FrogPrincesse

Stone Pale Ale and Julian Hard Cider. Every few years I feel I need to check this local hard cider and see if it had improved. But no, it's still as boring and tasteless as its color (it's the cup on the right hand side!). I do not understand why someone can not make Breton-style cider with our great local Julian apples. I guess it must be a cultural thing, or I was just spoiled with the cider when I lived in France. No complaints on the Stone Pale Ale, as good as always and even better in draft form.

I made different versions of the Martinez with the St. George dry rye gin recently. There was no Old Tom in the house and I thought that the dry rye gin would be interesting, like a cross between a Martinez and a Manhattan. I started with the Bartender Choice's app version with 2 oz gin, 3/4 oz sweet vermouth (I went with vermouth di Torino), a barspoon of maraschino, and dash of Boker's bitters (the app specifies orange but I like Boker's as per the Jerry Thomas recipe). I took a first sip and did not love it. The gin was just too dominant. I then remembered that I prefer more vermouth in my Martinez. So I made another one a few days later with the PDT ratios since the recipe had worked well for me in the past. 1.5 oz each gin and sweet vermouth, 1/4 oz maraschino, 2 dashes Boker's bitters. I also switched the vermouth to Dolin as the Torino was getting bullied by the gin. Martinez craving finally curbed.

Rate Beer published their list of Top 100 Brewers in the World today. There are a lot of San Diego brueries: Alpine, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Pizza Port, Lost Abbey, Stone, The Bruery (Orange County), and last but not least, AleSmith at the number one spot. Modern Times is listed as the best new brewer in California and #9 in the world.

That sounds really good. For those who don't have the book, the recipe was published online on the James Beard Foundation website. What would be an acceptable substitute for the Ardbeg 10 years? Laphroaig maybe?

That's pretty cool. I wonder what the yield would be on that if you are only making a small batch. I imagine that a lot of the product would be lost.

Filter again with a finer filter paper for example, or centrifuge if you want to get fancy. Not sure it is worth the effort though. Since it's dark brown already, the fact that it's slightly turbid does not bother me.

After the fine metal strainer and nylon mesh filtration, there was a little bit of sediment left (not much) so I also filtered with a coffee filter. It took a long while and removed a fraction of the sediment. The resulting falernum is not clear which is fine with me. It's dark brown. I think I will skip the coffee filter step next time. Taste-wise, it's an explosion of flavor compared to the commercial stuff I was using (the commercial product is essentially like a simple syrup lightly flavored with clove and rum). Clove and other spices, lime, and, surprisingly for me, a rich caramel flavor. Very intense. It seems to have a tinge of bitterness/bite in cocktails, maybe from the lime zest or ginger (although I used a microplane to avoid pith, and peeled the ginger). I can't really taste it when I try it neat but noticed it in a few cocktails. I think my taste buds are just getting accustomed to this because it's so intensely flavorful.

I tried something like this last night; slightly more Beefeater gin than Carpano Bianco and yellow Chartreuse. Despite a nice, long lemon twist, something was missing. Bitters! A hefty dash of Regan's and of Fee's Orange really helped dry it out and, as SamChevre mentioned, balance the Chartreuse. I usually don't need a reminder that bitters can really make the difference in a drink's balance, but if I did, this clinched it. Interesting that a white vermouth worked in that variation. With white vermouth being as sweet as red vermouth, and yellow chartreuse being sweeter than the green, the cocktail could have been overly sweet (the Bijou is already quite rich to begin with).

After all this discussion, I just had to go with the Jet Pilot last night. Appleton 12, Barbados 5, and Lemon Hart 151 for the rum combo. St. George for the absinthe, homemade falernum. It's interesting because my homemade falernum has a roasted flavor, almost like a slightly bitter butter caramel. This is a dessert drink for sure.

LA Times article about the glove law. Many chefs including Nancy Silverton (Mozza), Ludovic Lefebvre (Trois Mec), David Lentz (Hungry Cat), and sushi chef Toshiaki Toyoshima, express their discontent.

