eje

Cheers, Adam, it's a nice cocktail, I didn't add any sweetener to the lemon juice, as I think Green Chartreuse is already plenty sweet. I really couldn't find anything out about the name. Googling "Biter Cocktail" isn't very productive. Though, there are some modern cocktails with "interesting" names involving the word "biter". Name of a person? Description of the effect? My edition of Duffy's "Official Mixer's Manual" calls it the "Bitter Cocktail". Some versions of the cocktail call for Yellow Chartreuse instead of the green.

True, muddling what was once a garnish, somehow crept into the old-fashioned. And I agree that a slice of orange or cherry shouldn't be muddled with the bitters and sugar. I don't think a muddled orange zest is necessarily a bad thing, even though it may well make the drink a whiskey cobbler. But, from a practical point of view, unless you're at a bar which takes pride in classic cocktails, when you order an old-fashioned, you're going to get an orange slice muddled with a cherry, a shot of rail bourbon, and a dash of soda. Bitters if you're lucky. At that point, even though some of us may maintain that the old-fashioned without muddled fruit is superior, I don't think it makes sense to argue that the drink served in most of the bars in the US isn't an old-fashioned. The good news is, I know of at least 3 bars here in SF that make a point of serving traditional old-fashioneds. The pendulum does seem to be swinging back the other way, even though there is a long way to go.

Had to look up "risible"; but, I don't think it's necessary to "eliminate" vodka. After all, it's good to have in the cabinet when random guests request cosmos or vodka tonics. And, as others point out, is quite often used in many modern cocktails. Plus, no refrigerator is really complete without a bottle of vodka at the back of the freezer. It's sort of like the 21st century can of spam. It must be good luck. Or something. Still, not being much of a caviar connoisseur, I use it more often in home made liqueurs than anything else.

Biter Cocktail (6 People) 3 Glasses of Gin (3 oz Tanqueray Gin) 1 1/2 Glasses of Lemon Juice slightly sweetened (1 1/2 oz Lemon Juice) 1 1/2 Glasses of Green Chartreuse ( 1 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse) Before shaking add a Dash of Absinthe (Verte de Fougerolles) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. As usual with these 6 person cocktails, I'm using 2 oz per "Glass" and dividing it in half. Might be my favorite Chartreuse cocktail so far. Perhaps related to the pleasant pale green color and dry, tart flavor. Quite herb-a-licious.

Chuckle! Good one! Not my first choice; but, sometimes flavorless beer is the best you can hope for in the US. Rock and a hard place, George, rock and a very hard place. But, getting back to old-fashion(ed)s, what is the correct spelling? Old-fashion or Old-fashioned? I see both in older cocktail books.

Maybe you should just take some dice into a bar, roll them and see what you get. Cocktail Roulette. ← Ha! Serendipity. I like it. Seriously, some times it is best to stick with beer. I think the only undrinkably bad old-fashioned I've ever had was made with vodka. Should have gone with Heineken that night.

As others have pointed out, any base spirit could be used to make an old-fashion(ed), including vodka. Just don't think plain vodka would be very interesting. YMMV. To me the flavored vodka cocktail varicose veins mentioned doesn't qualify as an old-fashioned, not because it is made with vodka; but, because it has mint. To me, that makes it more like a Smash. Though, I've heard those Belvedere flavored vodkas are the best of the bunch. Used to enjoy a bit of orange peel muddled in my old-fashioneds. Have since reconsidered that position and developed a predilection for the more traditional version. It's always interesting to order one in a bar and see what you get.

Nope, all the Anchor Ryes use 100% rye malt in their mashbill. edit - By the way, they're featuring Whiskeys at this winter's Elixir Cocktail Club. Supposedly, Master Distiller Bruce Joseph from Anchor will be there tomorrow night. Gives me some motivation to stop by. Though, I really want to stop by on April when Compass Box's John Glaser will be there. Oh, and the night they feature the Ardberg, and the night they feature Beam, and the night they feature Buffalo Trace...

The Anchor 19th Century style is labeled "Straight Rye Whiskey", at least here in CA. I thought the reason two of them aren't labeled "Straight Rye Whiskey" had to do with the barrels, rather than the percentage of Rye. The 18th Century style is aged in toasted, rather than charred, oak barrels, so it can't be labelled "Straight Rye Whiskey". The Hotaling's was aged in "once used" rather than new charred oak barrels, so it also can't be called "Straight Rye Whiskey". Anchor Distilling

More info about Hirsch here: Did the A.H. Hirsch distillery close down? There is an A.H. Hirsch Bourbon and 21 year Hirsch Selection Rye available that are real Kentucky Bourbon and Straight Rye Whiskey. They are rather expensive, though. The Hirsch Selections 8, 10, and 12 ryes are made in Canada and are not "Straight Rye Whiskey".

A friend and I did a blind Bourbon tasting a couple years ago, tasting about a dozen Bourbons ranging hugely in price. We found the Basil Hayden did come out near the bottom among both experienced whiskey drinkers and novices. We were especially surprised when we discovered it was one of the more expensive Bourbons we had tasted. I haven't had it in a couple years and at that time I really hadn't had much Rye, so I can't say if I thought it had a Rye character.

On first glance, I thought it might be Mission Dolores here in SF, but, the towers are wrong. Always excited to see Thai food!

