FrogPrincesse

Jackson Cannon's Corpse Reviver No.4 makes Fernet very approachable. It's equal parts rye (I used Bulleit), Fernet-Branca, yellow chartreuse, with a dash of mole bitters and a lemon twist. It is indeed Fernet-forward but considerably tamed by the yellow chartreuse. Note : The original recipe calls for this drink on the rocks with a discarded lemon twist (it looks like I need to follow instructions more carefully!).

I should have read your notes before trying the Purgatory. It was sweet and aromatic with a kick of citrus at the end, but a little too heavy for my taste and not that memorable except for the name maybe.

As Wine Stands Time (Kirk Estopinal) with 1oz each High West Son of a Bourye, Bonal gentiane-quina, Cynar, and a grapefruit twist (which is supposed to be discarded). Very nice aperitif. The recipe specifies rye and the "bourye" was a little sweet for this, so I would stick to rye.

Yes there is: 10:3:2 With a good, grassy Latin style white rum and 2:1 golden sugar syrup. 10:3:2, Difford's ratio, which corresponds to: 2 1/2 oz rum 3/4 oz lime juice 1/2 oz 2:1 syrup I prefer to make daiquiris with white rhum agricole and go heavier on the lime. Also I use regular simple syrup because I always have it handy. Something like this: 2 oz rum 1 oz lime juice 3/4 oz simple syrup Either my taste buds have evolved, or I have finally seen the light. But I have now officially switched to the Difford's ratio for my Daiquiris. I've even done a side-by-side to be absolutely sure, and they are indeed better this way, with the rum front and center. The only drawback is that, with my American jigger, the measurements end up being awkward with 2 oz rum, 0.6 oz lime, 0.4 oz 2:1 syrup. (I am aiming for a total of 3 oz.) Maybe just up the rum to 2.5 oz and use bigger glasses next time... First test with 2:1 demerara syrup and J.M rhum agricole. Side-by-side with the Bartender's Choice version. The Difford's ratio has the advantage of using less lime juice, which is very appropriate given the lime shortage in the US!

I liked it too. I used Siete Leguas añejo.

The Home on the Range is an orange-flavored Manhattan, with Cointreau replacing half of the sweet vermouth. I used 2 oz of Bulleit rye, 1/2 oz Dolin rouge, 1/2 oz Cointreau, and a couple of dashes of Miracle Miles forbidden bitters (Angostura works great too). These ratios and ingredients are from the Bartender's Choice app. CocktailDB has a version with bourbon and Dubonnet.

At Trader Joe's the price for a bag of organic limes (approx 6 limes) used to be $1.99. I think I paid $3 last week (I bought a couple of bags to make daiquiris). Yesterday they were not in stock, but for a Monday that is pretty typical as they were in the process of restocking.

Firestone Union Jack IPA. I had a disconcerting experience with this one. I had it with Thai food that was not very spicy (chicken larb), but I could not taste the nuances of the beer. But I tried more on its own and it really grew on me. It's floral (I detected rose) with some honey notes, plus the typical grapefruit-pine of West Coast IPAs. The finish is bitter and dry and overall the flavor is actually super interesting. I ended up buying more at Trader Joe's. Last night I had Saison de Lente from the Bruery with dinner (chicken with caramelized shallots). It's a great spring saison that's available before Easter. I am stocking up before it disappears again. The price went down to $10 which is a good thing.

Professional tasters never swallow...

A recent salad of radicchio, fennel, and toasted hazelnuts. The dressing was hazelnut oil and sunflower oil (1:1) with balsamic vinegar. It was very crunchy and deliciously bitter.

Stone Old Guardian 2014, a barley wine. Nice amber color. Medium carbonation (but quasi-inexistent head). Extreme malt combined with hops that balance the caramel with bright notes and bitterness. It's rich and boozy (11.6% ABV) and feels relatively dry at the same time. Better than I remembered.

