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I guess I tend to divide them by spirits base. The brandy based orange liqueurs get lumped in one box, the neutral spirits based orange liqueurs in a second, the rum based one in a third, and so forth. I think it is fair to point out, as Andy has, that the neutral spirits based "Triple Secs" tend to be solely about orange, rather than additional flavorings. While vanilla and other spices may be far more dominant in the Brandy ones like Grand Marnier. Many of these are based on the traditions of spiced liqueurs, like Licor 43, rather than a straight ahead orange flavor. The Clement Creole Shrubb, which falls into the spiced orange liqueur tradition, is my current favorite orange liqueur, too. Though, I've also heard good things about the Santa Theresa orange liqueur. I'm still curious about the Orange/White Curacao dichotomy that David Santucci brought up. In the past, were other Orange Curacaos made on a Brandy base? Is it accurate to say Grand Marnier is a type of Orange Curacao? And also, of course, wondering, if Brizard Orange Curacao is the most appropriate thing to use when Orange Curacao is called for in a classic drink recipe.

Rosey Fizz 1 Rose Scented Geranium Leaf (nice; but, optional) Rose Hip Granita* 2 oz Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded) 2 oz Blood Orange Juice (juice 1 small moro blood orange) 1/2 tsp superfine (caster) sugar 1 egg white Sparkling Dry Rosé Wine (Louis Boillot Perle d'Aurore Cremant de Bourgogne) Rose Flower Water Muddle Geranium leaf in the bottom of collins glass. Fill glass 1/3 with Rose Hip Granita. Shake Apple Brandy, Orange Juice, sugar, and egg white well in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into glass containing granita. Top with sparkling wine (it will foam up) and a couple drops of rose flower water. --- I've been a bit obsessed with combinations of rose hip "tea" and Apple Brandy. Initially I really liked the idea of a cocktail that was composed entirely of products made from plants in the Rose Family (Rosaceae). Eventually, I was forced to allow citrus and rose geranium leaves into the mix (and in this case Rosé wine and eggs.) The smokey apple-ish flavors of rose hip "tea" do combine amazingly well with Apple Brandy. I think this grown-up version of an ice-cream float is the best combination of these flavors I've done so far. Another in my continuing series of "drink your dessert" cocktails and sorbets. *Rose Hip Granita 2 c water 8 tsp dried Rose Hips (available at health food stores and natural groceries) 1 c sugar 1 drop lemon oil Bring water to boil and add rose hips. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Press through a sieve, food mill, or china cap, extracting as much of the pulp through as possible. Whisk in sugar to dissolve. Add a drop of lemon oil and refrigerate until cooled. If you have an ice cream maker, process according to manufacturers instructions. Store in a sealed container in the freezer. If you do not have an ice cream maker, chill an stainless steel or pyrex pan in your freezer. The sorbet mixture should not come up more than an inch along the side of the pan. Add mixture to pan, and stir with a fork every hour until well frozen. Store in a sealed container in the freezer. This makes enough granita for 4 or 5 cocktails. One interesting thing about the rose hips was that they seemed to have some sort of gelling or foaming property. When I was whisking in the sugar, I noticed it spontaneously formed a fairly stable foam. In addition, even though made simply with a fork procedure, this granita was very close in texture to a gelato. I guess the same substances in the rose hips which formed the foam also acted to prevent larger ice crystals from forming.

