FrogPrincesse

Baie du Galion with Ko Hana Hawaiian white agricole rum Lahi, green Chartreuse, Drambuie. This could have been a sweet mess, but it turned out great! It's like layering botanicals upon botanicals.

The Liberal with Bigallet is absolutely delicious (this was the Bartender's Choice version). Bigallet itself is wonderful, so that is no big surprise. Liberal Cocktail with Redemption rye, Bigallet china-china, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Regan's orange bitters.

Eat Your Books!

I would defer to @Rafa of course, but based on what I read, I would go with Campari or maybe your newly acquired Bruto! http://www.thekitchn.com/love-campari-youve-got-to-try-cappelletti-203689

@kaybThanks! I will have to make sure to try it (I may have tried it already, but if I did it was a long while ago).

The Conference (Brian Miller) made with top-notch ingredients is a top-notch cocktail! Better than my previous attempt. Here it is with Rittenhouse 100 rye whiskey, High West American Prairie bourbon whiskey (subbed for Buffalo Trace), Daron XO calvados, Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac (subbed for Hine H), Angostura bitters, xocolatl mole bitters.

How do you like Rogue River blue compared to other blue cheeses? Is it on the milder side like Bleu de Bresse for example? (I like all kinds; I am just trying to figure out what it's like.)

Remember the Maine a la Death & Co with Rittenhouse 100 rye, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Luxardo cherry liqueur (subbed for cherry heering), Etter 1998 kirsch (subbed for Massenez), St. George absinthe (subbed for Vieux Pontarlier). The inclusion of kirsch (which replaces part of the cherry liqueur that you see in most recipes) is interesting. It's a great version of this classic!

@ToliverYou are very welcome. I know what you mean. TJ's has a very solid cheese selection. The "affinage" (ripening) isn't always perfect, but they have a great variety and very reasonable prices. I buy stuff from various cheese shops once in a while for things I can't get there (at double/triple the price), but always come back to TJ's for the essentials (cave-aged gruyere, Parmigiano, Roquefort, Petit Basque, feta, etc, etc).

This is from a few weeks ago, a typical meal when I am home alone. French comfort food - Puy lentils with a poached egg and fresh basil, plenty of red wine vinegar (also shallots, thyme, bay leaf, dried chili, olive oil). The egg was slightly runnier than I like, but that is a minor detail.

@ToliverNot really. Or if it did, it wasn't obvious at all. They say they use a saison/ sour beer from Liberty Brewery for that purpose. I think if it contributes flavor, it's more there as general "funk" than an actual beer flavor.

@mkayaharaI wouldn't have said that of an equal parts version, but the Bartender's Choice app has this cocktail in an Old Fashioned template - spirit (bourbon or scotch), small amount of sugar (1/2 oz amaretto which I reduced closed to 1/4 oz), bitters. I am curious about the scotch version too!

Fish House Punch from a few weeks ago, for a party with a bunch of French friends. This punch is always a big hit. There was nothing left after the party! This version had Plantation 5 Stars rum (they just changed the packaging but the juice seems unchanged), Landy VS cognac, Daron XO calvados mixed with Briottet peach liqueur as a sub for the peach brandy, and then of course lemons and sugar.

Am I the only one here eating cheese? Haha. I doubt it... But it is one of my favorite "snacks". Here is Rioly Run from Stepladder Creamery. A semi hard cow milk cheese with a rind washed in beer. It has a little bit of character, although it's not super strong. Not bad.

Manhattan with Michter's straight rye whiskey, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Berg & Hauck's Old Time aromatic bitters, French brandied cherry. I am still a very big fan of the Michter's rye. It's wonderful for mixing and for sipping too.

A recent 2:1 Martini with 33 Portland dry gin; Dolin dry vermouth; Regan, Fee, Angostura, Berg & Hauck orange bitters. Some bars mix three kinds of orange bitters, so I figured I might as well blend four in my home bar! The 33 Portland dry is a gin that is quite similar to a London dry with prominent juniper and pine/evergreen. Less nuanced than something like Sipsmith for example. Still, a very solid gin.

I am doing my best to avert eyes from this fruit salad... ! A friend brought up to my attention an (unknown to me) Old Fashioned variation named the Godfather. With amaretto as the sweetener, it sounded a bit diabetic and I was concerned, so I proceeded with extreme caution. The ratios I used (from the Bartender's Choice) put my mind at ease because they went easy on the amaretto (there are equal parts recipes floating around!). I reduced it a bit further. It was a wonderful drink! I was very pleasantly surprised. Not too sweet at all. Godfather cocktail with High West American Prairie Reserve bourbon, Lazzaroni amaretto, Angostura bitters. Then yesterday I was reading about Difford's new entries in the cocktail database which included a Smoked Almond Old Fashioned that is very much in the same vein, and that I would like to try soon.

Gin-Gin Mule (Audrey Saunders) with 33 Portland dry gin, lime juice, Reed's extra ginger brew, mint from the garden, rich syrup.

@DianaB You are welcome! This thread also has a lot of ideas for things to do with your orgeat!

Bread from Le Parfait Paris at Liberty Station. That place has a selection wonderful pastries, but the bread was not so perfect. I got a rustic loaf of sourdough which was on the soft side. And then it had what I am guessing are proofing issues, with giant bubbles running through the whole length of the loaf. Not ideal for tartines...

I got some pickling cucumbers last week in my CSA, so I made a (small) batch of cold process pickles! I covered them in salt and left them at room temperature for 24 hours. The next day I rinsed them, added slices of shallot, some garlic, peppercorn & coriander seeds, a bay leaf, and topped the whole thing with white vinegar. Now the tough part - waiting a few weeks for them to be ready!

@Kerry BealHaha. Thanks Kerry!

I know IP as intellectual property. Is it equivalent to PC (pressure cooker) in your case? Thanks!

I completely understand. I have been too lazy to make a new batch lately, and would buy a bottle of BG Reynolds or Small Hands orgeat in a heartbeat if my local stores had them in stock! Ordering is too much trouble, so eventually I will buy more almonds to make a batch (I even have a brand new nut milk bag that should make the whole operation even easier). Tiki Oasis is only a few weeks away so I have no choice.

Hi @DianaB! I am happy to help. Your question makes sense. If you never had orgeat, it is a good idea to try a commercial product first so you have some kind of benchmark to compare against. My first bottle of orgeat was Torani (which isn't horrible but I wouldn't recommend). The first time I made my own I knew I could never use the commercial stuff again! But nowadays there are a lot of brands that are made on a small scale and are actually quite good. I would vote against Monin. It is rather indistinct and won't give you a true idea of what orgeat can be like. I think Giffard is a better bet if you don't want to go through the trouble of making your own. We have access to several small artisanal brands in the US, but I am not sure if there is an equivalent in the UK. I browsed on amazon UK for a bit and didn't come across any. Difford's, a respected cocktail website which is based in the UK, has a bunch of orgeat reviews. They also prefer Giffard to Monin. Also, I am not sure about shipping costs, but a place like The Whisky Exchange is a much better source (selection and price-wise) than amazon for cocktail-related purchases. You might want to check them out! Master of Malt is another good one, but they only seem to have Monin. Good luck! Out of curiosity, do you have a specific use in mind for the orgeat? A Mai Tai maybe?