FrogPrincesse

Digging up an ancient thread. I went to the Corner Room and loved it. The food was delicate and interesting, unpretentious, with beautiful flavor combinations. One of the highlights for me was a bream dish with a broth and “spaghetti” made from green apple (on the right in the first photo). The tart flavor of the apple was fantastic with the fish. The other one was a cod dish where the cod had been shortly cured and then cooked at low temperature, something I want to try at home because the texture of the fish was esquisite. Cod skin crisps on the side. There was not a false note in the meal. I just wished I live closer so I could visit more often!

[Host's note: To avoid an excessive load on our servers this topic has been split. The discussion continues from here] A couple of beers from a relatively recent trip to London. Yakima red ale on draft. Yakima is brewed by Meantime, a brewing company located in Greenwich, using five hop varieties from the Yakima valley in Washington state. The beer was moderately hoppy with a good malt to bitterness balance. Very nice. Beavertown 8 Ball rye IPA, an American-style IPA brewed in London. Love the wild label. It was caramel-colored and had a nice mix of spicy rye and resinous hops. I liked this a lot and want to try the rest of their line.

So Vic was using rhum industriel! Cheap bastard. It's pretty hilarious to see mention of Negrita. Nowadays, it's a low end rum that is probably one of the cheapest options at the supermarket in France. I am pretty sure that it is what my mom used to have in her kitchen cabinet for desserts calling for rum, and I made my very first (awful) pina colada with it. But most people use it for cooking, not for drinking. Thanks for sharing this, Rafa. I agree that you should use whatever tastes delicious.

Continuing to run with this idea of white rhum agricole with absinthe in a Mai Tai twist, I found a recipe by Brian Miller that I really loved. My Oh My Ty: white rhum agricole (La Favorite), Plantation Barbados 5 (Flor de Cana 7 was specified), lime juice, Clement creole shrubb, orgeat (homemade), absinthe (St. George). I skipped the simple syrup. Everything was harmonious and well integrated, including the absinthe. There were some crazy coconut notes that kept coming. It reminded me of my first Mai Tai efforts many years ago when I used to spike them with a bit of coconut rum, but infinitely better.

A sidecar sounds nice, although it's a drink that is hard to get just right. I had to try a Sazerac last night as haresfur had suggested. I went with armagnac and Bulleit rye 1:1. I used gomme (Small Hands) and St. George absinthe. I was out of lemons so I used a blood orange peel (not my first choice). It was very nice albeit slightly busy, the armagnac and rye fighting for the spotlight, and the gomme tying everything together.

1.75 liters of Beefeater gin for 15 dollars. I did not understand either but I bought it!

Stephen Remsberg's Planter's Punch from Beachbum Berry Remixed: dark rum (Coruba), lime juice, simple syrup and Angostura bitters. I had tried it previously with Cruzan Black Strap. It's fine but the limitations of this rum are kind of obvious in the drink. It starts pretty big and then you get some burnt caramel notes that I did not find completely pleasant. I think I would enjoy it more in combination with another rum, or maybe I am just getting really picky.

After making a superlative Aviation with St. George dry rye gin, I decided to try it in a Holland Razor Blade variation. I used Eric Alperin's ratios and a pinch of piment d'espelette. I don't think it was the best gin for this drink, or maybe the ratios need some tweaking (reducing the lemon juice and simple syrup so the lemon is more an accent than a dominant flavor).

Costco run. In San Diego they have a good selection of local beers; this is just a small sampling. Lost Abbey Witch's Wit (Belgian-style witbier), Stone w00tstout 2.0 (Imperial stout) which was just released, Stone Enjoy by 08.16.14 IPA which is now available in the UK and in Japan, Alesmith YuleSmith (Summer) (double IPA), Port Brewing Shark Attack (double red ale). And it's impossible to pass up a $15 1.75 L bottle of Beefeater.

