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Hi Andy... Unlike some other liqueur companies, as far as I know Brizard only makes liqueurs, no eau de vies. The comparison with a real eau de vie will be pretty stark. Eau de vies are bone dry, containing more the essence and scent of the fruit rather than the flavor, per se. I'm no expert; but, in my experience Trimbach (France) and Clear Creek (US) are good brands with reasonably priced eau de vies for cocktail use. Check this thread for more info: Eau De Vie, Can someone please explain?? In any case, yeah, the branding and labelling can be confusing on liqueurs, not to mention in the cocktail recipes which don't specify whether they mean fruit brandy or fruit flavored brandy. But, to get back to Brizard, I think the only Curacao which can compete with theirs might be the Senior Curacao of Curacao. But, I believe the Senior product is made on a neutral spirit base rather than the brandy base of the brizard Curacao, making it a somewhat different animal.

Aviation Cocktail 2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Various) 1/3 Lemon Juice (3/4 oz fresh lemon juice) 2 Dashes Maraschino (Luxardo) (2 Dashes Benoit Serres Violet Liqueur) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Garnish with Cherry.) I've always had a hard time with the Aviation! It's such a simple thing, you wouldn't think it would be hard to get right. The first try was as above, Citadelle Gin and 1 bar spoon Luxardo Maraschino. Quite a dry, tart cocktail. I felt like it was OK; but, that the gin was lost and perhaps a stonger juniper element was necessary. For the next try, I went with something like the Ensslin Aviation as discovered by Mr. Wondrich. 2 oz dry gin (Junipero), 1/2 oz Lemon, 1 tsp Maraschino, 1 tsp Violet Liqueur. The Junipero and the Violet liqueur clashed horribly. This was a terrible cocktail (no fault of discovered recipe). I went back, re-read through the eGullet thread about the Aviation, and came to a compromise, "Alienation" as Lan4Dawg puts it. 1 1/2 oz Tanqueray, 3/4 oz fresh Lemon, 2 tsp Maraschino liqueur, and 1 tsp Violet Liqueur. I think it is still tart enough to qualify as an Aviation rather than Allen and also probably tarter than any Aviation I've had made for me in a bar. It is interesting, as even a teaspoon is pretty generous for "2 dashes". Makes you wonder how sour the original Aviation was. Extra points for anyone who now has Elvis Costello lyrics running throug their head.

Exactly! I don't sign up for culinary tours of Oaxaca; but, every vacation I take has a culinary element. Whether it's finding the really good pub food in London or struggling to find good, locally produced food between the Applebees and TGIFs in Phoenix, AZ. I don't travel without some sort of food agenda. My wife gives me a hard time about it; but, I don't think I've ever come home from a vacation without some sort of unusual liquor, cookbook, or other food souvenir.

Hmmm... 2:54 PM and you're at Pegu? Have an Angel Face for me, you lucky duck.

Perhaps Lamb Daube tomorrow, if I can score a couple pounds of shoulder this evening and get it marinating.

Anyone know of any stores in the San Francisco Bay Area with a good selection of Asian liquors? I'm specifically looking for Arrack, a spirit distilled from Palm Toddy, which comes from Sri Lanka or Indonesia.

Gary Regan has a good article regarding the history of the Cosmopolitan in the second issue of "Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail" called, "The Birth of the Pinks". Mixologist, Volume 2 While I'm not quite sure I believe Ms. Cook had read the publication that George cites, it does seem like a bit of a coincidence that her alleged "girly kamikaze" ended up with the same name as the gin Cosmopolitan cited. Perhaps, a half remembered drink taught her by an older bartender? George, you have asserted elsewhere that "Pioneers of Mixing Gin..." was a book of cocktails whose primary spirit was converted from whatever to gin. Did you ever find out if the 30s Cosmo started with a different base spirit? Or, even better, find another correlating recipe for the 30s Cosmo?

Couldn't believe the venison battle between Cora and Campanaro. I don't know about his food; but, her food looked just awful. When they were describing the ingredients, I was cringing. It looked like baby food on a plate! She put bacon in her Mole!

Second distillation! My, you are hardcore. ;-) But, yeah, distillation is often the best way to capture fragrance.

Angostura Recipes Hey, a guava liqueur is the first one on this page from the Angostura website. They also have some other interesting recipes further down the page including a Sorrel (hibiscus) liqueur.

