FrogPrincesse

Coruba is pretty cheap, at least here, and will do the job (it's owned by Wray and Nephew). Otherwise, Cruzan blackstrap, Gosling black seal, or Myers dark.

Catalina Offshore - love that place. I am lucky to live less than 15 min away.

Sorry I got lost in my thoughts. It was excellent of course. A dash or two of the forbidden bitters added plenty of bite and cut through the sweetness. Which bitters do you use in yours?

Michael McIlroy's Greenpoint is truly excellent. It's very harmonious and I love the herbal notes from the chartreuse. 2 oz rye (Bulleit), 1/2 sweet vermouth (Dolin), 1/2 oz yellow chartreuse, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 dash orange bitters (Angostura).

From the backlog, a classic. Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale. Nutty/malty with a nice dose of bitterness. Dry finish.

Yes - almost a year later. I used the ratios from Bartender's Choice (same as the Wondrich version although he only uses 1 dash of Ango). 2 oz (Junipero) gin, 3/4 oz lime juice, 3/4 oz (Pierre Ferrand dry) curacao, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 dash (1 each Regan and Fee) orange bitters. It was quite dry but I did not mind.

A nightcap earlier this week. Good stuff. Another nightcap - this one inspired by Hassouni. I used Miracle Miles forbidden bitters, which are Abbott-inspired.

Tuxedo No. 1 last night, a 2:1 martini with a rinse of absinthe. Sipsmith London dry gin, Noilly Prat extra dry vermouth, St. George absinthe. Very floral especially at first, mostly from the absinthe. The botanicals from the gin come through after a few sips.

I think with this one you are supposed to try it every 4 years to remind yourself why you don't like it... I am not a big fan either although it is pretty (2 years since my last attempt which was the Joy of Mixology version).

I tried it last night with Laphroaig 10 years, Dolin rouge, Luxardo cherry liqueur, and St. George absinthe. Quite intense, even with dilution. It would probably work best with a milder Islay.

After finishing MBV I opened a bottle of Shegöat from the Bruery, a "German-style ale". I was not expecting what followed. Beautiful aromas with the most distinctive ester flavors (mostly banana). Also good maltiness. It has flavor and depth. What a fabulous beer. I wish I could find more. From the Bruery:

Sounds like a plan!

Interesting. How old is your jar? I (nearly always) have a jar in the fridge and it has an intense apricot flavor, with a nice tartness. It is somewhat thick but not overly so. The color is the color of fresh apricots, not dark. To me it's very close to a homemade product. Sorry to hear that you did not like it.

Appleton is always good, or maybe go with something more substantial like the black seal.

Apparently it's rich and sweet with vanilla-caramel notes. From drinkupny (this is for the 7 years): More detailed review here. What are you planning on using it for?

This idea of caramelized apple crêpes with calvados was stuck in my head, so I made a caramel last night. I cooked a couple of Granny Smith apples in the caramel (this is similar to making a tarte tatin). I reheated the crepe in a pan, moistened with a tablespoon of calvados, and added the apples and caramel Voila What was missing was a little dollop of crème fraiche (Isigny of course) and a glass of Norman cider, but still it was delightful. Thanks PV for the inspiration!

I like Bonne Maman. It's not organic but it tastes great, not too sweet. Good texture too, with big chunks of apricot.

Here. I have to admit that I don't really understand the calvados + bonded applejack combo, because they are very similar.

I went for bold last night with the Brass Rail (Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin). 2 oz Highland Park 12 years (the recipe called for a blended scotch), 0.5 oz Averna, 1 dash of orange bitters (I used a mix of Regan and Fee), lemon zest. It tasted boozy, smoky, a little bitter. A slight metallic taste also.

Sorry... It came to me as I was daydreaming while looking at your photos. I may give it a try tonight; I have a few crepes left from last night. Speaking of last night, I made a double batch of crepes de froment (wheat flour) (6 eggs, 250 g flour, 600 mL milk, 60 g butter, teaspoon salt, half teaspoon orange flower water; yield 16 crepes). They were consumed with crystallized sugar, Nutella, and a homemade chocolate sauce. A correction: *I was actually a full batch. Eight crepes is never enough, so I would always recommend doubling Anne Willan's recipe.

Reporting on the bottle of Perry's Tot Navy Strength gin from New York Distilling Company that I got in the Secret Santa gift exchange. I tried it first in a Martini. I wanted to go with Rafa's recommendation from the Drinks discussion... ... but didn't have any Dolin, so I went with Noilly Prat extra dry. I smelled the Martini and felt that it needed grapefruit rather than orange bitters, so I used that. (The cocktail was not completely clear; from the bitters maybe?) It was a delightful Martini, with none of the "bite" I was expecting from a high proof gin. The juniper was there but quite subdued. Very aromatic combination. I also tried the gin neat at room temperature, with Beefeater as a reference point. The nose is extremely flavorful with a sweetness to it. The taste is deceptively smooth with juniper and citrus (grapefruit, lemon), but also a lot of coriander and floral/sweet notes, and a soft finish. I read later that they use a touch of honey in the gin and that makes sense. I just bought a bottle of Dolin, so that means that I will be able to try Pouring Ribbons' version very soon.

Beautiful. I can just envision a version of the caramelized apple crepes flambéed with calvados...

Is anyone using the app Speakeasy Cocktails (by Jim Meehan and Joseph Schwartz)? It's a bit pricey ($9.99), but based on the free chapter, the recipes look pretty good. There may be a bit of overlap with the PDT cocktail book and the Bartender's Choice app.

Serious Drinks published A Beginner's Guide to Belgian Beer Styles, which provides a very nice overview of Belgian beers.

It turns out there is such a thing as a World's End cocktail, but it's not related to the Last Word. It's a riff on the Corpse Reviver No. 2 with blue curaçao, inspired by the movie. Who knew? I tried a tequila variant of the cocktail recently, Adam Robinson's Last Rites: blanco tequila, lemon juice, yellow chartreuse, maraschino liqueur. It's from a little book, The Cocktail Hour - Tequila (thanks Rafa, my secret Santa!). It's very good. Switching from green to yellow chartreuse allows the tequila to shine.