Next up, a wild card. A Trappist beer from... Austria: Gregorius from Stift Engelszell (that's a mouthful). There is only a small number of beers that fall into that category. The International Trappist Association recognizes the following from Belgium: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westvleteren. Engelszell was entered into the category in 2012. And the first American trappist beer with Spencer from St. Joseph's Abbey was just launched earlier this year. Back to Gregorius. It is very dark, almost black in the glass, and has little carbonation. The taste is slightly acidic with quite a bit of malt. Overall the flavor is quite flat. A disappointment.

Since you are in Europe, have you had a chance to explore Belgian beers? I imagine that a Belgian farmhouse ale would be something you may like. Try Saison Dupont for example. It's leagues above Fat Tire and has a little bit of that coriander flavor that you are looking for. As you may know, Fat Tire was inspired by Belgian beers, so you may as well go with the original!

Going through the backlog. I thought I would start with beer for a change. First things first, the superb Matilda from Goose Island, a Belgian pale ale (that Hassouni mentioned earlier). It has stone fruit, citrus, spice, some sourness, and a dry finish. It feels light and crisp, but has so much interesting flavors that it's gone in no time. My favorite butcher shop has it in stock these days, which makes me very happy (it does not take much).

I tried a sample this weekend and thought that it was rather good. It did very well in a tiki drink too. It had a good level of funk with caramel and banana flavors, with a slight bitterness as you mentioned.

Hendrick's may work here - it is delicate, quite floral, and does not have much juniper.

Somehow I am feeling sad at the idea of WhistlePig with orange juice and grenadine.

I've got two suggestions for you - Hotel Room Temperature and Heart of Glass. Both from beta cocktails and both completely ice- and Fernet-free.

Heart of Glass for me last night. Interesting room-temperature drink created by Troy Sidle. For this one, first you coat a glass with bourbon (the recipe calls for Eagle Rare 10 years, I went with St. George Breaking & Entering). Then you mix separately 1.5 oz bourbon with 3/4 oz each Cynar and sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica is specified, I used Cocchi vermouth di Torino) and 17 drops of Angostura. I only made a half cocktail so I used 8 drops... The whole thing sounded a little OCD to me but I went with it; I transferred the ango into a suitable delivery device and patiently counted each drop. This is all done without ice, so a little bit of water is added for dilution (~ 1/2 oz). The mix is added to the coated glass and a bunch of orange oil is added - I used three fairly large pieces of orange peel, and you can see the oil sheen at the surface. It's close on paper to Audrey Saunders' Little Italy (rye vs. bourbon, etc) but the vibe is very different because of the serving temperature. I really liked it. It did not feel bitter to me at all except a bit in the finish, but I am so used to Cynar now that I may not be a very good judge. Of course the song is still stuck in my head, even the morning after.

Boudreau has something in the same vein with flamed rosemary (using green chartreuse as the fuel) - see his Rubicon cocktail. I haven't tried it but have been intrigued. Sadly, my rosemary plant has died since I've made the Rosemary's Baby.

Clearly you are the epitome of coolness. Otherwise we would not be talking to you (let's see if I can get you to send me some stuff too! ;-) Regarding Picon, is that the one with the red label (Picon Bière) or the black one (Picon Amer)? In France I see the Bière all the time in stores, but the Amer seems more elusive. I've always wondered what the difference was; I believe the Amer has a higher in alcohol content, but is the flavor at all different?

You are correct. Dubonnet is an aromatized wine, but not a vermouth. It's a quinquina.

As one Does, I found myself in the mood for something bitter again last night after a long day at work, so I went for this Joaquin Simó creation found in the Kindred Cocktails database. Cynar, blanco tequila, Fernet-Branca, mole bitters, mint. It's a low-alcohol drink that goes down easily. The bitterness is very apparent at first, but then the accent ingredients pull all the other notes from the Cynar.

Carpano Antica ≠ Punt e Mes which is more bitter and does not have that vanilla flavor. The grapefruit juice is for the tiki drinks, correct? In that case the ruby red should be fine. It's just a small amount.