Nice-looking green papaya salad. Last night I made a salad of fennel, Moro blood oranges, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, based on a recipe by Mario Batali. I drizzled a little bit of Eureka lemon infused olive oil on top for an extra burst of flavor.

I made a batch of these (first time) for Super Bowl and, wow, strong buggers. All of us who tried it liked it, but opted for diluting it with seltzer or tonic. Buncha wimps, I guess. "Bold and direct" = strong, as you have found out. The kind of drink that you sip for a long while.

It's a sleeve for the knife so I don't accidentally lose a finger while looking for it in the kitchen drawer.

How long an infusion do you envisage? I have a method but it's secret at this point. Try extracting the details from me next time I am in London.

Yes, he clearly knows that he is doing. Banana S&C is high on the list of things I want to make at home.

The Jet Pilot was created at Stephen Crane's restaurant The Luau, and is a variation on Don the Beachcomber's Test Pilot. The recipe was unearthed & adapted by Jeff Berry for Sippin' Safari, and posted verbatim on the Kaiser Penguin blog. Note that it uses Angostura rather than Peychaud's bitters. I can't think of a Tiki drink that uses Peychaud's. I might have to make myself one tonight - I have a ton of citrus and a batch of homemade falernum, so that sounds like a plan. Last time I had one was back in November - this beauty concocted by Christian Siglin at Banker's Hill, with banana-infused Smith & Cross, aged Flor de Cana, El Dorado 15, housemade falernum, St. George absinthe, etc. It was ridiculously good.

I know you are jealous. It's not just superior by the way. It's Superior. Plus it's so rare I can't even find any tasting notes online.

A (belated) Christmas gift to myself: a 10-inch Global G-16 chef's knife. It was the last one in the store and therefore on clearance. It should be a nice upgrade from what I've been using, a Victorinox Forschner 8-inch chef knife which can feel a little flimsy with bigger jobs... (I also have an 8-inch Messermeister but it's too heavy for me.)

It's higher proof (102.8), but I find it has less finesse (some might say complexity). That said, it can certainly stand out in more complicated/modern cocktails. I actually just killed a bottle making several Holidays Away. The finished product is not as smokey as with the Bowmore that's called for, but none the worse for it, in my opinion. And, I imagine it's the rare Japanese Whisky that can hold its own against Unicum. Thanks. That sounds like something I would be interested in trying. Regarding Japanese whiskies that can hold their own, Yoichi is super assertive/distinctive but not easy to mix as a result. I found the Miyagikyo quite versatile in that regard - great on its own, but not so over-the-top that it does not work for mixing.

Of course I did, together with absinthe, bitters, jigger, etc. Travel essentials!

Sounds good. Do you know how Nikka from the Barrel compares to the rest of their line? Here are a few more Japanese whisky cocktails that I made during my trip (continued from here). Chocker variation with single malt Miyagikyo (10 years), gomme syrup, Boker's bitters, St. George absinthe. Really wonderful. Whisky Daisy (dry curaçao, lemon) and Gold Rush (dogwood honey, lemon) with Taketsuru Pure Malt (12 years).

Regarding HP12, you are right of course. It's delicious in cocktails as well as neat, as I already found out this weekend. I am very pleased with my purchase. I was going to use the 151 for my next batch of falernum, and then who knows what else. Between my underutilized copies of Tony Conigliaro's Drinks & Tristan Stephenson's Curious Bartender, and the 14-page Infusion thread, I am sure I will find inspiration.

Very nice indeed. My latest purchases - a 151 rum to make infusions (hopefully it's not too horrible; it was only $13), and Highland Park 12 for scotch cocktails.

I'm still learning to break the seal after hundreds of uses.... I have two sets of Koriko tins from Cocktail Kingdom and they break open without any effort. The key is to wait a few seconds after shaking, then they pop open very easily.

Retails for $10-$15 (I believe Trader Joe's has it). Probably ok to use in a punch (or to cook with), but I would not serve it to a wine connoisseur. I don't even think it's a cognac.