FrogPrincesse

It looks like some kind of medieval torture device! I did ok with a hammer, an old pairing knife, and an OXO vegetable peeler. Since my yield was close to 1 liter, I won't need to do this again any time soon.

Oh Kerry - first a big thank you to you regarding the acid phosphate!!! I think I am going to play with it some more this weekend. There are very few cocktail recipes that I can find that use it, so I will have to get creative. Regarding the coconut orgeat - there is nothing much to it, really. It's like an orgeat (Jeff Berry's recipe), but with a fresh coconut. It's more work than almond orgeat of course because the coconut needs to be cracked (that's the fun part), the meat needs to be separated from the shell, and then painstakingly peeled. I was going to post a little more details when life is less hectic.

Jo - it's great to read that you enjoyed it! Is this really tiki? Ok, let's say that it is heavily tiki-influenced, although the flavor is unusual for a tiki drink. After making a coconut orgeat, I finally had a chance to duplicate a drink I had at Son of a Gun some time ago (snow cone in the back in the photo). Lost Cause (Daniel Warrilow) with aquavit (Krogstad), white rum (Banks was specified, so I used Plantation 3 stars with a touch of batavia arrack), coconut syrup (homemade coconut orgeat), lemon, lime, acid phosphate. Shake with ice, strain onto fresh shave ice (crushed), like a snow cone. Some versions of the recipe published online don't include the phosphate, but I was really eager to use mine. A few thoughts on this one. First I tried to imitate shave ice by running crushed ice through a blender. Rookie mistake. I managed to get a finer texture, however the ice was completely water-logged which was obvious as soon as I tasted the cocktail. The flavors did not pop, it tasted mostly of lemon juice and everything else got lost. Very sad. But I was not going to give up, even on a lost cause, so I forged ahead and made a second one, this time strained onto fresh crushed ice. It tasted like a different cocktail altogether. The aquavit gives a savory note that is really interesting combined with the coconut. All the different acids were fun together, with the acid phosphate (I only used a couple of drops) giving an extra lift, a slight tingling sensation on the tongue. Very cool. Hoping to find more interesting things by Daniel Warrilow after this one and the Crafty & Elusive Elk.

A couple of tequila cocktails in the Tiki discussion. From a couple of nights ago, Chris Bostick's La Lucha Sigue. Añejo tequila (7 Leguas), sweet vermouth (Dolin), amaro Nonino, absinthe (St George), orange bitters (Regan and Fee). Very interesting. Strong absinthe nose giving way to orange and spice. The resulting bitter orange and fennel combination is very pleasant; it reminds me of Provencal cuisine. The aged tequila adds a bass note that is not unlike amber.

Misty Kalkofen's Hôtel Haute-Savoie: rye (Rittenhouse), St Germain, dry vermouth (Dolin), absinthe (St George), Angostura bitters, orange bitters (Regan's). This cocktail is based on the Lawhill Cocktail from the Savoy Cocktail book, substituting St Germain for the maraschino liqueur, and altering the ratios. I was expecting this to be on the sweet side, and it was, but not overly so as the absinthe tended to neutralize some of the sweetness. What I did not expect was, after the herbal aromas from the absinthe and vermouth (which blended very harmoniously in the cocktail), to have these incredible chocolate notes. Such a good cocktail with the Rittenhouse rye.

Another one by Hess that I like a lot - their rye IPA, Habitus. What I like is that it's super malty and spicy with the rye very pronounced, and then it also has this intense bitter kick (86 IBU). Still, it's enjoyable even for non bitter lovers, meaning that it's really well balanced. Highly recommended.

With the continuing heat wave in San Diego, I felt a Ti Punch was in order last night, and decided to go with L'Esprit de Neisson. Not for the faint of heart, this rhum clocks in at 70%. It was created to celebrate Neisson's 70th year anniversary, and is obtained directly from the still with no dilution. It's remarkably smooth given the proof. Fresh cane flavor, banana.

Stone Stochasticity Varna Necropolis. Stochasticity is a new project from Stone where they explore imagination and randomness through brewing (I am paraphrasing their press release) - essentially, it's a line of experimental beers made at large scale. Varna Necropolis was inspired by Belgian strong golden ales (Duvel, Delirium Tremens, Matilda, Russian River Damnation, AleSmith Horny Devil, etc, to list a few of my favorites), with the addition of a high dose of hops and an aging step in bourbon barrels. Trying this beer with no preconceived notions, to me it drinks very much like a cocktail. Pretty far from the inspiration. I definitely taste bourbon, with a lot of citrus, mostly grapefruit (with its bitterness). Very much like a Brown Derby in beer form. I like it better than when I first tried it at the brewery.

That's too bad. Duvel is such a great beer. Hess Grazias Vienna Cream Ale. Pretty high on the malts, with a slight bitterness. Very easy-going.

After Tanqueray, Anchor Distilling has announced that they were going to release an Old Tom gin. I am very curious about this, although I am perfectly happy with the Tanqueray already.

Hi-Time carries their line. But everytime I think I am going to order the XO, it's sticker shock, big time. And I've spent way too much money at Hi-Time this month already.

With the heat wave in San Diego, a Daiquiri was a must-have last night. Clement Canne Bleue (2011) is a single varietal rhum agricole, made from a variety of sugar cane from Barbados that has a violet-greyish tinge. I brought it back from a trip to Paris a while back, and had not made a Daiquiri with it yet, just a Ti Punch. On its own, in terms of intensity, it's on par with Neisson but less powerful than La Favorite. It makes a wonderfully aromatic Daiquiri, very nuanced and elegant.

I am with you. Camus makes very nice cognacs. I am still thinking of the XO I had years ago. Too bad it is so expensive.

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?