FrogPrincesse

Better late than never... This is my Easter 2012 meal still. The herb-roasted rack of lamb was served with roasted radicchio, tapenade, and a very nice flageolet gratin. The lamb was coated with thyme, rosemary, garlic, pepper and left in the fridge overnight. It was roasted in the oven after a sear on the stove. The gratin was a little bit of work but it was delicious. It has breadcrumbs, fennel, onions, garlic, and plenty of herbs (rosemary, chile de arbol, thyme, bay leaf).

For those who asked, here are the cocktails that I served during Saturday's dinner. I went through the whole list (plus a few Manhattans) with the exception of the last one (Bermuda Sour). I think that everyone was running out of steam at that point. Besides, it's always good to keep something for next time... In order of appearance: Old Cuban Winter Daiquiri (the biggest hit of the night) Brooklynite Rattlesnake Chet Baker If you can't decipher my handwriting just let me know - it's not sloppy it's just French! I used Appleton Estate Extra 12-year old Jamaican rum, Rittenhouse rye 100 proof bottled-in-bond, Martini and Rossi sweet vermouth, St Elizabeth allspice dram, vanilla syrup from B.G. Reynolds, Pernod pastis. I forgot to write down the name of the Cremant that I used in the Old Cuban but it was very nice even on its own. Thanks to Kerry and those who helped source the ingredients. And thanks to Matt for his assistance with juicing the limes (we went through a lot of them).

Going through photos of the weekend. Here are a few quick snapshots I took of the chocolate showpiece demo by chef Ruth. Making a chocolate flower Paparazzi The tree before the final touches The finished piece with glitter

For sure, prices for rhum agricole are higher in the US compared to France or Martinique & Guadeloupe. Everyone's different of course, but for me these are exceptional products unlike any other unaged rums. A daiquiri made with one of these may very well be my favorite cocktail (depending on the day! ). So I have no problem spending $30 for a bottle (and keep in mind - these rhums are heavily subsidized by the French government so we are actually enjoying a nice little discount on a product that I believe is relatively costly to produce compared to other types of rums). $30 is the price of a good bottle of wine. On the other hand, I think twice about spending $50 and up for an aged rhum. To each his/her own of course...

Do you mind mentioning/discussing a few of your favorites? I'm just starting to get into rhum agricole and I'm wondering what the grassiest/funkiest/most complex and delicious examples are, as well as whether it's worth the price increase from similarly funky and grassy cachaca. (I understand that prices are much lower in France, so I'll have to buy a bottle or two next time I'm there.) Well, I've learned that some of the best ones are sourced directly from the producer and are not available outside of Martinique/Guadeloupe... Excluding these, for rhum agricole blanc (white) I really like La Favorite (see rumdood/Matt Robold's review here) and JM which are both available in the US. They both cost somewhere between $30 and $35.

"Caney and funky" sounds promising. My favorite examples have a multi-layered taste that reminds me of fresh cane juice with grassy notes and fruit, plus a ton of funk.

I would love to read your tasting notes on the Dillon rhum agricole. $12 a bottle? Even in France it retails for 20 euros or so, so that's a steal for sure. Amazing find. I've done some shopping too, although not at the liquor store. I bought amaro at a winemaker dinner hosted at the Wine Vault. The winemaker in question was Margerum. He had this really cool story about how the Manhattan was his dad's drink of choice and that it was a special way for them to share time together. So he decided to create an amaro for him. We tried it both neat and in a Maker's Mark Manhattan and it was great, so I bought a couple of bottles.

For mixing, I too like Elijah Craig 12 and Buffalo Trace. I agree that Buffalo Trace is more assertive so I choose depending on the type of drink.

Kerry - I like ED 5 as well. That's typically what I grab for tiki recipes that call for Demerara rum. I was hoarding it for a while until I remembered how cheap it was.

Great! I will be making a batch of Mother's Ruin Punch very soon as well; this has become our family tradition for mother's day (together with FHP for the holiday season). Please do share what you come up with for your sangria-type punch since that sounds like a great idea as well.

