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My annual bump to this topic, to remind you it's about time to sort out your Green Walnut purveyor for the year. Only a couple weeks until St. John's Day. I'll again be ordering from Mount Lassen. This year I'm hoping to do a bit of experiment and use some grappa for part of the alcohol component. I think it will complement my more bitter style of walnut liqueur nicely.

Speaking of spiced wheat beers, I was completely puzzled by Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat. Apparently it did win a silver medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Fest. Cardamom and orange, heavily applied, and fairly sweet. Fruit Loops were what came to mind for me. The rest of the six pack is destined to be slug bait in the garden.

What makes you say that? ← Maybe it's partly a mood thing, or maybe one day you give it an extra shake of bitters, or a little more whisk(e)y, or a little less sugar. It's probably different if you're a bartender, and can whip these out exactly the same, cocktail after cocktail; but, at home, sometimes the simplest cocktails can be the most interesting.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, June 01, 2007 Turning water into wine, Alice Feiring THE SIPPING NEWS: The art of the barrel From Big House to grand cru Cocktail experts mix it up online $40,000 and up for 11 bottles of wine In our glasses WINERY WATCH / Pahlmeyer's passion for Pinot Cocktailian: Discovering the chi of sidecars, Gary Regan Recipe: Sidecar Adapted from a recipe by Thad Vogler, bar manager at Jardiniere, San Francisco. Uncorked: Beverages & More's drinker in chief, Jon Bonné Bargain Wines: Blockbuster summer for affordable red blends, W. Blake Gray The Tasting Room: STYLE AND SUBSTANCE, Carol Ness Pairings: Dry rosé shows its steamy side in a spicy mussel stew, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Greek Mussel Stew Chronicle Wine Selections: International rosés, W. Blake Gray The Cheese Course: For organic Parmigiano, younger is better, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bar Bites: 750 ml, Mandy Erickson "The draw at this year-old wine bar is the Enomatic, a self-serve wine dispenser with all the futuristic campiness its name implies. You insert a prepaid card, place your glass under a spout and press a button. The Enomatic supplies a 1-ounce taste at a tenth of the price of the bottle retail -- from $1.20 to $6.80 -- and the selection of 24 wines rotates every week or so." Bargain Bite: La Corneta, Miriam Morgan "Things have been hopping at the Burlingame branch of this popular San Francisco taqueria ever since it opened last month. Bright and attractive, with a boldly colored sculpture of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a mural of a trumpeting angel, the look is several steps above the typical burrito joint."

Canadian Whisky Cocktail 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters 2 Teaspoonful Gomme Syrup (2 teaspoons Depaz Cane Syrup) 1 Glass Canadian Club Whisky (2 oz 40 creek Barrel Select) Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze lemon peel on top.) I know, I know, this is the same as any other "name the spirit cocktail". What can I say, I like them. Pretty much all of them. The funny thing is, this will taste different every time you make it, even if you use the exact same ingredients.

Thinking about ice lately. From what I can tell, electricity wasn't widely available in the US until some time in the 1940s.* Home refrigerators took off at about the same time.** Ice in cube form followed a bit after that of home refrigerators.*** Not sure when commercial ice cube makers became common. Anyone know? It seems likely bartenders would have been carving up big blocks of ice until the 1940s or later. Is that accurate? *History of the U.S. Electric Power Industry, 1882-1991 **History of Refrigerators ***The long history of ice cubes

Canadian Cocktail The Juice of 1/4 Lemon 1/4 Tablespoonful Powdered Sugar (no thanks, sweet enough already) 1 Liqueur Glass Curacao (about 1 1/4 oz Senior Curacao of Curacao) 3 Dashes Jamaica Rum (1/4 oz Inner Circle Green) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. The big question here was what rum to use. I knew it had to be something with enough oomph that it would be noticed in a very small amount. I've also read that Canadians and Newfundlanders allegedly enjoy that "Screech" sort of thing. I singed my nose hairs on a few of the usual suspects. Pusser's, Lemon Hart 151, and the Inner Circle Green. Kind of wish I had some Wray and Nephew white in the house. But, anyway, ended up with the Inner Circle Green. It seemed to have the most interesting funk of the bunch. Cocktail is alright. Making as I did, it's really pretty close in sweetness to many of the cocktails served in the mainstream American bars. If I were to make it again, it would be more to my taste as: 1/2 oz Curacao, 3/4 oz Cuban style rum, 1/4 oz overproof rum, juice 1/4 lemon.

