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For what it is worth, my favorite culinary lavender for sweet applications is Lavandula angustifolia, 'Munstead'. The variety more commonly used in French cooking, 'Provence', has a more perfumey flavor. Also, if you really want to be anal about it, you can just use the flowers and not the flower bracts, which have a slightly harsher flavor. I made a pretty awesome sorbet last year by briefly infusing a couple tablespoons of fresh 'Munstead' flowers in a sugar syrup. I was thinking of trying some cocktail applications with this summer's crop. Some other flowers I've been thinking of trying for cocktail applications are Rosemary and Pineapple Sage.

I'm not a big fan of the Vodka cocktails; but, this one, an up variation on Mr. Wondrich's Delancey is pretty nice. Sadly, there was no way I could get the Herbsaint to burn, even after combining it with some vodka. Just be sure to leave only the barest scent of Herbsaint in the glass, or it will overwhelm the vodka. 2 oz vodka (preferably Rain vodka from the Sazerac company) 1/2 tsp rich simple syrup 1 dash Peychaud bitters 1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters Herbsaint, to coat glass Lemon Zest Add a splash of Herbsaint and a little vodka to a chilled old-fashioned glass, coat the inside, and shake it out very well. Combine vodka, simple syrup, Peychaud, and Regan's in a cocktail shaker. Ice and stir to chill for a good 15 seconds. Strain into your now mostly dry glass. Twist lemon zest over the top, rub the rim to scent, and discard. edit - fixed grammar and recipe details.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, February 16, 2006 Acid test: The word 'acidity' makes consumers think 'ouch,' but it's what makes a wine delicious, W. Blake Gray Americans like sweet, while Europeans like tart, W. Blake Gray The Cocktailian: Yuzu the voodoo in Ponzu's Sultana, Gary Regan Recipe: The Sultana Adapted from a recipe by Matthew Colling, bar manager of Ponzu in San Francisco. Wine Business Insider: Harvest exceeds estimates, Cyril Penn Letters to Wine Bargain Wines: Good French values, Part 2: The importer strikes back, W. Blake Gray Wine Bargains from Kermit Lynch. The Cheese Course: Snack on a centuries-old favorite, Janet Fletcher Pairings: Crispy latkes for crisply acidic Chardonnay, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Potato Latkes with Smoked Trout & Creme Fraiche The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Napa Valley Chardonnay, Linda Murphy 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Yamo, Amanda Berne Review of Yamo, a Burmese restaurant in the Mission. CRITICS' PICKS: Meyer lemons, Amanda Berne "The best places to go to find chefs who love this sweet-tart fruit." Dining Update: Angele, Michael Bauer Dining Update: La Vie, Miriam Morgan

I have no evidence to back this up; but, to me this just means these companies will move manufacture of items using PFOA overseas, where they can pollute with near impunity. Unless I'm mistaken, most teflon coated cookware is already made in Asia, a lot of it by this man, Stanley Cheng.

Sam, I usually mix with W.L. Weller 12 year. It's a reasonably priced, wheated bourbon that has a nice vanilla character and isn't too aggressive. I did try a couple other usual suspects, Plymouth Gin and Wild Turkey Rye, and didn't find they were even worth reporting about. Though, those cocktails were 2 oz liquor. Perhaps with a smaller proportion of liquor and/or one of the milder ryes it might be more notable. I didn't think of trying Aquavit, that might be interesting. It isn't uncommon for some of those flavors to be combined in scandanavian cooking. Though it is sometimes tough to sell Aquavit cocktails to guests. In any case, I think pumping up the sadly deficient blueberry flavor will be key.

Did some experimenting with proportions and base spirits for this one last night. This formulation isn't bad: 1 1/2 oz bourbon 3/4 oz Creme de Myrtille 1/2 oz Lemon Juice 1 dash Fees Bitters It's pretty sweet; but, if I increase the proportion of base spirit or lemon, the blueberry from the liqueur is completely lost. I'm disappointed with the (lack of) fruit character of the particular Creme liqueur (Verdrenne). Knudsen has a product called "just blueberry" and I think a half ounce of lemon and a half ounce of that in a slightly larger cocktail might punch up the blueberry character.

