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Cocktaildb lists three Japanese cocktails. Japanese: Brandy, Orgeat, Boker's Bitters, lemon peel Japanese Cocktail #1: brandy, lime juice or orange bitters, orgeat, Angostura bitters, lime slice garnish Japanese Cocktail #2: gin, orgeat, lemon juice re: commercial orgeat. Yeah, I think most are just flavoring and coloring. The ingredients on the Monin Almond Syrup I have are: Pure Cane Sugar, Water, Natural Almond Flavor. I guess the cloudiness comes from the Natural Almond Flavor?

Yowza! We haven't seen the Q Tonic yet here in CA, but $11 for a 4 pack? At that price I'd definitely be working on my own version. And I thought Fever Tree was a bit excessive at $6 for a 4 pack of small bottles...

I've no inisght on the source of this recipe. About all I can tell you is Grace's Delight is verbatim in the Savoy Cocktail Book and Patrick Duffy's "Official Mixer's Manual". To me, flavor aside, raspberry liqueur seems more likely than raspberry eau-de-vie, just because the eau-de-vie doesn't seem like it would be a common bar ingredient. No facts to back that up, though.

Damn! I guess I'll have to pick up one of the nicer French raspberry liqueurs and give it a try next time. I suppose there is also the remote chance that this recipe could be calling for raspberry eau-de-vie, as well. Seems pretty unlikely to me, but always possible whenever the word "brandy" is bandied about.

Uh, wow, almost 2 years of Stomping... Time certainly flies! Grace’s Delight Cocktail (6 People) Fill a large glass with broken ice and place in it 2 glasses of Whisky, 2 ½ glasses of French Vermouth and half a glass of Raspberry Brandy. Add the juice of half an Orange, a teaspoonful of Orange-flower water, 3 Juniper berries, a bit of Cinnamon and a little Nutmeg. Stir well with a big silver spoon, pour the mixture, straining it, into a cocktail shaker holding about a pint. Shake and keep for an hour on ice. Serve. Grace’s Delight Cocktail, revised 1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye 1 1/4 ounce Dolin Dry Vermouth 1/4 ounce Chambord Juice 1/8 Orange Dash Orange Flower Water 2 Juniper Berries Pinch Cinnamon Pinch freshly ground Nutmeg Crush Juniper berries in the bottom of a Mixing glass or tin. Add Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Rye. Let stand for at least an hour. Add remaining ingredients, shake and strain into a cocktail glass. I have to admit I've been looking forward to Grace's Delight since I first read through the Savoy Cocktail Book a few years ago. However, the instructions never really made much sense to me. I've done my best to render them into a semblance of order. Sorry Grace, I don't have a big silver spoon, and, I guess, technically, Chambord is a black raspberry liqueur, not red raspberry. In any case, the result of the above procedure is actually quite tasty. Albeit in a sort of odd, fruity, spicy way. More like a mini punch than a cocktail. I'd certainly drink it again.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, April 04, 2008 That's amari: Italy's traditional bitter liqueurs find new life with American consumers, Wolfgang M. Weber THE SIPPING NEWS: Wine and beer events First look at the San Francisco Wine Center, Lynne Char Bennett A new wineglass works all the angles, Jon Bonné Benefits: Eastern eats meets West for a cause In our glasses: What we're drinking American Wine Blog Awards winners announced, Lynne Char Bennett Letters to Wine: Readers ponder Winiarski's leap Tasting Room: Sip reds, whites at green Quivira, Stacy Finz Uncorked: Weatherman Spencer Christian's love for wines and vines, Stacy Finz Pairings: A Sephardic Passover lamb stew that celebrates spring garlic, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Lamb with Green Garlic The Chronicle Wine Selections: Kosher Wines, Lynne Char Bennett The Cheese Course: Rogue's Crater Lake Blue stands out, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Bang San Thai, Amanda Gold "This location of Bang San opened a few months ago; the original is three blocks away in the Tenderloin. After four years of a successful run, owner Noor Kahn opened this second space with significantly more seating." Bar Bites: Satellite, Jane Tunks "But instead of letting the corner bar languish behind boarded-up doors after the blaze, owners Cameron Bryce, Liam Martin and Johnny Davis took the opportunity to gussy up the cavernous space. Nearly 1 1/2 years later, Benders reopened with many improvements, including a new bar and stage, a shiny coat of paint and, best of all, a kitchen staffed by a cook who actually cares about food."

