FrogPrincesse

I would recommend a good quality (100% blue agave) blanco tequila for your Margaritas. (Good) Margaritas are all about highlighting the quality of the spirit you use, so if you use a cheap one, you will definitely notice it in the final drink. Don't settle for the cheap stuff! What it is is mixto, or tequila mixed with neutral spirit (up to 49%!), aka tasteless junk. There is a huge difference. And as @BillBuitenhuysnoted above, you will also enjoy sipping on a good tequila (blanco or aged).

Here you go. Lucky you - it’s been published in the French Elle. http://m.elle.fr/Noel/Cuisine/Recettes-de-Noel/Tarte-fine-sablee-au-chocolat-de-Mathieu-Pacaud-2872112

Never heard of it. Where did you find that recipe? The Savoy has the Eagle’s Dream, but it is very different.

Lots of cool ideas and various techniques discussed in this article by Team Lyan. The Nuked Negroni has been on my list of things to try for a while now! I may have to make it the old fashioned way though (on the stove, or with a hot iron?!) since I lack a microwave. https://punchdrink.com/articles/how-to-spirit-infusions-at-home-diy-team-lyan-london-cocktail-recipes/

R&W crème de violette! You are going to have that bottle for a loooong time. I think it's the only thing I have in my home bar that I have never had to restock, and it's still at least 80% full after many years of very active cocktail explorations...

I'd recommend going for smaller bottles of Chartreuse & absinthe since these last for a long while. And stock up on whiskey (bourbon & rye) since you don't have any currently. Shopping list 1/2 bottle green Chartreuse - ~ $35 200 mL St George absinthe - $25 (or get a mini since you just need a few drops/spritzes for most cocktails) Buffalo Trace bourbon - $25 Rittenhouse rye - $25 Over budget by $10, but I'd be very happy with that list! For the things you are curious about, maybe try them at a bar first before buying a bottle.

More ideas for making ginger syrups here:

David Lebovitz’s Racines Cake. I cooked it for only 20 min (instead of 25) and the center was perfectly creamy.

@OkanagancookExcellent. Thanks!

I am making a beef stew (daube de boeuf provençale) with beef cheeks. What would be a good temperature/time combo? Right now I have them set at 65C for 24+ hours but I am worried that this might be too low.

In case you feel like making your own, this thread has a lot of info.

"Get off my case"?! Chill, dude. All I was trying to say was that St George was a fine product, and that trying it in a Mai Tai maybe wasn't the easiest way to fall in love with it. If you liked it, great! And research includes making/drinking. Of course it does! Enjoy your St George. You got it for a steal!

My recommendation as well - do some research! Rhum agricole is wonderful (including the St George, specifically), although it is so different from molasses-based rum ("rhum industriel") that the first time is a shock, for sure. Also as pointed above, the agricole that a lot of people use in Mai Tais is an aged one. Aged and and unaged agricoles are both funky but have very different profiles and are not interchangeable. In any case, if you are trying to reproduce "the original Mai Tai", Martin Cate's research revealed that the Martinique rhum component was a molasses-based rum, not rhum agricole.

Second year making my yuzu and Meyer lemon marmalade (this time with Cara Cara oranges and a touch of Famouse Grouse). The lemons gels like crazy so I had a nice yield of 13 jars, starting with 2.7 kg of fruit.

If it's this beauty it is not a kirshwasser. I recommend pouring down the drain immediately. http://www.dekuyperusa.com/flavor/dekuyper-cherry-flavored-brandy

I can't think of any cocktail that would "hide it", but it's a great addition to fruit salad.

I think your expensive eaux-de-vie would get lost in the punch - these are best for sipping. I'd go with Laird bib + apricot liqueur 2:1 to get some nice fruit flavors without too much sweetness.

The pictures help a bit. From the last one, the light specks look like sugar crystals to me. If they were dark I'd be more worried.

Solid ingredients (sugar, tea, bay leaf) as opposed to the liquid ingredients (water, booze). Hard to tell without seeing these "flecks". What do they look like? In the future, it's best to make your syrup, store it in the fridge, and not premix it with the whiskey if you are worried about spoilage. Though I agree with you that it's unlikely that mold would grow in this type of environment (booze + sugar). You said that the syrup was thick. How thoroughly did you mix? Maybe you have a glob of syrup left in there that is spoiling.

My falernum does something similar. In my case I know it's not sugar crystallizing and I don't believe it's mold either (I've seen mold and it looks very different). The sediment stuff I suspect is due to flocculation - fine particles (from the solid ingredients used in the recipe) that were not completely filtered out and that, over time, clump together forming larger particles which eventually fall to the bottom of the bottle via sedimentation. If that's the case, then it's still safe to use. Just be careful to pour it slowly so the sediment doesn't transfer into your drink.

The cocktails I make are typically 3 or 3.5 oz pre-dilution. Dilution adds about 20%. The coupes I use the most often are 4 and 5 oz. I use the 4 oz for stirred drinks (Martinis, Manhattans) and 5 oz for Daiquiris. For parties I use smaller coupes so I can serve a group more quickly. Of course that means that a second round comes a bit sooner, but at least the drinks don't have time to warm up before they are finished!

I think it qualifies. It is the brewery that started the craft beer movement in San Diego, it's independent, and the quality is still there! https://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/travel/san-diegos-thriving-craft-beer-scene.html

To each their own! Without Bread & Cie, I don't think I would have lasted very long in San Diego!

@ChrisTaylorDid you substitute dry vermouth for the blanc on purpose? Curious!

Both of course!