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 my Bernal Heights homies Anita and Cameron on their Married...with dinner blog. The theme is Champagne Cocktails. To quote Mr. Clarke: If you would like to participate, please write up any cocktail made with sparkling wine in this topic before Monday, April 16th at midnight. I will compile a list of cocktails posted and mail them to the organizer. Here's to Fizzy Lifting Drinks!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, March 30, 2007 Drinks Gone Wild!, Amanda Gold THE SIPPING NEWS: Out: Trucker hats, In: Boone's Farm T-shirts WINERY WATCH / 39 Degrees and Redtree Beyond Manischewitz Chariots of Chablis Very berry Wine Business Insider: Jeriko Estate, Vino Venue Snapped Up, Cyril Penn The Tasting Room: Out to Lunch at Geyser Peak Winery, W. Blake Gray Letters To Wine: Hall of Fame talks back Bargain Wines: 10 Haikus to Celebrate Spring and Sauvingon Blanc, W. Blake Gray Corporate Cheddar Rocks Our World, Janet Fletcher Pairings: Hunting for Eggs in Meatloaf, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Meat Loaf with Mushroom & Tomato Sauce The Chronicle's Wine Selections: 2005 Cru Beaujolais, Jon Bonné 96 Hours Bar Bites: Quattro, Karen Reardanz “First East Palo Alto gets the Bay Area's second Ikea, and now the city once best known for its crime statistics is home to a swanky Four Seasons Hotel. With its stone walls, original paintings by Joan Miró and expansive glass windows, Quattro, the hotel's bar and restaurant, offers a refined yet comfortable setting in which to sip generous specialty cocktails and nosh on bites from a Cal-Italian bar menu. Four Seasons elegance comes at Four Seasons prices, but the special touches make it worth a splurge. The perfectly made drinks, attentive service and abundant bar snacks might be all you'll want.” Bargain Bite: Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, Stacy Finz “There aren't many bargains left in St. Helena. But at this old-style hamburger stand, there are lots of good eats -- I mean James Beard good -- for cheap.”

Moderator note: Clickety here for the relocated Blue Monday post and Orange Liqueur discussion: Orange Liqueurs, Substitutions and Opinions

Interesting point. By this logic, Brizard makes two "Orange Curacaos", the Orange Curacao and the Grand Orange? As far as I know, Brizard is the only current manufacturer who makes an orange liqueur based on brandy and labels it a "Curacao". The recipes in the Savoy cocktail book call for four types of Curacao, "Curacao", "Orange Curacao", "White Curacao", and "Dark Curacao". The only place I see the "White" specified is in clear drinks, so is it safe to assume Orange when no color is specified? And by Orange, should we use a Brandy based orange liqueur, or something else? I was a bit surprised by how much sweeter the Brizard Orange Curacao was than the other orange liqueurs and how dominant the brandy flavor is. I'll have to try it against the Grand Gala I have in the cabinet some time. By the way, I do recommend the Blue Monday design as a way of getting a handle on liqueur flavors. Tasting them straight can be a bit overwhelming. Cutting the liqueur with some decent neutral flavored vodka and giving them a bit of a chill does give you a chance to compare the flavors without risking diabetic shock. I know I've taken a small sip of most of these orange liqueurs before; but, never really sat down and compared them.

Unfortunately, San Francisco springs aren't really known for their heat or pleasantness, so the Blue Monday may not have the appeal for me it had for Vesper Lynd. However, I thought it a fine opportunity to gather a few of the examples of Orange Liqueur I seem to have accumulated and do a little comparison. From Left to Right, we have Luxardo Triplum, Brizard Orange Curacao, Senior Curacao of Curacao, and Cointreau. Blue Monday 1/4 Cointreau (1/2 oz Orange Liqueur) 3/4 Vodka (1 1/2 oz Rain Vodka) 1 Dash Blue Vegetable Extract (1 drop Blue Food Coloring) Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. What was immediately apparent, (and perhaps responsible for my reaction to last night's Blue Devil,) is that the Blue Food Coloring I used is not flavorless. Definitely adds a subtle unpleasant odor and flavor to the proceedings. In the future, a replacement will be needed. Just glad I didn't try making these for guests. In order from sweetest to least sweet, they go, Brizard, Luxardo, Senior, Cointreau. The Brandy base of the Brizard, especially, makes it stand out. It's more like an orange flavored brandy than a Triple Sec. This tasting made me re-think using it as an ingredient. Of the others, I found the Luxardo to have the harshest base spirit. It definitely has that "after shave" kind of smell and is pretty hot on the tongue. Also slightly odd, the Luxardo cocktail seemed to haze slightly when chilled, like some of the orange oils were dropping out of solution. The Cointreau was next, still having a bit of alcohol heat and smell; but, more subtle and pleasant. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed the Senior Curacao of Curacao. It's not a piercing or bitter orange flavor; but, a very nice, fresh, orange flavor. The base spirit, as well, is the smoothest, making it the most pleasant to enjoy in this cocktail. As for the Blue Monday itself, unless you are fond of slightly sweet and orangey super dry vodka martinis, I can't really recommend it. I think it might be significantly improved with a dash of lemon juice, orange bitters, or a squeeze of orange peel. Just be sure your blue coloring is truly neutral in flavor before embarking.

