FrogPrincesse

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.

PDT ratios: 2 oz rye, 0.75 oz sweet vermouth, 0.75 oz Benedictine, 3 dashes absinthe, 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters.

De La Louisiane (Stanley Clisby Arthur via PDT) with Wild Turkey rye whiskey, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Benedictine, St George absinthe, Peychaud's bitters. It's rich, but it works with the Wild Turkey 101.

A couple of classics. Tuxedo No. 1 with 33 Portland dry gin, Dolin dry vermouth, St. George absinthe. Martinez (PDT ratios) with Tanqueray Old Tom gin, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, Adam Elmegirab's Boker's bitters.

Manhattan (Employees Only, 2006) with Rittenhouse rye, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Grand Marnier, Angostura bitters. From Food & Wine Cocktails 2006 It's almost like an aperitif with more sweet vermouth than rye! But I used Rittenhouse 100 so the drink still had plenty of punch. Nice orange notes from the Grand Marnier.

Inspired by Lucques this time (and the pulses thread), bean salad with basil, feta and a poached egg. The original recipe called for lima beans. I used dried red hidatsa beans from my CSA that I cooked in the pressure cooker and that were super creamy. The feta & poached egg are my addition (sprinkled with a bit of piment d'espelette). Basil from the patio.

Has anybody read Amaro by Brad Parsons (who previously wrote the Bitters books)? The topic has potential, but I am not interested in just another collection of recipes.

I made a Daisy de Santiago (Charles H Baker via Bartender's Choice app) with Plantation 3 Stars rum, lime, simple syrup, green Chartreuse. It's supposed to be yellow Chartreuse but it was delicious with the green! It's like a Daiquiri Naturale with a touch of Chartreuse (I skip the club soda). Here is a previous version I made with aged agricole (Clement VSOP) and yellow Chartreuse.

Infante (Giuseppe Gonzalez) with Tequila Ocho Plata 2014, lime juice, homemade orgeat, orange blossom water. This tequila is very lively and peppery.

And more of the Green Spot in a superlative Cameron's Kick. Cameron's Kick (Harry McElhone via PDT) with Glenlivet 15 year old French oak reserve whisky, Green Spot Irish whiskey, lemon juice, homemade orgeat. A slight upgrade from the Famous Grouse & Jameson that are specified in the book, but I used the same recipe.

This Sazerac was (also) inspired by my reading of A Proper Drink. It's the drink that was a revelation to Simonson and started his interest in cocktails. Sazerac with Rittenhouse rye, Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac, demerara syrup, Peychaud's and Angostura bitters, St George absinthe, using the Death & Co's ratios.

See two posts above yours (here). I'd love to have yours and others' impressions on these if you've tried them. Rhum agricole seems to be a polarizing spirit, so it's good to compare impressions!

I always dial back on the simple... with pretty much any recipe. Then I taste and add a bit more as needed. This one only had 1/2 tsp which I ended up using. However I used only 1/2 oz orgeat intead of 3/4 oz.

Well, as a matter of fact, I have! I agree, it's another good use of Drambuie!