stickyii

I definitely didn't hate the American Beauty like I did the raspberry syrup. If you feel like making it yourself sometime to compare, it's super easy. Buy yourself some 100% pomegranate juice (the POM brand is what I use). 2c pomegranate juice 2c sugar 1oz vodka Heat the sugar and pomegranate juice until the sugar dissolves. Cool to at least room temperature, add the vodka (its sole purpose is as a preservative), and bottle. Done! It's definitely not as potent as manufactured grenadines, but it's so delicious. To adjust, you usually double to triple the quantity asked for by a recipe. I usually just do it to taste.

I double-checked, and the link should be working fine... someone found their way over to post not long after I posted here. Give this puppy a copy/paste: http://www.kaiserpenguin.com/?p=18 That should take you right there. Let me know if not, and I'll investigate/give up and paste the info. -Rick

I received my Fee Brothers order this past month and have had a bit of time to test them out. I picked up some 4/5 pint bottles of pineapple, raspberry, orgeat, falernum, and American Beauty grenadine syrups and some small bottles of old-fashioned, orange, and peach bitters. I wrote up my initial impressions (which haven't changed much, if at all) a few weeks ago on my blog, so I won't just paste them all. You can find them here: Fee Brothers: Syrup and Bitter Tasting I checked the rules to see if I was allowed to post links to content that I had created, but I found nothing, so please chide me ruthelessly if such a link is inappropriate.

I have read in many sources that Lemon Hart Demeraras are, by far, the best out there for quality and price. Are there other easier to find Demeraras that are as praised that I should be looking for?

I thought I'd add a bit of info... I am able to order casees of 80 and 151 proof Lemon Hart demerara rums through the PLCB, but unfortunately, that's the minimum I can order. I could probably only pawn off 3 or 4 bottles of each to friends, leaving me with a hefty bill for the rest. I'm pretty much stuck... ideas? I've called more liquor stores than I would have liked to... and no luck. Can anyone recommend a shop in the Wilmington, DE area that carries Lemon Hart demerara rums? Thanks so much!

After much searching in the MoR, I came across this thread, which pretty much exactly set out to answer the same questions I had (although not specific to Trader Vic)... after reading through, however, it seems as if the initial question was not really answered. Nearly all of my favorite cocktail books (by Regan, Haigh, Wondrich, DeGroff, Trader Vic, Baker, etc.) do their best to separate rum into categories, oftentimes by country of origin, but then they get very vague about brands. I admit I am fairly new to rum, and Grog Log is on the way to enlighten me, but I thought I'd bring this topic back up to the top for more discussion. What are the best rums for cocktails? I don't have my books in front of me now to list the countries of origin, but I can at least start the list from memory: - Puerto Rico - Barbados - Virgin Islands - Jamaican - Cuban - Martinique - Haitian - Guiana I'm sure some of these have light/dark versions that work differently in different drinks, so please feel free to suggest as you like. And I know I missed some key countries, so feel free to fill those in too. I know preference can obviously vary too, but since I currently have little to none of it (preference), I'd be happy to take others' suggestions of brands and labels to try. Thanks for any assistance you can provide... I know there are a lot of great minds on here filled with such knowledge.

eje, I know that several PA stores stock the Marie Brizard Apry as a speciality item, and you can always SLO it. I'm not sure what there state-state shipping laws are (or if this is even possible), but it leads me to believe that they are still making it - I wouldn't see why they would discontinue such a tasty product.

Katie, I've been thinking about ordering myself a box of cordial syrups from Fees too. Have you been pleased with the quality of the products? -Rick

Which exact brand have you found? I did a few searches on the PLCB website and came up with nothing.

I just got the call. My Marie Brizard Orange Curacao has arrived. 2 points for the SLO system! They mentioned that they could order items that were not even listed in their SLO database. Has anyone found this to be correct? What are some other interesting or hard-to-find items that people have SLOed (I don't want to get too off-topic, although, I fear I may have.) -Rick

I'm on my second bottle of Chalfonte, and enjoying it greatly for cocktails (i.e., Sazerac, Sidecar, etc.) Now, I fully admit that cognac is not something I've really gotten into, but I can say that Chalfonte is a bit ... boring by itself. For those of you who didn't like it for mixing, what were your qualms?

Mission Successful! Objective: SLO for Luxardo Maraschino Timing: less than a week from order to local store Cost: $29.58 Initial impression: By itself, it is very intense. It just borders on being cough-syrupy, but avoids it narrowly. Aviation: 2oz Gordon's gin 1/2oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur 1/2oz lemon juice Flamed lemon peel for garnish I'm still deciding if I like this or not... I think I'll need to experiment with a few more drinks to see. Next up: Waiting on Marie Brizard Orange Curacao (it's on the way)

I will definitely report here with how things pan out. I was very easily able to determine the minimum quantity of the product just by sending the PLCB an email (ra-lbslo@state.pa.us). This is completely determined by the specific company and can change daily. Some of my other requests (various vermouths) came back at a minimum of 6 bottles - not too horrible if you know it's something you'll use.

I don't believe any, as it goes directly to my local store. I'll let you know when I actually have the goods in hand.

I just put in an order for 1 bottle (no min requirement) of Luxardo Maraschino through their phone SLO ordering department (1-800-332-PLCB). I noticed that the preliminary half-charge was applied to my credit card, so it looks like its not that hard to get. I also decided to pick up a bottle of Marie Brizard Orange Curacao, as I've been entrenched in the triple sec debate with myself for some time now; I know others have mentioned the challenge in getting Marie Brizard products. I hope this has been helpful to those in PA. -Rick