FrogPrincesse

The Emperor (Valdez Campos via Gaz Regan) with Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal (Vida), Campari, Pierre Ferrand dry curacao, orange twist. Equal parts like a Negroni, but no vermouth so not technically a Negroni. Smokey and refreshing.

After the Bay City Roller, another one from the Sazerac variation section, Joaquín Simó's Latin Quarter . Vieux Pontarlier absinthe (St. George absinthe), Zacapa 23 rum (Havana Club añejo 7), cane sugar syrup (sirop de canne JM), house Peychaud's bitters (Peychaud's), Angostura bitters, Bittermens xocolatl mole bitters. A rum Sazerac which is just brilliant.

Cynartown (Phil Ward) with Beefeater London dry gin, Dolin sweet vermouth, Cynar, brandied cherry. This one has ratios similar to a Martinez (2 / 0.75 / 0.25) with Cynar replacing the maraschino liqueur. The ingredients are the same as the Cin Cyn (minus the orange bitters), but the Cynartown is lighter on the Cynar.

I hear you. But I was too tired to go to the store to buy tequila last night. Last night I tried Brian Miller's Bay City Roller with Monkey Shoulder scotch, Averna, simple syrup, orange twist. Simple yet impactful.

I use mine for absinthe, violet liqueur, orange blossom water, Laphroaig...

More ideas in the Aquavit Cocktails thread.

Very few cocktails call for aquavit, and even fewer for Linie aquavit. I did an aquavit tasting a while back, and Linie, which is aged and pretty mellow, is not interchangeable with Krogstad for example. Death & Co has the Great Northern; the Jesper Lind; the One, One, One; the Enemy Lines; the Meridian Daiquiri; and the May Fair (if you have both aquavits...).

Soon you will find yourself craving mezcal or Fernet for no particular reason...

Well, I was going to make one last night, but realized to my great horror that I was out of aged tequila... So I ended up making the Coin Toss with Monkey Shoulder blended malt scotch whisky. It was very nice. Much less rich than the Rittenhouse version; super interesting still.

Meh. Not a big fan of Brian Malarkey. I can't really think of good bars in these areas (other than my home bar!), but Noble Experiment, Bankers Hill, Fairweather/Rare Form, Sycamore Den, and Ironside are well worth the drive. Polite is fun but tends to be a zoo on weekends. Drinks on the sweet side.

Griffith Park Swizzle (Sam Ross) with Elijah Craig bourbon, lime juice, raw sugar, simple syrup, St. George absinthe, Angostura & Peychaud's bitters, mint. This one reminded me of a mint Julep, but the absinthe and Peychaud's added a certain je ne sais quoi that was magical with the bourbon.

From yesterday - Jeff Berry's Blackbeard's Ghost with light Virgin Islands rum (Plantation 3 Stars), Demerara rum (El Dorado 8), falernum (homemade), apricot brandy (Briottet wild peach liqueur), orange & lemon juice, Angostura bitters. The key in this drink is the falernum. I made the falernum some time ago and I think it's improving over time.

The taste is different from simple syrup made from sugar crystals (or golden syrup). You have to try it and then it will be obvious how different it is. More of a vegetal fresh sugar cane taste.

It's pretty great in a Mai Tai!

I most definitely am. I left about 75 comments on PDT cocktails on EYB. :-)Most recently, I've been busy with the Death & Co Cocktail Book which is great. I am also adding my comments to EYB (and eG of course). I am glad to read that they are useful to other people!

Aw thanks. They are Perrier-Jouët champagne flutes. I had a bunch and broke most of them, but still have these two left. I think they came from a garage sale.

They sell a lot to locals actually. It available in most stores in San Diego and people are familiar with the brand. A lot of restaurants have it on their menu as well. I try it about once a year to remind myself how bad it is. I think there is an opportunity here. I like to daydream about converting my garage into a small cider/calvados factory.

Very cool indeed. It's so hard to find decent cider in the US. I guess I've been spoiled with the ciders from Brittany and Normandy... "Locally" we have Julian hard cider, but it's pretty awful.

That sounds like a great idea that I am going to steal. It's a really good cocktail book. PDT was good too, but this one is even better in my opinion. Lots of good information in addition to the cocktails. The general organization of the book makes a lot of sense as well.

And here it is in the rogue beta cocktail thread (your photo looks much better than mine though!). If you are into this kind of cocktail, check out the discussion on Bitters as the Base for more ideas...

Vida is the entry-level offering from the line at $35 or so. Chichicapa is around $70. The rest of the line is $70 - $120, with the exception of the Pechuga and Iberico at $200...

I tried the Coin Toss with Rittenhouse rye. Excellent Manhattan variation. It reminds me highly of the Greenpoint, another Manhattan variation with Chartreuse.

202 Steps (Phil Ward) with tangerine, Baker's bourbon (Elijah Craig bourbon), simple syrup, orange bitters. This one is an Old Fashioned variation with fresh citrus. A good concept but it's too sweet with the stated amount of simple syrup (1/2 oz that I reduced to 1/4 oz, which was still too much). Also it did not feel punchy enough. I think my tangerine might have been overly juicy.

Another swizzle, the Cirque Swizzle from Jessica Gonzalez with Anchor Junipero gin, yellow Chartreuse, crème Yvette (R&W crème de violette), lemon juice, vanilla syrup (short pour), simple syrup (skipped). With the violette, the top of the drink has a slight purple tinge that you can't see on the photo; with crème Yvette it would be bright red if I am not mistaken. Even with no added simple syrup and the reduced vanilla syrup, this was most definitely on the sweet side. The cocktail is interesting, but the balance was a bit off. I wanted to like it but it needs tweaking.

Hi-Time has La Favorite in stock, although they explained that it's not reflected online as it is a low stock inventory. I feel much better already.