What are your favorite cocktails with armagnac? I have bought a bottle of Delord Napoleon especially for mixing purposes and am looking for ideas. An obvious starting point is cocktails traditionally made with cognac that could use a little bit of extra character. haresfur suggested a Sazerac with armagnac and bourbon which sounds awfully nice. So far I've made the Déjà Vu (Riccardo Semeria) with armagnac, French vermouth, benedictine, absinthe. Earlier this week I made a long drink with ginger beer, a little concerned that the armagnac would be lost despite what the cocktail notes claimed. Behind the Facade (Nicole Lebedevitch) with armagnac, Bonal, apricot liqueur (R&W), lemon juice, Bundaberg ginger beer, and orange bitters (Regan + Fee). Well, the drink was fine but the armagnac got lost as the ginger dominated the drink. The armagnac contributed some bass notes that were only apparent near the end. I think it helped as a foundation for the cocktail, but it was hard to actually taste it. I think we can do better.

Last night I went with a Manhattan/Brooklyn variation by Erik Ellestad, The Dix-Huitième, aka Eighteenth Cocktail Rye (Bulleit), white vermouth (Dolin), Gran Classico bitter, maraschino liqueur (Luxardo). A tad on the sweet side as Erik noted, balanced by a nice level of spice and some intriguing flavors from the Gran Classico.

Another one in the same vein. Shot at La Descarga in LA.

When I redid the kitchen a few years ago, I decided not to include one as I rarely used it in my previous place. I don't miss it at all. I use the one we have at work to reheat leftovers for lunch. At home I reheat stuff in the warming drawer, the oven, or on the stove.

Polite Provisions (see Post 12) won for Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail last week (full list of winners on Difford's). It's great to see San Diego be recognized. The other super exciting news from this weekend is that Stone has announced that they will be opening their first European brewery in Berlin in 2015-2016. It's been years in the works. Similar to the San Diego set-up, the facility will include a production brewery, a restaurant, and gardens. See here for the official press release.

I like carrot soup. What spices did you use?

Very cool. I am always excited to try new amari. Josh at Inu a Kena published a detailed amaro guide that is pretty useful at navigating the different styles. 101 covers Aperol, Averna, Campari, CioCiaro, Cynar, Fernet-Branca, Ramazzoti. 102 Braulio, Meletti, Montenegro, Nardini, Nonino, Zucca, Santa Maria al Monte, Vecchio Amaro del Capo 103 Bigallet Viriana China-China, Branca Menta, Fernet-Vallet, Gran Classico Bitter, Lucano, Abano, Sibilla, Suze (a personal favorite), Tosolini. He is working on a fourth edition. In San Diego there are a few restaurants that stock interested amari, so I've been trying a few that way. Cucina Enoteca has a respectable selection of amari, and Pizzeria Mozza offers amari flights.

Rich syrup, 2:1.

A new amaro is being introduced by Cocchi - Dopo Teatro Cocchi Vermouth Amaro, based on their barolo chinato. It looks very promising (see the reviews in Difford's and Imbibe).

Difford's just published a nice Daiquiri history and recipe roundup a few days ago.

I was reading the chapter on citrus in Morgenthaler's book, saw the photo of the Daiquiri No. 3 (aka Hemingway Daiquiri), and had to have one immediately. I used his ratios. First with Plantation 3 Stars; just the rich touch of grassy sugar cane. Then with El Dorado 3 for a richer version.

That's right. Much easier in metric!

Rafa - sell me on Branca Menta. As much as I learned to love Fernet-Branca (which I could not do without), I am not sure that I would be interested in a sweeter, less bitter, and intensely minty version (at least according to this description).

I used: 1 2/3 oz gin 1/3 oz lemon juice 1/3 oz maraschino liqueur 1/6 oz violet liqueur Similar ratio to what Adam had posted upthread.

A gin-heavy Aviation with St. George dry rye gin, Luxardo maraschino, R&W violet liqueur. I think it might be the best Aviation I've ever had. The violet was just an accent and the different elements highlighted the malty character of the gin beautifully.

It looks like it's finally available in California! http://www.hitimewine.net/product.php?productid=79453&cat=&page=1