Mayur

99% sure that Warehouse (on Broadway between 8th St and Waverly Pl) has it; their stable of Brizar products (and curacao/triple sec/related orange liqueurs in general) is pretty wide. If not, I believe that LeNells has it, although I easily could be wrong. I'd recommend also checking in the Spirits and Cocktails forum.

Just got done with some fill-in (amateur) bartending at an old university favorite... Half grapefruit (divided into four eighths) 2 oz. jalapeno-infused blanco tequila (Herradura silver) 0.75 oz. M&R bianco 0.75 oz. elderflower syrup (housemade) 0.25 oz lime juice Muddle grapefruit sections in mixing glass. Add other ingredients plus ice, shake, and strain into chilled cocktail glass. (Yeah, it's a little too big, but scaling it down gets us into weird measures, so I left it like that.) A nice demonstration of how the bianco plus tequila works. Thanks for the tip, phlip!

Thanks for the recs, phlip! Given the excellent drinks I've had at D&Co with M&R (both rosso and bianco), I probably should redact my earlier criticism. That said, I've never been able to produce a M&R rosso drink to my tastes at home (or for that matter order one at Pegu, Little Branch, or M&H). Hmm.

So, given the reintroduction of the M&R Bianco into US markets, and the kinda-sorta-spike in cocktails using Bianco vermouth, my basic question is: Which one do you, the cognoscenti, prefer? I generally find the M&R red unacceptably musty and the white just kind of boring, but a) neither of those are the Bianco and b) my opinion on those products may be completely wrongheaded. Any thoughts generally on the competing Bianchi?

USQW had it in their store today (I popped in while running errands to replenish my Vya dry stock). My question is: Who (other than LeNells) regularly carries Vya Sweet vermouth?

Also, keep in mind that as long as you don't get there at, say, 8:15, the wait doesn't seem to be too bad in general (except weekends). It might be a good idea to put your names down and then wander across the street to the Blue Owl, or down the block to Bar Veloce, both of which are fine places to have a drink before dinner.

Monday. I believe Tuesday is Tien's night off, although that may have changed (I haven't been there in about 2 months).

Check drinkboy.com for the Martinez recipe (maraschino included). Normally I think that cocktailDB does a good job with recipes, but they seem to have missed this one. You're thinking of Dushan, Nathan. IMHO, he's an *awesome* bartender. It is definitely true that the quality of the other bar staff varies, although I'm finding that this is a problem plaguing several establishments. eas: You're referring to house originals or classics with regard to "going off the menu"? I haven't really gone deep at EO, so I'm not sure what their original drinks are like. Do they have a predilection for any spirit in particular, or any unusual/imported/infused spirits worth sampling?

Just tried the Peachy Pegu, but was sadly not so fond. Do you think the type of gin used is really what makes the peach sing, perhaps? (I have Hendrick's and Boodles, both pretty distant from Beefeater.) 4 gin:1.2 "orange curacao"*:1 lime juice plus 1 dash Angostura and one *hefty* dash (basically 2) ROB is my proportion set. I tried doing this with the Fee's barrel-aged bitters and it was awful, but the regular Fee's old-fashioned seems to work just fine. *I've been using a brandy-based orange liqueur by Maison Prunier that I picked up two years ago. Similar flavor notes to GM, but ratcheted way down on the sweetness and has a bit more of the slightly bitter post-tannic quality I've noted in some cognacs. I always tend to pour on the heavy side using this stuff, so maybe 4:1:1 is just the way to go.

Any time! We should still swap dinners, you know! I have to drop by Devi to pick up a gift at some point, so I'll be dining there soon!

Astor has a huge selection. LeNells has a fairly interesting selection, although it's not very big (they tend to stock based on quality rather than quantity). [EDIT: University and 7th, Nathan? News to me. ]

Interesting. But if we're talking "measures" (and, IIRC, Bond asks for "three measures of Gordon's, one vodka, and one Kina Lillet) then aren't we talking ounces at most? Or was there ever an extra-big way of pouring measures? Also, on a different sub-topic, anywhere in the NYC area that one can acquire this Aperitivo Americano? I've asked for LeNell's to look into ordering it, but I can't find it anywhere for the moment.

