FrogPrincesse

Ok, after finishing my cocktail of the night, it all makes sense now. Please carry on :-)

I am slightly confused but it sounds like you liked it, so everything's fine. Plus a photo of the Chenonceau castle as a bonus, very nice.

You are using 2:1 syrup, right?

Last night a Black IPA, Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale with black cherries (special release). No photo but it was very dark. Bitter and black. Rich smoky malty flavor with plenty of hops in the finish. The cherry was subtle which is a good thing.

Yes there is: 10:3:2 With a good, grassy Latin style white rum and 2:1 golden sugar syrup. 10:3:2, Difford's ratio, which corresponds to: 2 1/2 oz rum 3/4 oz lime juice 1/2 oz 2:1 syrup I prefer to make daiquiris with white rhum agricole and go heavier on the lime. Also I use regular simple syrup because I always have it handy. Something like this: 2 oz rum 1 oz lime juice 3/4 oz simple syrup

Morning update - looking good. The bag smells fantastic. I will mix the punch tonight.

T=5 hours It looks like it is working, slowly but surely.

Here we go then. We will see what it looks like tomorrow. T=0

I think I need this asap. Can no longer resist.

Well it's cured, so it's bacon. Some slices were diced and used as a garnish for soup. Most were fried for breakfast. Some went into quiche lorraine. My friends snatched the rest.

Nigel Slater's spiced pumpkin soup with bacon. Homemade Italian semolina bread on the side. This was a squash (butternut I think) which was diced and cooked with some onion and garlic. The spices were toasted coriander and cumin seeds, and dry chiles for a little bit of heat. Once the squash starts to brown, chicken stock is added. The soup is pureed at the end with some heavy cream. It reminds me of Paula Wolfert's autumn squash soup, but whereas her version is redolent of garlic, this one puts the emphasis on the spices, coriander and cumin. The garnish is little lardons of home-cured fresh bacon.

A recent 7-pound batch of fresh (unsmoked) bacon. Great stuff. I use some of it right away, give some to friends, and freeze the rest.

Thanks for your detailed description. I agree that Bols genever feels very mild and lacks some punch, while the dry rye gin is kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. Have you tried the dry rye in a Negroni?

Stone RuinTen IPA. Five pounds of hops per barrel, "a stage dive into a mosh pit of hops". 110 IBU and 10.8% ABV. What amuses me with these bold macho IPA hop-bombs is that they always remind me of grandmother herbal teas. Beer with a intense dose of chamomille. Of course there is the bitterness too. This one has a good malty backbone so there is something to balance out the hops. Reading material.

Another Old-Fashioned variation, Nate Dumas' Nth Degree with rhum Clement VSOP, calvados (the original calls for bonded applejack), green Chartreuse, demerara sugar, and Fee Brothers whiskey barrel aged bitters. This one was not completely successful in my view. The 1/2 oz of green Chartreuse overwhelmed the other flavors of the drink, including the beautiful rhum agricole, which is a shame. Also it tasted too sweet. It should work better with less Chartreuse. Too much of a good thing...

Speaking of Bonal, last night I tried Jeff Hollinger's Whimsy Shim. Bonal as the base, with dry vermouth and Calvados to up the flavor and richness, bitters (I went with Miracle Mile forbidden bitters). He says you can use half Lillet half Carpano Antica and a dash of bitters, if you don't have Bonal.

KD1191 - This looks great. Could you please describe the Anchor genevieve in comparison the dry rye gin, and to something like the Bols genever? I've been eyeing the genevieve for a while now but haven't had a chance to try it.

So, if there was ever any doubt, by his own admission Jeff Morgenthaler is just a lazy bastard and he has illustrated his oleo-saccharum vacuum technique in a new video for Small Screen Network. Some people painstakingly muddle their lemon peel and sugar bny hand; lately I’ve been processing mine in a stand mixer. I like his approach. I don’t have a vacuum sealer but was going to throw everything in a ziplock bag for my annual Fish House Punch, and see what happens. http://youtu.be/wbrzL9LQTaM

As Rafa said. Bonal and Suze have gentiane in common, but the gentiane root flavor is much more prominent in Suze. Suze is sweeter and much more bitter than Bonal. Bonal is a quinquina, so technically it's in the same family as Lillet and Cocchi, although it's got a very different vibe. Bonal reminds me of a slightly bitter and more herbal sweet vermouth, like something you could obtain by mixing sweet vermouth with an amaro.

I've found that 3-2-1 gin-Cocchi-Suze works a little better for me in that drink, the Suze can definitely be a beast. For the White Negroni, I like a 1.5/1/0.75 gin/Lillet/Suze ratio, on the rocks. Typically I go with Beefeater gin. PDT has a version that is a little less intense, with Plymouth gin and a 2.0/1/0.75 gin/Lillet/Suze ratio, which is served up. By the way, you may want to try it with Lillet rather than Cocchi. The Cocchi version is not bad but after a lot of experimentation I came to the conclusion that the orignal version with Lillet is a little more interesting. By the way, which Suze are you using, the original one or the new Saveur d'Autrefois?

And we shall thank San Diego Bartender Erick Castro of Polite Provisions for his efforts!

After learning that Rumdood/Matt Robold was going to end his Sunday run at 320 Main, I was inspired to try his Jaunty Angle. It has a mix of demerara rum and rye as the base, with a touch of Chartreuse and gomme for the sweetener. Angostura aromatic and orange bitters. It's supposed to be served neat a la Sazerac (oops), with an orange twist. It's very intense and flavorful. Every sip is a little different so it's a very interesting cocktail. First it's all about the rye and Chartreuse, then the caramel and butterscotch from the rum become more pronounced towards the end. Matt has detailed notes on his blog together with recommendations for the rum & rye combo.

I tried this last night with Flor de Cana for the white rum, Plantation Barbados for the aged rum, and homemade orgeat. For the beer I went a little overboard and used Stone RuinTen IPA ("A Stage Dive into a Mosh Pit of Hops", IBU 110). Well, this was surprisingly delicious and refreshing. The IPA added a bitter element and grapefruit notes, with the hops contributing some crazy herbal/floral flavors. I will make this again for sure.

Please, please, please, let's have a look at your tiki mug collection. Regarding the paper straws, they are nice and feel much better than metal straws, the other environment-friendly option. Thanks for providing the inspiration.

Thanks to Rafa (again) for recommending the Doe's Path (rye, dry vermouth, Cynar, Benedictine, rosemary garnish). It's delicious indeed, plus it helped me complete my entry for this month's MxMo Resin challenge.