FrogPrincesse

After the Naked and Famous, it seemed only logical to delve into the Hot and Heavy (still trying to boost my flickr views...). This one is by Troy Sidle, recipe obtained by Rafa (thanks!). I went with Siete Leguas for the tequila, Del Maguey Vida for the mezcal. Mint from the patio (spanked as per instructions). I was too impatient to waste any time infusing honey with hot peppers, so I used regular honey syrup that I supplemented with a generous dash of BDW serrano cocktail spice. I am not sure that the cocktail lives up to its name, but it was vibrant with a hot bite. I have to say that the delicate tequila got a bit overpowered by the mezcal and spice, but it was good anyway. As a side note, my friend is working on launching his serrano cocktail spice commercially. Here is the information if you are interested in supporting his project.

These were pre-TikiO drinks from last week, to get us in the mood. Dolores Park Swizzle in the front (made with La Favorite), and Hart of Darkness in the tiki mugs (1 oz each Lemon Hart 151 and El Dorado 5, Australian costal honey, skipped the soda water). Two diametrically opposite drinks (on purpose). The first one fresh and grassy, the second deep and almost tannic, both with lots of intriguing flavors.

No photos - a couple of Mai Tais courtesy of Ballast Point last Saturday at Tiki Oasis. Their Mai Tai mix has received some press and a prize at the San Francsico spirits competition. Well, it has a pretty pinkish color and a fresh guava taste, and it yields a nice tropical drink, but not an authentic Mai Tai. It does not have the required acidity and I could hardly detect any orange. They use their Three Sheets rum in a 1:2 ratio (rum to mix). I should have remembered that I did not care for their gin before ordering a Singapore Sling, but it was too sweet to be palatable in any case. I also had a Mai Tai at Bali Hai at the opening party. These are never very good, although they are quite strong as advertised. Their rum combo is Coruba + Ron Rico Light. They don't measure so there is a huge variation between drinks. A friend got a Zombie that she had to send back. The Goof Punch is usually a safer bet. Sadly they no longer have the Missionary's Downfall on their menu. Bali Hai (see here for more/better photos of the restaurant, which is quite stunning).

Witch's Wit from the Lost Abbey. A very good example of witbier with the typical esters, coriander, orange peel. From recollection alone, similar to Hoegaarden but with more character. It kills me to think that I haven't been to their brewery yet; I don't know what I am waiting for. They are located in Stone's old facility in San Marcos.

Sorry it did not do it for you. You know, you can always adjust the sweetness level to your taste. What I found exciting was the combination of the funk from the rhum agricole and the batavia arrack. It's not something I had experienced before. Here is last night's Daiquiri 10:3:2 with Damoiseau rhum agricole from Guadeloupe.

Cynar That Time We Last Drank Manhattans? - from the Drinks thread. The entry is sweet and chocolatey and not just from the bitters; the combination highlights the cocoa notes in the Cynar. Then the bourbon takes the stage, together with a very pleasant crisp refreshing taste from the Punt & maraschino. The Son of a Bourye from High West, which is a blend of bourbon & rye, was a good fit. The finish of the drink has a bitter edge that makes you go back for another sip. My kind of drink, totally. As far as the drink being an original recipe, the closest thing I could find is Toby Maloney’s Maloney No. 2, but it’s much lighter on the Cynar with the vermouth as Cocchi VdT and no mole bitters, therefore a different result overall. Well done for an apéritif-style cocktail. These are not easy to get right.

That looks pretty good, Dan. It reminds me of Jim Meehan's El Puente, another tequila-based drink with mezcal and elderflower, where the grapefruit flavor is contributed by the juice rather than Campari. A bartender friend, who apparently doesn't know me that well (or knows me too well and is trying to push my buttons, I am not exactly sure...), just gave me a bottle of St Germain. So it is time for me to revisit these elderflower drinks...

Here is the Tiki concoction which concluded for me the celebrations of Tiki Oasis on Sunday. Don the Beachcomber's Cobra Fang (~ 1937) with Lemon Hart 151 as the base, lime juice, orange juice (blood), passion fruit syrup (B.G. Reynolds), falernum, absinthe (St. George), Angostura bitters. Shaken on ice, strained onto fresh crushed ice. I did a spray of absinthe on the finished drink in addition to what was already specified in the recipe. As a side note, the drinks in the "Fang" family seem to contain passion fruit as a common element. Although it is pretty nice, it would be improved by the use of homemade falernum (I was out). Also I think that I am tiki'd out after 4 days in tiki-land, at least for the time being.

That Fer de Lance/Diamonback variation seems pretty deadly indeed. Oh yes, very free, although just recovering from the festivities of Tiki Oasis.

