David Santucci

See Splificator's post on this, in which he recommends Amaro Ciociaro. It is great stuff.

Well, it's not a lot of effort, so I'd say it's worth it. You don't even have to expend the effort of waiting -- I just used some out of the jar whenever I felt like it. Flavor definitely changed, but I don't know if that is because of the oak or just because of time. Didn't do the control experiment. However, I do have some that is still in the jar with the oak -- I will do a comparison tonight with the stuff I put in a dropper bottle after a few months.

How about the aforementioned coin bags? What are those all about?

Oooh, this is a great idea for a thread. I will try to list some notable finds I have come across in my travels in Boston, but probably the most useful thing would be for people to post what they are looking for, then anyone can all reply if they've seen it somewhere. I drive fairly often between Boston and southeastern CT (Mystic), so I am interested in things I can find along the way (RI, for example). I'd be willing to pick something hard-to-get up for someone and drop it off on my way, too -- in exchange for a nice cocktail, of course. Anyway, here are some cool things I've seen: At Liquor World in Porter Square: Angostura Orange Bitters Bitter Truth Bitters (aromatic, orange, lemon, celery, Jerry Thomas) Peychaud's/Regan's Blume Marillen apricot eau de vie At The Boston Shaker in Union Square: Bitter Truth Bitters (aromatic, orange, lemon, celery, Jerry Thomas) Peychaud's/Regan's Tovolo ice cube trays, vintage books, and lots of other accessories Now, for my wish list: Bols Genever Old Forester Signature Santa Teresa 1796

Wow, thanks a lot for the information. I will march right down to my local liquor stores with that name. BTW: Have you seen it for sale anywhere? I noticed Drink has the 7 1/2 y.o., which I've also never seen anywhere -- do you know if that's distributed by the same strange company?

Yep, Cruzan white is pretty much swill in my opinion. Not too crazy about their gold either. After that the product line is very good. Look for Brugal or Flor de Caña. I hear Barceló is also quite good, though I haven't tried it personally.

I have yet to see Blackstrap here in MA, but I did see something last night that looked a lot like it. Anyone tried Trader Vic's Dark? Is is similar?

Well I guess, to me it tastes too much like molasses and too little like fermented molasses. And it runs roughshod over anything else I've put it in. ← I've had this problem too. I bought it because it was cheap and came recommended, but when I've used it the results were not so good. How do people use it? ← A little bit at a time. I love that it brings a whole can of molasses whup-ass. My favorite place for it is floating on top of a mint julep made with Royer Force 53. I use it all the time, especially in the summer, about a spoonful at a time, to "punch up" anything that needs it. Brilliant in combination with orgeat, I might add.

1 1/2 oz Pear Eau-de-vie (Clear Creek) 3/4 oz Sloe Gin (Plymouth) 1/2 oz Brandy (Camus VS) 1/4 oz Simple Syrup 1/2 of an Egg dash Aromatic Bitters (Hermes) Silky, lush, fruity, definitely worth repeat visits

Nowhere. Just one of the MANY things I am not able to get here, including Old Forester Signature, Laird's Bonded, Pueblo Viejo, Carpano Antica, Amaro Ciociaro. Overall, quite disappointing. To answer Andy: you could try Witty's or Shopper's Vineyard, or just see what you find with Google Product Search.

Brugal Blanco is an excellent white rum and under $10. You can't really sip it straight like you can with Flor de Caña, but it's never let me down in a cocktail. Old Forester Signature is damn good, 100 proof bourbon for $20 or so. Like the Brugal, it's good, not "good enough". Yeah, you can go cheaper, but why bother? I like it for sipping too. Tequila is expensive across the board, but Pueblo Viejo has a whole line of good-mixing, (relatively) reasonably-priced Tequilas. They are not necessarily the best for sipping, but for whatever reason they seem to blend with other flavors nicely. I have tried, and tried, and tried... to find a reasonably-priced Cognac/brandy that I like for mixing, and failed. But what I really do like is the Louis Royer Force 53, which runs $40 or so. But it's 106 proof, so it's a 32.5% better deal than something else at the same price. I need to try some Armagnac... (suggestions anyone?) I second the Rittenhouse, Laird's, and that trying to save money on orange liqueur isn't really worth it. And as for Gordon's: sure, it's great for G&Ts, but for cocktails, 80 proof just doesn't cut it. I say pony up for the Tanqueray. Edit: I also want to second Cruzan Black Strap. I like much better than Gosling's or Myers, and its cheap. I'm quite curious about Coruba though...

