FrogPrincesse

Sounds interesting. Do you have the ratios by any chance?

Rafa - a peach Margarita, really. So much for Cynar then; you are into girly drinks now? Speaking of which, I had a very nice Audrey Saunders-inspired Guava Sour last night. Her original called for soursop/cherimoya; I made a variation with fresh guava from my CSA (I used 1 ounce of homemade nectar). Really lovely, and pairing gin with exotic fruit is interesting and unexpected compared to the obvious pairing (rum). It brings out different flavors from the fruit. I have two versions: a plain one, and one for Dan with Tiki accoutrements, so he does not have to spend his free time photoshopping.

Last night's cocktails. I wanted to make something else with the dry rye gin, and chose a recipe from the St. George website. I picked the Winter Sun with Gran Classico and Lillet. I hardly ever use my bottle of Gran Classico so this was an added bonus. The recipe sounded very sweet, but I went against my better judgment. The beautiful gin was the best part of the drink (thank god it was front and center). The candy-like flavor of the Gran Classico did not do anything good in that cocktail. I added a generous dash of Boker's bitters to mask that flavor, which was pretty successful. Still, this was a disappointment. A nice collection of pretty labels though. Anybody want that bottle of Gran Classico? This one is my CR2 variation with rye and Bonal, You Only Live Twice. I still like it very much. Next time I will do a lemon twist for contrast and go a little heavier on the absinthe.

I have to stop buying books. In the Kitchen with Alain Passard, Christophe Blain The A.O.C Cookbook, Suzanne Goin The Curious Bartender, Tristan Stephenson The Art of the Shim, Dinah Sanders And, a little late, Lucky Peach Issue 8 - The Gender Issue

Another one from Maks Pazuniak. Growing Old and Dying Happy is a Hope, Not an Inevitability (aka Growing Old for short): Cynar, Rittenhouse rye, salt, absinthe rinse, lemon peel. This cocktail was actually the precursor to the Italian Heirloom. It's a very nice cocktail with Cynar as the base and a pinch of salt to control bitterness. Absinthe nose (I used a spray of St. George - original recipe calls for Herbsaint). First I tasted the lemon oils and the herbal notes from the Cynar, then some sweetness and caramel. The finish is nicely bitter and the cocktail feels very fresh.

Ok. When I read Ketel One, I automatically assumed vodka based on what is available in the US. I did not realize that they also made a genever.

Indeed these are beautiful shots. Worthy of a book, for sure. A question for you, Adam - for your Improved Holland Gin Cocktail, you said that you used a mix of Bols genever and Kettle One vodka (3:1). Why not use straight genever?

Toronto with gin. Sounds interesting. What gin did you use, Rafa? For now, here is just a glimpse of my legendary backlog - last night's Negroni variation with St. George dry rye gin and Dolin rouge. Really, really good. The dry rye gin changes the feeling of the drink quite a bit. It feels a bit crisper/lighter/drier. The gin has tons of juniper and also some pepper and caraway. The resulting Negroni tastes a bit malty, almost briny/savory, and then the botanicals and bitter finish take over. It's different from the classic Negroni but it's great in its own right. Will do again, for sure. I think next I want to use this gin in an old-fashioned.

Thanks rotuts. The 72% is more versatile and I always keep a block in the pantry. I don't mind the extra workout needed to turn it into small chips, and it's fun to have a mix of larger and smaller pieces in the cookies. I think they melt at lower temperature as well, which is a bit messy but very nice.

I love palmiers. These look really crispy and nice. I made a large batch of David Lebovitz's chocolate chip cookies this weekend (the recipe from Ready for Dessert). I used Trader Joe's 72% chocolate. I think that I cut the pecans a little too small, but otherwise the cookies were quite nice.

An assortment of beers, including a few interesting saisons, from Bottlecraft in North Park. Also a little souvenir from London, which I have yet to open. I read that Sipsmith was now available at Bar Keeper in Silverlake/LA.