Leffe is a very nice beer. I do have some friends, normally beer loving folks, who just can't embrace the flavors of Belgian style beers. They are pretty different from yer American style IPAs and whatnot. I don't mind Hoegaarden, especially on a very hot summer day.

And in Wisconsin, we had Point and Leinenkugel. When I was in college, there was almost always a 24 pack of one or the other in my apartment kitchen.

I quite enjoyed the article. I'm only passingly familiar with El Bulli, and expected to find its concepts much more alien. I'm really looking forward to reading more. RE: Fruit & Sex, I think this is a nomenclature thing from languages with feminine and masculine articles. I remember Mario Batali once saying on his TV show that, in Italy, Fennel bulbs of a certain shape were considered masculine and of another shape were feminine. Yes, the rounder ones were female. The vast majority of flowering plants have both "male" and "female" parts on their flowers, so it's kind of silly, from a botanical perspective, to call them one or the other. I suppose, if you really wanted to anthropomorphize your fruit, all fruiting bodies would be considered "female", since they generally arise from the "female" parts of the flower. Aside from Saffron and fennel pollen, I can't think of many examples where the "male" part of the flower is even eaten.

We get Shiner here; but, I have yet to try it. Looks like it is around $6.50 for a sixer. There's too much good local beer here, to gamble with my weekend beer money, and it's too expensive for slug bait. Now if we got Celis in these parts, that would be a different story. (Though, strangely, it appears Celis is now brewed in Michigan!?) edit - fixed some grammar and tried to be funnier.

The last time I decided to make baked beans we had vegetarians coming over. I decided on a hybrid between baked beans and mexican beans. Soaked a couple pounds great northerns over night, drained and covered with water in a cast iron pot. Added a finely diced mirepoix, a bouquet garni of a few thyme sticks, a couple bay leaves, a whole head of garlic, peeled, dry mustard, and maple syrup. Brought to a simmer and left it to cook all afternoon in a slow over, checking liquid from time to time, and salting toward the very end. My they were tasty. I'm not even sure I really missed the bacon.

That is odd. I've never had Absinthe; but, the headache thing isn't a problem I've had with Sazeracs made with various brands of Pastis or even on the occasion of drinking fairly large amounts of Pastis diluted with water. Maybe you're mildly allergic to one of the herbs or spices used in your particular Absinthe? It's not home made "Absinthe", is it? Usually that stuff is macerated, not distilled, and can be kind of nasty. A well made Sazerac is truly a magical elixir. It was the first cocktail that really hooked me, as well.

Reminds me of a recent episode of Good Eats which covered the process of making Bourbon (Tender is the Nog). After the distiller explained the process of wood aging bourbon to Alton, he said, "So, in a way, what you distill is a solvent that extracts burnt wood." The distiller paused and replied, "Well, actually, I prefer to think of myself as an alchemist. I take corn and turn it into gold."

I like Spanish Brandy, but as it is very carmelized, its flavor profile is quite different from Armagnac and Cognac. Spanish Brandy and cigars are a great combination. ← Do they use different grape varietals for Spanish Brandy vs. Cognac? I've read good things about it; but, never tried. Also, doesn't "Solera" refer to the aging/blending technique they use in Spain, not a particular brand? I think reserve brandy from any company in Jerez, Spain, made using the Solera technique, could potentially be, "Solera Grand Reserva de Jerez". edit - added clarification

Pancetta isn't the primary ingredient; but, one of my favorite spring dishes is Risi i Bisi, a risotto-like dish made with arborio rice, fresh peas, pancetta, home made chicken stock and herbs.

My wife got me a soda siphon for Christmas, and so far I'm really enjoying having it around. Aside from the retro thrill of being able to whip up a real highball or ice cream soda, there is a pretty stark difference between soda from a siphon (especially the first few doses) and sparkling mineral water. If you grew up with a soda fountain near you, it really takes you back. The only real downside is each siphon only holds about a quart, and you need to use a pesky CO2 charger for each batch. If you have cocktail parties regularly, I could see it being convenient to have more than one around. Be sure and shop around for the 10 packs of chargers. They should be around $5. Some gourmet shops will double that price. I like to juice a half a lemon or whole lime, mix in some rich simple syrup and a couple dashes of bitters, add ice, and top it off with the soda siphon. It's a great refreshing (high fructose corn syrup free!) beverage.

