FrogPrincesse

My pick for Cinco de Mayo earlier this week was Alex Day's Alta California with Siembra azul blanco tequila (Siete Leguas blanco tequila), Dolin white vermouth, yellow Chartreuse, cinnamon bark syrup (homemade). Crisp and bright like a peppery tequila martini.

I tried it a few days ago and it's great! Hops in all its fabulous forms - pine/resin, citrus (lemon, orange), stone fruit, tropical fruit (mango, passion fruit).

Ironic blue drinks are so passé already... Last night I made myself a Negroni with St George dry gin, Campari, Cocchi vermouth di Torino and a little bit of Byrrh (grapefruit twist). The Byrrh contributes a touch of bitterness and red currant notes. Delish.

I like 7 Leguas. A bit peppery with fresh agave notes. Very nice in a Margarita or a simple sour.

From this weekend's Rum Barrel Challenge, the Bum Barrel (adapted from Jeff Berry) with Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, Plantation Barbados 5 years, lime, white grapefruit, orange, passion fruit syrup, honey syrup, Angostura bitters. I reduced the amount of orange juice and passion fruit syrup a bit and skipped the soda water that the original recipe called for.

Since you said you loved gin, try the Southside. 2 oz gin, 1 oz lime juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup, mint, Angostura bitters if you have them. Shake with ice and fine strain into a coupe. If you like it, try its cousin, the Eastside, by skipping the bitters and adding a few slices of cucumber in your shaker that you muddle before shaking.

Here are the books I used the past month or so. Blue tabs for recipes I've tried over the years. Also a huge fan of Eat Your Books. How else would I keep track of everything... It's a great resource to search through my 100+ cookbooks (and cocktail books).

Cynar and coffee are naturals together.

Weeski (David Wondrich) with Redbreast 12-year Irish whiskey, Lillet, Cointreau, orange bitters. It's like training wheels for people who have never had Irish whiskey. So I am with Dan on this one. I think I'd rather drink the whiskey by itself.

I would not try to compare these two. Smith & Cross is a Navy strength rum, whereas the Lost Spirits rum is a Navy style rum. See the following clarification on the Alpenz website.

Another Irish Whiskey + Aperol combo (who knew) - The Glorious Socialite (Benjamin Davies) with Jameson Irish whiskey (upgraded to Redbreast 12-year), Aperol, Lustau Puerto fino sherry (Lustau Jarana fino), Lillet blanc, Fee brothers whiskey barrel aged bitters, discarded lemon twist (oops). Spicy indeed. Small sips.

Don't let that impression deter you from trying their other rums. They are killer (sipping on the 151 as I type).

Tiaré has detailed tasting notes on her site.

Irish Mermaid (Massimo La Rocca) with Irish whiskey (Redbreast), cherry heering (Luxardo cherry liqueur), Aperol, orgeat (homemade), Angostura bitters Seemed too sweet and odd on paper, but was actually quite nice. The Aperol kept it balanced, and the flavor of the whiskey really came through.

Arrack Strap (Brad Farran) with Van Oosten baravia arrack, Cruzan black strap rum, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Campari, demerara syrup, xocolatl & orange bitters. Batavia arrack as the base - this is genius. Also I think it's my favorite use of black strap in a cocktail.

I've never had Pusser's but to me the Lost Spirits Navy Style has tobacco notes that are very distinctive and would make it a bit hard to mix with. To sip on it's also a bit crazy. I prefer their Polynesian and the 151 Cuban style.

Man Who Left Town (Sam Gabrielli) with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Byrrh quinquina, Amaro Nonino, orange bitters (Regan, Angostura, Fee). Pretty nice, maybe a bit heavy on the Nonino.

I fully agree on the bitters; Boker's is the way to go.

Dave Arnold's Liquid Intelligence just won the James Beard Award for best book in the beverage category.

Well, you have to put things in context. Arrogant Bastard was launched in 1997 and at the time there was not anything anywhere close to this level of arrogance. On a related note, Stone is relaunching their Ruination IPA. The 2.0 version is supposed to be bigger and bolder, using new varieties of hops and hopping techniques that were not available when it was first launched.

Looks interesting. The Laphroaig + S&C combo reminds me of this one.

A recent Manhattan with Bulleit rye, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Miracle Mile forbidden bitters, and a brandied cherry.

El Momento Perfecto (Daniel Bovey via Gaz Regan) with Plantation 3 Stars white rum, Lillet blanc, Byrrh, Campari, orange bitters (Regan, Angostura, Fee), homemade kumquat marmalade. This was very nice and the bottle of Byrrh that I opened for the occasion is delicious stuff. Can't wait to try more things with it.

For the #jetpilotchallenge2015 - Jet Pilot (Steve Crane via Jeff Berry) with Denizen Merchant's Reserve, Plantation Barbados 5, Lemon Hart 151, lime & white grapefruit juice, homemade falernum & cinnamon syrup, Angostura bitters, St. George absinthe. Jeff Berry's recipe is too sweet with my homemade syrups, so I had to cut down their amount by half approximately.

(From the Drinks! discussion) Rafa - How do you like Damoiseau VSOP compared to Clement VSOP?