I think it is Bun Bo Hue, which sometimes contains congealed blood. Here's a version from recipe gullet: Bun Bo Hue Though, this particular one doesn't mention blood.

Cheers Andy! By the way, going from my ImageGullet count, it appears that somewhere around the Bronx cocktail makes about 100 Savoy Cocktails for me. Whee! The centennial mark. About 1/7th of the way done with The Savoy Cocktail Book! So far, it has been a really interesting ride. I hope more of you will stick around and participate in the rest of the trip.

Blue Devil Cocktail 1/2 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Boodles Gin) 1/4 Lemon Juice or Lime Juice (3/4 oz lemon Juice) 1/4 Maraschino (3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino) 1 Dash Blue Vegetable Extract (1 Drop Blue Food Coloring) Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass I was out the other night with a few folks and for some reason they gave me a hard time about skipping some of the Savoy recipes. I dunno what to think about that. Personally, I was glad that other eGullet members were actually interested enough in the project to take part. In any case, there were a few that I, personally, have not tried. So fine, I will work my way through. The first among these is the Blue Devil. It does have a great name. However, I can't quite figure it out. It falls somewhere between the quite tart Savoy Aviation and the pretty sweet Allen. Well, and it is blue. For whatever reason, I preferred both the Allen and the Aviation. Variety of Gin? Color? Ratio? Can't quite place it.

Odd. Yup, aside from their (excellent) jams, D'Arbo products are not carried very widely here. I only know of two retailers (John Walker and Co. and Rainbow Grocery) in San Francisco that carry their syrups, and both of them were sold out of the Elderflower the last time I checked. I was also recently talking to a bartender who was saying they hesitated to put a drink with Elderflower on their menu because they were having a hard time keeping the syrup available as an ingredient. Maybe it's a distribution thing.

I've been interested in the idea of cocktails using scented foams for a while now. Anyhoozle, I was reading an article over on liquid muse about Pickled Martinis. It didn't seem that hard, so, off to the store in search of Soy Lecithin. Sadly, no joy. However, I did chance upon some Xanthan Gum. Has anyone had success making foams with it? According to this website, it seems like it should be relatively stable across a variety of PHs and dissolve at room temperature. Mmmm... Bacterial slime! So appealing! And people have a hard time with egg whites. I've no idea how you'd explain Xanthan Gum without having the customer run screaming from the bar.

The conversion ratio varies with the variety of bean; but, it's safe to assume around a 4x increase in volume from dry to cooked. Indeed, kombu is a form of dried seaweed common in Japanese cooking. Kombo and dried bonito shavings are two of the main flavoring ingredients in the form of Japanese flavoring broth called Dashi. And, yes, natural MSG was first isolated from exactly that, the crystals left behind after evaporating a large amount of Dashi broth.

OK, I'll play. Is there a right answer? In order of preference I'd say the Shiraful Cab, Zuper Zin, and Serious Syrah. One dimensional blue fruit doesn't sound good to me for aging, though a decent tannic spine might save it. Lack of acid, though, might leave the tannins without much to balance against. Zuper Zins may age well, though, they sometimes develop flavors with aging we call in our family "motor oil". Other times, though, they develop into beautiful brambles of dark berry fruit flavor. Titillating secondaries and layers of complex fruit sound good. The grape juice and acid seem to go first, leaving the darker fruit flavors. The tannins mellow next and some of the secondary flavors become more dominant. On the other hand, we've had Bonny Doon wines, whose secondaries seemed intriguing when they were young; but, ended up being just awful with age. They took over and dominated the wines. Do many modern wineries really think much about making wines that will age well? <snark on>Isn't it all about making an impression at the tasting room and moving the boxes?</snark off>

All this meringue talk reminded me of my favorite birthday cake as a child. Old fashioned chocolate cake with boiled icing (which I believe is another way of saying Italian meringue) drizzled with melted chocolate. Now that I've been reminded, I'm going to have to get my mom's recipes for it.

