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Couple drinks last night from Holliger and Schwartz' "Art of the Bar" before heading out for the evening. First tried a couple versions of the Bob-Tailed Nag. In the book it is, 2 oz Michter's Single Barrel Rye, 1/2 ounce Cocchi Barolo Chinato*, 3 dashes of mint bitters, and lemon twist for garnish. Liked the Barolo Chinato; but, didn't really care for the mint bitters. Much preferred a variation: 2 oz Sazerac 6yr, 3/4 oz Barolo Chinato, dashes of The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters, lemon twist. The funky flavors of the Barolo Chinato and Sazerac 6 marry quite nicely. Friend came over and wanted to try an Absinthe cocktail, so obliged by making him Le Demon Vert, also from "The Art of the Bar". 1 1/2 oz gin (Citadelle), 1/2 oz Absente (Verte de Fougerolles), 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum, 1/2 oz lime juice. Supposed to garnish with a black licorice stick. Tasty cocktail. Sort of an Absinthe based variation on The Last Word. *Barolo Chinato is a red wine (Barolo!) based digestiv flavored with Quinine and other herbs and spices. Similar to; but, definitely more of a bitter, spicy kick than sweet vermouth. Makes fine drinking all on its own. edit - add note about Barolo Chinato and picture of Bob-Tailed Nag

The family holiday in Arizona was a bit bleak this year. I consoled myself by picking up these three unusual items. The first is the Mozart Black chocolate liqueur. For some reason no one stocks this in California. I've wanted a dark chocolate liqueur that didn't involve cream for a while, and this is allegedly the best (only?). Second is Cocchi Barolo Chinato. I've wanted to try the Bob Tailed Nag since I read about it in the linked Gary Regan column. Darn those Absinthe bartenders and their use of obscure cocktail ingredients! Third is Chouffe Coffee Liqueur. No idea if this is any good; but, I've been on something of a Chouffe jag lately, drinking many of their beers. This is made from distillate of Chouffe beer, alcohol, and coffee extracts. Plus, it has a gnome on the label. Also never seen it in California.

Kewl! Glad someone else tried it. We've gone through 3 six packs of it! Had a bit of a holiday fiesta last week. Started with the Full Sail "Wreck the Halls" Brewer's reserve. A perfectly fine West Coast IPA or Double IPA. Much more hoppy than their Full Sail IPA. Didn't really detect any particular holiday notes. Moved on to the Anderson Brewing Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale with spices. Bleah! Fairly sweet. Not sure what the spices were. I'm guessing vanilla figured prominently. Ends up tasting like Marshmallows or Vanilla Coke. I had a hard time finishing my half of the bottle. After dinner we queued up the N'Ice Chouffe 2005 from Brasserie d'Achouffe in Belgium. The nice part about it was that the spice (curacao orange peels and thyme, according to the label) are well integrated into the beer. You can taste them if you let the beer warm and concentrate on it. Otherwise, it tastes like a very nice spiced Belgian triple or quadruple. Good flavor. Very strong and sweet. Honestly, it was a bit much for us by that point in the evening.

Congrats Andy! Sounds like a good Manhattan, too! Cheers!

On the way home from Arizona this year, we stopped by the new Stone Brewing facility in Escondido, CA. Wow! Someone sure spent some serious money here! Enormous restaurant and beer garden. Huge modern brewing facility. It seems like they are gearing up to take over the world! Unfortunately, we were in the middle of a long drive in inclement weather and didn't have time to do the brewery tour or try too many beers. Just a quick lunch and some shopping. This was especially bad timing, as Stone is pouring some 32 special release beers from their cellars this week (until they run out) as part of their Stone Winter Storm.

How do beer judges look on beers that are created outside of the official categories? There doesn't seem to be a category for "Imperial ESB". I see American brewers slapping the name "Imperial" on things like Pilsners. On a practical level, the word "Imperial" seems to connote a richer, higher alcohol version of the same style. An "Imperial ESB" seems fairly redundant, as ESBs are usually already higher alcohol versions of English Bitter Ale. Aren't you heading towards barley wine territory if you make them stronger and richer?

Try it this way...

And a merry xmess to you Mr. Myers. When I read this passage, I always think it is funny that Clisby Arthur attributes the change to rye to the American taste for Whiskey. Handy, a bookkeeper, now owned The Sazerac House. Due to Phylloxera, brandy suddenly became much more expensive. I suspect the reason for the change had less to do with the public taste for Rye and more to do with the bottom line of Mr. Handy's ledgers. Had a couple of good Wild Turkey Bourbon Manhattans at the El Tovar bar the other day; but, things have been pretty dry since then. Hope to rectify that situation soon.

Bich's Special Cocktail 1 Dash Angostura Bitters 1/3 Kina Lillet (1 oz Lillet Blanc) 2/3 Dry Gin (2 oz Beefeater's Gin) Shake (strain - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top This one was nice. Using Beefeater's, it really showcases the flavor of Lillet more than any other cocktail I've tried. It is a surprisingly complex cocktail for such simple ingredients. I need to compound some swedish punch before I can get on with the next cocktail, but, with the holidays, it probably won't be for a week or so. So, I'll see you next year!