To add: The service issue that is really under discussion isn't a service issue in the way we usually talk about "service": It's an issue of ease of making reservations, and ability to hold a table. Those issues boil down to supply and demand. Americans have a LOT of money and a seemingly pressing need to dine out at the establishment(s) of the moment in droves and repeatedly. When you have that kind of situation, it is very, very hard to decrease the number of reservations and/or limit seatings. Moreover, the price has to go up a LOT in a city like New York to lower demand; Masa is a case in point. Try getting a "table" for two there on a week's notice and see how far you get. Unfortunately, all price seems to do in the case of Per Se is tilt the crowd further toward the wunch of bankers quotient; it doesn't limit the crowd at all. Somehow, restos in Europe don't have this problem; Le Bristol, despite its newly-minted 3-star status and glowing Gault-Millau writeup (both of which would have scored a US restaurant a limitless stream of customers) was easy to reserve on a week's notice. The room wasn't even full when we were there, at prime dining hours (and this is NOT a large dining room, especially given the vast distance between tables). Ditto for Gagnaire, which is practically a household word for experimental-food nuts. It's easy to let diners have tables for the entire evening if you don't have pressure to book and fill tables. IOW, this is *not* a problem that I have any suggestions on how to fix. Perhaps someone in the industry at this level can suggest something?

I called and spoke with the receptionist. In both cases, I took cancellations rather than booked "on the dot," but I have made a reservation for colleagues at 8pm on the dot by calling at 8:50am two months to the day and engaging auto-dial. Both Per Se and TFL are on OpenTable, but it is utterly useless when trying to make reservs. You are *much* better speaking to an actual human being. In fact, my experience with the receptionist *added* to the generally excellent service I had at Per Se. FWIW, I agree with the general premise that US restaurants at the highest levels generally do not match their European equivalents, but Per Se is a bad example IMHO to use in this context. The service at Keller's restaurants is pretty darn impeccable, and quite comparable to the best European establishments.

I've eaten at Per Se at 7:30 and 9:15 (albeit seated at 8:45 because we arrived early), so I'm not sure whence exactly came this 5:30/9pm thing. Aside from my general issues with the restaurant from a culinary perspective, I have never, ever, ever felt *rushed* or that the service was anything less than on par with the finest establishments I've been too in Europe. For our 7:30, we were there until about midnight, and for our 9:15, we were there until my father (for whose birthday we went) was falling asleep in his seat. More to the point, we were waited on and waited on to the point of obsequiousness. I enjoyed my meals at Le Bristol and Gagnaire in Paris last fall more, but that was for the food and (in the case of Le Bristol) the wine service. However, neither were below the 3-star level at Per Se, IMO.

You'll be waiting forever at Momo Ssam too, though, especially since the bo ssam has become nigh-impossible to reserve on short notice. If you do that one, make sure to put your name on the list and go for drinks *before*, not after; Blue Owl is right across the street and a purveyor of some fine beverages. Landmarc *does* take reservations for parties of 5 or more, so I'd recommend that, especially since you indicated your preference for bistro food. The Spotted Pig is, IMHO, a miserable, unforgiving eatery with food of insufficient brilliance to justify the crowds, waits, and uncomfortable seating (mainly because no food below the four-star level could really justify this!), unless you're dining LATE or at an odd hour (say, 4pm).

As in so many other things, oxidation would be my guess. ← Well, sure. But my question is really about the volatility of gingerol. As a capsacin-like substance (I believe), it should have a decent shelf life, no? Wouldn't just vacuum-sealing the container work?

Thanks for the info!

I also found that using a garlic press to squeeze ginger juice into the syrup added a nice kick. ← That's my favored tactic as well. Using ginger juice and ginger syrup in tandem usually does wonders. I just drop a bunch of chopped ginger (peels and all) into my juice extractor, although my local deli sells something called Belvoir ginger cordial which appears to basically just be pasteurized ginger juice. Does fine.What about a hot steep plus cold steep, though? Anyone just try doing that? It works in some other infused syrups; how 'bout this one? After all, why would gingerol just vanish out of a ginger syrup if you dropped fresh ginger into it and sealed it?

What about D&Co? There seem to be pretty good odds of fine service there; three excellent bartenders, at least one of who is there every time I've been, anyway. [edited for clarification]

I don't see this anywhere in the thread, but any comment on the difference between Verte de Fougerolles and Blanche de Fougerolles in recipes? I've been substituting the Blanche into Attys and it works nicely, but I wasn't sure if there were a separate set of drinks that use it. Verte is clearly more of a "classic" absinthe for cocktail purposes, but I'd love some suggestions as to what to do with the blanche.

Or you can buy their gelato at Wholefoods...

My point is that Bruni *fails* to do his job properly at either end. Presumably, one star for Katz means that his reviews take into account service, refinement, etc. (The bathroom comment re: GR at the London being a case in point.) However, he doesn't get that part right either. (Hence my comment about the Modern.) IOW, we agree. My point was that Bruni seems to fail to appreciate the refinement associated with restos like the Modern, while at the same time he sometimes downrates restos on the expectation of certain minimum refinements. It's a losing proposition either way.

Look at the top of this topic! Tonic makes an excellent alternative to champagne or other fizzy wine for a number of the St. Germain elderflower "originals."

Let me take a guess: bland? ← In one!