gethin

Arbutus has drifted up in price a bit , but still excellent value - especially if you go for offal and other cheap stuff. The lambs heart stuffed with lemon and parsley I had there was one of the best things I've eaten this year. For real economising , I'm rather fond of the Stockpot (old compton st) - liver and bacon, fried potatoes , undercooked carrots and tinned peas for less than a fiver. You don't even have to eat the peas. Possibly a bit down market for your average e-gulleteer but for an authentic UK school dinner experience its hard to beat. Syrup sponge and custard is something like £1.70. Still in cheap mode , I also like the new incarnation of Pollo just up the road (La Porchetta at the Pollo Bar)- you get a calzone that's bigger than a baby for only very slightly more than £5.00. Nice pizza, decent coffee, charming service and, once your a regular (ie from about your second visit). they more often than not top up your grappa free of charge or slip you a limoncello with the bill. The vegeterian anti pasti platter is a really well thought out collection of grilled, fresh, pickled and otherwise preserved vegetables and plenty big enough for 2. Leon is pretty good and their coffe is nearly as good as Monmouth St coffee shop (who by the way, are a real bargain for coffee and baked stuff in the morning ) Gethin

Gerrys still have the Monin liqueur de violette , but they don't do mail order (they don't even take credit cards!) Robert Graham (of Edinburgh and Glasgow) also stock it and they are set up to ship stuff to North America. This is their website: http://whisky-cigars.com/ Gethin

I imagine the flavour profile is going to be not dissimilar to (though probably less complex than) balsamic vinegar. A web search on balsamic + cocktail (or balsamic martini) would throw up some ideas you could play with. Gethin

Tonight I had a " Terrible Mistake" Noilly Prat Orange bitters Velvet Falernum That will teach me to try to make a drink without bothering to switch the kitchen light on ! I thought I had a bottle of Berry Bros own label gin in my hand - not the Taylors Falernum it turned out to be. I'll try not to make this one again. Gethin

The grape leaf border is still on use on modern Hennessy bottles (in Europe anyway) and I'm not sure it signifies very much. Jas Hennessy & sons were the first cognac producers to use the star rating on their bottles , with three stars signifying at least 6 years aging in barrel - so an old 3 star Hennessy cognac would I think be equivalent to Hennessy XO nowdays (and like the XO it probably contains a significant proportion of cognac aged for a lot more than 6 years). That said, it seems strange that they would put a relatively inexpensive cognac in such an eloborate box. Could the current bottle be a (old) replacement for a grander bottle that the box originally contained ? The guys at the Hennessy museum in Cognac are probably your best hope of a definitive answer. Some research on US alcohol labelling requirements might cast some light on it too. Am I right that cognac imported into the US needs(or at some point earlier needed) a phrase along the lines of " it is accompanied at the time of importation by the Acquit Regional Jaune D'Or" on its label as a "Bureau of Alcohol" ?? labelling requirement ? Finding out when this became a requirement might narrow the possible time frame . Gethin

and London ! As I type I'm enjoying a Pikesville/Punt e Mes Manhattan (with Regans OB , a tiny splash of Maraschino and a slightly larger splash of Triple Sec) - I can't recollect whose suggestion the last two ingredients were , but they really add something. Your certainly right about the creamy backtaste to the Rye - quite different to the Bourbon I've been mainly using for Manhattans. Gethin

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! My wife is going out there in a few weeks and was told she needed to pick me up some. Crap. Anyone have any other leads for places in London? ← Gerrys (Old Compton St) had stocks of Monin Creme de Violette a couple of months back. I'll check next time I go in (which will be early next week) and update you on availibilty. Gethin

I'm not sure if its my imagination, but I think this is less of a problem with the matches that you get free with your cigars from a decent cigar merchant - if nothing else the extra length means that you have more time for spraying the oil between the time the head has burnt offand yr fingers starting to singe. gethin

There was a reference in todays Observer to a Martinez they serve at the Dorchester (Hotel) in London - apparently using an Old Tom style gin they have distilled specially for them . Any one tried this gin ? Gethin

Cherry Marnier is indeed made by the Grand Marnier people and its rather good ! Its not remotely like Maraschino though. Its an old fashioned cherry brandy , drier and more complex than Heerings. Its made in quite limited quantities and in the UK is often hard to track down. I was really pleased to find today thar Gerry's (Londons best specialist liquor shop) have just had a new consignement in. Gethin

I've always referred to it as chicken armpit- though anatomically this is clearly wrong. Arbutus do a splendid chicken armpit and macaroni dish, in a lemony (lemon thyme ? lemon verbena ?) cream sauce. gethin

