FrogPrincesse

I'm with you, Leslie. In the same vein, my G&T was enjoyed with homemade fried chicken. Here is the drink at the park, enjoying the fresh air. There was coconut water from a freshly cracked coconut in the tiki cup, which I ended up adding to the G&T at some point, because why not. This morning I had a Benton's Old Fashioned. Instead of bacon-infused bourbon, I used a few drops of Gangsta Lee'n bitters, which taste like smoked almonds with bacon. A fantastic brunch drink because it's breakfast in a glass, with maple syrup, orange, and bacon.

Teenage Riot (Tonia Guffey) with Cynar, rye (Bulleit), dry vermouth (Dolin), dry sherry (Lustau Jarana), orange bitters (Regan's), flamed lemon twist. Lemon aroma, bitter, herbal, dry. It did not last very long. On an unrelated note, my bottle of sherry seems to possess superpowers. It fell from the top shelf of the fridge to the (stone) floor which it hit, but then just rolled without breaking (this is what happens when I try to carry 3 bottles out of the fridge at the same time). A small miracle.

I choose mostly based on mood, season (summer = more clear spirits, more tiki drinks; winter = more brown spirits), what I have available, a new ingredient I am researching, variations on a theme I am interested in, creations or recommendations from my favorite bartenders and/or eG members, cocktail books I've acquired, a specific flavor profile or ingredient combination, etc, etc. I have a running list of things that I want to try, so it usually does not take me very long to come up with something every night.

"Bottle rested". Love it. I made a Mai Tai punch last week for a tiki party that my friends were hosting. My challenge was to use ingredients I already had on hand, and to clean up my liquor cabinet(s) as much as possible. The BevMo Classic Mai Tai would have been perfect, but I had not realized it at the time (also I wanted my friends to still be my friends after the party). I did not want to use one of my precious aged rhum agricoles, so for the rum mix, after some experimentation, I ended up with Leblon cachaça (based on good results obtained previously), Coruba dark Jamaican, and Barbancourt 8 year, in a 2:1:1 ratio. The cachaça fills the space with such a great aroma as soon as it's poured, it's really nice. For the rest, I went with freshly squeezed lime juice, Trader Vic Mai Tai mix (I have plenty more, if someone's interested... It tastes like simple syrup with lime, orange, and a touch of orgeat. Not something I would buy nowadays, but the vintage label is lovely.). The orgeat flavor was pretty faint, and I did not have time to make a batch, so I shamelessly added some from an old bottle of Torani (that stuff seems to have an infinite shelf life). Mise en place Tasting and adjusting the recipe I ended up with the following recipe, for a yield of a little over 1/2 gallon: 14 oz Leblon cachaca 7 oz Coruba dark Jamaican 7 oz Barbancourt 8 year 14 oz lime juice (~ 1 dozen limes) 18 oz Trader Vic Mai Tai mix 7 oz Torani orgeat 6 oz water In retrospect, I should probably have added a bit more water. Maybe twice that amount? I never quite know what to add for punches, and went with ~ 10%. The whole thing was transported into a Stone beer growler which was really convenient. I brought garnishes too. The punch was served in a large glass bowl over a giant block of ice. Of course I forgot to take a picture. But not a single drop was left, and my friends are still talking to me afterwards, so everything is good.

I have a bottle of Tanq Old Tom on the way (from K&L). Here is the bourbon & rye selection at one my local grocery stores, Bristol Farms in UTC. There is one more shelf above with higher end bottlings, plus a glass cabinet with even fancier stuff. It's always tempting to grab something - the liquor section is conveniently located by the cashier. Although prices tend to be high compared to other stores. I was shopping for sherry though, not whiskey. They had about 4 shelves worth, including the whole Lustau line, nicely arranged from driest to sweetest. I got the fino Jarana ("very dry").

If someone volunteers, I can provide the Bacardi white. I inherited a bottle, 1.75 L size, and it's taking up space. Maybe the fact that the cocktail is served in a hurricane glass is a clue, because the recipe looks like a mash-up between a Hurricane and a Mai Tai. Otherwise I am not sure how to explain the passion fruit. It's just missing a touch of grenadine.

No, just a large (white) grapefruit peel.

"Classic" Mai Tai in a little Summer Party Guide from BevMo, a Californian liquor store chain. Not sure what to say, other than it seems pretty robust with 6 oz of rum.

Glad you enjoyed it! Tonight I had a Choke Artist with Cynar, añejo tequila (Siete Leguas), fino sherry (Lustau Jarana), orange bitters (Regan's). It starts slightly salty and bitter, continues with some wood and pepper from the tequila. The finish is surprising - very long and dry, with even more bitterness. Some drinks with Cynar can be a tad heavy/sweet, but this one was really light and interesting.

