FrogPrincesse

Continuing with Daiquiri variations, there is also the Bumble Bee with aged rum, lime juice, honey syrup, and egg white. Very smooth and pleasant. It would be fun to try it again with a different rum; I am thinking Smith & Cross for example. As a side note, it looks like I may be missing an orange peel and Angostura garnish there. I am not sure if it is intentional or not, but the version in the Bartender's Choice app that I was using did not have it.

I've been experimenting with Champagne in cocktails lately. I discovered a delicious honey daiquiri variation called the Airmail (see here for more details). Then last night I had my first Seelbach. I used the recipe from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. It is a little like a Manhattan with bubbles - what's not to like? It's smooth and spicy with 7 drops each of Angostura and Peychaud's bitters.

I just found a of Jim Meehan making an Airmail. He uses Banks rum and a 1:1 honey syrup.Lately I've been using a 3:1 honey: hot water ratio for the syrup, which is the recipe from the Bartender's Choice app.

The low tech approach consists of adding a small amount of absinthe/pastis to the glass, rolling it around to coat the inside of the glass, and discarding the remainder.

That sounds good. What rye do you use for your infusion? I have a half-full bottle of [French, reasonably-priced, purchased at Trader Joe's] Champagne that I decided to use for my cocktail experiments. In the process I found a new favorite. The Airmail is a honey daiquiri (see the Honeysuckle upthread) topped with Champagne. The ingredients are white rum, lime juice, honey syrup, Champagne. The recipes in both the Bartender's Choice app and the PDT cocktail book called for white rum; however there are also a lot of variants using aged rum. I love daiquiris so I wanted to try this. I used Flor de Caña white. The cocktail fizzed a lot when I added the Champagne but the layer of foam disappeared almost immediately and that's what you see at the top of the glass (not the most aesthetically pleasing). Regarding the taste, it is wonderful. It has a ton of flavor and some peach undertones, without being sweet. So much more interesting than the typical "Champagne cocktail". I can't wait to make it again.

I keep hearing that Suze is now available in the US. Are there more details available somewhere? I have not been able to find it so far. Regarding the Corpse Reviver No. 2, the absinthe is a key component. Pastis works too since it's only a rinse. The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is indeed a fantastic drink, so I think it's worth tracking down all the components. Plus you will get to make the cocktails from the Pernod, Herbsaint, Pastis thread.

Don't think that's a negroni - maybe a reverse martini? I noticed that there was a "White Negroni" recipe that seemed to be floating around (including on Serious Eats) with gin, Cocchi Americano, and dry vermouth. It has little to do with Wayne Collins' original version (gin, Suze, Lillet) though.

Last week I tried the Coda: aged rum, rhum agricole blanc, lime juice, allspice dram, demerara syrup, whole organic egg, grated nutmeg. For the aged rum, the book specified Ron Pampero Aniversario from Venezuela (which I have never tried). I substituted El Dorado 12. The El Dorado 12 is good but has a tendency to get lost in mixed drinks as it is very smooth and understated. I think that's why I don't use it more. But it's quite reasonable at about $30 a bottle and has a good flavor. For the rhum agricole blanc, I had the Neisson that the book calls for and that I've been using mostly in Ti Punches or daiquiris. I decreased the amount of St Elizabeth allspice slightly (from 1/2 oz to ~ 1/3 oz) based on the comments from mukki and EvergreenDan. The blend of rums was harmonious. The allspice was also very good. I actually think I could have used the entire amount of allspice instead of the ~ 1/3 oz that I used, especially once I realized this was essentially a tiki drink. The cocktail could easily have been a Donn Beach creation with the assertive allspice/cinnamon flavor, and the clever mix of rums. Next time I will serve it in tiki-appropriate glassware.

A twist on the Bee's Knees with lemon and orange juice from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, the Bebbo Cocktail. I used a blood orange because that's all I had. I used honey syrup instead of neat honey and adjusted the amount accordingly. Very pretty and refreshing cocktail. As explained in the book, this cocktail has a silly name but it may be even better than the Bee's Knees. I usually don't care much for orange juice in cocktails, but this one is a keeper.

Soba - Thanks! I love your pasta dishes (including the recent ones you posted to the dinner thread). They are a great source of inspiration for me. Next I think I just want to try some sliced bottarga on a piece of buttered baguette...

I was finally able to put my hands on some bottarga (mullet) so I made the dish that Sam recommended upthread. Linguini with oven-roasted tomatoes, caramelized fennel, and bottarga (original recipe here) Instead of spaghetti, I used fresh lemon/pepper linguine which gave an extra boost of flavor to the dish. Since the linguini had some heat already, I did not add the chilies to the sauce. The sauce contains slow-roasted tomatoes together with caramelized red onion and fennel. The pasta is garnished with toasted breadcrumbs and the bottarga is grated on top (I used a microplane zester). I did not have any parsley left so I used the fennel fronds instead. It was fantastic. The bottarga added a layer of flavor that reminded me of good sea urchin (uni) - briny, with an ocean/iodine flavor.

Isn't Booker's a bourbon?

A Martini for Martini Day yesterday. Plymouth and Noilly Prat (3:1 ratio), lemon twist. I loves olives (these are jalapeno-stuffed olives from Santa Barbara), but on the side preferably, not in my drink. The Noilly Prat is the US formula that I have been hoarding. But since it's going to be brought back to the American market (see the story here), I might as well use up my bottle now!

You are right; it looks like it is less than $40 a bottle which is reasonable. Much better than the 25-year Armagnac that I have at home and reserve for "special occasions". How does it taste neat? Fish House Punch with Armagnac sounds amazing!

I forgot to mention another "trick". In France, it's pretty common to eat pungent blue cheeses on a buttered piece of bread. It softens the flavor somewhat.