Believe it or not, it looks like this monstrosity originated from the Savoy Cocktail Book. Thank god I am a brunette, otherwise I'd be pretty upset.

Sounds very French. Love it.

"FrogPrincesse: encouraging you to drink not so responsibly" Encouraging you to drink socially... Invite a couple of friends and compare your impressions!;-)

For reference, the ratios for the XYZ above were 3:2:1 with 1.5 oz aged rum, 1 oz Cointreau, and 0.5 oz lemon juice. I'd say make all three and report...

2:1 Martini last night with Plymouth and Noilly Prat Extra Dry, Regan's and Fee's orange bitters, lemon twist. Sadly, no caviar to be found.

The first one is Chris McMillian's End of the Road. The other one looks good too. Thanks for sharing.

With caviar, I would just go with (gin) Martinis.

Sorry for the unbearable suspense. I loved it. With Scotch and Drambuie, it's more complex than the bourbon version. I wonder if that is why they put the more easily approachable/mass-appealing bourbon version on the menu at the American Bar.

I tested two very similar Manhattan variations this weekend. I wanted to recreate Erik Lorincz's Norman Conquest at home, inspired by a recent visit to the American Bar. The Noman Conquest is a Manhattan with bourbon and Calvados. At the American Bar they use Woodford Reserve and Martini Rosso, at home I used Buffalo Trace and Dolin rouge for a more assertive mix. My Calvados is Daron. Norman Conquest (Erik Lorincz): 1 oz bourbon, 1 oz Calvados, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 1 teaspoon simple syrup, 3 dashes Angostura bitters, rocks, orange twist garnish. Then I remembered that I had tried a similar Manhattan variation with Calvados in the past (it's actually upthread), Sam Ross' Grandfather. I made it side-by-side for comparison purposes. He calls for applejack but I used Calvados. Grandfather (Sam Ross): 1 oz bourbon, 1 oz applejack, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 2 dashes Peychaud's, up. The differences are minor - the simple syrup and orange twist in Erik Lorincz's version, the Peychaud's bitters in Sam Ross's version, Calvados vs. applejack. With such minor differences they are both very good. I ended up staying with the Grandfather as I thought it was more flavorful and interesting (others may say, more rough). Erik Lorincz's version feels slightly more restrained and elegant. As a side note, the version of the Norman Conquest that was published calls for scotch and not bourbon, more like a Rob Roy, which actually makes more sense given the name of the cocktail. I think I would like to try that version too.

Italian Heirloom (Maks Pazuniak) with Cynar, blended scotch (I substituted Glenfiddich 12), Laphroaig, pinch of salt, lemon peel. This one has the particularity of using the oils from multiple lemon twists. After the shock of the first sip (sweet, bitter, smoke, gasoline...), it grew on me, and I enjoyed the herbal notes of the Cynar with the essential oils from the lemon.

Demerara syrup always. A scientifically measured small puddle. I use Rittenhouse, and no soda. I chill the glass first, and do the absinthe rinse after dumping the ice and right before straining the rest into the glass. I also don't throw out the leftover absinthe. A little bit of water or club soda is needed if you use a sugar cube so it can be fully dissolved; obviously skip it if you use Demerara syrup. I think that I just like the ritual of the sugar cube. It forces me to slow down and concentrate on what I am doing, and I enjoy the process. If you are in a hurry though, or don't have the energy, using syrup is best.

I remember that you mentioned that one a while back on your eG blog. I am thinking that this could be a good use for my new bottle of St. George dry rye gin.

I go with the Bartender's Choice version. Chill a glass with crushed ice and ~ 1/4 oz absinthe. Meanwhile, muddle 1 white sugar cube with Peychaud's (I used 3 or 4 dashes) and a barspoon of club soda in a mixing glass. Add 2 oz of rye, add ice, stir, strain into emptied glass. Lemon peel.