Gin and Tonic, picnic edition (for today's lunch at the nearby park).

In keeping with a Savoy theme tonight (although this recipe may have been lifted from Robert Vermeire*), after a White Lady twist, I made a Sensation Cocktail with London dry gin (Beefeater), lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, and mint (homegrown). If you are wondering what sensation, the first sip was one of bracing sourness. So I went with Erik's recommendation and added a 1/4 ounce of simple syrup. This is what I ended up with: 1.5 oz gin 0.5 oz lemon juice 1.5 barspoon maraschino liqueur 3 mint sprigs It's a Southside with maraschino and it's very very nice. Crisp and refreshing. (*) I haven't suddenly turned into a cocktail historian, I am just putting Martin Doudoroff's new Cocktail and Mixed Drinks app into good use!

Steve Schneider's Steve-O's Tuxedo, a twist on the classic White Lady, with simple syrup and a dash of Regan's orange bitters replacing the Cointreau. It's good. Not sure why, but it had a very pale green tinge underneath the white foam.

You should have done the thrown cocktail demo for Diffords. They just posted one and it could use some improvement. His technique might be fine, but I don't want to have to see the bartender's underarm tattoos (at first I thought he was incredibly hairy), or his fat and hairy belly, when he is throwing the cocktail. It's a huge distraction.

The art of the pousse-café is still very much alive in Japan. And it's not just Japan. During the World Cup, I remember seeing a series of flag-inspired pousse-cafés by Hawksmoor + Satan's Whiskers in London. It was all in good fun. The real question is not who makes pousse-cafés, it's who orders them!

Your recollection is correct. But for cooking it should be fine, I hope!

Thanks. My local BevMo does not have it (only the Lustau East India cream), but I will keep looking around.

You are welcome! It's pretty hot in San Diego still, about 27C during the day, so I wanted something refreshing tonight. I made myself a Gin Fix with Dorothy Parker gin. I am sure the pool will get plenty of use this weekend. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

OK - I will make an exception for French pink things; rosé and rosé champagne are fine....

Yes. They are available practically year-round.

Pineapple syrup might work, but please keep the grenadine and raspberry syrup away (shudder).I have no problem at all finding white grapefruits right now. Even Trader Joe's has them in stock. I personally stay away from the pink stuff. Anything pink is evil.

Has everybody seen the documentary Hey Bartender? It came out last year and is now available on Netflix in the US. I thought it was pretty good, with a nice overview of the cocktail community and appearances by Dale DeGroff, Dushan Zaric, Sasha Petraske, Julie Reiner, Jim Meehan, David Wondrich, etc. Of course it's not perfect and I wished they had spent a little less time focusing on just one bartender (Employees Only Steve Schneider), and maybe done a better job at representing the West Coast. The parts with Steve Carpentieri and his neighborhood bar seemed a little forced, especially his visit at TOTC which was clearly arranged for the documentary. But overall, it's completely worth watching.

Martin Doudoroff just released a new cocktail app, Martin's Index of Cocktails and Mixed Drinks. It's a curated list of cocktail recipes from the 1850s until Prohibition. I own a handful of books that he is drawing from, but obviously have not amassed the library he has access to. This seems like an amazing resource for $10.

The Old Flame (Cervantes Ramirez) with Plymouth gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, green chartreuse (I used regular green but VEP is specified). It is a variation on Toby Maloney's Neptune's Wrath, sans absinthe. I set the chartreuse on fire before pouring it, although it's pretty hard to see on the photo. Of course it extinguishes as soon as it hits the foam. It's something to do in the dark for best effect.

My first foray into sherry cocktails was not a good experience. First of all I had no idea it was so hard to find dry sherry. After hitting a few stores, I finally bought this Dry Sack sherry which I thought was a dry amontillado. Perhaps it is sweetened because it certainly tastes very sweet. I tried a Bamboo with it (specs from The Art of Shim) which was busy and sweet, not good at all. I was going to serve it to a bartender friend at a dinner party, but quickly decided to go with plan B. This sherry will get recycled into a cooking liquid for clams most likely, while I look for something else.

This one was totally awesome. Designed to highlight all the things we love about S&C: the pungent funk, the mustiness, the weird esters, rotten banana, etc, with clever additions of batavia arrack, passion fruit syrup and maraschino liqueur. Thank You Rafa!!! Snoop Lion (Rafa García Febles): Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, white grapefruit and lime juice, passion fruit syrup (B.G. Reynolds), batavia arrack, maraschino liqueur.