Keith Orr

That seems like a lot of nutmeg, although I notice it's double what you had in an earlier batch. I find a little nutmeg goes a long way, even though I like it. So how strong is the nutmeg in the finished product? How are you crushing the nutmeg and how fine are the pieces? ← I can't get Wray and Nephew Overproof. Given the comments about using demerara, I was wondering what folks thought about using Cruzan Clipper at 120 proof to come up with a less rummy product at about the same proof?

Last call tonight. Tried a Bijou. Used 3/4 oz each M & R sweet vermouth, Green Chartreuse and Boker's Gin and a dash of Angostura Orange Bitters. Seemed a bit cloying - the best part was a good blast of juniper from the gin. Frankly, I didn't really enjoy it that much. Okay, Second last call. Tried it again with Punt e Mas and 2 dashes of orange bitters. Wow, what a difference. The botanicals from both the Punt e Mas and the Chartreuse really come forward - I really like this version. I wouldn't make the first one again. This one is worth repeating..if not tonight.

Here in Portland OR a local place called Toro Bravo makes a Manhattan with Bourbon, sweet vermouth and sherry garnished with a twist of orange peel. Today I've been playing around with my homemade variation. 1 1/2 oz Wild Turkey Rye 1/2 oz Punt e Mas 1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry Dash of Angostura Orange Bitters Stirred and strained into a glass and garnished with a homemade cherry.

That seems like a lot of nutmeg, although I notice it's double what you had in an earlier batch. I find a little nutmeg goes a long way, even though I like it. So how strong is the nutmeg in the finished product? How are you crushing the nutmeg and how fine are the pieces?

Cherry Heering is available here in Oregon. $24.95 per bottle. It's shown on the Oregon Liquor Control Commission Monthly Sheets. If you're in NE Portland, the Rose City Liquor Store has it on the shelf. Picked up a bottle today. Singapore Slings tonight!

Shop Egg Nog Ingredients: 12 Egg yolks 1 c Sugar 1/4 ts Salt 3 c Bourbon 2 c Brandy 1 c Dark rum 2 quarts half and half 12 Egg whites 1/2 c Sugar Instructions for Egg Nog Beat yolks until very light with about 1 cup sugar and the salt. Add half and half - combine and stir until well mixed Add booze and beat well. Beat eggwhites with 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks and float on top of the rest of the mix Store in a cold cellar for a week. Serve with freshly-grated nutmeg. The egg nog should be ladled from the bottom of the bowl, and never stirred, in order to maintain its layered quality. We used to serve this at the shop Christmas Party until drinking on the premises was banned. It's best with a week of aging, but I've served it the same day with no complaints....at least until they wake up the next day.

So the dried orange peel is soaked in water? alcohol? Then distilled and added to the brandy or Cognac? I'm getting an education - Thanks

No, no, no! Hot water bath processing is only used for acidic foods. Grenadine and other fruit syrups are fine to process this way, as the acid prevents botulism and other food-borne diseases. But botulism thrives in a low-acid environment. (Especially a high-protein one, so please don't process nut syrups like this.) Non-acidic foods require processing temperatures of 240' (rather then the 212' of boiling water), so to do it at home you need a pressure canner (different from a pressure cooker). This sufficiently eliminates these risks. But yes, a lot of work for simple syrup. ← Aaaack, Thanks for the correction - I know better. I meant to say process fruit syrups in a hot water bath. You should also check the pH to make sure it's 4.6 or lower - some fruits may not have enough acidity to achieve that low of pH. Most winemaking shops have pH strips to test the pH. You'd have to use a pressure canner for anything with pH higher than 4.6 That's what I get for posting late at night

I've been looking for passion fruit syrup and can't find any. Are you willing to share your technique for making the homemade variety? ← It is so easy! Go to your local ethnic market and get a packet of Goya brand passion fruit pulp. Ought to cost you under three bucks. Thaw it out and add equal amounts of the pulp and sugar water (simple syrup). (Or: 2 parts pulp, 1 part sugar, 1 part water) Heat it all up just a little to make sure the sugar melts and properly integrates. Let it cool and pour it into a bottle. Shake it all up like a mo'fo', add a shot of clear rum as a preservative, and you're done! I used to use Trader Vic's brand Passion Fruit syrup but never again! It is all HFCS crapola. This simple home made recipe blows away anything on the shelves. ← Thanks.

Seems like the right beginning, though that would make more of an orange curracao. If you want something more in line with triple-sec, I'd use (primarily) neutral grain spirits as a base. In either case, let us know how it goes... ← My understanding is that Gran Marnier is made with Cognac and is a type of triple sec and Curacao as an orange flavored liqueur is also a type of triple sec. I don't know what type of spirit base is used for Curacao. Anyway, I have dried orange peel soaking in brandy, rum and vodka and hopefully we'll all know more in a few weeks.

Put the hot syrup in pint or quart canning jars and process it in a water bath canner for 15 or 20 minutes. Keep the open jars in the refrigerator. You can process fruit syrups the same way. It seems like a whole lot of work for plain old simple syrup though.

There was an article on Haitian Dried Citrus peels being used for making Gran Marnier on Bunnyhugs Yesterday at the Asian Market I saw a big bag of them for $4 so I bought it. Anybody got any tips other than the obvious "Soak them in a bottle of brandy and add some sugar"? I'm wondering if dried citrus is anything like dried mushrooms, where the flavor seems to strengthen and become so much more intense.

