mkayahara

I have an earlier edition of it, not the Mud Puddle reproduction, that I scored for cheap in a second-hand bookstore. It's definitely a fun and interesting read. One of the drinks I thought was interesting in it is the Bermuda Rose. I first ran across it in Regan's Joy of Mixology, where he describes it as a "somewhat confusing recipe" in Embury. It sure is! Reading the recipe, the three main questions seemed to be: 1) Sweet or dry vermouth? 2) Apricot liqueur or eau-de-vie? 3) Proportion of spirits to vermouth? ...which is pretty much the whole drink. I ended up trying it in several variations, but my favourite was as follows: 1 oz. Tanqueray 1 oz. Zwack barack palinka 1 oz. Cinzano sweet vermouth Dash grenadine Dash each Fee's and Regan's orange bitters

I love molasses, but I don't really know how to use it to best effect. I use it in any recipe that calls for it, but I never find myself in the position of making something and thinking that it needs more molasses. So I'll be reading this thread with interest! I'm curious, though, about the reference in the OP to eating it out of the jar. I've only ever seen molasses in waxed cardboard, like a milk container. (Follow Peter the Eater's link to see what I mean.) Is that a Canadian thing? Edited to add: My partner hates it, too, so that doesn't make it easy for me to incorporate it into my cooking!

The book I use for canning advice is the Putting Food By, 4th ed., by Janet Greene, Ruth Hertzberg and Beatrice Vaughan. I'm sure others can suggest websites. I've never bothered doing anything but rinsing the cherries, but I always put them in booze (not just syrup), which has its own antiseptic properties. I've also never processed the jars; I just keep them in the fridge or cupboard, and the high proof of the alcohol is enough to keep them shelf stable. If you're doing them purely in syrup and/or planning to water-process them, the rules change.

I've packed sour cherries in booze for the past two years running: two years ago in bourbon (Wild Turkey 80) and last year in gin (Bombay Sapphire). I didn't sweeten the bourbon, but I did sweeten the gin, and I found that the unsweetened bourbon cherries tasted rather more harshly alcoholic than the sweetened gin cherries. Obviously, there are so many variables here that my observations are far from scientific, but I'm going to sweeten this year's batch, too. (And probably put them up in rum, just for a change of pace!) If you're happy with the way yours have tasted in the past, I'd just keep on doing what you're doing. Or do a double batch, and sweeten one, and see which you prefer!

I've never turned jars upside down to cool, but it sounds like your jars have sealed properly. The best way to tell, assuming you're using two-piece lids, is to remove the screwband and try picking them up by the lid. If you can do so without the lid coming off, then they've sealed fine. (Edited to add: You might want to do this over a soft surface, just in case the seal breaks and the jar falls.) From my perspective, the biggest problem is the jam on the seals. That sounds like a potential point of entry for mold, and even if it hasn't ruined the seal yet, it may still do so. I'd check all the jars now (and any that haven't sealed, you can store in the fridge), and then check them again before opening each one to make sure the seal is still intact.

Yes! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who finds his TV presence to be a bit irritating, even though his food usually looks decent. I don't really watch Food TV regularly anymore. It's the first thing I'll turn on if I'm just channel-surfing, and there are a few shows I don't mind having on, but I don't really make a point of watching anything other than Top Chef.

I can't compare to Angostura orange bitters because I still haven't found any, but I can now attest that the Palmetto, when made with Regan's (and Cruzan Estate Diamond), is an all-around excellent drink.

That sounds cool. I really must procure myself a bottle of Cynar...

I use both the white and green parts, trimming off the root end and the tips of the greens. I think I generally start slicing at the green part, but not for any particular reason.

Sadly, Matusalem isn't available here either. HC7 is ubiquitous, though, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Yes: not sink-bad, but I wants me scotch in a B&S. Bought a bottle of Maker's Mark for a visiting friend who likes it neat, and the Goodnight, Irene (2 bourbon:1 Branca Menta) I made with it was without character. That drink needs the punch of a bigger, higher proof bourbon to work. Now I'm wondering what to do with the MM... ← It makes a nice ice cream...

