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Oh, nothing particularly. But, I'm a flavor junkie, and after a couple bottles worth of Savoy cocktails calling for "Bacardi Rum" made with Flor de Cana Extra Dry, I'm about ready to try something else. I live in hope that I'll find another White Rum that will blow me away...

Rats. Teach me to have hope.

Leave It To Me Cocktail (No. 1) 1 Dash Lemon Juice. (1/3 tsp. Lemon Juice) 1/4 Apricot Brandy. (1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot) 1/4 French Vermouth (1/2 oz Dolin French Vermouth) 1 Dash Grenadine. (1/3 tsp. Fee's American Beauty) 1/2 Plymouth Gin. (1 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. Well, the cocktail is a lovely light rose in hue. And the flavor is somewhat reminiscent of childhood flavors. Unfortunately, I'd say the flavors it reminds me of are some sort of slightly medicinal eccentric English candy. I dunno, maybe if you're Heston Blumenthal, and nostalgia food is your thing, this might be just the ticket. Doesn't, however, do much for me.

Leap Year Cocktail 1 Dash Lemon Juice. (OK, it was close to a teaspoon) 2/3 Gin. (1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin) 1/6 Grand Marnier (1/2 of 3/4 oz Grand Marnier) 1/6 Italian vermouth. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Carpano Antica) Shake (stir, I thought) well and serve in cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon peel on top. First, I'm not quite sure this picture adequately conveys the loveliness of the color of this cocktail. Second, wacky, I can't quite explain the flavor. Initially, it was the vanilla/caramel of the Antica which dominated. But as I settled in to enjoying it, it became stranger and kind of chocolate-ish. Definitely drier than I expected, but still pretty sweet at the same time. Cool. I know there's been a lot of revision of this cocktail and cocktails like it. Just want to encourage anyone to give it a try as written first, then work on variations. I dunno, maybe it doesn't need improvement.

Could be a regional thing? The Luxardo Maraschino bottle I've had for 2 or three years is 32% as are more recent purchases.

Wow, an article in Forbes Online about Molecular Mixology? What is the world coming to? Molecular Mixology, Lauren Sherman, 07.01.08, 6:00 PM ET Includes recipes from Eben Klemm, Darcy O'Neil, Jamie Boudreau, and Claire Smith.

Leap-Frog Cocktail 1 Lump of Ice. (few lumps fridge ice) The Juice of 1/2 Lemon. 1 Glass Gin. (2 oz No. 209 Gin) 1 Split of Ginger Ale. (Reed's Extra Ginger Brew) Serve in long tumbler. I was hoping to garnish this with some delicious smelling Holy Basil I got from a couple weeks ago, but it didn't make it. So I stuck in a couple Tarragon sprigs I had in the fridge. The tarragon added nearly nothing to the cocktail aside from visual interest. It's really hard to argue with this combo, especially on a hot day. Even if the rest of California is on fire. If I were to quibble, I'd say, this is my first time trying Reed's "Extra Ginger Brew" and I was hoping for it to be a bit zestier. I dunno, maybe I've burned out all my taste buds, but I didn't find it particularly pungent.

We got to meet Jeffrey and Naomi when they were in town for a food related event and I really enjoyed what they had to say. I haven't made anything from it yet, but one of our cats likes to lounge on the book when it is hot outside.

We've talked a bit about cocktails which feature Angostura Bitters over in the Bitters topic. Thought I'd start a topic just about Angostura Bitters, as they are delicious. A classic cocktail I've found that is a very good feature for Angostura bitters is the Imperial Cocktail. Imperial Cocktail 1 Dash Maraschino. (1/3 tsp. Luxardo Maraschino) 1 Dash Angostura Bitters. (Be generous!) 1/2 French Vermouth. (1 1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Junipero Vermouth) Stir well and serve with olive. I used Junipero, as this is a 50-50 cocktail, so a gin with some spine works best. Plain old Tanqueray would also be a good choice. If you use a less aggressively junipered gin, like Plymouth, instead make the cocktail 2/3 Gin and 1/3 Dry Vermouth. This is a much more complex and interesting cocktail than the simple ingredients would seem to indicate. Other than Mr. Bolognese's Trinidad Especial, what cool cocktail uses for Angostura Bitters have you found?

