FrogPrincesse

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!

What cocktail are you trying to make?

So of course I ended up buying Tony Conigliaro's book (which, by the way, just won a James Beard award in the Beverage category), together with a bunch of other cocktail books. Recently I got Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean, and this little book about absinthe cocktails from my favorite used book store in Hillcrest.

So far, so good, although I only read a few pages and then got distracted. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet.

Beer shopping this weekend at Bottlecraft in North Park. The Bruery Sucré 2014 anniversary ale (aged in bourbon barrels), AleSmith/Cigar City Ramblin' rye brown ale, Dogfish 90- and 60-minute IPAs, bière de garde from The Commons brewery in Portland, Olde Ale British-style ale MMXIV from AleSmith. Some earlier shopping at Hi-Time Wine Cellars and The Mixing Glass, a new shop in Costa Mesa (book, bitters).

Jared Brown's Spanky Panky Martini, which is a variation on Ada Coleman's Hanky Panky with mint. Sipsmith London dry gin, sweet vermouth (Punt e Mes), Fernet-Branca, muddled mint, spanked mint garnish. This was stirred. Nothing bad to say about it. It's bitter and refreshing at the same time, and I am still enamoured of that gin.

My cocktail last night was Erik Adkins' Fort Point with Bulleit rye, Cocchi Barolo Chinato, and R&W apricot liqueur. The chinato and apricot liqueur created a very pleasant apple flavor in the cocktail.

The Savoy Cocktail Book has something similar called a Snyder Cocktail.

$1.89 each - wow. Yesterday at Trader Joe's. Bag of ~6.

There was an article in the San Diego Union Tribune today where they profiled a few people from the local cocktail scene, including Anthony Schmidt of Noble Experiment and Leigh Lacap who is now heading the bar at new restaurant Ironside Fish & Oyster in Little Italy. Regarding Ironside, they have a fairly impressive cocktail menu with everything from sherry cobblers to classic Mai Tais.

I had a Bloodhound last night, which is a perfect Martini with strawberries. I used Dorothy Parker gin for its floral/hibiscus notes, Punt e Mes, and Dolin French vermouth. Surprisingly good. Note that I did not bother muddling the strawberries, so the taste was on the subtle side. It's probably best to muddle them a bit, unless your shake is especially energetic and your strawberries super ripe.

Gannibal was launched a couple of years ago, on April 1st...

Frankie's is a fun place. I had a great time there last time I was in Vegas. I got their mug and a bunch of swizzle sticks as souvenirs.