Thanks for those replies. I tried all winter to get small eggs from my guy at the farmers' market, but he kept telling me he wouldn't have any until spring. Having had a couple of egg drinks, I can see why they'd be better suited to winter, so I guess that leaves me using large eggs. Toby, I'd love to try the Golden Age, but I'm not sure I can get the Brugal Anejo here. Could you suggest a substitute?

What about tweaking the Dark and Stormies from Greweling? Replace the dark rum with light, and the ginger with mint (and keep the lime) and you're basically there.

I recently acquired several size-small eggs for cocktail applications, but I've got more eggs than whole-egg cocktails in my repertoire. I've been dying to try the Coffee Cocktail for a while now, so that'll be first up. After that, though, the only things that really come to mind are flips, egg nogs and, of course, Tom and Jerry (and it really isn't the right time of year for that). Recipes with egg whites are easy to find, but whole eggs (or even egg yolks) seem a little rarer. Any suggestions for how I can put these eggs to best use? Thanks!

If you've got some rhubarb taking over the section of the yard that isn't taken over by the mint, you could try the Rhubarb Cocktail #2 from here.

For what it's worth, N2O cartridges + egg whites = the much-maligned foams of "molecular gastronomy". Gelatin works, too, as does whipping cream, but they all produce different textures. For more information, check out Dale DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail. ETA: That should read, "For slightly more information." There's a lot more to it than he covers, but that should get you started with cocktail foams.

But the wine-glass is known to be 2 oz., isn't it?

So you're suggesting that the McElhone's jigger might contain 1.5 oz. with both ends combined (i.e., "2/3" is 1 oz. and "1/3" is the remaining half-ounce)? I think Andy's suggesting that the 2/3 end is 1.5 oz. on its own, and the 1/3 end is half the volume of the 2/3 end; i.e., 3/4 oz.

Don't you hate it when that happens? I can say, having tried an Old Pal with Wiser's Small Batch, that I wasn't that thrilled; I seem to recall thinking it tasted mostly like a glass of cold Campari. Which is fine, if that's what you're looking for, but I can't see it going into regular rotation alongside my usual Campari and sodas or Negronis. That said, maybe I should try it with some American rye and see how that is. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the Canadian whiskies, Erik.

Mine's clear and about the texture of honey or corn syrup. I keep it at room temperature. I think I used tartaric for my last batch. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be fine even if cloudy - I mean really - all it is is sugar. ← Great, thank you! Looking at it now that it's had a chance to settle, it looks like the cloudiness was actually from bubbles. It seems to be clearing, so I'm sure it'll be perfectly limpid by tomorrow.

I just tried out the invert sugar recipe, too. I scaled it back to a half batch, and used citric acid. When I added the baking soda, I got a very big foamy reaction, and the final product looks cloudy, not clear like it was at the conference. It's also about the consistency of honey (or glucose syrup, maybe). Are these things normal, or do I have to start over? Also, is it shelf-stable, or does it need to be refrigerated? Thanks!

Milk. Presumably, that line should read as follows: 1/3 C. + 1 T. (110 g) Milk at room temp

Personally, I would definitely still recommend the Wellington Gastropub, but I can't speak to the issue of children, so I'm not sure I'm much help to you otherwise.

I can't truly speak to how accurate the list is, since I've only been to a handful of the places on it, but I still suspect it will be useful to all but the most die-hard cocktail aficionado. (Sam, I'm looking in your direction. ) As you note, there are really only a couple of places on the level of a top-tier NYC bar outside of NYC, and really... why let the perfect be the enemy of the good? ← Is there anywhere to see the list without buying the book? Did anywhere in TX make it? ← I don't know if there's anywhere to see the list online, but there are a couple of places in Texas: The Belmont in Austin; Backstreet Café and Beaver's in Houston.

The headnote to the list reads as follows: I can't truly speak to how accurate the list is, since I've only been to a handful of the places on it, but I still suspect it will be useful to all but the most die-hard cocktail aficionado. (Sam, I'm looking in your direction. ) As you note, there are really only a couple of places on the level of a top-tier NYC bar outside of NYC, and really... why let the perfect be the enemy of the good?