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Tomek... Those both sound pretty tasty! Just a couple clarifications... By prunes do you mean fresh prune plums or dried prunes? I'm also guessing you don't pit your cherries or prunes?

Uh, oops! I was looking through Judge Jr.'s "Here's How" this evening, and noticed that the "The Crow" was among the drinks in that 1927 book. However, Judge Jr. calls for the much more sensible, 2/3 Scotch, 1/3 Lemon Juice, and dash grenadine. His smart alecky remark for this drink is, "This drink is guaranteed to make you fly; like the crow, if you fly too far you will get shot!" It appears that the unbalanced nature of the Savoy Crow Cocktail is another typo.

Wow, at long last we have finished the letter "C". From the Cabaret Cocktail to the Curacao Cocktail, going back through them I was quite surprised by the number that I had fond feelings for: Cafe Kirsch I do need to retry the Calvados Cocktail with the appropriate amount of Bitters. Cameron's Kick Capetown Cocktail Casino Cocktail C.F.H. Cocktail Champagne Cocktail Charles Cocktail Charleston Cocktail Chicago Cocktail Chocolate Cocktail (No. 1) Chyrsanthemum Cocktail I enjoyed the Champs Elysees Cocktail; but, even more the chance to meet up with Victoria, and take my little obsession into the outside world. Hope to do more of that soon! Clover Club Club Cocktail Coffee Cocktail Colonial Cocktail The Corn Popper isn't something I will probably make again, unless I am able to secure a safe and reliable source for "Corn". Still, it was pretty cool to work with Mr. Rowley on decoding the recipe. Coronation Cocktail (No. 1) Corpse Reviver (No. 2) I quite enjoyed my re-invention of the Cota Cocktail. Hopefully some time in the near future, we will track down the true nature of "Hercules"! I need to re-do the Creole Cocktail with a more apropriate Amer Picon substitute. Cuban Cocktail (No. 1) Culross Ccoktail Cupid Cocktail Whew! Lots of good stuff in there! Looking forward to the "Ds", from Daiquiri, (maybe I'll even learn to pronounce it correctly,) to Duppy.

re: Hercules Doing a google book search I find an ad in a 1946 edition of "The Strand Magazine". Unfortunately, it isn't available fully. By manipulating the search, I can get the following excerpts:

I was looking through Eddie Clarke's "Shaking in the Sixties" and found the following in the "Recipes of 100 Years Ago" section of the book. Think this is what they meant by "Absinthe Bitters"? They would indeed be very, very bitter, and without question get the "Choker Cocktail" closer to its described effects. According to a document I've gotten from the folks at the Savoy Hotel, Eddie Clarke joined the Savoy Group in 1934. When Harry Craddock left the Savoy to go the the Dorchester in 1939, Clarke succeeded him as Head Barman. He worked there until he was called into service in 1942.

Not sure about the difference between an infusion and a tincture. I guess I would say, tinctures are not usually sweetened and are usually single herbs, spices or flavors. Time depends on the ingredient. Walnuts are often left in alcohol for 2 months or more. Some herbs and flowers might be left only overnight. As far as I can tell, the biggest difference between rectified spirits and vodka, is simply the amount of dilution you need to perform in the final steps. I don't care for the flavor and burn of most rectified spirits available in the US, so prefer to use a half way decent vodka. Funny about the cherry and walnut liqueur! I thought I was being really inventive this year by adding some black cherries to one of my batches of green walnut liqueur. I just strained the solids out last week, and it does smell really good. How does your Dad make his?

Cool! I would expect Heering is quite a bit drier than the Arrow Cherry Brandy. As liqueurs go, it's not all that syrupy. The version with the Kirsch does sound pretty close to the Charleston Cocktail, so I'm sure it would be fine. Not sure about the use of the Brizard Curacao. The recipe does say "dry Curacao", so maybe Triple Sec would be more appropriate? Also, even though the Savoy Cocktail book leaves out the "strain into glasses" step, every other cocktail book I have with "The Cherry Blossom (For 6)" says to strain it into cocktail glasses, including Patrick Gavin Duffy's "Official Mixer's Manual".