Embury does list it as an alternate, but seems to prefer Apple Car. I also like his suggestion of that a Jack Rose could also be called a Pink Apple Car. Perhaps with 12 year-old Laird's it could be called a Pink Apple Cadillac.

The Star also seems to have the problem of meaning different things to different people. Embury says it is a DRY Applejack Manhattan. Though I much prefer the two alternate names for that cocktail he lists: the Klondike, and the Farmer's Wife. He also lists an alternate name for the sweet Applejack Manhattan: the B.V.D. Needless to say, not an alternative I would choose. Anyone for a Hanes? How about a Fruit of the Loom?

Still doing lots of experimenting while I get my bar built back up, and while I'm trying new ingredients. Here are two recent ones that worked 2 1/2 oz Gin (Tanquerray) 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (NP) 2 dashes Grand Marnier scant dash Fernet Branca Nothing more than a Martini variation, but a good one. This could become my new house Martini. 2 oz Gin (Plymouth) 1/2 oz Bianco Vermouth (Martini) 1/2 tsp Dry Vermouth (NP) 1/2 tsp Maraschino (Luxardo) 1 1/2 tsp Anejo Tequila (Cuervo RDLF) Flavors really melded nicely in this one, even the oak and agave. The less-assertive gin was key, as was keeping the level of Maraschino low.

Seems like tomorrow would be a great day to make cocktails featuring Barack Palinka. If you want to be fair and balanced you could make some 'John' cocktails too.

I'd be happy to take it off your hands ← Yeah I like the stuff but now I have some Blume Marillen that a friend brought back from nyc, and I haven't yet found the place where BP works better than that stuff--it's delicious but just so rough around the edges. Any suggestions for other uses? The Culross is actually on my shortlist of faves from the Savoy topic, but if you're making it with Barack Palinka, it needs to be drank cold. ← Haven't had the Blume Marillen yet, but I think I will be getting some soon, as I can't find Barack Palinka anywhere here. As for suggestions, I tend to use it with (white) rum. The Cuban (daiquiri w/ half BP in place of rum) is hard to beat. I have used it in a lot of experimental cocktails -- it's a great thing to try when you have a cocktail that just needs something. I'm pretty bad at taking notes, but I dug out my notebook and there are two I wrote down (which means I must have liked them): one with nothing more than rum and creme de cacao, one with rum, applejack and Swedish punch.

Really?! It's one of Mrs. slkinsey's all-time favorites (although we follow the McElhone formulation). Fresh-squeezed OJ is a must. ← I'm with slkinsey, but I hated this one the first time I made it. It really depends what recipe you use. I believe it is Dr. Cocktail's that won me over. Pretty similar to McElhone: 1.5, 1.5, 1 tsp, 1 tsp.

I'd be happy to take it off your hands

In Boston the standard price seems to be $28/fifth!

Only 4 dry gins, the horror! Sorry, I've been meaning to follow up on this for a while, but just now got around to it. I was wondering, Andy, if you could elaborate, with respect to Beefeater -- what about it do you find indispensable, especially given the company? What kind of drinks do you prefer it in? I would have put it, with Broker's, in the good-but-not-indispensable category, but I haven't made a serious study of it.

I got some quassia for making a Boker's replica. I'm not sure how descriptive I can be about the taste. It is BITTER, VERY bitter. I actually put a little piece on my tongue -- big mistake. Not nearly as aromatic as gentian, if I recall correctly, and much more potent.

It's 80% alcohol and the other 20% is sugar, and herbal. It's kind of like Jagermeiser, and typically served similarly (i.e., thrown back ice cold). It ain't no sippin' rum.

rumor has it they are picking up a boston bartender. look for him. he has a funny accent but makes a mean drink! ← they also picked up one of the few cocktail geek bartenders from north carolina. which is great -- people down here just don't appreciate that kind of craftsmanship. he deserves to be in a place where they do.

I think a lot of us are on this quest. And, for most of us I imagine, price is a factor as well. As always, PerfumeKev's suggestions really peaked my interest, so I thought I'd try to find out how much these things cost. Having done this, I figured I'd share the results. These are just ballpark figures from cursory Googling: Martell Cordon Bleu ~$100 Maison Surrenne Petite Champagne ~$35 Daniel Bouju Premiers Aromes ~$50 Daniel Bouju Royal Brut du Fut ~$60 Charles Neal Selections Armagnacs ~$100 Camus VS ~$25 Frapin VS ~$40 A. Hardy VS ~$25 Louis Royer Force 53 ~$45

Is the Brut de Fût the unfiltered, 120 proof stuff described here?: Cognac Daniel Bouju