Matthew, I got some exceptional guavas at the farmers' market a couple weeks ago and was thinking of doing something similar. My concern with guavas, though, is that so much of their appeal lies in their scent. I'm guessing you're going to have to add something else to that infusion to boost the actual flavor. Lime zest? Pineapple? This is all speculation, though. Has anyone ever made an infusion or liqueur with guavas? Erik

I will believe it when I see it. ← Any word on the rest of the country? I would hope once they are approved by the TTB, then it is a matter of re-supplying the existing Brizard distributors in other states. Or are there other approval processes they must go through?

Well, I always like a whisk(e)y Cocktail. Though, I don't have Boker's bitters, which Thomas does specify in the Whiskey Cocktail. Angustura is almost always used in old-fashion(ed)s. Do you happen to know if it is indeed the closest modern bitters to Boker's? I have heard a rumour that the gentlemen at The Bitter Truth may be working on a Boker's clone.

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. Since I'm sure there are still at least a few eGulleters who might not have blogs, I thought I would again start a thread here and encourage you to post your cocktails, ramblings, and pictures. I'll compile a list of the cocktails posted and contact the host of the event with them. I'm hoping this month's theme of Bitters hosted by Michael Dietsch over at A Dash of Bitters will do a better job of getting your creative juices running than last month's Exotic Cocktails. The deadline for posting is November 13th at midnight. Inspired by my trip to Wisconsin this summer and the myriad old-fashion(ed) variations I tasted, I'm going to to do old-fashion(ed) cocktails three, or maybe 4, ways. If you've got a particularly bitter cocktail, or a not so bitter cocktail that will lull the unaware into consuming potent potables, let's see it. How bitter are you?

Only Vancouver? Wouldn't it have to be available through the LCBO? Oooh, Giffard seems to make a delightful sounding Apricot liqueur! Abricot du Roussillon (Premium) edit - Oh, never mind, LCBO stands for liqueur control board ontario! Duh. I guess I was under the impression it was for all the provinces.

Gotta admit I've made a lot of chicken sautees in my life, and this was one of the tastiest! We were practically licking the plates. Yum! Thanks for posting another delicious pictorial, Ah Leung!

After kicking the tires of the various candidate stoves at a few places, we went with the Bosch #HGS7052UC at Sears. Unfortunately, they won't be able to deliver until Nov 24th. Good thing I won't be hosting T-Giving this year. Reports to follow.

ATTY Cocktail 1/4 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat) 3 Dashes Absinthe (1/2 bar spoon Verte de Fougerolles) 3/4 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Citadelle Gin) 3 Dashes Creme de Violette (1/2 bar spoon Benoit Serres liqueur de violette) Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze lemon peel on top - eje) The first time I made this one using beefeaters and followed the cocktaildb recipe. I also measured the liqueur de violette at about 1 whole bar spoon. Cocktail didn't do much for me. The liqueur de violette was too dominant and the whole was too sweet. I went back to the Savoy and realized the cocktaildb had omitted the Absinthe and added a lemon twist (Duffy?). I made it again as above with the Citadelle Gin, still getting the proportions slightly wrong. But, an extra 1/4 oz of dry vermouth isn't going to kill anyone. The cocktail is much improved. In fact, it is a fascinating, elegant and complex thing, with the hints of Absinthe and Violet trading each other for flavor dominance as you sip. What it has to do with Attorneys is anyone's guess.

We had a few beers last night (Bison Farmhouse Ale, Deschutes Jubeale) but, the one that really stood out was the Alaskan Brewing Winter Ale. Instead of going the holiday potpourri route, they flavor their holiday ale with sitka spruce tips. I was a little worried that it would be PineSol in a bottle. It's not, and it's quite delicious. Not very hoppy, it's a malt forward beer with the ethereal spruce flavor floating in the background. Interesting stuff!

While I haven't been there myself, Pasta Moon in Half Moon Bay was favorably reviewed by all three participants on a recent "Check, Please! Bay Area". Pasta Moon on Check Please! (click for transcripts of the show or to stream the whole episode.) I will second Veronica Volny's recommendation of Duarte's. I have been there and heartily recommend stopping in. Very good seafood and pie.