According to this article in Sunderland Today, "BRITAIN is experiencing the biggest cocktail boom for more than 20 years, according to new reports. Sales of the more exotic brands of gin used in the classic Martini, Singapore Slings and Long Island Iced Tea have grown by about 75 per cent over the past year." Sales of "Alcopops" are down and "Cocktails are becoming big sellers and the top seller is the Woo Woo, a mix of vodka, Archers schnapps and cranberry juice." Woo! If it's news in Sunderland...

May have some folks over to watch the Scorsese's Dylan Documentaries. Thinking of two cocktails so far: Tangled up in Blueberries Creme de Myrtille (Blueberry liqueur) Lemon Juice Fees Old Fashioned Bitters Rye(?) Hard Rain (Guttering Bush) Rain Vodka Peychaud Bitters Simple Syrup Flamed Herbsaint wash First, I will need to make sure doesn't taste too much like blueberry pie. Second I'm imagining to be close to Mr. Wondrich's Delancey but served up. Not sure if I can get Herbsaint to burn without heating it or adding additional high proof liquor. Might be one of those, better concept than actual cocktail things.

Funny, I came home with a bottle of Carpano Antica Friday night after seeing it on the shelf of a certain liquor store in Noe Valley. I guess the really "funny" part, is, I was avoiding buying a bottle of Vya sweet vermouth because of the price. And how much does the vermouth I come home with cost? I don't even really need another bottle of sweet vermouth! edit - added URL for "certain" liquor store.

I don't think I've every really sampled their goods, beyond maybe a sticky bun years ago; but, I know The Model Bakery in St. Helena does a good business.

Haven't seen the Hop Henge here, yet. Looking forward to it. I like the Racer 5 (actually all the Bear Republic beers I've tried so far). Who makes Pelican IPA? Last night we had another bottle of Deschutes Hop Trip, which still blows me away, and a few Bear Republic Red Rockets.

Thanks! I really like the combination of orange and bourbon and was inspired by the Cocktail Sorbet thread over in Fine Spirits to create this. I used Wild Turkey 101. I really want to make a "Moro Decay Punch" using a similar combination of flavors for my next party.

I like the Moros; but, reading the other posts, it might be because we don't get enough chill for the others to do well, here. This sorbet turned out well, made with some tart early season Moros. Moro Decay Sorbet 1 c Sugar 1 c Water 1 c Moro Blood Orange Juice 1/8 c Bourbon Zest of 2 Moro Blood Oranges 1 tsp. Angostura Bitters In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cool. Zest oranges into bourbon and stir to combine. Add blood orange juice, bitters and cooled syrup. Chill. Strain mixture through cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If you have an ice cream maker, process according to manufacturers instructions. If you do not have an ice cream maker, chill a stainless steel or pyrex pan in your freezer. The sorbet mixture should not come up more than an inch along the side of the pan. Add mixture to pan, and stir with a fork every hour until well frozen. After it freezes, process in batches in a blender or food processor and store in a sealed container in the freezer.

Sam, I recently bought some Creme de Griotte (excellent product, BTW) from G.W. Massenez and was doing a bit of poking around on their web site while I was waiting for some Perl modules to install (whee!). They say, raspberries and other wild berries don't have enough sugar to ferment to a high enough proof on their own, so, in fact, those eau de vies are made by macerating the fruit in alcohol and then re-distilling. Massenez Website

A small write up of a couple Chocolate-ish beers in yesterday's SF Chronicle Wine section: Life's just a bock of chocolate The article makes it sound like the Sam Adams Chocolate bock has Scharffen Berger chocolate in it. edit - Yep, according to this webpage, Sam Adams "ages the beer on a bed of cocoa nibs".