re: Dubonnet Rouge One interesting thing I've read regarding Dubonnet Rouge is that the Dubonnet we get in the US is made in Kentucky by Heaven Hill. Apparently, in Canada and elsewhere, they get Dubbonet made in France. I've not tried the French Dubonnet myself; but, some folks have said that it is noticeably different from the Dubonnet we get here. re: Barolo Chinato To me it is nowhere near as sweet as most liqueur or most alcohol based Amaro. There are a number of brands, though, so there may be some variability. The only one I've tried, Cocchi, seems somewhere around, or a little less sweet than, some of the Late Bottled Vintage or Ruby Ports I've tried.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, September 28, 2007 Pairings: New, old worlds your oyster when pairing wine, Olivia Wu Recipes: The Real Oysters Rockefeller New England-Style Oyster & Clam Chowder Chronicle Wine Selections: Wines to pair with oysters, Jon Bonné THE SIPPING NEWS: Is that a sommelier in your pocket?, Camper English The local TV show "In Wine Country" went national last week., Lynn Char Bennett 7 reasons to celebrate National Vodka Day, Cammper English What we're drinking The Cheese Course: Georgia's Thomasville Tomme a family affair, Janet Fletcher Cocktailian: Creme de violette lifts Aviation to the moon, Gary Regan Recipes: The Moonlight Cocktail Wine Country fundraisers for charity 96 Hours Bar Bites: Jack Falstaff, Tara Duggan "With about half of its real estate devoted to a lounge area, Jack Falstaff in San Francisco seems like the perfect place to head for a cocktail or two. Its proximity to AT&T Park reinforces the idea that that's what the PlumpJack Group - which also operates the PlumpJack Cafe, Balboa Cafe and PlumpJack Winery, as well as other Northern California businesses - had in mind when it opened this lofty indoor/outdoor lounge with a more formal restaurant inside. The seasonally focused small bites and cocktail menus make it all the more appealing to stop in for a quick nosh." Bargain Bite: Taqueria Mi Pueblo, Amanda Gold "Taqueria Mi Pueblo On a recent evening, a crowd gathered just inside the door to wait for a table at Taqueria Mi Pueblo in San Anselmo. It's not an uncommon sight, as it's one of the few casual Mexican restaurants in the town's commercial district."

I asked Mr. Wondrich about Hercules, (hopefully he won't mind me posting this!) and he replied: I suppose it is also possible that there was more than one beverage called Hercules, as that ad on the cocktaildb does really appear to be for a Dutch Quinquina. Searching for Numa Tea and/or Numatea didn't reveal much. The word "Numa" appears in the name of a popular online video, really skewing google results. I think it means something like "world" in anglicized Indian. Appears to be a place name in anglicized Japanese. It also was a name of the legendary second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. Instituted Vestal Virgins, etc.

Thanks Darcie! It's not exactly bacon cookies... ...but, it's fun for me and I'm glad you enjoy it! As far as I can tell, the DeKuyper products are among the best of the lower priced, liqueurs available widely in the US. I haven't tried their apricot flavored brandy; but, I would expect it to be at least OK. Brizard's Apry or the Rothman & Winter would be preferable. The hard part about recipes which call for "apricot brandy" is it is pretty hard to know if they mean apricot liqueur or Apricot Eau-de-Vie. We've talked a lot about that and other things in this topic: Apricot Brandy: Apry, Etc.

Related to thirtyoneknots comment, I was out in the real world, ("in re-al time,") and a restaurant offered a 2 page brunch cocktail menu. The second page was yer traditional brunch drinks, Bloody Mary, Greyhound, etc. The first full page, probably 18 drinks, was all dessert or "shooter" type drinks. B-52, etc. I have to admit I was completely flabbergasted that anyone would order one of those drinks at Brunch. But, I guess, given the amount of maple syrup folks normally put on their pancakes, it's not that much of a stretch.

I suppose I should qualify this and say it wasn't an awful drink, just much sweeter than I expected. I was hoping that the orange juice would cut some of the sweetness of the Brizard Orange Curacao. It did not, instead just adding to it, making it pointedly an after dinner drink. If you were to serve The Curacao Cocktail in a small glass alongside a cup of coffee, it wouldn't be unappealing. However, its single minded orange-i-ness would make it a bit more boring than something like the Blanche Cocktail.