This might just be my opinion; but, one Holiday beer I find doesn't particularly benefit from aging is the Anchor Holiday. We've been doing a tasting now for 5 years, and mostly, they just seem to get flat. There are some changes in what spices might have dominance; but, they aren't usually particularly interesting. Perhaps it's time to Switch to the Sierra Nevada Celebration or Speakeasy Old Godfather.

In "Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em" Clisby Arthur says they started the Absinthe rinse at about the same time Handy switched from Cognac to Rye. I believe at separate establishments. I do wonder if the Absinthe rinse was done originally in places that didn't have the benefit of the slightly anise flavored Peychaud Bitters.

I used the Alton Brown one on the FoodTV website this year. Eggnog from School of Hard Nogs The only changes I made were, not to separate the eggs (I'm lazy), add a bit more bourbon (4 oz), and to run it through a sieve before chilling. Quite tasty! Met with universal acclaim. Admin: Threads merged

Pretty close to the ratio I proposed above! Funny. You could have a Kick in the Pants for an aperitif, and, after dinner, a B-T-S for dessert! By the way, Cocktaildb gives a pretty different recipe for the "Kick in the Pants". Credits it to a different bartender, too, one B. Joseph.

The cheaper ones tend to be made of plastic or tin plated pressed metal. Stainless will be easier to clean and less apt to stain if you use it for things like chile sauce. Personally, I'm a fan of the old-fashioned conical strainer and wood pestle types. What is the correct name for those?

Thanks Erik! I haven't tried the Hachiya persimmon. I shall do that some time. Actually I have a fuyu persimmon tree in my backyard. Just a couple of months ago I harvested about 100 of them. If Dejah Dai Ga Jeah lives any closer I would have loved to bring her a box of them. My wife likes it soft but I like it crispy. I ate my portion very quickly - within a couple of weeks while they were still crispy like apples. ← Sounds like your wife will enjoy them more than you. Whatever you do, don't try to eat Hachiyas before they are ripe. Very astringent. Leave them sit on the counter until they are very soft.

A fine, fine point, MsRamsey!

It is kind of an interesting question. Where does whisk(e)y begin and vodka end? Part of it is just the aging in barrels and part of it is the proof to which it is distilled. There are also rules as to the composition of mash for whiskies. As far as I know, there are currently none for vodka (though there is talk of regulating this in the EU.) I'm not under the impression that unaged whiskey is particularly nice. What would the product taste like, if you took a strategy like some white rum makers. Aged for a few years, then filtered to remove color? Bland whiskey? Flavorful vodka?

CA: PlumpJack Wines, two locations, San Francisco. Small stores; but, they pack lots of good stuff in. Great selection of wines, liqueurs, scotch, american whiskies, bitters, aperitifs, Belgian Beers, and obscure local micro-brews. Tend to stock mostly high end spirits. Will special order gladly. CA: John Walker & Co, 175 Sutter Street, downtown, San Francisco. Great selection of spirits, wines, and obscure liqueurs. Almost no beer. Also carry most cocktail bitters and some pretty obscure secondary cocktail ingredients (Elderflower Syrup, etc). Prices sometimes quite a bit higher than SF average. CA: Beverages and More, many locations. Surprisingly good liquor and liqueur selection for warehouse type liquor stores. Decent beer and wine selection, as well. Overall fair prices and often significant savings on featured sale items.

Errr... Didn't get that one and went with choice 3, after intuiting the missing part of the sentence. I guess it's a joke about Italian Fashion models being fat? Also didn't buttonhole the waiter about the lamb. Ended up with 42. Amusing, on the whole.

WI: Star Liquor on Williamson Street. Great selection of local and national microbrews. Very good selection of American Whiskey. Decent and eclectic selection of reasonably priced European wines.

I was pretty astonished when I visited Gasbarro's a year or two ago. Amazing selection of limoncello, amaro, and grappa. I keep hoping I will find some store in one of SF's Italian neighborhoods with a similar selection. No joy, so far. Pretty good for microbrew and other liqueurs, as well.

Ah Leung, You must try Hachiya persimmons some time! They are the absolute best. You leave them until they are soft, and then can spoon them out like pudding. So delicious. If you have the patience, you can also leave the flat (fuyu) persimmon until they are soft and very ripe. Also quite delicious! Nature's caramel custard.

I guess I do find the Montecristo website a bit mis-leading, then. Montecristo Rum 101

In "Joy of Mixology" Gary Regan makes the B-T-S as 1 oz brandy, 1 oz rum, 1 oz triple sec, 3/4 ounce Lemon Juice. He says the recipe is adapted from one in Jones' Complete BarGuide. In Jones' Complete BarGuide, the B-T-S is made with equal proportions of all ingredients (3/4 ounce).

Well, obviously, most liquors and liqueurs do not need to be refridgerated. Unfortunately, cream liqueurs should be refridgerated after opening, and then disposed of within 6 months or so. It's also not a bad idea to refridgerate home made liqueurs and infusions after opening, I find they last longer that way. I don't think Sherry or Madeira need to be refridgerated. They are both already so oxidized, what could change? Not sure about port. Depending on how much vermouth you go through, it's not a bad idea to keep it refridgerated or even use those vacuum wine caps thingies. It will just taste better.