No doubt it would, but with 'normal' gin it is just a Turf Club I think (aka Tuxedo No. 2).

No you're not, I can assure you. But apparently you are the only one who has the time or energy to post between drinks. That Yacht Club looks tasty. I may attempt a variation with St George dry rye gin as I am sans genever at the moment.

Fairweather, the patio bar above Rare Form, opened last weekend in the East Village. The opening menu conceived by Anthony Schmidt is heavy on tiki. Can't wait to try it!

Beautiful photos. I went in April and found it a bit touristy as well, but it's worth checking out for sure. It's a good area to explore, with Wright Brothers nearby for a nice lunch, and the Whisky Exchange just around the corner...

Based on this article from Wired published last year, I started storing opened bottles of vermouth and wine under inert gas (always in the fridge). For wine the improvement is noticeable right away - I can keep bottles for a week and hardly notice any difference in quality. For vermouth, it's harder to tell because the decline in quality is not as dramatic and much slower too. But it helps.

Corpse Reviver No. 1 variation (Jackson Cannon) with armagnac (Delord Napoleon), calvados (Daron XO), sweet vermouth (I used Margerum amaro which is very close to a sweet vermouth). It was nice to have the apple notes intermingle with the armagnac.With the Margerum the finish is slightly bitter which I enjoyed too.

San Martin (Robert Vermiere via David Wondrich) with gin (Plymouth), sweet vermouth (Punt e Mes), yellow chartreuse. I liked it with the Punt e Mes. It felt light and was a good option for an aperitif.

I appreciate your concern. You are right, my mint is not singed like the one in the cocktail virgin slut photo - I did not want to risk burning the whole kitchen down, so I poured the chartreuse near the base and only the bottom leaves were singed. I still got wonderful caramelized aromas from the flaming chartreuse.

No need to worry - after the kitchen countertop pyrotechnics, I set another 1/2 oz of chartreuse on fire and finished preparing the cocktail properly. I did not attempt taking a picture of the process that time, just the finished result.

I forgot to post this nice Daiquiri variation a while back, Phil Ward's DWB. It's a white rhum agricole Daiquiri with a touch of Batavia Arrack. I would not mind having one now.

Chartreuse and falernum is a winning combo. After an attempt at setting the kitchen on fire, ...I was able to enjoy being At Peace With What Once Was (Jonny Almario), a Vellocet-inspired cocktail (itself very similar to the Chartreuse Swizzle discussed above), with vermouth. Green chartreuse, sweet vermouth (Punt e Mes), falernum (homemade), mole bitters. I have to admit that I am sometimes guilty of picking cocktails not based on ingredients alone, but also names (I know, that sounds awfully superficial. It is what is inside that counts.). An interesting name is always more intriguing, plus it's easier to remember. Also it's fun to serve to other people, and even better if there is a good story that goes with the name. No idea what the story is with that one though. I will have to make something up.

Trying again to revive the corpse, this time with Greg Best's Re-Animator (not to be confused with Audrey Saunders' creation of the same name). Equal parts absinthe verte (St. George), American dry gin (Blue Coat or Aviation were specified, I used Dorothy Parker), Cointreau, lemon juice (barspoon). Better use an absinthe you really love, because there is a full ounce of it in the drink. There is a hint of louche but barely. The alcohol content is quite high. After the shock of the first sip, you start tasting things other than just the absinthe, although the Cointreau remains remarkably subdued. It's pretty good version of the CR2 on steroids, and a slow sipper for sure.

A very nice Greenpoint with Bulleit rye, Margerum amaro, yellow chartreuse, Angostura and orange bitters (Fee + Regan).

Cool. I think it's one of the first drinks that Anthony made for me. It also works without the egg white.

A smash of my own invention with armagnac, plum eau-de-vie, and pluots, which was my entry for the MxMo Challenge. It was inspired by the traditional French dessert pruneaux à l'armagnac (dried plums with armagnac).

The beer board at BLAH this weekend. For the first round, went with Hottenroth Berliner Weisse, a German-style sour ale from The Bruery (front) and Seizoen Bretta from Logsdon. Didn't care much for the Bretta (good thing, it was not mine). Very dry and almost austere (drier than the bottled version). The Hottenroth, on the other hand, was tart and crisp, interesting, and refreshing. Milk combined with tart fruit and citrus. It did not help that they were polar opposites. Second round - Ritual Hellion (Belgian strong pale ale) (back - excuse the messy table). Yeasty, apricot, with a dry, slightly bitter finish. Overall smooth. For my dessert I picked Consecration from Russian River (right). Consecration is a Belgian sour aged in Cabernet barrels. The cab influence was obvious with a lot of red fruit in the beer. It was rich, thick, potent, delicious.