FrogPrincesse

Leslie- although they both contain gentian, Bonal is closer to a red vermouth (just imagine Punt e Mes with a touch of gentian), whereas Suze much more gentian-forward, with some citrus as well (it's closer to something like Cocchi Americano), and may not work very well in that recipe.

I bought a few local beers at Trader Joe's this weekend: Alesmith Decadence 2014 wheat wine ale, Alesmith 2014 Evil Dead Red (their Halloween release), Chris Banker / Stone/ Insurgente Xocoveza mocha stout, and Stone 18th Anniversary IPA (aka " the hoppiest golden-brown IPA on Earth)”.

Mine is also in the fridge, under inert gas.

Simon Difford's Surf and Turf Cocktail, a variation on the Turf Club (aka Tuxedo No. 2) with Old Tom gin (Tanqueray), dry vermouth (Dolin), fino sherry (Lustau Jarana), curaçao (Pierre Ferrand dry), Angostura bitters, lemon twist. Slightly briny and completely lovely.

Zurich airport duty free shopping: pear and plum eaux de vie (and some chocolates).

$50 for a bottle of Chartreuse? If that's the 750 mL size, it's actually a good price, and you should grab it asap! I usually pay around $70 at the local store.

Aaahhh indeed. I had a good time sampling everything last night. The Old Tom is pretty fabulous as well. One of the rare gins I would not mind sipping neat.

It's gone. On the back, the label reads "Distilled and bottled by Heaven Hill Distilleries"

Did you like it? This one was good too. Urban Anxiety (Aaron Defeo) with cachaca (Leblon), sweet vermouth (Punt e Mes), Cynar, Angostura bitters, flamed grapefruit peel. Lots of grapefruit, grassy notes from the cachaca, and a bitter caramel finish. Like a lighter/refreshing Negroni variation.

Liquid banana sounds wonderful. Banana and Fernet is a winning combo (as seen here under Above & Beyond, the drink at the Artesian in London). Another one from the backlog. Root of All Evil (Jeff Grdinich) with bourbon (High West Son of a Bourye), Fernet-Branca, Maraschino liqueur, Grand Marnier, orange bitters (Regan + Fee). Apparently it was created as a riff on the Hoskins with bourbon, which makes it a close relative of the Mother-in-Law. I liked the dark bitter orange flavors, but it tasted a bit rich (although I had reduced the amount of Grand Marnier to 1/2 oz as recommended).

White Lyan in London has already taken this concept to the extreme - they don't use any ice at all.

Also know as Miam. How is that punch coming along?

The hair is not what it once was, that's for sure. But I tend to only focus on the music. The rest is of little interest to me. Anyway, here is The Dark Side (Josh Durr) with bourbon (High West Son of a Bourye), Bonal gentiane-quina, lime juice, simple syrup, orange bitters. It was ok.

Bare Knuckle (Greg Buttera & Stephen Cole): white whiskey (Kings County), sweet vermouth (Punt e Mes), Fernet-Branca, Cynar, Angostura bitters, mint, expressed lemon peel. Pretty punchy. The recipe recommended a rye-based white whiskey, mine was corn-based and got beat up by the Cynar & Fernet. Oh well...

I made a coconut orgeat last weekend and used it in a Daiquiri variation. It needs some tweaking but it has potential. The orgeat is fabulous in water - instant coconut water. I am enjoying some right now.

Negroni with St George dry rye gin, Campari, Margerum amaro. I prefer the version with Dolin vermouth (or Punt e Mes), it's more vibrant.

Just received this shipment from K&L Wine. The Rittenhouse (new/ugly label) and High West Double Rye! are restocks. Tiki mugs flanking the set acquired at TikiO, with the Sven Kirsten official "Tiki Pop" mug, and a little Marquesan number by Tiki Diablo.

Imperial Hefeweizen "Call It What You Want" by Stone in Point Loma, brewed on the premises. It's a hefeweizen, but Stone being Stone, so it's an Imperial version at 10.5% ABV. Again, it's Stone, so the banana esters are flambeed and the clove is huge. Nice dry coriander finish. Under the watchful eye of a couple of these guys. The draft menu today for the garden bar.

Here is my rendition of the Pantomime cocktail with Dolin dry vermouth, homemade orgeat, grenadine, egg white, grated nutmeg. Measurements in dashes for ingredients that don't come in dasher bottles are so confusing. I gave some feedback to Martin Doudoroff suggesting to add a definition of dashes to his new app, and the short answer is that it's a measurement that can vary from a modern dash to 1/2 oz depending on the author, for old recipes, so it's highly subject to interpretation. It reminded me of this discussion. I used: 1.5 oz dry vermouth 1/4 oz orgeat 1 barspoon grenadine Egg white Nutmeg garnish I am always confused by the orgeat + egg white combination, to me it feels a bit overkill. In the end, it's a little aperitif which is light and pretty, although probably too much fuss for what it is (since there is egg white involved). It's not going to leave you satisfied, for sure.

13 pages of tiki cocktails, and not a single one with tequila. Let's remedy that asap. These two cocktails rely on a mix of tequila with rum. For the first one, aged tequila and dark rum, and for the second one, you guessed it, tequila blanco with white rum. Jim's Special from Tiki-Ti in LA with 7 Leguas anejo tequila, Coruba dark rum, lime juice, passion fruit syrup, Grand Marnier, homemade orgeat. Deep, strong, mysterious, and delicious. The tequila adds a spiciness that's very interesting. And then the one with a fun name, but as we know, these usually don't live up to the hype - Vicious Virgin #2, from the Pago Pago in Tucson. El Dorado 3 Demerara rum, Siete Leguas tequila blanco, Grand Marnier, grapefruit & lime juice, homemade orgeat. It's actually my favorite of the two. It's almost like a (white) Mai Tai on paper, with more juice, and the tequila of course. The grapefruit is genius with the tequila, they just play off each other so well. Lovely drink.

Jamie Boudreau's L'Amour en Fuite with dry gin (Beefeater), Lillet, St Germain (don't shoot me), absinthe rinse (St George). This one is a sweeter Martini alternative, in the same family as Michael Madrusan's Deep Blue Sea (where violette replaces the St Germain & absinthe) or Benjamin Schwartz's Zephyr (with green chartreuse). Absinthe with St Germain does beautiful things, considerably taming down the candy-like flavor of the elderflower liqueur. I've seen this pairing also work wonders in Sam Ross' CR2 variation, the Sunflower.

Night Porter (Jeff Hollinger) with white vermouth (Dolin), absinthe (St George), port (used a tawny port but ruby was specified), mezcal (Vida). Another polarizing yet fascinating drink. At first the absinthe dominates everyting. Intense black licorice aroma. Then the wine comes through, followed by nuts; a ton of herbs from the vermouth and the absinthe start to intermingle, and the finish is more licorice and smoke. A bit too much for me.

That's right. There is also the Tequila Sunrise.

The juicer looks great. What model of mixing glass is that, and are you happy with it?

Actually it's still legal, but you have to pay taxes and there are a bunch of rules of course. I agree with bostonapothecary. Save this eau de vie. What I would do is pour a little bit in a small cup and smell it. If it's good, you will get a fresh apple flavor. Then, if you are feeling brave, you can try it neat. Otherwise, you can always dip a sugar cube in it briefly ("faire un canard") and eat it - most people enjoy that. Where are you located? Luxardo maraschino cherries are available in most gourmet stores these days.