I gotta admit I find it a little odd that they named what they are calling a "Genever-style" gin after the Aviation cocktail. I don't think anybody advises using Genever in the Aviation. Actually, it's a bit odd that they would launch a "Genever-Style" gin as their first gin, period. It's true, Genevers can be hard to find in the US; but, they are called for in few cocktails. I can find 11 in the cocktaildb and Chas Baker calls for it in the Hemingway attributed "Death in the Gulf Stream". Personally, I think it would be nicer to have a well made modern example of an Old Tom gin. donbert, have you had other Genever gins? Do you think the Aviation Gin compares to them? Anyone know if they are using any malt wine in their distillate? Oh, and Aviations aside, I thought the Aviation Gin made a pretty interesting Improved Holland Gin Cock-tail.

Atta Boy Cocktail 1/3 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat) 2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Citadelle Gin) 4 dashes Grenadine ( 2 barspoons homemade) Shake welll and strain into cocktail glass Here's another one I thought could have used a dash of lemon juice. It was definitely interesting to compare the Beefeater and Citadelle gins back to back. The Citadelle definitely has more aggressive flavor profile and hotter taste. The Beefeater, while actually being higher proof, is a smoother gin. When the Beefeater starts getting low, I might have to do some tastes against Tanqueray or another London Dry. Idle question, what currently available gin in the US market might you think would be the most representative of those available in England in the early 20th century?

re: Artillery Cocktail - Some sources (Duffy) add a dash Angostura (or Boker's) and a lemon twist to this cocktail, which would probably give a little more sparkle to the drink. Astoria Cocktail 2/3 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater's) 1/3 French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat) dash Orange Bitters (Regan's) (Garnish with Olive per Duffy) Shake (stir - eje) well and strain into cocktail glass Yer basic Dry Martini. Interesting to note that the Astoria Cocktail in Crockett's "Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book" is composed of, 2/3 dry vermouth, 1/3 Old Tom Gin, and 2 Dashes of Orange Bitters. Guess it lost some weight crossing the Atlantic!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Friday, November 03, 2006 Artisan brewers thrive in the Wine Country, Thom Elkjer THE SIPPING NEWS: Wine to the 10th power New trick for aging wine Chartreuse! It's always been difficult to pair candy with wine. Wine Business Insider: Weak scores for '03 Cabs from Napa, Sonoma, Cyril Penn "...the Nov. 15 edition of Wine Spectator magazine rates the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon vintages in Napa Valley and Sonoma County an 85 and 84 respectively...Constellation Wines U.S. last week announced that it finalized an agreement to sell its Zillah winery...Twenty-one registered bidders gathered at Grande River Vineyards in Colorado last week for a two-hour auction that resulted in the sale of the land for $2.8 million." Spirits: Inventive gimlets stray from tradition, Camper English Recipe: Kaffir Lime Gimlet Courtesy of Hangar One Vodka Tastings: Texas tycoon pairs fine wine and contemporary art at 120-year-old winery, Karola Saekel Pairings: Syrah doesn't need meat, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Winter Squash & Shiitake Mushroom Gratin The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Washington’s Smaller Appellations, Lynne Char Bennett The Cheese Course: Limburger is worth sniffing out, Janet Fletcher Bargain Wines: Cool weather means Cabernet Sauvignon season is here, W. Blake Gray 96 Hours Bar Bites: Va de Vi, Jennifer Tomaro Bargain Bite: Dessert Republic, Miriam Morgan CRITICS' PICKS: THANKSGIVING ON THE TOWN, Bill Addison "With increasing frequency, Bay Area restaurants of all genres and price ranges offer interpretations of Thanksgiving dinner. Some stick close to American tradition: Celadon in Napa, for example, offers free-range turkey breast with mushroom stuffing, sauteed green beans and fresh cranberry stuffing as the meal's centerpiece. For dessert? Pumpkin or pecan pie, of course." Dining Out: Vegan Japanese dishes are pristine, healthy but tend to taste bland, Bill Addison

I have to admit I have a bit of a soft spot for any Italian restaurant that even tries to convince diners to really do the Italian family style thing. And I have a very fond memory of the first time we got a whole sea bass at Rose Pistola. It was so good. Borlotti beans and fennel. Probably 10 years ago and I still remember it, it was so tasty. We had a couple mediocre meals after that there, so I haven't been back.