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Luxardo Maraschino? Torani Amer? I dunno, I mean, it's not really supposed to have anything beyond whiskey, lemon, sugar. Not even bitters, usually, though I do like a touch, and an egg white gives nice foam and texture. Hmmm...limoncello...

Now I'm really curious what's in their cocktail. One of the liquor stores I frequent knows I am interested in things bitter. I guess he had been trying to get Aperol for years. It has some sort of caché with people who have been to a certain part of Italy? Anyway, based on his enthusiasm, I picked up a bottle a couple months ago when it first became available. I'll have to give it another try; but, my first few impressions weren't that great. On its own, the orange flavor really reminded me of the chewable children's aspirin of my youth. It didn't have seem to have a fresh, aromatic, orange zest zip. Anyway, I would be interested in any particularly palatable concoctions with Aperol, since I do have a whole bottle of the stuff. Off topic a bit, another citrus/gentian based bitter I read about on Gumbopages is called "Suze"*. Has anyone tried that bitter? ~Erik *I do not recommend doing even a "safe" web image search for "suze", if you are at work. Apparently, there are several adult film stars, who use this particular nom de film. edit - add comment.

Skyy Spirits, LLC. is the importer in CA. I guess that would be Southern Wine & Spirits, elsewhere in the US? Be curious to know the formulation of the Aperol cocktail they are serving at Pegu. ~Erik edit - ask about Pegu cocktail.

Just for the sake of completeness, Brettanomyces can also be a fault or a feature in some styles of beer. It is notably used in some of the more complex or wild fermented Belgian beers. Saisons and that sort of thing. Some Belgian style brewers in the US intentionally introduce colonies into their beers.

No citrus at all, not even as a garnish? Off the top of my head, two of Pegu's recipes I've seen on this site don't include citrus. They're both Manhattan or Brooklyn relatives and highly recommended. Names are Little Italy and Red Hook. I think there are recipes for both in the Rye or Rittenhouse threads. If the weather is OK, some cucumber things might be nice, check that thread, as well. The recipe I put there for the Lotta's Fountain is very good without the lime, just not quite as zippy. edit - typos and add links to recipes.

Mmmmm...Herradura blanco, noilly sweet, vya dry, campari, angostura...and the lemon twist really brings it together. If only decent tequila wasn't so darned expensive!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, May 25, 2006 The brains behind Scarecrow: A onetime Hollywood mogul's grandson finds inspiration in 'old men' and 'The Wizard of Oz', Linda Murphy Cocktailian: There's more than one way to skin an advocaat, Gary Regan Recipe: Golden Rye Flip Adapted from a recipe from Rye, 688 Geary St., San Francisco. Letters to Wine: If you cross the line, it's not Scotch Bargain Wines: Ten hot picks for the start of grilling season, Leslie Sbrocco Wine Business Insider: Cabernet, Syrah and Pinot Grigio entice beer drinkers, Cyril Penn "Wine continues to steal drinkers' attention from beer and spirits, according to a recent survey...Brown-Forman Corp., owner of Jack Daniel's whiskey and Fetzer Vineyards wines, announced last week that the company is combining its now separate wine and spirits sales and marketing organizations into one unified team...The third annual Hospices of Sonoma Pinot Noir barrel auction raised more than $357,000 for children in life-threatening circumstances...Tom Cole, chief operating officer of Republic Beverage Co., and Charlie Andrews, chief operating officer of National Distributing Co., jointly announced an agreement in principle to merge their respective companies...The newly formed society the American Association of Wine Economists has published the first issue of the Journal of Wine Economics...Alexander (Sandy) Purcell, one of the world leaders in Pierce's disease research, is retiring from UC Berkeley...David Campbell has stepped down as chief executive officer of Napa's Clos Du Val Wine Co... Pairings: Curry perks up summer's salad days, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Lightly Curried Pasta Salad The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Domestic Rosé, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: Just 6 months old and better tasting every day, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Champa Garden CRITICS' PICKS: Eating your way to Italy, Amanda Berne "Summer vacation? Yeah, right. That trip to Italy sounds great, but so does a paycheck. Lucky thing there are enough regional Italian restaurants in the Bay Area to make it seem as though you're on vacation. " Dining Update: The Caprice, Michael Bauer

These did turn out to be very tasty favas. The beans were near lima bean size, a little brighter green than regular favas, and quite tasty. The plants were also enormous, and, as promised, heavy bearing. We had 4 good fava bean meals from my 4 plants and gave away quite a few to friends. Finally cut them down just last weekend. My only regret is I did not stake the plants, and they sprawled all over my plot preventing some of the other winter crops from getting proper amounts of sun. If you are looking for a winter crop, have some room, and like favas, I recommend you give them a try. ~Erik

I've always been a bit leery of dairy and egg based liqueurs. This week's Cocktailian, however, features a cocktail from Rye here in San Francisco called the "Golden Flip" which features Advocaat. There's more than one way to skin an advocaat, Gary Regan I believe I read somewhere that Advocaat was created when Dutch returning from South Africa discovered they still had a taste for something similar to Amarula Cream liqueur. Truth or fiction? Any opinions on either liqueur? edit - Timothy Leary's dead (sp.).

