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While I won't say it was anywhere near the worst rum I've tasted, I didn't really care for Sea Wynde. I had read an article which reviewed it very favorably and called it a, "rum for bourbon lovers." I bought it blind for a bourbon loving friend who was starting to get into rum. I don't have enough rum experience to say whether it tastes like British Navy Rum or not. To me, the Sea Wynde tasted like the blender was trying to mimic the flavor of scotch whisky with cane spirits. Unfortunately, my friend doesn't really care for scotch or rum trying to be scotch. Anyway, I learned an important lesson, don't buy gift alcohol you haven't first tried. edited to fix some grammar.

There are lots of basils, and I think some might be better in cocktails than others. I'm particularly thinking, purple thai basil, with its spicy, cinnamon-ish overtones might be nice in an infusion or cocktail. RE: Cocktail Names Thanks for your responses, John and Gary, they were both quite helpful and informative. I can't think of a better theory than Jack Rose for the Rathbone Sour, so I will not hazard a guess. Though, I will note, while Holmes was Rathbone's most famous role, he appeared in many, many movies and TV shows in his long career.

It was from a copyrighted magazine (Difford's Guide to Cocktails #5.1), so I assume I shouldn't post it. I'll PM you with it. It is just Gin and Sapin. It's interesting in that the bartender responsible said it was based on a Jerry Thomas recipe called "Gin and Pine". Here is the Thomas recipe from The Art of the Drink website. Not sure I will be making it any time soon... Gin and Pine. (Use wine-glass.) Split a piece of the heart of a green pine log into fine splints, about the size of a cedar lead-pencil, take two ounces of the same and put into a quart decanter, and fill the decanter with gin. Let the pine soak for two hours, and the gin will be ready to serve.

I thought the price for Pernod was expensive, too; but, looked at a local liquor store's website I found it was listed for $26. Ouch. The current exchange rates for the dollar aren't exactly helping to keep prices low on European goods in the US. BTW, unless you think you're going to be getting into drinking Pastis or Absinthe, a bottle of Herbsaint, at around $15, will be fine for Sazeracs. Also, sometimes it can be worth stopping at small liquor stores with somewhat low turnover for things like Pernod. There are a couple liquor stores near where I work that obviously have not updated some of their prices in 5 years or so. I've found some pretty good deals on dusty bottles at the back of shelves.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, February 09, 2006 Barons of Barossa: Australia's famous big-bodied Shiraz wines are produced by some outsize personalities, Linda Murphy A fine guide to Aussie wines, Linda Murphy Pairings: Have a go at a big Aussie Shiraz and some meat stew, mate, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Meat Stew with Mole Flavors The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Barossa Valley Shiraz, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: Ireland's Coolea imitates Gouda, Janet Fletcher Letters to Wine Wine Business Insider: Rosenblum's winemaker will concentrate on his own label, Cyril Penn ...winemaker Jeff Cohn, is reducing his role at Rosenblum in order to focus on his own label...Fifty-two percent of California wineries had grape overages during the 2005 harvest...Scheid Vineyards Inc. of Salinas announced last week that its board approved a 1-for-5 reverse stock split....Calaveras County's Stevenot Winery has been sold to Paso Robles businessman Jack Munari...Chateau Montrose in Bordeaux's St. Estephe region is up for sale... Banning substances like alcohol only makes them more desirable, W. Blake Gray Life's just a bock of chocolate Bargain Wines: Can you put a price on love? Say, $12?, Leslie Sbrocco From the new 96 Hours Section Cheap: Side street fare, Miriam Morgan Review of Zebulon Restaurant. Critics Picks: Dining Solo, Amanda Berne Dining Update: Ebisu, Amanda Berne Dining Update: La Suite, Michael Bauer edit - missed critics picks article.

I've had the Rogue Mocha Porter and think it is pretty good. (I don't think it has any actual chocolate in it, only "Beeston Chocolate" malt.)

I wondered the same thing when I first looked at it. The difference, is, the penguin allows you to charge removeable bottles. So, if you had 12 bottles filled with home made soda, you could charge them all and then store them for later use. You do have to use their specially designed bottles, though.