I did go back and try the Magnolia Weekapaug Gruit again. Still like it. It's got a very nice sweet sage-like taste and smell. In the interest of research I also stopped by an herb store to give a jar of mugwort a sniff. Yep, that's the major flavor/smell in the beer.

Everything I've read suggests that Eau-de-Vie de Danzig and Goldwasser are synonymous. The one I used, "Der Lachs Original Danziger Goldwasser," is an 80 proof herbal/spice liqueur. It didn't seem quite as sweet as Yellow Chartreuse, but I didn't try them side by side, just together in the drink. Nice article here: Gdansk Goldwasser: Alchemic Elixir

Golden Slipper Cocktail 1/2 Liqueur Glass Yellow Chartreuse. (1 oz Yellow Chartreuse) The Yolk of 1 Fresh Egg. 1/2 Liqueur Glass Eau de Vie de Danzig. (1 oz Danzig Goldwasser) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. I guess an interesting point, if yer a cocktail geek, about the Golden Slipper, is that Robert Vermeire places it in with his Pousse Cafe drinks. But, but by the 1930s, both Craddock and Duffy are saying it is a shaken drink. Being an old-school kind of guy, I figured pousse cafe. Plus, if you're shaking the thing, it sort of negates the point of using the gold wasser, which you'll see in many later recipes. It doesn't seem like there is a huge visual difference between yellow Chartreuse and Danzig Goldwasser, but the flavors are fairly distinct. The Gold Wasser is not as sweet with more of a gin-like edge than the chartreuse. On the "golden slipper" front, "The Golden Slipper" appears to be a folk tale of Asian origin. The best, and spookiest, google I found, was this vietnamese version: A Cinderella Tale from Vietnam Wow, it's got ghosts, skeletons, murder, cruelty, etc. Anyway, yeah, that's Cinderella, all right. Amazing the whitewashed stuff we Anglos get stuck with. Also, "Golden Slipper" was the name of a charity formed by a group of Jewish Masons in 1922. Golden Slipper Club Perhaps they enjoyed the odd cocktail?

From the name it sounds like their attempt at making a Quinquina. Is it white or red? Wine or spirit base?

Oh yeah, you're right, there are a few vodka makers who both ferment their own material and use a pot still. Stillwater in Petaluma, CA, comes to mind, as does Cirrus, from Virginia. There's that one in Vermont, I think, that makes Milk and Maple vodkas. Tuthilltown makes an Apple based Vodka. I assume with a pot still. Like Death's Door, Hangar One ferments and distills some of their vodka, then blends with purchased GNS.

Ed Hamilton had a post on here somewhere with a similar point regarding rums. Whether you're using a pot still or a column still, it comes down to the source material and the distiller(s) using the tool appropriately.

No, they do not distill the GNS from which they make Junipero. I asked a while ago and they said they buy "special" GNS, infuse with spices, and re-distill. To the best of my knowledge there are almost no distilleries in the US that distill the Grain Neutral Spirits from which they make their gins or vodkas. Almost all buy bulk Grain Neutral Spirits, infuse, and re-distill. I will point out, as explained to me when I visited House Spirits in Portland, that there is a great variety of quality and source material of GNS available to the Gin producer. The only two exceptions I can confirm are Death's Door, who distill a portion of the spirits used to make their Vodka and Gin, and Anchor Distilling, who made the distillate they used to make their Genevieve Gin.