Curacao Cocktail (6 People) ½ Glass Brandy (1/4 oz Maison Surenne Petit Cognac) 2 1/2 Glasses Dark Curacao (1 oz Brizard Orange Curacao) 2 1/2 Glasses Orange Juice (1 oz Orange Juice) 1/2 Glass Gin. (1/4 oz Bombay Gin) Broken Ice. Shake and serve in glasses rinsed out with Orange Bitters (Regan's). Going with the 2 oz per glass, and then dividing in half to create a portion and a half. Yeah, no, that's not drinkable, even very cold with a generous pour of bitters, unless you consider straight maple syrup drinkable. Express train to diabetic coma. I'd give it a try with Grand Marnier or another Curacao, except even a couple sips have ruined me for the evening. Yuck.

My understanding is that Ratafias are a subgroup among liqueurs. The name is Franco-American in origin. They are always produced by maceration of some substance in alcohol and never, (as far as I know,) distillation. In my experience, they are often made from whole fruit (or nuts apparently) and frequently include spices or mixtures of fruits. Duplais again:

Shrubs, Punches, and "Prepared Cocktails For Bottling" are as far as the "pantry" items go in the "Savoy Cocktail Book". No liqueur or ratafia recipes.

Don't know anything about the liqueur itself. I do know "Verveine" is the French name for "Verbena", only because French Lemon Verbena soap is one of our favorites.

In Duplais, Crème de Noyaux is as follows: Kind of a large batch...

Hmm... Well, if Creme de Noyeaux is supposed to be a true almond liqueur, that bodes well for the Luxardo Amaretto, which unlike Amaretto di Saronna, is actually made from almonds. The recipes in jmfangio's books appear to be for homemade replica liqueurs, and they don't appear particularly accurate, I must say. The drink recipes, on the other hand, are pretty cool looking.

Cupid Cocktail 1 Glass Sherry. (2 oz Lustau Don Nuno Dry Oloroso) 1 Fresh Egg. Teaspoonful Powdered Sugar. (1 tsp. caster sugar) A little Cayenne Pepper. Shake well and strain into medium size glass. Sherry Flip, essentially. The cayenne pepper give it an interesting little kick. Not overly complex or anything; but, enjoyable all the same.

Oh, hey, there's a cocktail coming up in the "Savoy Cocktail Book" with Crème de Noyeau in it. Are there any decent brands of this available or do I just have to bite the bullet and buy the Hiram Walker? Substitutions? Red Food Coloring and Luxardo Amaretto di Saschira? That would be ideal, since I've already got both. Or make my own?

Is d.b.a. on Frenchman Street still open? Had one of my top Sazeracs ever there in the fall of 2004. I really enjoyed the vibe of the bar, too, especially early in the evening.

Peter... Great to see you food blogging! I've enjoyed your writing on your various travelogues so much in the past, I'm really looking forward to this week. Good luck! And, yeah, that airline food looked pretty darn good compared to what I've seen lately, if I see anything at all.

Yeah, so circumstances at the bar are definitely one thing. The other thing to remember, if you're ordering a drink at a restaurant or indirectly from a waiter or waitress, is, you're not just testing the bartender. You're testing whether your server has been properly trained and is conversant in cocktails. Did he/she properly enter your drink into the POS system, and is the POS system flexible enough to allow comments. If it is a busy restaurant bar, has the bar staff set in place proper systems, inventory, and been trained well. Is there a good communication system in place so your server knows when to pick up the drinks when they are completed. etc. etc. The bartender may be the ass-kickingest bartender in the world; but, if the management has decreed that the restaurant or bar will use crap sour mix, you're not going to get a good Margarita or Sidecar. You may order a 3-1 Martini, Plymouth, stirred, up, with a twist; but, if your server knows nothing about cocktails, and just enters the code for "Gin Martini", it has nothing to do with the bartender when it comes back shaken with a splash of vermouth.

Serious California Zinfandel will always have a special place in my cellar. Dating myself a bit, obtaining a bottle of Ridge Howell Mountain was one of my first serious wine obsessions. Too bad not many producers make that style anymore.