Speaking of Mr. Regan, I made a pair of slightly altered* Porteños from his last Cocktailian column. Cherry minty-licious. *for two: 3 oz W.L. Weller 12 year bourbon, 1 tsp. Fernet Branca, 1 oz Creme de Griotte, juice of one lime, 3/4 oz Velvet Falernum.

Unless it seems like the seal has been broken it is pretty unlikely that the beer has gone bad in any way that would make you sick. I would open it carefully, pour it into a glass. If it explodes out of the bottle or smells off, I might not drink it. Otherwise, I would enjoy your fine aged beer! -Erik

I was interested to discover something similar used in a cocktail recipe I was reading recently. I think on the other side of the border, the french call a similar liqueur "Liqueur de Sapin". However, it is my understanding it is difficult to find even in France. I believe the Stone Pine is the same pine which eventually produces Pine Nuts.

A similar cast of characters also published on a related subject in 2005: Strain-specified characteristics of mouse synthetic prions. Legname G, Nguyen HO, Baskakov IV, Cohen FE, Dearmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005, 102: 2168-73 medline link Somehow, I can just imagine a research assistant somewhere saying, "Here mousy, mousy, come and eat your delicious steak."

Does it involve a seven percent solution?

Hi Gary, Can I tempt you into answering one more question about drink names? Leaving aside the Dylan Collins and its creator, do you have any advice for people creating drinks, naming them, and convincing people to sample them? Last holiday season, a friend and I had a cocktail party with a set drink menu of 6 or so drinks. I brought what I thought were a couple great cocktails; but, everyone wanted "something with vodka" or "Satan's Whiskers". Sadly, the batches of pineapple infused rum and "Mother-In-Law" cocktails went nearly untouched. It seemed most people's interest in "Satan's Whiskers" had nothing to do with the cocktail itself; but, only with the name. As well, their lack of interest in trying the Mother-In-Law seemed to have nothing to do with the cocktail; but, with feelings about their own Mother in Laws. Do you have any guidelines you use yourself when coming up with names for cocktails? -Erik

Strained the clementine bitters and gave in to peer pressure and made a small tea of the solids. After cooling, combined flavored water with flavored vodka and added a cup of 100 proof rye. At this point, it seems I may have gone a bit overboard on the gentian. At least, compared to the other commercial bitters in my cabinet, it seems to be a little more extreme. Perhaps it will settle down with aging. Also put down a half batch of Robert Hess' House Bitters, based on one of the more recent recipes from the DrinkBoy forums. Robert Hess' House Bitters (scroll down)

For some reason, it doesn't seem like Monin sells their Orgeat syrup in the US. They do sell a cloudy "almond" syrup. Same stuff, different name? Or do I need to add orange or rose flower water to drinks made with it? -Erik edit - for some reason there are more typos on wednesday than any other day.

I make them like Dave, though, since the Family Reserve is so hard to come by these days, I use the Wild Turkey Rye. It's a nice, spicy, fiery spirit that really lights up the glass. I'll be interested in the results of using the new Sazerac 6 Year rye for Sazeracs some time in the very near future.

I think the Zwack Barack Palinka is sometimes available in the US. Is that close? I have my eye out for some of it myself.

I did finally try a No. 209 Martini a few weeks ago at the Orbit Room. While I think the floral and herbaceous character of this gin is interesting, it didn't immediately catapault to the top of my list, at least for very dry Martinis. Also, while the Martini could have been colder, the base alcohol still seemed a little harsh, at least compared to the Plymouth I usually drink. Instead of a very dry vermouth Martini, something with Lillet Blanc might be worth experimenting with.

I should have mentioned this in my write up. In the excitement of getting things together, I sadly neglected to pack my bottle of Wild Turkey. I thought it was in the box I had packed to take the week before; but, alas, it was not. I was especially interested in how it would compare to the younger Sazerac and the Rittenhouse. The Wild Turkey Rye is one of my favorite Ryes, especially for mixing. From memory, it has a spicier flavor that I find really works well in Sazeracs.

For what it is worth, when I visited New Orleans two years ago, I had fine Sazeracs in the hotel bar at Le Richelieu and at dba on Frenchman street. The bartender at Le Richelieu, while a bit grumpy that we asked him to make Sazeracs, took the whole ritual very seriously. Some of the others weren't so great.

