FrogPrincesse

Rum + vermouth = Palmetto, El Presidente, or this delicious Harry Craddock cocktail, the Fair And Warmer (ratios from the Bartender's Choice app). Fair & Warmer (Harry Craddock) with Plantation 3 Stars white rum, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao.

Going through the backlog... The Black Stallion Sets Sail (John Parra & Kyle Hankin via Punch) with Cruzan blackstrap rum, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Fernet-Branca, Campari, saline solution. It's inspired by the Giuseppe Gonzalez' version of the Jungle Bird, which isn't necessarily a good thing in my book. The blackstrap tends to be cloying in combination with Campari...

It was very aromatic, not too sweet. I am sure the eau-de-vie helped!

The Lahi is fine in a Daiquiri, a bit underwhelming in a Ti Punch. It won't replace rhum agricole in my home bar anytime soon!

It's a variety of persimmon. They are on the smaller side, a bit elongated, and have seeds. They get very soft as they ripen and are quite delicious! http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Tsuru_Noko_Chocolate_Persimmons_5497.php

A very ripe chocolate persimmon, homemade Bouquet de Fleurs marmalade on levain bread, cappuccino.

I love that idea. I occasionally do something similar with pesto, or even a thick basil vinaigrette. Do you have a standard herb mix for your salsa verde, or do you vary based on what you have on hand?

Here are the fennel pickles I made the other day and the celery pickles I made this morning. I used the same brine (recipe from Babbo) but for the celery, I used mustard seeds instead of fennel seeds and skipped the garlic. I boiled the celery a few seconds too long so it started turning brown.

To clarify- large pieces of fruit are fine, but in that case they were surrounded by a clear syrup. I am more used to jams where you don't have this clear and thin syrup because some of the fruit has broken down and makes the jam thicker. Otherwise it doesn't really feel like jam to me, more like fruit poached in syrup (the Ferber apricot jam is exactly like that, and Frog Hollow seemed to be in that general style based on the small sample I had).

Thank you for the recommendation. I haven't heard of emmy's jam so I'm adding them to the list. Frog Hollow, meh. I sampled their jams (including the apricot) at the ferry building. The texture put me off - very large pieces of fruit in syrup essentially. I know Ferber does some of her recipes that way, but it's not my preference. I love Frog Hollow's fruit and fruit tarts though! These are fabulous.

I love apricot jam so I also tried the Blenheim apricot from the company called Jam, which happens to be their signature jam. That one was thicker and darker, probably cooked longer than the Inna jam, and was also noticeable more sweet. The fruit was broken down into a puree. I didn't enjoy it as much as the Inna apricot.

Here is one that doesn't suck... finally. Inna jam Blenheim apricot. It's as good as a homemade jam. The essence of the ripe fruit, perfect consistency with large pieces of fruit, a slight tartness, not too sweet.

Next up was Robert Lambert Pear Ginger jam. I picked this one based on the interesting mix of flavors: So texture-wise, it doesn't really look like jam but rather like a thick opaque jelly. I suppose the pear is pureed because there are no pieces of fruit in there. It's really heavy in pectin and doesn't flow at all. Taste-wise, it is ok, like a very spiced pear flavor with undertones of vinegar. I prefer flavors that accent rather than flavors that almost mask the fruit, so this wasn't quite to my liking... Maybe I should have picked a different flavor!

I love making jams, but also love checking out the "competition". So I like doing a little bit of industrial espionage and see what craft jams are all about. I found this article in Serious Eats about the best jams and preserves in the US and decided to try a few using this as a guide. Of course this is just an article, so maybe there is something better out there that isn't mentioned in the article. I was all excited when I found a jar of Blue Chair bergamot marmalade at Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes, so I grabbed it. They had other flavors but that one intrigued me the most (I love a good marmalade and they are very time-consuming to make). Here is what it looks like on their website, a light and bright orange color. And in real-life it is rather dark brown (it doesn't look so bad on toast, but in the jar it's really super dark). The color is off, maybe this was an older batch? And the taste - not caramelized yet bitter as I am used to, but actually quite sour and not that nuanced. Not much of that unique bergamot taste that I love in Earl Grey or bergamot candies. There were surprising consistencies issues with the peel too, with a few giant pieces in there. At $13 for a 6 oz jar, I was expecting something a bit better... Next!

The My Oh My Ty again. That one is now a regular in the rotation! My Oh My Ty (Brian Miller) with Plantation Barbados 5 years, Ko Hana Kea Lahi white rhum agricole, lime juice, Clement Creole shrubb, homemade orgeat, St. George absinthe verte.

Impromptu Four Square rum tasting a few weeks ago. They were all really great. My preference was 2004 > Port cask > Zinfandel cask.

And another Vieux Carré variation! This one omits the Benedictine and replaces it with pear liqueur, and it changes the rye & cognac combo to rum & cognac. Bâton Rouge (Julien Escot via Gaz Regan) with Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac, Denizen Merchant's Reserve rum, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Morand Williamine pear eau-de-vie (substituted for pear liqueur), Peychaud's and Angostura bitters.

A couple of relatively recent rhum drinks. Hemingway Daiquiri with Ko Hana Lahi rhum agricole from Hawaii, and a Ti Punch with La Favorite.

I made my usual rice & almond horchata recipe and added a bit of quinoa. It worked fine but tasted a bit like soy milk which I don't particularly enjoy.

Red beets, feta, basil (from the patio) with an Arbequina olive oil & sherry vinegar dressing.

These green tomato pickles look great! I made a batch of fennel pickles from Babbo (I forgot to take a picture but I make it regularly. It's sliced fennel in white vinegar, water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, garlic, and fennel seeds). I also made this really nice red onion "marmalade" which is fabulous with steak. I also just got a huge bunch of celery in my CSA and not being particularly fond of it, I am planning on pickling it like in recipes by Gordon Ramsay I saw online.

A fun & very funky banana Mai Tai. Banana Hammock (Dan Greenbaum) with Plantation overproof rum, lime juice, Giffard banana liqueur, homemade orgeat, Smith & Cross Jamaican rum.

I don't remember having Ransom, but it's a barrel-aged gin, so it's very different I am sure. Like Hayman's, Tanqueray Old Tom is sweeter than a London dry, although they have the same kind of botanical profile. I don't believe that the Ransom is sweetened so that's another difference. There is more discussion of this on the Old Tom Gin thread.

@ananth I no longer have Hayman to do a side-by-side with, but purely from memory, the Tanqueray has a lot more character! I thought the Hayman's was fairly bland in comparison. Not a bad product, just not as interesting.

You are very welcome! I love pretty much every Manhattan variation, and thought that one was a very interesting take between the fact that it was vermouth-heavy, and the Grand Marnier. I am glad you enjoyed it. It's funny because I found other Manhattan recipes from Employees Only on the web and it seems that they have tweaked their ratios over the years, progressively increasing the rye (this one is 1.75:1.5, while this one is 1:1). If someone has their book, I'd be super interested to know which version they ended up publishing.