I've been looking for passion fruit syrup and can't find any. Are you willing to share your technique for making the homemade variety?

Thanks for sharing the sage falernum recipe. I've tucked that away. The grapefruit sage combo sounds good. I think I might try some sage on a bruleed grapefruit I love the title "Intoxicologist" BTW

My first thought was "Home on the Range" because of the sage - yes I know it's not about sagebrush, but that name appears to have already been taken. Second thought was Blackberry Beret, because for 20 plus years I can't get Prince's lyrics to stop once I hear anything with XXXXBerry mentioned. Sounds like a tasty drink. Did you use all honey when you made the Falernum? It's a substitution that's never occurred to me.

Friday October 3rd From My Preserving Log "(August 23rd, 2008) I bought a couple of pounds of Bing type cherries at HMart on my way home from McMinnville today. I put them in a half gallon jar with the stems and pits intact. Dumped in two cups of sugar, a cup of Luxardo Maraschino and topped it off with a couple of cups of Clear Creek Kirschwasser. I'm hoping that in 6-8 weeks I'll have something suitable for Manhattans and some to share with friends and family." Back to Last Night - I broke into these tonight to see how they were progressing. I tried them a couple of weeks ago and they were pretty good, but seemed rather simple. Tonight it seemed like the almond notes from the pits were starting to infuse the cherries from the inside out - very maraschino like with the almond notes. I think they need another month or so. The cherries were packed into a 1/2 gallon jar. Now the cherries take up about 60% of the jar. The cherries have shrunk dramatically in size and the texture has firmed up. Almost crunchy texture. Next year I'm going to try adding some extra cherry pits and crush them when I make this. I can tell this isn't going to make as many cherries as I'd have liked. I think they also need a bit more sugar. Made a Manhattan with them 2 oz Jim Beam Rye 3/4 oz Punt e Mas 1 Tablespoon of the Liquor from the cherries two cherries It was lacking just a bit at this point so I added a couple of drops of Peychaud's bitters for the aromatics Pretty damn good!

I'm curious about the chamberyzette - did you make it yourself? Will you share the recipe? Conceptually it sounds wonderful. Edited to Add - Found your recipe in your blog Here - Nice looking new blog for me to explore! Is the honey liqueur made from dandelion honey or honey and dandelions? Sounds like a very interesting drink. I'm a big fan of Peychauds and it seems like it would go well with the strawberry in the chamberyzette

I was hoping to retire early next year. That's not going to happen now short of some sort of economic revival bordering on miraculous. I've been cutting back for a while. So I've not felt the same sort of sting that some are feeling. I've been drinking less, but drinking better!

I'll give it a try with the lesser amount of Cointreau next go around. I thought about that already and giving it a shake of some Angostura Orange Bitters to keep the orange level up. I like my gin with a pretty heavy juniper hit and Beefeater seems to deliver that pretty well for a reasonable price. Thanks for the feedback. ← Lord Suffolk V.3 2oz Beefeaters Gin ½ oz Luxardo Maraschino ½ oz Punt e Mas Vermouth ¼ oz Cointreau Lemon twist • This is getting closer. I posted my first results on eGullet and got some feedback to reduce the Cointreau and add a lemon twist. This is better. I like the flavor the lemon twist adds and it’s still got enough orange. I think I might reduce the Maraschino to a ¼ oz as well in V.4 I'm pretty sure this will never be a top 10 drink for me, but I'm having fun finding the best version for me.

I live in Portland OR and we've got several places that make good cocktails and one place, the Teardrop Lounge, where the cocktails are ethereal - I usually call the bartender there by his first name - Daniel.

I'll give it a try with the lesser amount of Cointreau next go around. I thought about that already and giving it a shake of some Angostura Orange Bitters to keep the orange level up. I like my gin with a pretty heavy juniper hit and Beefeater seems to deliver that pretty well for a reasonable price. Thanks for the feedback.

I tried this one today Lord Suffolk V.1 2oz Beefeaters Gin ½ oz Luxardo Maraschino ½ oz Rosso Sweet Vermouth – Rosso is cheap crap from TJ’s – This stuff seems ok, but I need to learn more about vermouth – given the way vermouth interacts with other ingredients; How in the hell do you compare vermouths?. ½ oz Cointreau • Got this recipe off of the eGullet “Drinks - What you Drinking Today” thread. I really want to like this drink. All of the ingredients are ingredients that I like, but the drink was too sweet for my taste. It lacked balance. It might be better with something more bitter like Punt e Mas substituted for the Sweet Vermouth. Lord Suffolk V.2 2oz Beefeaters Gin ½ oz LuxardoMaraschino ½ oz Punt e Mas Vermouth ½ oz Cointreau • This drink is much better than it was with the regular sweet vermouth. The bitterness of the Punt e Mas gives it more balance, but overall it doesn’t ring my bell. Still on the sweet side but it’s better. I’m thinking late at night it might work. I wonder if the ratios were changed a bit? Orange juice instead of Cointreau? A bit of Orange juice and the Cointreau?

There isn't anything on the Luxardo website about a higher proof version.

Some of the local McDonalds here in Portland Oregon have "Filet O Fish Fridays" where you can get them for a buck a piece.

I love patty melts. I make them at home a couple of times a year. Good rye bread, gruyere cheese and like the article says "grind your own beef".