Rafa, If you don't want to use rum, something like Phil Ward's Mother's Ruin punch is very nice. I use Beefeater gin (~ $15 for a bottle) and Cremant for the Champagne component ($10-$15). Grab a few extra Cremant bottles so your guests can have that if they are not in the mood for a punch, or if you run out of punch. Another option is to look at your inventory and make something around the things you already have but don't plan on replacing (great occasion to clean up your liquor cabinet!). For example a while back I had a lot of bottles of Whaler's rum which I don't care much for. It became the base for Fish House Punch (and you can easily substitute something else for the elusive peach brandy - I usually go for a little bit of Calvados and I imagine that applejack would work too). I've made many batches and it's always been a huge hit.

Left to my own devices, I decided to go for something from beta cocktails, Erik Ellestad's Ashtray Heart. Equal parts Smith and Cross rum, Punt e Mes, and dry vermouth in a mezcal-rinsed glass. Book says to discard the grapefruit twist but it was shown in the accompanying photo, so I used it as a garnish. Bitter and smoky (but not overpoweringly so), slight orange/caramel taste, grapefruit finish. Well done. Erik kindly provided the updated version of this recipe, so here it is for everyone's benefit.

I am not aiming for accuracy. My rationale is that I don't think that I would be able to detect the influence of a 5% or even 10% difference in composition of the simple syrup on the final cocktail. I am interested in seeing what others have to say though.

I do mine by volume and I don't even measure the volume anymore; I just fill my container with the sugar and add an equal amount of water (visually) for simple syrup.

Could not agree more. Oranges are very tricky in cocktails and so is grenadine... Use with extreme caution!

I had a fantastic time this weekend and so did the little princess. Big Giant Thanks to Kerry for organizing such a fun event. Also, my thanks to all the other people who helped organize this, including Anna and the staff at the Culinary Institute. It was a treat to meet everyone and get my hands "dirty" with chocolate. Kerry asked us to mention what we had learned - I started practically from scratch with my only experience being simple hand-rolled & dipped chocolate truffles. The main thing I learned was how to use chocolate molds (decorating, lining, filling, unmolding, etc).

Oops. My cover is blown! There is supposed to be thick foam on top. If you are getting a soft meringue it means that your shaking technique is good! In my experience, the egg white foam does not have much taste. Its main function is to bring all the flavors together as it softens the rye and the absinthe/pastis a bit. It creates a creamy/foamy texture that I find very pleasant. Below is a typical example (achieved by dry shaking/shaking with ice). Eggs drinks can take some getting used to but after a while they make a lot of sense.

I forgot this one... It was quite hot in San Diego this weekend so we just had some Lillet on ice to cool us down.

The Harlot, Belgian Extra (Societe). Not earth-shattering but this was super pleasant with a fish taco and a cup of chowder. Saison de Lente (The Bruery). This is the Bruery's spring saison with a psychadelic label. A lot of flavor (hay/grass, spices). Crisp/acidic and deep at the same time. Love. I was going to grab a few more bottles but it seems very hard to find already... As a side-note, Societe Brewing which is located in San Diego (about 15 min from where I live) was founded by a couple of ex-Bruery employees.

A couple of recent cocktails. This very nice Manhattan for my husband with Templeton rye, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Boker's bitters, brandied cherry. The Rolls Royce from the Savoy (ratios from Bartender's Choice): gin, sweet & dry vermouths, benedictine. A perfect Martini variation with a touch of Benedictine. I used a lemon peel because I was out of oranges but orange would be best.

I tried Don Lee's DLB last night (rhum Barbancourt 8yr, Fernet-Branca, lemon juice, simple syrup, Angostura, orange, and Peychaud's bitters). It's a good thing that I had only made a half cocktail, because all I could taste was burnt rubber with a touch of grapefruit. The flavors were way too crazy for me. I had to drink it very slowly because there was too much going on and my brain could not process all the weird sensations. I forgot to add that it managed to mess up my taste buds because when I tried my husband's Manhattan after a few sips of the DLB, the Manhattan tasted overwhelmingly bitter.

Covered in detail here.

Camus is a good brand but tends to be pricey. Regarding Raynal, I got a bottle from Trader Joe's a while back but did not care for it at all. I used it in punch but it was vastly inferior to Landy.

That's a tough one because there is no good substitute for rhum agricole and it's what makes this drink. Do you have access to Barbancourt? That is probably what I would try. Also aged cachaca if you can find it.

I would love to but it looks like I have a very limited baggage allowance with United, so I don't think this will work. Way too much rum in my collection already anyway.