OK, I was a little harsh in my assessment of the chocolate stout cheddar. I am having another piece right now and can taste subtle flavors (hops, chocolate), even though it's still not really my cup of tea. It might have been a bad idea to pair it with a gin flight as I did last night (not by design). The gin pretty much neutralized all these subtle aromas. Obviously beer would be a much better pairing!

I tried a new cheese last night - a chocolate stout cheddar by Rogue Creamery (at the far end of the plate). The other items on the plate are some Ossau-Iraty cheese (that Trader Joe's calls "Basque Shepherd's Cheese"), an AOC sheep milk cheese that is an old standby of mine; homemade saucisson sec; rustic bread. The chocolate stout cheddar was a disappointment. It was not offensive or anything but did not have much flavor at all. In contrast, the Ossau-Iraty is packed with flavor. It's nutty and a little sweet.

I love reading this thread. Everything always looks wonderful and your creativity is amazing. I am not a breakfast person and rarely have a chance to contribute, but for father's day my daughter and I prepared a very enjoyable breakfast - buttermilk pancakes (Alton Brown's recipe) with blueberries, maple syrup, and TWO kinds of bacons: applewood-smoked and wild boar. The wild boar had a nice flavor but was a little chewy, so it might work better diced in a quiche for example.

Resurrecting another ancient thread... Last weekend I tried the Adderley cocktail (Sam Ross): rye, lemon juice, maraschino, orange bitters. It's quite heavy on the maraschino (3/4 oz!). As a result it is a little overwhelming at first, and syrupy. After a few tastes, the rye comes through though. I liked it in the end. I would like to try it again with a rye that is a little more rough around the edges to balance the sweetness of the maraschino.

Elizabeth - thank you for the recipes with detailed instructions! I know what drinks I will be making this winter! AAQuesada - the Canchanchara looks like the Cuban version of the Honeysuckle shown upthread, with a little more dilution from the crushed ice. According to Difford's, the Canchanchara is "the Cuban forerunner of the Daiquiri, as drunk by Cuban revolutionaries fighting off the Spanish at the end of the nineteenth century". Some recipes seem to call for lemon instead of lime, but this may be a translation error. If only I could get my hands on some Cuban rum...

Chris, I get my honey from local farms, never from the grocery store, especially given all the recent press about adulterated honey. There is a great variety available in San Diego (including avocado, eucalyptus, sage, orange blossom, etc). Wildflower honey is also great. I like to collect honeys during my trips and currently have an amazing coastal honey from Australia that has a briny flavor that is very distinctive. I am looking for a good way to use it. Maybe with the right single-malt scotch...

In addition to Port, Roquefort pairs well with Sauternes. So that may be another option for you to try. Saint Agur is milder than Roquefort and quite creamy. One of my favorite salads is the roasted pear salad with endive, hazelnut and Saint Agur from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. There is something about the combination of bitter endives, sweet roasted pears, hazelnuts, and blue cheese that just works. Point Reyes from California is another good one to try. It's quite tame and without any hint of the "mustiness" that you dislike In general, I don't find blue cheese to be particularly "musty" (sometimes it can be quite salty though), so maybe it depends on how the cheese was aged. In the end all you can do is expose your taste buds to various types of blue cheeses, and hope that you will find one that you like.

Elizabeth, I would include all of the above... My list was in no way meant to be exhaustive; it's a reflection of what I am familiar with, with the hope that I can learn from the other eGulleters and try new things. I had never heard about the posset until you mentioned it, and had to look it up. It sounds delicious. Would you mind posting your recipe?

Honey is an ingredient that can be used as the sweetening agent in cocktails. It's been showing up in a few drinks that I have tried recently, and I thought that I would create a thread to gather some examples. Honey is fun to experiment with since the flavor profile can be different for various types of honey, from floral and light (orange blossom) to dark and spicy (chestnut honey). It's an easy way to introduce another dimension of flavor to classic cocktails. Imbibe magazine had an article on honey in cocktails a while back. Elements: Honey (Imbibe) Honey can be paired with pretty much every base liquor: gin, bourbon, scotch, rum, and even Calvados... Honey syrup is usually prepared as a 2:1 solution (2 parts honey for 1 part hot water). The Bee's Knees (gin, lemon juice, honey syrup) may be one of the most famous examples. It's a simple gin sour with honey syrup. . The Gold Rush: bourbon, lemon juice, honey syrup. The honey syrup, that could be expected to be overly sweet paired with the bourbon, is actually subtle and highlights the spice in the bourbon. The Brown Derby is similar to the Gold Rush above, but with grapefruit instead of lemon juice. It's even more complex flavor-wise. Sam Ross' Penicillin uses a honey-ginger syrup as one of its ingredients together with blended scotch, Laphroaig, and lemon juice. There is also a Calvados drink called the Orchard Keeper (Calvados, white vermouth, honey syrup). Apples and honey is a very nice combo. The Honeysuckle is basically a daiquiri with honey. Continuing with rum drinks, honey is a commonly used ingredient in tiki cocktails. Three Dots and a Dash is the first example that comes to mind - it's a really delicious drink with demerara and agricole r(h)ums, allspice dram, falernum, and angostura bitters that is worth checking out. The Hart of Darkness from Beachbum Berry Remixed pairs honey with passion fruit. And last but not least, I just remembered that in Saint Lucia the Ti Punch was frequently made with a touch of local honey and some grated nutmeg, which is such a great idea. The local honey is particulary dark and flavorful.

Thanks for the kind words. My husband is responsible for most of the pictures (the nicer ones, obviously). I have a lot more things to post to this thread once I am able to clear a giant backlog :-)