Paul, over at Cocktail Chronicles, has started posting the writeups of the tasting sessions he and a few other Seattle cocktail cognoscenti did while researching an article about Rye Whiskey for Imbibe Magazine: The Rye Chronicles The list of ryes they tasted included: * Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey * Jim Beam Straight Rye * Michter’s U.S. 1 Single Barrel Straight Rye * Michter’s 10-year-Old Rye * Wild Turkey 101-Proof Kentucky Straight Rye * Van Winkle Family Reserve 13-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye * Sazerac 6-Year-Old Rye * Sazerac 18-Year-Old Rye * Thomas Handy Sazerac Rye * Pikesville Supreme * Old Potrero Single-Malt 18th Century Style Whiskey * Old Potrero Single Malt 19th Century Style Straight Rye Whiskey * Hirsch Selection 21-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey * Black Maple Hill 18-Year-Old Rye * Black Maple Hill 23-Year-Old Rye * Rittenhouse 80-Proof Rye Whiskey * Rittenhouse 100-Proof Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey * Rittenhouse 21-Year-Old Rye Whiskey ...and is, of course, written up with his typical zip and savoir faire. edit - fix grammar problem.

To me, the Pierre Ferrand Reserve is a little on the expensive/refined side for mixed drinks. I've got a bottle of the Ambre, and honestly, think I would be losing out some of the nicer elements of that Cognac by mixing it with lemon juice and Cointreau. Beyond a certain point, nicer spirits don't necessarily make better drinks. Because older spirits are often more mellow, the bite of a younger spirit often works better in a mixed drink or cocktail. On the other hand, if it's just gathering dust in the closet, and you can't imagine finishing the bottle inside of the next 10 years, I'm sure it would make a pretty tasty Sidecar, Old-Fashioned, or Sazerac.

There are two Chow locations in San Francisco. One on Market at Church in the Castro/Mission area. The other is on 9th Avenue near Irving in the Inner Sunset. eGullet topic: Chow, Good Value in SF

Just received a newsletter from the nice folks at Liqueurs de France. Not only have they started carrying a few Rhums from Martinique; but, also a Tobacco Liqueur! Not sure if that seems appealing or not. Certainly unusual.

I was going to make a shitake mushroom and yukon gold hash to go with duck breasts last night. Unfortunately, the butcher was out of duck breasts so we picked up pork tenderloin instead. And my wife was quite taken with some fingerling potatoes at the farmers' market, so no yukon golds. Ditched the hash idea, since I had fingerling potatoes, and ended up just tossing the potatoes and mushrooms with fresh thyme, salt, pepper, olive oil, and roasting them in the oven. Some of the shitake pieces became crisp. Oh, my gosh! They were like concentrated umami! Bacon, pah! Crisp, roasted shitake mushrooms is where it's at.

From what I can tell from the Alibris listings, it appears the version published in 1976 may have been the one where the recipes were re-arranged. "Updated and expanded to include drinks and mixing techniques as yet undiscovered at the end of the Roaring 20s." So, while the current one is an almost exact facsimile of the original edition, the one published in the 70s may not be. Or it may be a reproduction of the second edtion. Be cool to track down a copy of the second edition Robert mentions on the DrinkBoy forums...

Biltong Dry Cocktail 1 Dash Orange Bitters (Regan's) 1/4 Dubonnet (3/4 oz Dubonnet Rouge) 1/4 Gin (3/4 oz Tanqueray) 1/2 Caperitif (1 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc) Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. Well, I can tell you that Biltong is a type of dried meat, (beef, game or ostrich,) originally made by Dutch "Pioneers" in South Africa. I've again substituted Lillet Blanc for the defunct South African aperitif wine, Caperitif. The Biltong cocktail is alright. Pretty decent low alcohol before dinner drink, I should imagine. An olive would probably be a better garnish than the orange zest I used. edit - I keep thinking the Biltong Dry would be better as a long drink over ice with a splash of soda or champagne.

I asked Mr. Robert Hess about the edition of the Savoy I am using. He said, aside from the additional introduction and the few new recipes from Peter Dorelli at the begining, it is an exact reproduction of the content of the original book. Interestingly, he also said the following comment from the new introduction, which seems to imply the recipes were re-written in the sixties, is just plain wrong. The original version of the book used fractions just as this one does. Whew! Glad I don't have to track down an original edition!

I've actually been pretty happy with the Korbel VSOP Brandy I picked up. I originally picked it up as a sort of joke, when I was about to visit Wisconsin. Korbel is the number one brand in the Brandy Belt. I was surprised how good it is in cocktails (90 Proof! Woo!). You certainly won't mistake it for Cognac or probably be drinking it in a snifter after dinner. All the same, it's a decent spirit. Do not confuse it with the Korbel XS, though. That's a flavored brandy.

This week's Cocktailian column by Gary Regan includes a Cynar cocktail from Restaurant Eugene is Atlanta. Sounds tasty! Order a Scorched Earth cocktail and watch sparks fly Ingredients are: 1 1/2 oz Cognac, 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz Cynar. Stir, garnish with flamed lemon twist.

Except that, as Erik said, neither of the bombs was named that. ← Well, it is a pretty common mistake. Just doing a google search turns up a number of web sites that say the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was named "Big Boy". I'll try to find more information about Savoy editions.

I have tried to get more information about editions of the Savoy; but, haven't had much luck. My edition does have a few new recipes from Peter Dorelli at the begining; but, I don't think the core Savoy recipes have ever been "expanded", as so many others have. I do know that in the editions in the 60s they rewrote many of the recipes to use fractions instead of 10ths. That has been continued in modern editions. I would like to find a reprint or edition that uses the original measures. Unfortunately, originals tend to be fairly expensive. I seem to recall I've read elsewhere that at some point the recipes were re-arranged for one edition or another. Not sure if that is the case with the one I have. Drink Boy Topic: The Savoy Cocktail Book

I thought of that, too, George. But, the Bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was named "Little Boy" (Nagasaki was "Fat Man"). Also, they weren't dropped until 1945.