FrogPrincesse

Good eye. There was exactly 1 oz left in that bottle, and now it's all gone...

Herb Alpert - Whipped Cream & Other Delights The Smiths - Meat is Murder Prince - Starfish and Coffee The Divine Comedy – Seafood Song Blur – Bank Holiday The Pixies – Bone Machine There are a lot of French songs about food too. A couple that pop to mind immediately: Bobby Lapointe - Aragon et Castille Lio – Banana Split

Lost Abbey Avant Garde (left) and Alpine Hoppy Birthday. The Avant Garde is an old favorite. Hoppy Birthday is a new friend. It's a terrific American Pale Ale. Lots of hops, grapefuit, some orange, and very easy going overall.

Historic Core by John Coltharp. This cocktail was created as part of a competition that was included cocktails named for the subdistricts in Downtown Los Angeles. 1 oz bonded rye (Rittenhouse), 3/4 oz apple brandy (Daron XO), 3/4 oz sweet vermouth (Margerum amaro), 1/4 oz green Chartreuse, dash Angostura bitters, lemon twist. A very harmonious Manhattan variation.

For a cocktail party with friends last week - Sam Ross' Cobble Hill (aka "summertime Manhattan") with High West Double Rye, Dolin French vermouth, Montenegro, muddled cucumber ... followed by Greg Best's Rhythm and Soul with High West Double Rye, amaro Margerum, Averna, Angostura bitters, St. George absinthe. That double rye is really great in cocktails.

I've started an infusion for the challenge. Who else is in?

Coco de Agua (Charles H. Baker Jr, Bartender's Choice version) for a tiki party this weekend. El Dorado 3 white demerara rum, coconut water, lime juice, simple syrup, soda water. The coconut and buttery notes of the rum were great in this drink.

I think you are being harsh. The 60 min is somewhat forgettable, but the 90 minute IPA is great. I just had one a few days ago. Very hoppy but not overly bitter.

Mai Tais with a Smith & Cross + Coruba 50:50 mix for the dark Jamaican rum, and Neisson (left) or Leblon cachaça (right) for the agricole component. It worked. Improved finish thanks to the molasses-heavy Coruba. Neisson is less intense compared to La Favorite and worked better. Leblon is a little more grassy than Neisson and worked well too, although it felt a bit less traditional. Both versions are a great alternative to my usual Appleton 12 + Favorite aged combo. 1 oz Neisson rhum agricole blanc (50% abv) vs. Leblon cachaca 1/2 oz Coruba dark Jamaican rum 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum 1 oz lime juice 1/2 oz Clement creole shrub 1/4 oz orgeat 1/4 oz simple syrup

Still it's pretty good in a Brooklyn or a Creole cocktail!

Iteration #7 in the post below. Next I want to try #8 with Coruba, S&C, and Neisson blanc.

With a salad spinner, right?

Jo - what device do you use to juice pineapple? Citrus juicer?

A few ideas for this challenge in the pineapple thread. I agree with Dan that pineapples tend to be very sweet, and can therefore be tricky in cocktails. Usually they work better in tandem with lime or lemon.

A pretty book and an excellent training aid/reference, then. Have you learned anything new? (I am sure I am going to end up buying it, I am just making a vague attempt at delaying the inevitable outcome by convincing myself I don't need another book in my collection!)

This could be your entry for the MxMo pineapple challenge! What kind of pineapple juice do you use by the way? I've used the canned pineapple juice from Trader Joe's in the past and it's not horrible but not great either. I tried making my own but it was a huge mess, and mostly fiber.

I was in the mood for a Mai Tai last night and still had homemade orgeat on hand, so I tried the white rhum agricole and Smith & Cross combo that Adam suggested a while back. Potent stuff. Very different mood from my usual Appleton 12 + La Favorite aged combo. La Favorite white has a HUGE aroma - you can literally smell it from across the room as soon as you start pouring. So it was not a surprise that it dominated > 75% of the drink; then the S&C made a somewhat timid appearance. The resulting Mai Tai is punchy and strong as opposed to the smoothness of the other combo (which still has plenty of funk thanks to the agricole).The finish was lacking something, it felt a bit "hollow" and did not have the satisfying richness I am used to. But what an amazing flavor overall. The lime was more present in this version and the orgeat less noticeable. Still a perfectly excellent drink. Maybe I will try half S&C and half Coruba with a slightly less intense rhum blanc next time. (Now I feel I am turning into Jo with her endless quest for the best Mai Tai!) Also I am thinking of making Mai Tais for an event and if so will explore cachaça and dark Jamaican rum options. How does everyone like Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao in Mai Tais? That's what the new Jeff Berry "Total Tiki" app recommends now.

You are using Taylor's, right? That stuff doesn't have a lot of flavor, mostly sugar and a bit of clove. If you use homemade, it's a different story.

$30 for the 3 year old - a decent deal, but I can get the VSOP (4 years) for $30 too, and it's great in a Mai Tai...

I watched this presentation by Arielle Johnson yesterday, which is interesting if you are curious about the chemical makeup and sensory analysis of cocktail bitters.

Sure, he even did a foodblog at some point. Here it is. It's a fun read (as most foodblogs).

Yeah, too bad he doesn't hang out on eG anymore...

Oh, the Negroni Police! ;-) They call it an amaro, but to me it tastes like a slightly bitter sweet vermouth (think Punt e Mes), and I use it as such. Mr Margerum created it for his dad to use in Manhattans. [Host note: This topic continues here, Drinks! 2014 (Part 2)]

Last night's Negroni with Junipero gin, Margerum amaro, and Campari. A lot of dried fruit in the Margerum which went well with the juniper-heavy Junipero.

I just had to try this Mai Tai-inspired drink with gentian liquor as the base, the Frog Splash, a creation by Morgan Schick of Trick Dog that Fred of cocktail virgin slut unearthed for last month's MxMo nut challenge. Avèze gentian liqueur (Suze), Smith & Cross, orgeat (homemade, walnut), lime juice, mint garnish. Flavor-wise, the Mai Tai reference was obvious, and the Smith and Cross worked surprisingly well with the Suze (I am therefore concluding that S&C is the new bartender's ketchup - improves every drink). The taste verged on being overly vegetal which muddied the overall impression, but was consistent with the name I suppose.