FrogPrincesse

It's an old thread, but it seems to be the only one we have about the Smash! Here is Dale DeGroff's Whiskey Smash with Rittenhouse rye, lemon, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, mint. Like a more refreshing, lighter weight version of a Julep. And here is the Gin Basil Smash (Jörg Meyer) with 33 Portland dry gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, basil. It's super refreshing and basil marries really well with gin. I was inspired to make both while reading Robert Simonson's A Proper Drink (also by Santa Ana/ the heat wave in San Diego a couple of weeks ago).

Tonica Al Fresco (Dale DeGroff) with 33 Portland dry gin, Cynar, Fever Tree tonic water, orange bitters. No surprises there, it's a bitter gin & tonic.

Montenegro as the base in a Cameron's Kick-inspired cocktail. Kingdom of Rust (Tina Ross) with Amaro Montenegro, homemade orgeat, lime juice, Glenlivet 15 scotch whisky. Bitter and a bit sweet. The Montenegro dominates and that's fine with me; the scotch contributes a slightly peaty, slightly meaty note.

And another one... Lake George (Brian Shebairo) with Green Spot Irish whiskey, Glenlivet 15 year Scotch whisky, Drambuie, lemon juice. It's well done, very interesting and not too sweet. It's a riff on the Prince Edward (but less rich), and a very good use of Drambuie.

Thank you and you are correct, although this one had a nice taste! Pear/kiwi.

Haha. Well, these were half-sized Ti Punches and I had a drinking partner...

Sorry @JoNorvelleWalker, I didn't mean to leave you hanging like that. But I started typing my notes and had to sniff or taste a few of them again to be absolutely sure. Here you go, by order of preference: Capovilla PMG Salty/briny nose. Ocean, citrus, fresh grass. Very unique and truly spectacular (unfortunately it is the most expensive of the bunch!). Batiste Subtle but really nice. Coconut, fresh grass. Duquesne Citrus, grass, coconut, tropical fruit, a bit salty, peppery, slightly aggressive. Damoiseau 40 Nose is quasi inexistent. Lemon, gasoline, rather weak. Clement Canne Bleue (this is the American bottling, not sure what vintage or if there is even a vintage on the US version) I could not finish that one! Nose is super funky, oil spill. Taste wasn't much better...It is intense, but not in a way that I enjoy. I have to note that I have a bottle of the 2011 that I bought in France and is really wonderful! So apparently there is a huge difference in the various bottlings. So it appears that my taste is more or less diametrically opposite of Josh's! It just shows that we prefer completely different flavor profiles in agricoles. He is not a fan of La Favorite either, which is more or less my platonic ideal of a white rhum agricole.

I gave another go to the Green Spot with the Hôtel d'Alsace (David Slape): Green Spot Irish whiskey (instead of Bushmills), Cointreau, Benedictine, rosemary. Very aromatic and delicious.

Trying a few new (to me) white agricoles in a Ti Punch flight: Duquesne, Damoiseau 40, Clement canne bleue (US version), Batiste, Capovilla PMG.

An interesting apple-accented, fall-inspired Mai Tai. Orchard Mai Tai (Chris Lowder of NoMad) with Daron XO calvados, Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac, lemon juice, homemade orgeat, St Elizabeth allspice dram, Canton ginger liqueur (substituted for fresh ginger juice), simple syrup

It worked fine! I cooked the cake directly from its frozen state, and it baked normally. Here it is straight out of the freezer... and out of the oven, about 45 minutes later.

What does the nettle syrup taste like on its own? A bit minty maybe? I'd try it instead of simple syrup in a Southside (and skip the mint). 2 oz gin, 1 oz lime juice, 3/4 syrup (maybe start with 1/2 and adjust based on taste); shake and double strain into coupes.

About your ganache idea, maybe you could infuse the botanicals that are used to make the gin directly into your cream/ganache, rather than the gin itself, for a more concentrated flavor. I am not a chocolate expert by any means, so this is just a thought! But it sounds quite delicious to have juniper & citrus peel - infused ganache chocolates!

Crystallized figs?

I also use jarred olives in my tapenade most of the time. The main reason is convenience, because that allows me to make tapenade on the spur of the moment with things I already have on hand. I use Greek kalamata olives from Trader Joe's which are decent, but nothing great. Black olives are more traditional and give you a very dark/almost black tapenade, which is what I am more accustomed to (rather than the dark purple tapenade you get with the kalamatas). The recipe I use actually calls for Nyons olives which are described as "mild, dry-cured, and not too salty". I've seen Nicoise olives used too. I honestly don't know what type of black olive is more traditional in France for tapenade. Green olive tapenade is nice too, but it's a completely different thing (and a more recent invention). Black olive tapenade is a lot more intense, a bit bitter, tannic. Made with good quality olives, it has a great depth of flavor and you only need to use a small amount on bread (too much and it'd be an overload of garlic & anchovies) . To me, it was something special/more or less a luxury item when growing up in France.

And here is my latest obsession - horchata with a shot of espresso (on the right; on the left is a regular ice latte).

Barrel aged or (Absolut) bottle aged?

I made another batch a few days ago; I was a bit short on almonds so I made up the difference with shredded coconut. Very tasty!

I am sure it does the job. The best I tried was House Spirits coffee liqueur. It's like drinking a shot of alcoholic espresso, which explains why my bottle disappeared so fast... Absolutely delicious. Now I have St. George NOLA coffee liqueur which is pretty good, and also some homemade stuff (plus some Kahlua still somewhere, I am sure...).

That looks interesting, Craig. What is your coffee liqueur of choice?

...and I already finished it! It is a quick & easy read. I was familiar with most of the material already, but I learned a few fun facts. eGullet is mentioned a few times, including its possible role in the spread of the Last Word's popularity across the US.

I feel that this is extremely subjective and my preferences seem different as well. I had the Damoiseau 55 and wasn't too devastated when that bottle was finished. It is solid, but wasn't anything special to me and I wasn't crazy about its specific flavor profile. My favorites white agricoles so far are Neisson, Clement Canne Bleue, and La Favorite. JM is good too, but I reserve final judgment until I try their higher proof expression.

That's not my experience. I grew up in France and still go there regularly. I was in Paris last year where this was still very common. David Lebovitz has plenty of examples on his blog... Olives in bulk, etc. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/marche-daligre-aligre-outdoor-market-paris/ http://www.davidlebovitz.com/the-barbes-market-paris-french-market/ Here is another picture from another blog with anchovies in bulk. http://eastsidefoodbites.com/2011/05/26/eatings-from-paris-anchovies-aplenty/

I doubt it's illegal. It a pretty common sight at farmers' markets (and specialized stores), for anchovies, olives, things of that sort...

I was wondering about that too. In my experience pâte brisée is standard for quiche. That's how I have always seen it or made it... Not saying it doesn't taste delicious too in puff pastry.