I asked Stephan Berg about it a while ago, and he replied: If you check that DrinkBoy topic, DrCocktail goes on a bit later to speculate: Bitters Recipe: Snakeroot Substitution

Hey this was posted a bit ago and I don't see any links to it in the topic. The gentleman in the video seems strangely familiar. What a snazzy dresser!

Many thanks in advance. Adam ← The folks at The Bitter Truth have made a version. I'm unclear if they used Virginia Snakeroot or some European equivalent. Snake Root (aka Aristolochia serpentaria) is regarded by the FDA as a carcinogen and also kidney toxic. Dr Cocktail Post on SnakeRoot (on DrinkBoy)

Chuckle... Nice! You'll have to let us know how long that takes to wear off. It's not a bad idea to use latex or other food service gloves when working with the green walnuts.

Lawhill Cocktail 1 Dash Absinthe. (1/3 tsp. Marteau Verte Classique) 1 Dash Maraschino. (1/3 tsp. Luxardo Maraschino) 1 Dash Angostura Bitters. 1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) 2/3 Canadian Club Whisky. (1 1/4 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select, 1/4 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Lemon Peel.) I liked this a lot, but I can say with confidence that I would have liked it even more with Sweet Vermouth instead of dry. Even just a dash of Sweet Vermouth. Of course, then it would just be an old-school Canadian Whisky Manhattan. I'm told that Scotsman Harry McElhone published this cocktail in one of his early books. Law is apparently Scots for "Hill". The Law in Dundee Scotland is sometimes called "Law Hill" even though that actually means, "Hill Hill." Also, there was a well known ship called the "Lawhill".

I could be wrong, but I think the chances of "grape juice" in this recipe meaning verjus are pretty much nil. Don't let me stop you from trying it, though! I really like Navarro's Chardonnay Verjus, but have never really found a way to get it to work in cocktails. Its delicate flavor and light acidity is blown away by just about any other cocktail ingredient. Though, perhaps I should try again, in a cocktail with a lot more verjus and less alcohol? What are those called? Reverse Cocktails?

Lasky Cocktail 1/3 Grape Juice. (3/4 oz Knudsen's Just Concord) 1/3 Swedish Punch. (3/4 oz Homeade Swedish Punch) 1/3 Dry Gin. (3/4 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Unfortunately, the Lasky caught me between Farmers' Markets, so I had to use store bought grape juice. The Knudsen Concord Grape juice doesn't quite have the tartness or complexity of my usual Twin Hill Ranch Grape Juice, making this a bit sweeter cocktail than it normally would be for me. Still, all in all, a pretty tasty cocktail.

1930 would have been about the time he won the football scholarship to Northwestern. I dunno if that would have been big enough news to have a cocktail named after him the same year. Remembering Irv Kupcinet Maybe, you're right and it's another Kup or a mis-spelling of Tup...

Ladies’ Cocktail 2 Dashes Absinthe. (2/3 tsp. Sirene Absinthe Verte) 2 Dashes Anisette. (2/3 tsp. Anis del Mono dulce) 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters. 1 Glass of Canadian Club Whisky. (1 3/4 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select, 1/4 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon) Stir well and put small piece of pineapple (1/4 orange slice) in glass. Chuckle, I'd like to meet the Ladies who drink cocktails like this! I am reminded of a recent episode at a bar. At a bar near where I work, which is a kind of divey beer and whiskey kind of place, I decided to experiment and ask for a cocktail. "Manhattan, no cherry." Bartender gave me a look and went off to mix the cocktail. When he brought it back, he looked around and asked, "Is there someone with you? Did you want something else?" The implication being that the Manhattan had certainly to be for a girl that was accompanying me, and he expected me to order a proper man's drink like beer, whiskey, or whiskey rocks. I made a mental note and sipped my girly cocktail. Anyway, the Ladies' Cocktail, effeminate or not, is quite tasty. Pretty similar to a Sazerac. If I weren't Savoy Stomping, I would make it with Rye Whiskey and be done with it.

