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Cool! Mill Valley is even closer than LA. Hmm... Though, perhaps it is time to check again with the local liquor stores. If they have it in Mill Valley, it seems like someone should have it in San Francisco...

Coffee Cocktail The Yolk of 1 Egg. 1 Teaspoonful Sugar or Gomme Syrup. 1/3 Port Wine. (1 oz?) 1/6 Brandy. (1/2 oz?) 1 Dash Curacao. Shake well, strain into a small wineglass, and grate a little nutmeg on top. The Savoy recipe for the Coffee Cocktail doesn't make much sense to me. Small, quite sweet, and very eggy. Notably, it is the only Savoy recipe I've noticed so far, where the fractions don't add up to a whole. Typo? Evidence that the fractions are actually portions of some standard measure rather than the total volume of before chill liquids? Thanks to the DrinkBoy forums, Dale DeGroff, and Darcy O'Neil, I recently found out it is originally from Jerry Thomas' book. Thomas' version is as follows: Makes more sense, though uses a whole egg and leaves out the Curacao. Of particular interest, is the fact that Craddock (or the Savoy editors) leave out the critical, "and bitters," from the comments. So, we see Thomas (or whoever wrote his copy) discriminating a traditional "Cocktail" as containing bitters, while the Savoy pointedly does not. I split the difference and semi-accidentally upped the booze to port ratio: Coffee Cocktail The Yolk of 1 Egg. 1 Teaspoonful Caster Sugar. 1 1/2 oz Ficklin Old Vine Tinta Port. 1 1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac. 1 Teaspoonful Brizard Orange Curacao. Shake well, strain into a small wineglass, and grate a little nutmeg on top. Very nice. I will have to go back and redo it with the proper amounts of port and brandy.

Well, about all I can say is I'm glad I didn't read mixtress post before I made myself a drink last night. I went with Nathan's proposed 2:1:1 guidelines. 1 1/2 oz Pikesville Rye 3/4 oz Punt e Mes 3/4 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur Stir, strain. Yessir, that might just've been the tastiest cocktail I've had in a couple weeks. The R&W Apricot and the Pikesville are just a beautiful match. Plus, not being as sweet as the Brizard, you can up the amount, and get more of the apricot flavor without exiling the cocktail to candyland.

Club Cocktail 2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Boodles Gin) 1/3 Italian Vermouth (3/4 oz Carpano Antica) 1 Dash Yellow Chartreuse Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. Here's one I expected to like a lot. While I found it fine, it didn't jump out of the glass at me. I think the Boodles may have been a bad choice. Something like Tanqueray or Junipero would have fought it out more actively with the sweet vermouth and Chartreuse. Remade with Junipero and Cinzano Rosso, I found I did enjoy it to a much greater extent. Sort of a light version of the Bijou/Jewel. Really should double strain these stirred cocktails, as pieces of cracked ice sometimes get out around the side of the julep strainer. Not very attractive.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, August 10, 2007 Pairings: Thai to wine, Jon Bonné, Olivia Wu Recipes: Grilled Beef Salad Northern Thai Pork Curry Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Gailan & Chicken Shrimp Cakes Roasted Green Chile Sauce Chronicle Wine Selections: Wines to pair with Thai food, Jon Bonné THE SIPPING NEWS: In Our Glasses Sparkling wine harvest starts Next big thing: Tequila bottle signings Fish-friendly deeds spawn awards Music in the vineyards The Cheese Course: Artisan goat's milk tomme worth the hunt, Janet Fletcher Uncorked: Big Daddy's beer bar turns 20, Jane Tunks The Tasting Room: A welcoming retreat in Sonoma, Kacie Ratner Beer: Organic brews make headway, Karen Solomon 96 Hours Bar Bites: Nizza La Bella, Karen Reardanz "Nizza La Bella This casual bistro on a stretch of San Pablo Avenue north of Solano offers a bit of Provence in Albany, with a relaxed vibe, textured mustard-yellow walls and dark wood booths and tables. Opened in 2000, it also celebrates the renaissance - and art - of the cocktail, with an arsenal of delectable versions of classics like the Aviation and Sazerac." Bargain Bite: Chez Shea, Olivia Wu "Chez Shea For a long time, residents of the Half Moon Bay area have urged Jose Ugalde, chef-owner of Cafe Gibraltar in El Granada, to do Mexican food. Ugalde, who is Mexican, and his wife, Liam Durkee, had maintained the strictly Mediterranean Cafe Gibraltar for nine years....Finally, last year, the restaurateurs opened Chez Shea in downtown Half Moon Bay. The place offers Mexican food, but also Mediterranean, American, Thai and, as one section of the brunch menu reads, 'A Little of This and a Little of That.'"

