP - A Fresh Hop Pale Ale!" I think they can only make it in the fall when they harvest the fresh hops. Last year the Toronado had a fresh hop festival. I don't know if they will again this year. They tend not to announce events until a day before they happen, so I often miss them. I like, in no particular order, 21st Amendment (brewpub), Magnolia (brewpub), Rogue (brewpub), Toronado (bar), Speakeasy (brewery), and, of course, Anchor (brewery). There are also Triple Rock (brewpub) and Jupiter (bar) in Berkeley. I especially like Russian River (brewpub) in Santa Rosa. If you like Belgian style and/or strong beers, it's worth a trip. Getting further afield, there's Bear Republic (brewpub) in Healdsburg and Anderson Valley Brewing (brewpub) in Boonville. edit - ooops, forgot berkeley.

I have the La Favorite Blanc; but, I think just the La Favorite on its own might be too funky. Perhaps 1 ounce La Favorite and 1 oz Flor de Cana? The only Barbancourt rum I see around is the Special Reserve. I think that's an aged amber rum. Well, I will experiment later this week and report back in the thread about reproducing bar drinks.

Some friends got me some Benoit Serres Liqueur de Violette at Sally Clarke's in July. Though, ugh, you're going to have to pack or ship all this stuff now.

John, Sorry to hear about your experience! Well, that's San Francisco for you. Great ideas, poor follow through. Yeah, it sounds like the bartenders at Rye need training and the recipes and presentations need to be standardized. My wife ordered a Sazerac and hers was served on the rocks in a double old fashioned glass. I'm going to try to replicate the Velvet Cane I had at Rye. I'll start with something like 2 oz rum, 1/2 oz tangerine, 1/2 oz lime, barspoon orgeat, dash angostura, 1/2 egg white. I have a lot of Rum, but, no 10 Cane. I'll try plain old Flor de Cana white and see how it is. Anyone think the 10 Cane might be critical to the recipe for some reason other than the name? BTW, Ed, I think the same bartender/consultant who did the drinks menu at the Slanted Door did the drinks at the newly remodeled COCO 500. That also might be worth a try.

Oh, excellent, another Bond Street beer to look forward to! Though, I don't think we ever saw the Broken Top Bock in CA. Hope we see this Pilsner. And, even better, it looks like Deschutes are going to make Hop Trip again next. That is one of my absolute favorite beers! Good luck with your home brewing experiments!

The Alfonso Cocktail Put 1 lump of sugar in a medium sized wine-glass, 2 dashes of Secrestat Bitter poured on to the sugar, 1 lump of ice, 1/4 of a glass of dubonnet, fill remainder with Champagne, squeeze lemon peel on top and stir slightly. I substituted Angostura for the defunct Secrestat bitters. If anyone knows of a more appropriate substitution, let me know. Both my wife and I quite enjoyed this cocktail. It's a light aromatic aperitif and the champagne makes it a bit festive. Be quite nice for the opening salvo to accompany appetizers at a dinner party.

BTW, the Plymouth thing I was talking about: Rye has a monthly competition where they ask bartenders to create orginal cocktails. The cocktails are then judged, and if they win, featured on the menu with credit to the bartender who created them. The cocktail I enjoyed so much, The Velvet Cane, was one of the winning cocktails in a past competition. It was created by Thomas Waugh. I also had a great Rye Manhattan made with the younger Sazerac rye. Other cocktails our tabled enjoyed included a Peach Cobbler and a Sazerac (though they did, oddly, make the Sazerac on the rocks). Scan of Rye Menu

I'd like to second cocktailgeek's recommendation of Rye. Got there tonight, and had some of the most outstanding and well made coctails I've had recently in the city. If there was a way I could just drink Velvet Cane cocktails, (10 cane, lime, tangerine, orgeat, egg white, angostura,) as an exclusive beverage for the rest of my life, I might just do it... Mmmm... And next month's drink challenge is Plymouth Gin!

A lot of Speakeasy. They have a regular friday night open house and BBQ at the Speakeasy brewery here in San Francisco. 3 beers and a Speakeasy pint glass for $10. Quite enjoyed their Bootlegger Black and Big Daddy IPA. I avoided the Double Daddy, which was probably for the best. What a funny scene! A bunch of guys, who probably work there, got up and did pretty servicable acoustic covers of Judas Priest, AC DC, and Oasis. After the BBQ, we retired to Wild Side West for more Speakeasy beers and people watching. Our friend confessed she chuckled to herself every time she heard a guy say to the bartender, "I'll have a Big Daddy, please." All in all a good night out.