This might be seen as torturing those who can't find decent apricot liqueur; but, I'm not really all that pleased with the bottle of Vedrenne apricot liqueur I've found. The bottle might just be really old; but, to me, it tastes like mildly apricot flavored grain alcohol. My quest continues. After some waffling and experimentation with various base alcohols, I decided to use a similar recipe to the Floridita daquiri. No name, as yet, and am still experimenting with citrus variety. Lime might be a zippier change, in place of the grapefruit. 2 oz white rum (used Flor de Cana Extra Dry) 1 oz apricot juice or nectar (used Ceres) 1/4 oz grapefruit juice 1/4 oz apricot liqueur dash angostura bitters Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into cocktail glass.

Not a chain. A San Francisco institution, though, and quite tasty. Mitchell's Ice Cream I recommend the Dulce de Leche.

Well, I'd be glad to treat both of you to Mitchell's Ice Cream after you're done with your tacos! edit - grammar

Wow! Any sign of a "CA Redemption Value" on the label? It would make my year-in-beer if I could get their Two Hearted Ale, Third Coast and Kalamazoo Stout out here, especially since I've recently started to see Sprecher in some retail shops. I wouldn't have to move back to the midwest! ~Erik

Doesn't look like mijita, salsa's wrong and tortillas aren't homemade. I remember one of the other Mission taquerias was opening a new branch near the ferry building. The El Toro/Pancho Villa folks maybe? Certainly looks like their salsa and steam table set up. edit - annachan got there first. I actually didn't know they had already opened.

I was on the lookout for the similarly flavored Korean Mint (Agatache rugosa) for my herb garden and cocktail endeavors; but, after reading about all the benefits of Anise Hyssop, I might have to give it a try instead! Anise Hyssop

Ok, there used to be an all you can eat make your own veggie sushi night at the Odeon. Though, given what I have since heard about Chicken John's philosophies of venue management, I doubt even vegetarian was really all that safe to eat. There're also some nice latino women who travel the mission at night selling home made tamales in various bars. To me, though, you gotta be able to eat bar food with your fingers. I do love patatas bravas. Crunchy fried potato chunks served with a spicy paprika sauce. Mmm...

Was reading a nice article over at Martini Republic by the esteemed Dr. Cocktail about a "A History of the Cocktail in Seven Drinks" dinner for which he did the drinks. His combination of the Monkey Gland cocktail with a duck course seemed particularly inspired. I was savoring a pre-dinner Red Hook (Rye, Maraschino, Punt e Mes) the other night when we started eating and found it unexpectedly complemented some grilled asparagus. Go figure. Have you noticed any Alchemical combinations of food and cocktails?

Not to mention potentially psychologist and therapist! That's a good point, and really, caused me to think while I was posting. Why do I tend to tip bartenders less than waiters? Though, I will say, it can be more work (and time) for a bartender to pull a $5 guinness or cask ale on a hand pump than whip out a $10 cosmo. edit - Why can I never spell "guinness" correctly?

I guess I usually use more or less the same rules for bartenders as for waiters, at maybe 5% less. Not sure why. Surly or incompetent bartender is going to get 10%, normal bartender 15%, and one that goes out of their way to make my stay pleasant, 20%.

Sam, It's the same price as Anchor's other whiskies, around $60 US. ~Erik

I think both rate beer and beer advocate are good resources. Though, I do find their audiences and ratings are slanted towards "extreme" beers, whether in taste or alcohol content. Obscure Belgian beers, Imperial Stouts, West Coast IPAs and that sort of thing all do very well while Lagers, American Common and Pale Ale are basically ignored. Not to say those "extreme" beers aren't good; but, when the number one rated beer is basically only available at an abbey somewhere in Belgium, you gotta wonder a bit.

I've always been a bit curious about this. After tasting some of my strawberry liqueur last year, one of the guys in a lab said they'd be glad to get me some 100% ethanol to expermient with. I never did follow up on that lead. I think 100% ethanol is a controlled substance, though, on some level. I seem to recall some bureaucratic hoo-ha about a small amount of it when one of the labs I used to work for moved across campus. edit - spelling

Bonny Doon has experimented with fragolino* from time to time for their wine club. I don't remember the results being particularly notable. I don't see anything available on their website currently except their grappa di fragolino. While I was googling, I noticed K & L Wines recommends this sparkler for anyone who's "ever liked Fragolino." Ruggeri "Don Giovanni" Marzemino Frizzante *I may have been thinking of freisa, not fragolino. Though, I could swear I've also gotten some sort of fragolino over the years from DEWN. edit - add note.

Everything Sam sez is good advice. I will just add, I've never been entirely convinced by the benefits of using 100 proof vodka for liqueur making, especially since it costs almost twice as much as its 80 proof counterparts. It may be that I just don't care for the flavor of either of the 100 proof vodkas I have available to me; but, I find using a reasonably priced 80 proof vodka gives results I find more immediately appealing. Starting with an 80 proof liquor, you do have to be a bit more careful about water percentages, so I recommend using a 2-1 sugar syrup to sweeten. For limoncello, you don't really want it to drop much below 30% or 60 proof. This has been covered up thread, but, using a microplane grater to remove the zest is the best way I've found so far to get as much lemon oil out of the peel in as little time as possible. I'm fairly certain that using one more than makes up for the extraction differences between vodka and high proof grain alcohol. edit

And I didn't even read it closely enough to realize they address the "metallic taste" issue! I guess the inside of the cans are coated with some sort of polymer, preventing the beer from coming into contact with actual aluminum. I'd love to do a side by side blind tasting with one of their beers from a tap and one from a can.