A friend and I decided we would do a tasting of as many Ryes as we could reasonably find. We ended up with: Sazerac 6 yo Sazerac 18 yo (2 bottlings) Classic Cask Rye Van Winkle Family Reserve rye Van Winkle 12 yo Rye Black Maple Hill rye (made by Van Winkle) Jim Beam Rye Old Overholt Rye Michter's Straight Rye Whiskey Pikesville Rye Rittenhouse Bonded Rye We sipped straight and made no attempt to blind ourselves to the brands or cost. Our initial reaction was, really, there are no bad whiskeys on this list. Also, unlike our bourbon tasting last year, for the most part, we felt the Ryes we tasted were pretty fairly priced. The ones which are more expensive are much more distinctive and delicious than the cheaper labels. The two ryes which seemed the least like the others were the Jim Beam and the Van Winkle 12 year. I don't know if they use a larger percentage of other grains in their mash or if there are other differences in the manufacturing process; but, these two were the least Rye-ish. The younger Sazerac's flavor has a lot in common with its older sibling, but, is clearly a less distinctive whiskey. It compares very favorably to the somewhat more expensive Michter's. The Rittenhouse Bonded and Pikesville are clearly the great deals of the bunch. The Rittenhouse, especially, compares well to all but the very expensive labels. It really is too bad it's not easier to get in CA. To me, the Beam and Overholt, while good, aren't great sipping whiskies. The Overholt, especially, seemed to have something of a bitter finish. Of the expensive labels, the Sazerac, Van Winkle Family Reserve, and Classic Cask were our favorites. My friend preferred the Family Reserve and I preferred the Classic Cask. However, I don't think I could justify the current price of the Classic Cask to purchase a new bottle for myself. The Black Maple Hill we had was an older bottling made by Van Winkle. I believe it was a 15 year old Whiskey. While the Rye base was there and tasty, the oak overtones were, to me, a bit harshly tannic and smoky. It was interesting to note that we thought we detected some differences between the 2004 and 2005 bottlings of the 18 year Sazerac. The 2004 seeming a bit sweeter and the 2005 a bit more lean. In addition we had a couple archaeological bourbon finds from the back shelves of low turnover liquor stores. The first was a 2 liter bottle of Eagle Rare which my friend located and feels is one of the best bourbons he has ever had. It still had the tax label and was distilled at somewhere that is now closed. To me, it is a very good bourbon; but, tastes a bit like the built in platic pour spout may not have been entirely inert. The other was an ancient bottle of J.W. Dant Olde Bourbon Bourbon I found. This one was really mellow and sippable; but, both of us were amazed that the aftertaste actually tasted like corn. Bizarre. In conclusion, it was a fun exercise. I was surprised to find, even at higher proofs, most Ryes mellower and more sippable straight than many of their sometimes harsh bourbon cousins. As a bonus, I now have a lot of Rye in my cabinet for cocktail making. Cheers! edit - removed Wild Turkey from list, see below.

Another new Pan Latin/Mexican place was reviewed by Paul Reidinger in this week's Bay Guardian: Velvet Fog Review doesn't exactly make me want to rush right over. They don't mention cocktails; but, in the newsprint version there is a picture of a "Cilantro Gimlet". Hmmm...

Just an idle question about Magnetic Induction stoves. Do you have to worry about them degaussing nearby magnetic media? Just curious.

Huh, that is interesting. I would think that between the guys from Tommy's and Jacques Bezuidenhout, (last seen concocting incredibly expensive libations for Harry Denton's Starlight Room and recently featured in Cocktailian,) they would at least manage to get the bar right. edit - bah, stupid grammar.

Sorry I haven't put up my show and tell yet. If I can get my camera to cooperate, I promise to do it this weekend. Ken, I'm not sure what you mean by fiber filters. Pretty much all filters are fiber of some sort, aren't they? I'm not sure what the material is. Definitely more durable than paper drip filters. I made the toddy comment because I was at Cost Plus and they had a pack of what was called "Toddy Filters". On casual glance they appeared to be exactly the same size as those used by the AeroPress. Also, in the AeroPress instructions, it sez you can wash out the filters and re-use them. -Erik fixed some errors.