The guy in Japan who has the Suntory Hermers bitters on e-bay, currently has Suntory violet liqueur too if anyone fancies trying a Japanese version. Postage is a bit of a killer though. gethin

Having been launched in the UK back in June, this is finally beginning to appear in retail outlets in London. I bought a bottle yesterday (at the Whisky Shop at Vinopolis if any other London based people want to track it down). Having had a chance to taste it in normal conditions rather than the small,warm sample at the trade fair, I was more taken with it. With tonic, it was somewhat reminiscent of Suze or Aveze , though not quite as bitter and with a really distinct saffron note. (I don't think this was just a colour thing, though the bright yellow might have influenced our perception that we were drinking gentian). Served on the rocks it was both saffrony and citrussy (and didn't remind of Genever at all ). The flavours don't have much length, but it was certainly a pleasant drink . Having taken the bottle to dinner with non cocktail obesssives, I wasn't able to play aound with it in cocktails, but I think it would work well with orange flavours (I'd have liked to try it out in an Orange Blossom for instance). We did stick a decent slug of it in our mussles along with some white wine and it gave them a nice hint of saffron. Anyone else been using it in cocktails ? gethin

skip lunch and wait till 6.00. Go to Hawksmoor, have 3 drinks ( Puritan , Bloodhound, Hawksmoor Fizz would be my choices), spend the difference on chips and bearnaise. 2/3 portions. gethin

I belive Fee Bros have done the decent thing and developed a lemon bitters ! Anyone tried it ? Gethin

I've just got myself a bottle of Swedish Punch (Carlshamns Flaggpunch). Anyone got any reccommendations for cocktails using it ? Gethin

The shop in Aberaeron us still there , as indeed , is old Mr Conti ! Conti's certainly has the best coffee and the best ice cream in Lampeter. For anything more substantial there is always Lloyds fish and chip shop, Sospan Fach (especially notable for their home cooked ham) and the Castle Green. (Feeling far too tired for Sunday lunch yesterday, I settled for two portions of apple pie doused in calvados and served with a good dollop of Conti's vanilla ! Kept me going till I got back to London). gethin

If you're going anywhere near Carmarthen you should stop at Albert Rees in Carmarthen Market and get some "Carmarthen Ham" which is air-dried. Less creamy and saltier than serrano for instance but delicious all the same and surprisingly good crisped up under the grill. ← Carmarthen market is a pale shadow of what it was but still worth a detour - apart from Albert Rees , the fishmonger next door to them is great for Sewin and for really fresh Newquay (Ceredigion) or Aberaeron landed mackerel. There is also an excellent cheese stall with loads of local cheeses (run by a really enthusiastic Dutch woman). She'll have both Perl Las and Perl Wen in various states of ripeness , and Gorwydd caerphilly (actually from near Tregaron) as well a good choice of local goats cheese. Swansea market is the place for laverbread (and for cockles). As you head further north , look out for excellent mussles from the Menai straits. If you pass through Aberaeron try the honey ice cream at the Hive on the Quay. (and check out Ffynon Las vineyard). In Lampeter , you'll find Conti's , an old fashioned "Brachi" , that still makes its own ice cream. (Directly across from Conti's, there is "y Popty" , a bakers that makes excellent Bara Brith and good Welshcakes). Mario's (of Swansea) make good ice cream that is widely distributed. Franks (Ammanford), Cadwalader (Criccieth) and Llanfaes Dairy (Brecon) are other good ice cream makers. Look out also for La Belle Rouge , who make a water buffalo icecream near Aberystwyth. You should certainly try Penderyn (a Welsh single malt whisky) and Brecon gin. You might also want to try Danzy Jones , a revival of a traditional style of whisky liqueur . (avoid Toffoc - the toffe flavoured vodka though). Somewhere along the line fit in a pint of Brains mild, a pint of Felinfoel Double Dragon and a pint of Reverend James. There is a real revival in Welsh cider going on - look out particularly for the three ciders (and a perry) from Gwynt Y Ddraig, cider and perry from Seidr Dai and cider from Toloja. Gethin PS, I probably ought not to admit it, but I also really like Braces welshcakes with rasberry jam - stick them in the microwave for 30 seconds - but be careful not to scald your mouth with boiling jam as you bite iinto them. You can get them in most co-op shops .

