FrogPrincesse

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.

You know, I was a bit worried about that too. So that's why I went with the Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao instead of Cointreau. Overall the drink did not taste too sweet. I think if you like a Martinez or a Hanky Panky, you will like this too.

Last night I had Misty Kalkofen's Hocus Pocus, inspired by Plantes Vertes in the Drinks thread. I used the ratios from this article so it's heavier on the Fernet. With Junipero it was pretty intense. I would make it again with a different gin, probably Beefeater.

Wonderful article ... Thanks for posting the link. You are welcome. Let us know what new soups you come up with!

I was able to find it with the name of the bar. Here. It's a creation by Misty Kalkofen.

So this is like a Hanky Panky with curaçao? Most recipes I could find for the Hocus Pocus, like this one in CocktailDB, are just gin, lemon, and cointreau (no sweet vermouth or Fernet), aka a White Lady. As long as it works to soothe your roommate's sorrows...

Great looking food on the thread, as usual. Steve Irby's fried oyster salad and oyster platter are especially appealing; also the beautiful seafood on the previous page (Baselerd's oysters, robirdstx's crab cakes, mm84321's langoustines...). That would make a magnificent seafood feast. Here are a few recent dinners. Goat cheese ravioli with orange and fennel, based on recipe in Babbo. Still practicing on my ravioli technique. I think I am starting to get the hang of it now, but it takes me too long. Charcuterie platter for an epic raclette party with good friends. Happy freezer discoveries - Neapolitan meatballs (Molto Italiano) with spinach bucatini. Grilled Muscovy duck breast; carrots with cumin, thyme, butter, and Noilly Prat. This was a very large duck breast, perfect for grilling. I cured the other one. April Bloomfield's cabbage and bacon. I used home-cured fresh (unsmoked) bacon.

I use white bread. Works great.

I was in the mood for gin last night and made myself a Cloister cocktail. It has the structure of a classic cocktail but apparently appeared for the first time in Playboy's Host & Bar Book in 1971. 1.5 oz gin (PDT specifies Tanqueray; I used Junipero), 0.5 oz yellow Chartreuse, 0.5 oz grapefruit juice, 0.25 oz lemon juice, 0.25 oz simple syrup, grapefruit twist. I really liked the crispness of the cocktail and how it let me appreciate the botanicals from the gin and chartreuse. It was a little bit like a lighter version of the Last Word. The Junipero worked very well.

When you say "bonded applejack" do you mean Laird's bonded apple brandy? That would be closer to the calvados although still probably a little different. Applejack is a blend with NGS while the bonded is the 100 proof young apple brandy. Correct. That should have read bonded apple brandy.

Don't get me wrong. I also use Evernote, iPad/iPhone Notes, Eat Your books, eGullet, etc, etc, to record my cooking notes. But when I am in the middle of a cooking project, I prefer to have a physical notebook next to me. I later transcribe the notes elsewhere as necessary.

Got mine for $22. I used to pay $9 or more for the small bottle.

This one had potential and an interesting name, but I should have trusted my guts. Way too much sweetener. I would make it again with 1/4-1/2 oz cinnamon syrup (instead of 3/4 oz; this was the BG Reynold FKA Trader Tiki syrup), and 1/4-1/3 oz cherry liqueur (instead of 1/2 oz). More Scotch than Sincerity: scotch, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup, cherry liqueur, angostura bitters Oh and I finally killed that bottle of Glenfiddich 12, so it's finally time to buy something new for scotch cocktails. What should I get? I was thinking Highland Park 12.

Mine is a Moleskine notebook. I use it to keep track of menus and prep lists for dinner parties, notes from conferences, etc. When I have a cocktail party I like to write down recipes that I will be making so I have everything in one place. Here is a sample page. And Kerry, we need to see a few pages from yours, not just the cover!