Well, the control with pot stills cuts both ways. Some friends and I were recently discussing a modern pot still gin. Some of us thought it was good and some of us thought it was among the worst distilled spirits we had ever tasted. On both sides, we were starting to think those on the other side either had no taste buds or were ridiculously picky about how our gin tasted. Fortunately, some of us lived relatively close to each other and two with opposing opinions were able to taste each other's bottles. Turns out both sides were right. The good bottles were good and the bad bottles were awful. Some with practical experience in distilling suggested they had let the cut go to far into the tails on the bad bottles. With all the current excitement about pot stills and distilling, you kind of wonder just how many really good distillers there are in the US...

The Golden Gate Cocktail 3/4 Orange Ice. (2 scoops Ciao Bella Blood Orange Sorbet) 1/4 Gin. (1 oz No. 209 Gin) Place in shaker and shake ~~ no ice. Talk about drinking your dessert or adult candy! Totally the proto slushy margarita here! Perhaps because my sorbet was a bit cold, it was tough to get the pieces of sorbet to break up just by shaking. Probably get better results by buzzing this with a stick blender or malt mixer. As a San Franciscan, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed that this kiddy cocktail seems to be named after our most impressive bridge. Still, with a decent sorbet, it's a tasty and non-painful way to get your "Vitamin G".

Here's a note regarding dashes I had previously missed from Robert Vermeire's "Cocktails: How to Mix Them": Wow, that's a heavy dash, especially considering the size of the cocktails. I had not really believed the "Gentleman's Table Guide" to be particularly accurate given the number of recipes for liqueurs which are more or less forgeries. But this puts Vermeire right in the ballpark with their 1/2 tsp per dash.

Golden Ermine Cocktail 1/8 Italian Vermouth. (1/4 ounce M&R Sweet Vermouth) 3/8 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Beefeater's Gin) Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass. A perfectly pleasant cocktail. Doesn't quite reach the heights of the Fourth Degree for me, but an interesting Martini variation all the same. Nice color.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, March 28, 2008 After the leap: His celebrated winery sold, Warren Winiarski ponders his legacy - and his next move, Jon Bonné THE SIPPING NEWS: San Francisco World Spirits Competition results, Deb Wandell Winery Watch: Mars vs. Venus, beer vs. wine, Deb Wandell A date with eau de vie, Amanda Gold A secret of professional wine tasters, Lynne Char Bennett In our glasses: What we're drinking The Refuge, Jon Bonné Wine and spirits professionals nab Beard nominations, Deb Wandell Letters to Wine: Pasta recipe a winner Tasting Room: Get a taste of Texas hospitality in Healdsburg, Stacy Finz Cocktailian: Ginger kick sends a cocktail uptown, Gary Regan Recipe: Manhattan East. Adapted from a recipe by Dale DeGroff. Spirits: Hot dram! Complex Jamaican liqueur's American revival captures imaginations of connoisseurs, Paul Clarke Recipe: Lizzie's Pippin. Adapted from a recipe by Martin Cate. Pairings: Skirt steak takes a grilling for Bordeaux blends, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Grilled Skirt Steak with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes & Worcestershire Aioli The Chronicle Wine Selections: Red Bordeaux $50 or less, Lynne Char Bennett The Cheese Course: France's age-old Laguiole handed down from monks, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Cafe Leila, Stacy Finz "Wedged in among San Pablo Avenue's eclectic businesses, this funky spot seems more coffeehouse than restaurant. Surprisingly, though, it has a full menu - everything from pancakes ($6.95) to a Philly cheese steak ($7.95). A friendly cashier took our order at the counter and brought it to our table." Bar Bites: Astaria, Mandy Erickson "Most restaurant bars are merely a stopping point for diners waiting for a table. But at Astaria in downtown San Mateo, the restaurant's bar is a destination in itself - especially on Thursday nights, when there's live music. I Noah Band, Margo LeDuc and Tony Lindsay of Santana regularly play R&B with jazz and Motown overtones, with other groups rotating in on occasion. Most fans sit and listen while sipping cocktails and snacking at the bar, but a daring few will take a turn on the small dance floor. Celebrate the weekend one night early, as you have only Friday to get through."

