FrogPrincesse

The Ortensia with equal parts Highland Park 12, Punt e Mes, Aperol, and a (bitter) orange twist. A Negroni with scotch... and it was really good. Because Aperol is not as bitter as Campari, I think it's important to use Punt e Mes rather than any sweet vermouth in this drink. In other news, Negroni week is only a few weeks away with a lot of bars participating this year.

You learn to develop a tolerance for that sort of thing ... and you make sure to get something else next time (like beer or wine!).

I love la Favorite too, but I don't think I am ready to commit. For mixing, J.M and Neisson are also great. And for Ti Punch, Clement Canne bleue or l'Esprit Neisson. They are all fabulous for various reasons.

If I could only keep one white, it would have to be a rhum agricole!

A golden beet salad with green apple and goat cheese from a few weeks ago.

Tom Walker's Maid in Cuba last night, as a nod to his win in the Bacardy Legacy Competition. 2 oz rum (Havana Club añejo), 1 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, shake with a handful of mint and 3 slices (Persian) cucumber, fine strain into a coupe rinsed with (St. George) abinsthe, top with club soda, cucumber slice garnish.

3/4 oz apricot liqueur? I don't think I can do that :-)

Just regular walnuts.

Cool, and good to know about the bitterness (did you have to keep tasting it to figure this out? ). I was thinking of infusing walnuts into alcohol as well, but I was looking at rum if you see where I am going with this.

Because you are not paying attention :-) I just received some passion syrup in the mail so it may be time to make one again.

PV - you have to spill the beans and share your walnut infusion recipe. Because there is a MxMo challenge that's perfect for this! Last night it was Déjà Vu all over again for various reasons that have little to do with cocktails. This one by Riccardo Semeria has armagnac (cognac can also be used - I went with Delord Armagnac Napoleon), French vermouth (Dolin), Benedictine, absinthe (St. George). I love any occasion to mix with armagnac. The taste of this cocktail is very intriguing. Nothing really dominates and I kept detecting new aromas with every sip. Apparently the inspiration behind this drink was the Bombay No. 2 from the Savoy Cocktail Book.

I've seen those in person and they look great (the Mixing Glass has them in stock). If I did not already have two small ones, that's what I would get. Regarding temperature shock, I've seen a few people complain on Chanticleer. I believe CK may have changed supplier since then. Quality seems to be somewhat inconsistent with CK though. I got two seamless Yarai from them, the first one from a couple of years ago was just perfect (it broke but it was my fault); the one I got last year has yellowish glass, a few bubbles, and the shape is not as elegant. I would recommend seeing them before choosing one. Another side note - from what I can tell most bars used the regular Yarai, not the seamless. These are fine. I've seen them used in bars too. But they are lightweight which means that you may have to hold them in place while you stir your cocktail so they don't dance around on the counter, whereas the Japanese mixing glasses are heavier, with some incorporating a weighted base.

I currently use a 3-inch conical strainer that I bought through amazon - it looks pretty similar to the CK one (but it is called Endurance, rather than CoCo). I like the cone design better than the hemisphere because it's less messy and has a bigger capacity than the Oxo I used before. Regarding speed, I found that it's highly dependent on the quality of the ice. If my ice is crappy I get a lot of small fragments that can slow down the straining process.

This Spanish Cinco Lanzas "cheese with rosemary" from Trader Joe's was gone in no time at all. It reminds me of Corsican cheeses that are coated in herbs from the maquis, in less pungent.

Maybe it's a topic for another thread, but what are the ingredients that are challenging to mix with citrus? Czequershuus already mentioned Frangelico (not a terribly versatile cocktail ingredient to begin with). I used to think that sweet vermouth could not work with citrus, but then the Bitter Giuseppe is a good counter-example.

With rum - Island Old Fashioned (aged rum, falernum, canne syrup, Angostura bitters), Sam Ross' Chet Baker and Country Life No. 2 With gin - as mentioned above, the Martinez is an obvious starting point; Negroni although you currently don't have any Campari With tequila - Phil Ward's Oaxaca Old Fashioned and Tequila Gumption, Jonny Raglin's Nouveau Carre, Michael Madrusan's Sea Way If you are looking for more ideas, the Bartender's Choice app, the PDT Cocktail book, or the beta cocktail book (if feeling adventurous) are good sources. You could also consider acquiring a few new things such as Cynar, Fernet, or Campari to expand your options in the brown bitter stirred category.

The Jungle Bird is only good when made by Sam Ross. Maybe something about the pineapple juice that he uses?

I cannot believe people who say they never have misses; it's impossible or just means that they are just not daring enough. Regarding my disasters, one that still makes my stomach churn also involved coffee. It was a thing called a Green Russian - like the Dude's White Russian, with a good dose of absinthe - and was incredibly disgusting . My (poor) excuse is that this was not my creation; I was just following a recipe.

I made this very nice Tequila Sazerac last night (recipe from Charles Vexenat, formerly of the Lonsdale) with 7 Leguas tequila añejo, agave syrup, Peychaud's bitters, St. George absinthe, and a lime peel.

Another tequila drink, this time for Cinco de Mayo. Lindsay Nader's Resting Point with 7 Leguas añejo tequila (substituted for reposado tequila), yellow Chartreuse, Punt e Mes, lemon juice, agave syrup, muddled strawberry. It was interesting to make this shortly after trying the gin-based Bloodhound, where the Punt e Mes + strawberry combo was also very successful. It looks like a girly drink but really it's not. With the aged tequila the cocktail is smoky and robust. And the strawberry was not that big, it's just that my cocktail glass was really small!

I blinked and the $99 units were sold out, but I still went ahead and got one for $129.

5th Avenue Books, roughly across from Salt & Cleaver. They are open late.

My vote still goes to 7 Leguas, blanco and reposado.

This might be the push I needed to make a fresh batch of orgeat!