If you do end up on Southall, you might try to pick up a bottle of Desi Sharab (which might well be labelled Desi). Its a slightly cardamom flavoured rum agricole from Punjab that I've never (not having been to Punjab) seen on sale outside of Southall but is available in several small off licences there. Gethin

I have no idea whether you could get it in the US, but Marius Bonal (based in Rodez in the Aveyron department in South West France) make an excellent eau de coing (quince) liqueur. I've been using it in both bourbon and gin based drinks (sometimes with calvados and/or a Greek cinammon and clove liqueur called Tentura). If you are more interested in the possibilities of membrillo, rather than simply looking for the taste of quince, would fiddling with the acidity of your melted, strained , alcoholised membrillo (eg adding a little lemon juice) make it more liquid ? Are you using a Spanish membrillo ? I often buy a Brazilian (tinned) quince paste that is smoother and perhaps easier to dissolve than most Spanish membrillo. My local Brazilian shops also stock a range of other fruit pastes (guava, paw paw, banana etc ) in tins that, now you have put the idea into my head, could well be interesting possibilities. gethin

Have any other London based e-gulleteers been to Hawksmoor yet ? What did you think ? I dropped by there on Thursday for a pre dinner cocktail or two and tried : a Gin and Pine (Beefeater with a splash of Monin liqueur de Sapin) - pleasant enough , if very slightly reminiscent of pine scented disinfectant) a Tom Collins with lemon verbena syrup (made with Junipero , which was probably the wrong gin for this , something citrussy might have worked better). a Hawksmoor Fizz, a sort of Ramos Gin fizz with homemade rhubarb syrup. a Puritan (beefeeter, Noilly prat and orange bitters) a shot of eau de vie de gentian to settle my stomach before climbing on the back of a motorbike (as a passenger) feeling slightly light headed. Despite an interesting cocktail list (mainly early 20th C classics), almost everyone else there was drinking Anchor Steam beer , which seemed a real shame, but it meant I got to chat most of the evening to the two guys behind the bar , who were both really enthusiastic about what they are doing and interested in trying out new stuff. We had an interesting discussion about the proper recipe for an Aviation and I'm planning to return this Thursday with some creme de violette to try to persuade them that a mix of maraschino and creme de v,. produces an even better drink. I'm not a great fan of most London cocktail joints- other than Trailer Happiness - (You pay a fortune, for a drink that you could make far better at home , and have to put up with ghastly people while you drink it), but I enjoyed Hawksmoor. Anyone else been ? what did you think ? Gethin

gerry's (old compton st) have at least some of the range. gethin

Further to the last posting, I've just been over to Gerry's and they do in fact currently have Monin creme de violette in stocke. I could still try to get a bottle of the Benoit Serres though, if you want , assuming Stanstead to Rodez flights are still running (which looks slightly doubtful at the moment). gethin

Gerry's is certainly the first port of call. The Vintage House also on Old Compton St is worth checking out too. Soho Wines and Spirits (Percy Street, just off Tottenham Court Rd) is another shop worth a visit, as is the Whisky Shop in Vinopolis (which sells a lot more than whisky - though if you are looking for Gin,you need to ask (Vinopolois is sponsored by Bombay Saphire, so all other gin is hidden under the counter). Milroys - just south of Soho Square (Greek St) has an unbeatable range of whisky's . Cadenheads just off the Piazza in Covent garden is also good for whisky but also has great rums and Old Raj gin (both strengths). Both Harrods and Selfridges have interesting, if overpriced wine and spirits depts. (Harvey Nicols has a nice food hall too, but their spirits range is pretty narrow). Of the supermarkets, Waitrose has the best range ( including Plymouth Gin, plymouth Damson gin, various Pimms and a west country apple brandy whose name i've forgotten). Other unusual UK spirits to look out for : Blackwoods Vintage Gin, particularly the 60 degree (120 proof) version - the 2006 bottling should be available soon Brecon Gin (from Wales) Whitley Neil gin Penderyn (single malt from Wales) Not sure that you'll find creme de violette anywhere though . When are you in London ? I might possibly be able to get a bottle of the Benoit Serres Creme de violette brought over from Toulouse towards the end of next week (current flight disruptions permitting). gethin

Negroni's are a pretty safe fall back, in your average British pub anyway. Even the most incompetent barman can mix a measure of gin , a measure of sweet vermouth and a measure of campari with a load of ice and pour off the resulting liquid into a clean glass . The result may not be perfection, but its going to be prety drinkable. Your actually mare likely to get something nasty by asking for a negroni in a swanky cocktail bar, where they think innovation is a good thing, so will add the odd dollop of this and that, and almost always serve your drink in a oversize glass that contains half a ton of crushed ice, a slice of eggplant, a rubber duck and a couple of straws. gethin