Mr. Wayne Curtis has published the results of the Tasting Competition at the 2007 International Cane Spirits Festival in Ybor City, Florida. I was interested to discover that Fazenda Mae de Ouro has a 5 year old single barrel Cachaca. Sounds tasty! DARK RUM BEST OF CATEGORY: ONE BARREL RUM GOLD Khukri XXX One Barrel Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 SILVER Pirate’s Choice Molasses Reef BRONZE Jack Tar Superior Dark Rum Rogue Dark RUM, AGED UP TO & INCLUDING 8 YEARS BEST OF CATEGORY: TORTUGA 5 YEAR OLD GOLD Goslings Black Seal Mount Gay Sugar Cane Prichard’s Fine Rum Ron Barcelo Imperial Tortuga 5 Year Old SILVER Bacardi 8 Cockspur Fine Rum Diplomatico Reserva Goslings Gold New Grove Oak Santa Teresa Gran Reserva BRONZE Appleton Estate Reserve Appleton Estate V/X Bacardi Select Centenario Anejo Reserva Especial Mount Gay Eclipse Ron Botran Anejo 8 Year Old Ron Botran Oro (Gold) RUM, AGED 9-15 YEARS BEST OF CATEGORY: (TIE) DIPLOMATICO RESERVA EXCLUSIVA & TORTUGA 12 YEAR OLD GOLD Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Tortuga 12 Year Old SILVER Mount Gay Extra Old Ron Botran 12 Year Old Ron Zacapa 15 Centenario Year Old Santa Teresa Selecto RUM, AGED +15 YEARS BEST OF CATEGORY: (TIE) RON ZACAPA CENTENARIO 23 YEAR OLD & SANTA TERESA 1796 GOLD Pyrat XO Reserve Pyrat Cask 1623 Ron Macuro Anejo Ultra Premium Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Year Old Santa Teresa 1796 SILVER Centenario Fundacion Goslings Old Ron Botran Solera WHITE RUM BEST OF CATEGORY: PRICHARD’S CRYSTAL GOLD Mount Gay Special Reserve Prichard’s Crystal SILVER Bacardi Ruby Rey Reserve Ron Botran White Santa Teresa Blanco BRONZE Havana Club (Bacardi) New Grove Oak Plantation Mainstay Cane RHUM AGRICOLE, UNAGED BEST OF CATEGORY: CLEMENT PREMIER CANNE GOLD Clement Premiere Canne SILVER J.M. Rhum White RHUM AGRICOLE, AGED BEST OF CATEGORY: (TIE) J.M. VSOP & J.M. 1997 GOLD J.M. Rhum Vieux X.O. J.M. Gold J.M. VSOP J.M. 1997 SILVER Clement Cuvee Homere Clement V.S.O.P. Depaz Blue Amber Rhum CACHACA, UNAGED BEST OF CATEGORY: AGUA LUCA GOLD Agua Luca Leblon SILVER Beleza Pura Fazenda Mae De Ouro BRONZE Cabana Cuca Fresca CACHACA, AGED BEST OF CATEGORY: YPIOCA 160 GOLD Fazenda Mae De Ouro Single Barrel 5 Year Old GRM ‘Small Batch’ 2 Year Old Ypioca 160 SILVER Cuca Fresca Gold Rochinha ‘Single Barrel’ 12 Year Old Ypioca Ouro BRONZE Armazem Vieira ‘Onix’ Solera 16 Year Old Ypioca Prata LIQUEURS/FLAVORS/CORDIALS BEST OF CATEGORY: SANTA TERESA ARAKU RON Y COFFEE LIQUEUR GOLD Clement Creole Shrub Santa Teresa Rhum Orange Liqueur Santa Teresa Araku Ron y Coffee Liqueur SILVER Castries Peanut Rum Crème Prichard’s Sweet Georgia Belle Peach Mango Liqueur BRONZE Beleza Pura Caipirinha Pirate’s Choice Lime Rum Prichard’s Cranberry Rum Rogue Hazelnut Spiced Rum

Rice? There's rice in their whiskey? I don't think a traditional malting process would even work. Won't they have to use a koji mold or some such to even get that to start fermenting? Certainly not a Single Malt whisk(e)y if it's got more than one type of grain...