Suze is a French gentian based bitter. I guess it is similar to Campari, with a heavier tilt toward gentian than quinine in the bittering agents. slkinsey had comments here in the Aperol topic: Even though eas sez it is available in CA, I've not seen it up here lately. Last time I asked (earlier this year) at a liquor store that had carried it, I was told that the distributor or importer had gone out of business.

Hi David! Welcome to the cocktail forum! Thanks for the excellent tasting notes on this cognac producers line. Color me envious.

Nice article in today's San Francisco Chronicle: Organic brews make headway, Karen Solomon

Saw this in the paper today: In Our Glasses: What We're Drinking Though, I would quibble with the use of a red liqueur instead of a red syrup. Plus, the author doesn't mention egg white!?

If any of you read (or write) blogs which cover cocktails, you might know that Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles has been organizing a monthly online cocktail event he calls Mixology Mondays. This month's event is being hosted by Gwen on her Intoxicated Zodiac blog. The theme is Mixology Monday 18 is Orange To quote Mr. Clarke: More information from Gwen: If you would like to participate, please write up a cocktail you first read about on a blog or website in this topic before Monday, August 13th at midnight. I will compile a list of cocktails posted and mail them to the organizer. Orange you glad to participate?

Oh, I should say, I've had the Clear Creek Pear and Blue Plum Eau de Vie and quite enjoyed both. Clear Creek is certainly somewhere among the top commercial producers of fruit brandies in the US.

I haven't had this particular Eau de Vie. It does sound quite lovely. The thing to remember, though, about Eau de Vie, is that they are unaged fruit brandies. At their best they capture the perfume of the fresh fruit they are fermented from. But, once you swallow, they can taste and feel a bit more like grappa. If you don't know you like them, you might want to try one out at a nice restaurant, or experiment by buying one of the nicer Kirsch (Cherry Eau de Vie), as they tend to be a bit less expensive.

I was thinking about this and reminded of an episode in my youth. There was a Sicilian family who ran a small restaurant in the town I grew up in. Decent home made style food. Once my parents asked them to cater my sister's birthday. They made authentic lasagna and various other dishes. I was probably the only one there happy with the food. I think my parents and sister were expecting Italian American type food. But, when we got to dessert, they brought out a tiramisu. I'm not usually over fond of tiramisu, as it is usually more or less chocolate cheesecake. Too sweet and too cheesy. This tiramisu was completely different. Not very sweet. Only enough cheese to hold the cake pieces together. And the cake was completely soaked in booze and espresso. You could have squeezed it out and gotten an espresso/rum shooter, it was so potent. Frankly, that tiramisu was constructed like a well made cocktail. The bitterness of the espresso just held in check by the light sweetness, the power of the rum slightly mellowed by the cheese and cake. I wonder if that was where my obsession with drinky desserts started?

Might as well post its partner! Clover Leaf so... The Juice of 1/2 Lemon or of 1 Lime (Juice 1/2 Lemon) 1/3 Grenadine (3/4 oz Homemade Grenadine) The White of 1 Egg (whisk this a bit before adding) 2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Boodles Gin) Shake well (Combine above ingredients in boston shaker and shake for a minute or so without ice. Crack the seal on your boston shaker and add ice. Shake well again.) and strain into cocktail glass. Interesting, how much difference switching two ingredients makes! For the Clover Club version, the first smell is that of the Tanqueray Gin, then you get the lime. It really is a tart, lean, gin forward cocktail. With the Boodles and lemon in the Clover Leaf, you get the lemon, the grenadine, and maybe the mint. I guess there is gin in there; but, I'll be darned if I can taste it. I guess I would be inclined to call the first Tanqueray and lime drink the "Clover Club" and the Boodles and lemon the "Pink Lady"!

Oh, oops! Thanks for pointing that out. I've added the name. I know I've had variations on this, like the Chanticleer with Raspberry syrup, and made silver gin fizzes before. Might have been the first time I've made a "clover club" proper.

Clover Club The Juice of 1/2 Lemon or of 1 Lime (Juice 1 Lime) 1/3 Grenadine (3/4 oz Homemade Grenadine) The White of 1 Egg (whisk this a bit before adding) 2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray Gin) Shake well (Combine above ingredients in boston shaker and shake for a minute or so without ice. Crack the seal on your boston shaker and add ice. Shake well again.) and strain into cocktail glass. First time I've experimented with "Dry Shaking" the ingredients before adding the ice. It does seem to emulsify the ingredients nicely before chilling, and give the foam a better set. This is actually a much tarter cocktail than I thought it would be. Quite nice, really. Different versions of this cocktail from different eras call variously for Groseille (Red Currant) Syrup, Raspberry Syrup, and Grenadine. The erudite Paul Clarke has a wonderful writeup of the cocktail here: A Change in Fortune

I'm not sure what you mean. There are plenty of things to get intoxicated upon in the world. Some of them are cocktails and some are not. Not to mention that there are mixed drinks that involve little to no spirits at all. The Bellini, for example, or the Sherry Cobbler.