Ha! No I don't have an espresso machine. I'm unclear on exactly what I made. I was trying to halve feste's orgeat recipe, but it seems like it might have been too small to properly register on the candy thermometer. It might be almond fudge when the smoke clears, but damn is it tasty. My wife and I were having a hard time restraining ourselves from just eating it by the spoonful. Whatever it is, it is amazingly more tasty than the Monin Orgeat.

Having spent the last hour peeling a half pound of almonds kernels, I cannot advise purchasing them with their skins on, unless you have a larger tolerance for tedious tasks than I. And I have a pretty large tolerance for tedious tasks. Sure, they slip right out of those skins after being blanched and shocked. Maybe one in 10! The rest must be painstakingly peeled using your fingernails.

I was chatting with the manager of a local liquor store that carries the Genevieve and he said he's seen pretty strong demand for it. It's a small boutique type liquor store, and he's sold around 48 bottles since it came out in November. He also told me that they released a second batch of it packaged in a new darker bottle. I hadn't been aware of that. He was under the impression that the second batch had been a new distillation, but didn't know for sure. He said he hadn't heard anything about them discontinuing the product. Inquiries to Anchor Distilling garnered a response, but nothing particularly informative. To my question, "Do you plan to pursue continued production and expanded distribution or was this a one off?" They replied, "Quite frankly we aren't sure what the future holds for Genevieve."

Gloom Chaser Cocktail 1/4 Lemon Juice. (1/2 oz Lemon Juice) 1/4 Grenadine. (1/2 oz Homemade Grenadine) 1/4 Grand Marnier. (1/2 oz Grand Marnier) 1/4 Curacao. (1/2 oz Senior Curacao of Curacao) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Really puzzling. Two kinds of orange liqueur and grenadine? Even more puzzling if you consider Grand Marnier to actually be a type of Curacao liqueur. Unforuntately, I can find no indication that this recipe is incorrect. I kind of hoped that would be the case. Maybe someone swapped Curacao for Cognac or something. But no, this ridiculously sweet recipe appears to be correct. And, yeah, this is ridiculously sweet. The flavors aren't bad but it turned out to be one of those few Savoy cocktails I couldn't finish. Just too sweet. Makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it again.

I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of latex gloves in food service. Often they seem to be used instead of teaching proper sanitation, rather than in addition to teaching sanitation. In many settings food service workers seem to use them to keep their hands from getting dirty, rather than to avoid cross contamination or other things actually related to the food they are serving. Somehow it is more reassuring for me to see clean and well maintained fingernails, clean hands, etc. than it is to see latex gloves. I mean, unless the workers are handling raw meat or something. But as to cracking ice in your hand, I'm not sure, that's why I was looking for feedback. I do it for myself at home. I've done it for guests who've come over to my house and no one has complained. Impressed, if anything. I've been to bars where it is done and it hasn't really bothered me. But then I got hung up on thinking about how the ice got from the well to the bartender's hand. So to me the part that probably crosses the line is the bartender reaching in and grabbing cubes out of the ice well with their hand.

Scored some of the Ibis today and thought of a particularly poignant name for the puppy this eve: Ruffled Feathers 1 1/2 oz Scarlet Ibis Rum 1 oz Sweet Vermouth 1/4 oz Allspice Dram Lime Twist Stir, Strain, and squeeze lime peel over drink. There's a bit of an empty spot in the mid to late tastes and I can't decide if it's a feature or an imperfection. So interesting with the lime out front in the scent and the spice in the early and late flavors. You kind of think, oh did I miss something, maybe I should have another sip. Be curious what anyone thinks.

Roots Brewing in Portland makes a very nice heather ale, which I quite enjoyed the last time I was up there. The heather definitely gives it a different character than hopped beers. Sort of floral and refreshing. More apropos of this discussion, I was out last night and noticed that the Magnolia Brewpub has a current seasonal ale called Weekapaug Gruit. With this discussion going on, there was no way I could not try a half of it last night. It's a dark ale with some very interesting and tasty spice character. Complex stuff. I'm definitely going to try it again after reading more about Gruit to get a better handle on all the flavors going on.