I dunno. A lot of people make bad choices when they are first starting out to drink beer (wine, or liquor). When I was in high school (drinking age was 18) I'll admit to being inordinately and inexplicably fond of Mickey's Big Mouth. Not to mention the time in college when I was supposed to buy a bottle of white Bordeaux wine to go with dinner and got a bottle of Sauternes. Now that was a party! Neither of those factors prevented me from later developing an appreciation for better beer or more appropriate wine. What impact do you think will flat or depressed mass market beer brands have on the specialty brewers? Will it impact the ability of brewery start ups and small brewers to get business loans? Things like that?

I can! Christopher ← Yeah, I know. I think it seemed familiar to me because a most of it is cribbed from the LeNell's site and also the excellent bitters piece Dr. Cocktail did for the (now defunct) Martini Republic blog.

Just a couple stickler type notes. Charles Jacquin et Cie., Co, doesn't (well didn't) really produce Chambord, they just own(ed) the company in France which produces it and then import(ed) it to the US. In 2006 they sold the Chambord brand and all related assets off to Brown-Forman for a reported $255 million.

Things I am more concerned with: Big brewing companies making like big chocolate companies, and gobbling up the smaller local brewers, in the hopes of cashing in on their cache. Big brewing companies releasing beers branded as if they are micro-brews and diluting the small beer market. Continuing popularity of Alco-Pops. I would prefer young people start with sweeter beers, and actually start acquiring a taste for the flavors of beer, rather than these alcohol and caffeine infused sugar bombs. It occurs to me, that anyone who starts out drinking Alco-Pops, is going to be more likely to move to cocktails or wine, than beer. Maybe, the big companies are victims of their own success!

That list looks familiar, like it is from a website or article I've read. Can't quite place it, though. LeNell's have a pretty complete list of available potable and cocktail bitters on their site. LeNell's Bitters Selection

cdh, I can't really pretend to understand the marketing strategies of the larger brewers; but, to me their complaints sound a bit like those of the recording industry. As far as I can tell, there is more good beer available in the US now than there has been at any point in the past 20 years. In the last few years many of my friends have started brewing. Are the sales of small to medium size brewers flat? I know Full Sail, Rogue, Deschutes, and Stone Brewing continue to expand. Even in cardboard cutout mall-ville, there is a BJ's brewpub next to almost every Target I see. Maybe Miller and Corona are losing out to wine and cocktails. Is that something to lose sleep over?

It's a fun book, great 50s style line drawings, and amusing copy. Includes a section at the back called "365 excuses for a Party". May 30 is "Decoration Day." Apropos the discussion in the "Understanding Bewildering US State Liquor Laws" topic, May 31 is the "Anniversary of the Johnstown Flood." Certainly worth $10 for the calendar alone! edit - By the way, the slightly more well known Esquire Book is the 1949, "Handbook for Hosts". Unfortunately, I don't have that one yet.

Afraid I was going to have to send off to the California Historical Society for Bronson's article, I did some googling. It appears his son has a blog and has reprinted the article in whole: The Secrets of Pisco Punch Revealed - The Lost Recipe

How does it work out, using it in cocktails? Are there problems getting the gelled syrup to dissolve? Do you think it is worth the effort?

Inspired by a recent Robert Hess Spirit World article on the Pisco Punch, I am thinking of going ahead with a homemade Gomme Syrup. Pisco and the Pisco Punch Anyone have tips for gomme making? Interestingly, it appears the main source for Gum Arabic is Sudan, which may account somewhat for its price.

Robert Hess recently had a nice article on Orgeat over on The Spirit World: Orgeat and the Fog Cutter There is a great illustrated step by step guide to making it here: Homemade Orgeat Syrup There's also a fascinating discussion of Japanese Barley Tea here on eGullet: Barley tea (mugicha), The oldest tea in Japan While these sorts of nutritional steeped grain and/or nut beverages have pretty much devolved into smoothies and evolved into beer, (bread, tortillas, soy milk, rice milk, tofu...) they once formed a much larger portion of humankind's diet. If you're interested, the new world variants, based on nixtamalized corn meal, are covered in a fascinating manner in Charles C. Mann's "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus".