I was sort of wondering who the Clayton in Clayton's Special Cocktail was. Perhaps somewhat coincidentally, gethin just posted this topic: clayton's kola tonic, anyone familiar with this ? According to the wikipedia, With my brain like a sieve I also did not remember that eGullet member bostonapothecary has mentioned Claytons here, here, and here.

Cool! I was wondering who Clayton was! Now I know! Clayton's Special Cocktail 1/2 Bacardi Rum 1/4 Kola Tonic 1/4 Sirop-de-Citron Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Search for Cola in the cocktaildb, while it currently doesn't seem to differentiate between Coca Cola and Kola/Cola tonic, I think it is pretty easy to tell which recipes ones are calling for which. Kola and Sirop de Citron does seem to be a popular combo. edit - And, oh, hey, Mr. bostonapothecary seems to have a bottle, and has mentioned it in this topic: The Magic of a Good Mixer

Based on some discussion over in the Scott Beattie topic, I got to thinking about culinary cocktails. Where does the bar end and the kitchen begin? For example, if I peel and puree some cucumbers, ice and vermouth, salt it, and serve it in a bowl with a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of dill, I am obviously making soup. If I make cucumber juice and measure 2 parts cucumber juice, 1 part vermouth, 12 parts vodka into a tin, shake them with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass, I am obviously making a "Lucky Jim" cocktail. But if I peel and puree cucumbers, muddle lemon peel in a collings glass, top with ice, add a shot of aquavit, 2 shots of cucumber puree, stir, top up with soda, and garnish with a sprig of basil, is it a drink or soup? If I serve it in a bowl with a spoon, it could be soup, in a bar glass with a straw, it could be a drink. Obviously, there are traditional drinks which skirt the borders. I think the Bloody Mary, Snapper, Caesar, and Bellini all are borderline culinary creations. One person I talked to said, "I'd thought once to add vodka to Hungarian Sour Cherry Soup, mighty tasty for summer, but it's still soup." Is it the ingredients, the glass, or the setting which makes something a drink instead of a cold soup?

Clayton's Special Cocktail 1/2 Bacardi Rum (2 oz Flor de Cana Extra Dry Rum) 1/4 Kola Tonic (1/2 oz Rose's Kola Tonic) 1/4 Sirop-de-Citron (1/2 oz Monin Lemon Syrup) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Note: I did slightly increase the ratio of booze to syrup in the recipe. My big regret is I bought Lemon Syrup instead of making it myself. The Monin is OK. At least it doesn't have corn syrup. However, I didn't realize until I looked at the bottle when I got home, that it does have preservatives, natural flavors, and FD&C Yellow #5. I know this cocktail would have been at least 200% better with home made lemon syrup. Well, the next time sirop-de-Citron comes up, it's going to be home made. The Kola tonic seems to be a fairly subtle flavor to me. I kind of get it as an aftertaste. Nothing really strong. It seems like a dash or two of Fee's Aromatic Bitters would really punch this cocktail up.

OK, he made us promise not to post his recipes on the internet, so here are the ingredients, sans amounts, for The Upstairs Neighbor: Chipotle Vodka, Vodka, Tomato Water, Lemon Juice, Aged Balsamic Vinegar, Purple Opal Basil leaves, Sweet Basil leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, Black Pepper, and a red Hawaiian Sea Salt rim on the glass. I dunno, a skewer with those really small mozzarella di bufala balls alternating with cherry tomatoes, wouldn't have been a bad garnish. Take the Caprese thing all the way to its logical conclusion.

Thanks for the information, TBoner! Yes, one of these years I need to splurge for the LeNell's. By the way, I was talking about the Michter's US-1 Straight Rye. I haven't tried their 10 year offering.

I have my notes at home and will get back to you with exact ingredients. What I remember were: Tomato water, chipotle vodka, a couple basils, cherry tomatoes, and a very nice balsamic vinegar.

I'm not over fond of the Michter's Rye. Prefer the Wild Turkey 101 Rye. If you really want to go up-market, there's the Thomas Handy Barrel Proof Rye from Buffalo Trace. 130 or so, I think, and really nice stuff. Sold out in many places, I imagine, by now; but, there should be a new batch of bottles (hopefully!) when the antique collection is released again this fall. I'm not sure what proof the incredibly expensive Rittenhouse 21 is bottled at. Anyone know? edit - It appears the Rittenhouse 21 is bottled at 100 proof. Is the Handy the only barrel proof rye?