FrogPrincesse

The Last Mechanical Art (Maks Pazuniak): equal parts Campari, Cynar, Punt e Mes, mezcal; orange zest. Burnt rubber, gasoline, smoke. Another slow sipper.

That's no big deal Plantes Vertes. Essentially you reach saturation when you can no longer dissolve sugar in water and some of it just remains as undissolved sugar crystals in the solution, which happens slightly above 2:1 at 25C. It is possible to dissolve more sugar if you increase temperature (or pressure). Then with subsequent cooling, a supersaturated solution can be obtained.

Oaxaca Old Fashioned (Phil Ward): tequila reposado, mezcal, agave syrup, mole bitters. I used this recipe but I don't see why it could not be just built in the glass. This one packs a punch, especially the first few sips (wow). Then it mellows and you can finally appreciate all the aromas, spice and smoke. These cool little OF glasses are a find from Kerry - thanks again Kerry!

KD1191 - you are amazing. Thanks a lot!

Great to see you Franci and I agree with mm84321, your food looks great (as always)!

A lot of nice drinks in this thread which I stumbled upon (hic!) while researching the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned I was drinking last night. Troy Sidle's list a few posts upthread looks amazing but I am having issues finding recipes for some of them. A bunch of them are covered in Rogue/Beta cocktails: Cynar Flip, Art of Choke, Broken Shoe Shiner, Juliet and Romeo. I can't find a recipe for Toby Maloney's Rangoon Fizz other than it contains gin, ginger, lime, mint and tonic. It looks like a close relative of Audrey Saunders' Gin Gin Mule. Pulque by Phil Ward - is there an actual cocktail by that name or is that just a reference to fermented agave? Ira Koplowitz's Six Corner Sling sounds like a winner with Old Overholdt Rye, Lemon, Punte Mes, Grapefruit Bitters but what are the ratios? I am sure that I can approximate these drinks based on the ingredient list and general common sense, but if there is an "official" recipe out there, I would love to know. Thanks!

On the topic of reverse-engineering, it's been mostly brainstorming and day-dreaming on my end as I haven't invested in any equipment or new gadgets - yet. But since the eG workshop I've been visiting various shops (See's Candies and Chuao a local chocolatier) in an effort to guess what technique they use for their products. Some sampling may have been involved. And now I always check to see if their chocolates have smooth and shiny bottoms!

For spring I like to transition to more fresh citrus juice and maybe a touch of honey to keep things comforting and tone the citrus down a little. For example something like a Bee's Knees (gin, honey syrup, lemon juice) or a Gold Rush (bourbon, honey syrup, lemon juice) can work. A Brooklynite is a good transition drink too (aged Jamaican rum, lime juice, honey syrup, angostura bitters). A Brown Derby if you are in the mood for grapefruit (bourbon, grapefruit juice, honey syrup). Refer to the Mixed Drinks with Honey thread for more ideas. A touch of jam can add a touch of fruit but I like to keep it subtle. The Talbott Leaf in PDT (bourbon, lemon, Chartreuse, cynar, mint, strawberry preserves), Cavalier also in PDT (cognac, lemon, cointreau, orgeat, apricot preserves, orange bitters). These are good transition drinks because they have an element of richness which is brightened by the citrus and fruit. Lastly, Juleps are always good. Yes they are crushed ice drinks which you thought may not work for the chilly springtime in your area, but they are warming enough that they should be considered. I really like the Thomas Mint Julep (cognac with a touch of Smith & Cross Jamaican rum).

Just a note that simple syrup (1:1) is not saturated with sugar, not even close. You can even make rich simple syrup (2:1) and you would still be (slightly) below the saturation point.

It's funny, I've never considered speculoos as a nut-free cookie. Some of the better examples actually have slivered almonds which are part of the appeal. I understand that this is a special request though.

The peas sound delicious. It's interesting to read your report about Ma Peche. I went there last year and had a disatrous experience. I did not like the cavernous space; the service was bad and the food was insanely expensive for what it was. I am still upset about it and am doing my best to forget, but your post brought back painful memories!

Interesting choice of rums, I would be curious to try it. The closest I could do at home would probably be Coruba for the dark Jamaican + Sagatiba for the cachaca. I would still stick to Cointreau or Creole shrubb though; not a fan of Grand Marnier in Mai Tais. Enquiring minds want to know, what is the story behind the vanilla? (at least you are not using grenadine! )

We had a mini heat wave in San Diego last week (32C/90F), so I used the occasion to make a Montego Bay (Donn Beach). Typical flavor profile with dark Jamaican rum, allspice dram, grapefruit, lime, honey syrup, angostura, pastis. I used Appleton 12 for the rum. It would be fun to try with other Jamaican rums.

Caprice, a dry Martini with Benedictine. The PDT recipe specifies Dolin but I was out and used Noilly Prat. Everything else was done according to the PDT specs. Lovely. It's the dry version of the Rolls Royce that I tried recently.

Jokes aside, it was so good I went back for seconds... I think it was braised in red wine. It reminded me of slow-cooked short ribs.

I look forward to seeing more photos from everybody. In the meantime, here are the ones that my husband took during Saturday's dinner extravaganza. I will post in in multiple sets since there are quite a few.

Just saw this at the store. So they switched to a clear bottle from a dark one, but the product inside also looks quite a bit lighter. Reformulation?

Last night I made a couple of rhum agricole daiquiris after a discussion of these rums in "What did you buy at the liquor store today? (2013–)". I decided to test JM and La Favorite side-by-side. JM (I am using the 40%) has a slight yellow tinge and La Favorite is colorless. In the daiquiri, the pear/coconut/lychee notes of La Favorite come through whereas JM has more citrus/sweet tropical fruit. I have a slight preference for La Favorite and my husband has a slight preference for JM, but they both make fabulous daiquiris.

Two Cups of Blood (Tonia Guffey): another equal parts cocktail, this time with mole bitters, Punt e Mes, Suze, mezcal + orange bitters and grapefruit zest (discarded). Spicy, smoky, bitter. Mezcal and Suze played very well together. It had the tinny taste of blood as advertised (which is also perfect for Rafa's new profile picture!). Maybe not quite as good as blood but still very nice.

I am happy to read that you liked the soup in the end. With such a simple recipe, I agree that the quality of the ingredients makes a huge impact.