Do you suppose this is a misspelling of the Tups Indispensable Dry Fly? Perhaps a customer at one point was a fly fishing enthusiast? [...] ← Interesting idea! I don't find it spelled that way in any other sources. Irv Kupcinet was a sports writer, so perhaps his, or someone else's, idea of a jokey pun on his name and the name of the lure?

"K" Cocktail Roundup.

Hey, maybe Kup's Indispensable is named after Irv Kupcinet? From wikipedia: Brimming Kup, Time Magazine, September 13, 1948

"K" was the shortest letter so far, with only 10 cocktails. Started with the interesting, but ultimately disappointing K.C.B.. There's the bones of a good cocktail in there, with some tweaking. The Savoy version, though, was tough going for me. Did some experimentation with Lillet, Vermouth, Bitters and Cocchi Americano when making the Kina Lillet Cocktail. Enjoyed a fruity Old-Fashioned variation spiked with Fernet Branca in the King Cole. The Kingston Cocktail was enjoyable to me. Interesting that it uses not one, but two, obscure liqueurs, Pimento Dram and Kummel. Both the Knickerbocker and the Knickerbocker Special were quite enjoyable. The Knickerbocker Special, especially, I think would have some legs on modern cocktail lists. The Knock Out and Kola Tonic were the closest to undrinkable K cocktails. Especially the Kola Tonic. Yuck. Finished off with Kup's Indispensable, a very good cocktail with an even better name. Off to "L"-Land.

Kup’s Indispensable Cocktail 1 Dash Absinthe. (1/3 tsp. Sirene Absinthe Verte) 1/8 Italian Vermouth. (1/4 oz Carpano Antica) 1/4 French Vermouth. (1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) 5/8 Dry Gin. (1 1/4 oz Junipero Gin) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top. The other month a bartender asked me what I'd have. Spying a "Gin and It" on the menu, I said, "Jesus Christ, anything but the Gin and It." At the time I was around the area of the intersection between the letters G and H and all I was making was Gin and Italian Vermouth cocktails. I went on to clarify, "It seems like every cocktail I've made for the last week is nothing but Gin, Italian Vermouth, and a dash of this or that." I further went on to say it was interesting how different the cocktails could be, even though they were made with essentially the same two base ingredients. I think I must have been boring him a bit by this point, as he sort of mumbled something like, "Well, isn't that the point of the whole exercise?" I don't know if that really is the point of the whole exercise, or if, indeed, the whole exercise actually has a "point," but here we are at another Martini/Martinez variation pretty much within "Free Pour Error" of the Fourth Degree. Kup's Indispensable has less Absinthe, the balance of ingredients tipped towards Gin and Dry Vermouth, and an Orange Twist instead of lemon. I have to admit, at this point in my life, I lean towards the richer flavor of the Savoy Fourth Degree Cocktail. Still, this cocktail is tasty and does have a really great name.

I don't really understand exactly what charcoal filters, like the britta and pur systems, remove from solutions, so am not exactly sure if that is what you are looking for. I think you're really just looking to remove solids of a certain size, not other aromatics and impurities, which is what people typically use charcoal filters for. So a vacuum and buchner funnel may still your best bet. Or the good old cheesecloth, paper towel, coffee filter progression. The thing I'm interested in is fining vs. filtering. Maybe with isinglass or other substances. I know where you can get used wine barrels for $15 or less, but I think the shipping would kill you...

To be honest, I don't think either distilling or the traditional recipes used for these liqueurs have changed that much. I've seen some 18th and 19th century disiller's manuals. Following the procedures in those books, I suspect you'd come up with something at least as palatable as modern Cointreau or Curacao, if not better. Here's a better question, what do you think the distillers of the 17th, 18th, or 19th century would say about the vast majority of the products currently sold under the name Curacao or Triple Sec?