Cheers Dave, quite a lineup! I know I've seen the Amaro Ciociaro somewhere. Can't remember where, though. Most likely at Gasbarro's in Providence, RI, as I remember them having an astounding selection of Italian Amari. I'll have to keep a lookout for it in my travels. What would be your second choice? Have you ever turned up any history for the cocktail? None of the books or internet sources I found gave any information beyond the simple recipe. Of course searching on the internet for terms like "brooklyn" and "cocktail" make the noise ratio pretty high. Since it has French Vermouth, it doesn't seem like it can be that old.

I'll add a couple more West Coast examples I've not yet had a chance to try. St. George Spirits' Single Malt Whiskey Clear Creek Distillery's McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey Googling, I also see Copper Fox Distillery in Virginia is making something they call Wasmund's Single Malt Whiskey.

The problem would be growing other plants which aren't tolerant of salinity. That, and, the salt build up over time. I think the only way you could get away with it would be hydroponics or some other sterile medium. Otherwise, not much of anything would likely grow in your garden next year.

Picked up Farmhouse Brewing's Barrel Aged Farmhouse Porter the other week, and have had a little trepidation about trying it. I've had a couple Bourbon Barrel aged beers that haven't done much for me (Allagash Curieux comes to mind). But, I like Bourbon and I like Beer, so I've lived in hope. And I do like this one. The porter itself is a nice pour. Chocolate, coffee and caramel. The 4 months of aging in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels give it another layer of sweet complexity and scent. Not overly sweet; but, definitely a beer to enjoy after dinner or maybe in front of a crackling fire. A winter warmer, which means it's perfect for the foggy, damp Summers in San Francisco.

Well, not really. Ouzo and Middle Eastern Arak (Raki, etc.) are flavored distilled spirits similar to Gin, Absinthe, and Aquavit. Ouzo is more comparable to Absinthe, though with a simpler flavor profile. Pretty much all Anise and no other herbs. Ouzo, like Absinthe, tends to be pretty high proof.* Pastis is, (with the exception of a couple brands,) a sweetened spice and herb flavored liqueur which clocks in around 25% alcohol. As the primary way of serving Absinthe is to sweeten it lightly and add water, I think of Pastis as a pre-mixed Absinthe drip. Ouzo might be OK in a Sazerac or other drinks where you're just using the Pastis or Absinthe to scent the glass. On the other hand, it probably won't work in a cocktail where you're counting on the Pastis as a sweetener as well as a flavoring agent. edit - Hey, you're in Canada, why not just use Absinthe? *I did some more reading and discovered some Ouzos are sweetened, not to mention that some of them may use a wider variety of herbs and spices than simply anise. I also found this interesting quote, "Most of the ouzos on Lesvos are not distilled. In other words they just buy the ingredients and assemble them in the shops and then bottle it and sell."

In another topic Mr. Winchester dropped the name Little Smiths. I would suggest dropping him a note to know for sure. I won't put his email address here; but, check his Drinkboy or Webtender profile to find it.

It's not exactly a Pastis cocktail; but, Le Demon Verte from Hollinger and Schwartz' "Art of the Bar" is quite nice: 1 1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz Absente, 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum, 1/2 oz lime juice. Shake, strain. If you're making it with Pastis, instead of unsweetened Absinthe or Absinthe-a-like, you might want to reduce or skip the Falernum. Maybe add a dash of a clove heavy bitters instead.

Brooklyn Cocktail 1 Dash Amer Picon (1/2 barspoon Torani Amer) 1 Dash Maraschino (1/2 barspoon Luxardo Maraschino) 2/3 Canadian Club Whisky (1 1/2 oz 40 Creek Barrel Select) 1/3 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth) Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. This seemed a bit flat as written. I've read that Torani Amer is closer to Amer Picon with the addition of some Orange Bitters. A couple drops of Regan's Orange Bitters did perk it up a bit. A squeeze of lemon peel and it really started to sing. Ahem, of course it might be a bit tastier with, say, Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey or Rittenhouse 100. But, out of deference to the Savoy, I stuck with Canadian.