Michael Bauer reviewed the West County Grill in today's Chronicle Magazine: Rustic flavors appeal to citified tastes at Sebastopol's West County Grill A couple complaints about the cocktails; but, by and large a very positive review from Mr. Bauer.

By the way, what book is it?

Cameron's Kick 1/3 Scotch Whisky (1 oz Compass Box Asyla) 1/3 Irish Whiskey (1 oz Red Breast) 1/6 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz fresh) 1/6 Orgeat Syrup (1/2 oz Monin Orgeat) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze orange peel on top.) I can't really think of a funnier or wittier way to put this than Paul Clarke did in his Cocktail Chronicle blog a year or so ago, so I'll just include a quote: Cameron’s Kick Like "Blood in the Sand" it's another of those cocktails that didn't really seem anywhere near likely enough that it would be tasty to work it's way up the list. Yet here it is, and I quite enjoyed it. Sweet and tart. Puzzling and a bit exotic. Some elements of spice, and some elements of Scotch Whiskey. It really doesn't seem like it should work. But, it does.

I understand the reasons for broiling and pan cooking steaks. However, count me in the camp which favors grilling. Last night I grilled a Niman Ranch Cowboy Steak ( ~20 oz, well marbled, thick cut, bone in ribeye) over lump mesquite. Blazing hot coals, lightly oil steak, salt and pepper, throw the steak down, cover, flip once, cover again. Perfect Rare/mid-Rare. I know I lost the chance to make a sauce with pan drippings; but, the steak was so tender and delicious, I really didn't need to include the roasted red and poblano rajas I made to accompany it. Delish.

Jaggery is a type of Indian unrefined sugar. It is often, though not exclusively palm sugar. You should be able to find it in an Indian Food store. If you don't have an Indian Grocery nearby, use piloncillo from the Mexican section of your grocery (or a Latin American store.) I've also seen Loaf and Palm Sugar for sale at Chinese Markets. These would work too. Jaggery (wikipedia link)

Ran this one past my wife tonight with dessert and was reminded how much context has to do with flavor. While I still enjoyed it, she disliked it strongly. We had it after dinner, and it was just awful with ice cream and sweeter items. I dunno if you've ever been near the end of the bottle of wine, and thought, oh, sure I'll drink that with dessert. You soon realize how bad an idea that was. In this case, it was worse than average.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, May 26, 2007 The best Wine Country picnics, Jon Bonné Wine Country Picnics: Napa Valley, Stacy Finz Wine Country Picnics: Sonoma County, W. Blake Gray THE SIPPING NEWS: Picnic in style with our picks of the most useful accessories In our glasses Corti against wines with high alcohol, Olvia Wu Wine Country Picnics: Wine County etiquette guide, Jon Bonné Perfect Picnics: Santa Cruz, Kacie Ratner Tasting fee tyranny, W. Blake Gray Perfect Picnics: Livermore valley, Deborah Grossman Pairings: Whip up a three-course feast to pair with the perfect rosé, Joyce Goldstein Recipes: Farro Nicoise Salad Barbecued Chicken Salad Sandwiches Berry & Melon Salad with Honey Tarragon Dressing Chronicle Wine Selections: West Coast Rosés, W. Blake Gray The Cheese Course: Hardy cheeses that survive the picnic basket, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bar Bites: Liverpool Lil's, Laura Compton "Even the most dedicated cocktail connoisseur sometimes wants a place to kick back and just have a good, honest drink and a bite. For San Franciscans in the know, that place is Liverpool Lil's, a hideaway near the Presidio that's the antithesis of the neighboring Marina and Cow Hollow bar scenes, with their small plates and endless 'tini combos.a" Bargain Bite: The New Spot, Stacy Finz "You'd never know it by its bland name, but this cafe serves up some surprisingly exotic dishes. Tucked away in an industrial area of San Francisco, the small restaurant offers a mix of Mexican and Salvadoran cuisine."