evo-lution

Thanks for the kind words though I wouldn't agree with the overcrowded comment, wasn't too long ago we were bemoaning the fact we only had Ango Aromatic. We now have a vibrant market with some truly outstanding bottlings. So long as a bottling is well thought-out with a number of applications (I've half-written a piece covering my own portfolio that covers this in further depth) then it's worthy of exploring as with any category. Slight twist on the Baguio Skin is a very good start; As per the receipt of Charles H. Baker but with the addition of Aphrodite Bitters; 50ml Havana Club 7 Year Old (or equivalent) 3 Dashes Aphrodite Bitters 1 Dash Regan's Orange Bitters #6 1 White sugar cube 2 Thinly sliced wheels of lime Method: Add sugar cube to glass and add a little water, lightly muddle and stir until dissolved. Place two wheels of lime on base of glass then add a few cubes of ice. Add rum and bitters then stir for a few seconds Glass: Rocks Garnish: Fresh grated nutmeg Ice: Cubed

Not sure how many of the eGullet members have subscribed to the digital editions of CLASS Magazine from the UK but their latest issue (#20) reviewed my new Aphrodite Bitters giving them a rating of 4.5 / 5 http://www.diffordsguide.com/class-magazine/read-online?page=1%3Brelease%3D2011-09-13

Don't really want to post sales links up on the forum (don't think it's the done thing) but if you shoot me an email to adam.elmegirab@evo-lution.org I'll happily forward some sales links. This is a pretty new review should you be interested - http://thecocktailgeek.com/2011/08/01/product-of-the-month-dr-adam-elmegirab-bitters/

Wanted to give this a little bump as I've just written an article after attending the launch of Bramble's barrel-aged Affinity cocktail on the 28th July; http://thejerrythomasproject.blogspot.com/2011/08/affinity-for-bramble-you-could-say-that.html Their drink has been produced in collaboration with Dr. Bill Lumsden (Glenmorangie and Ardbeg) so I think it'll definitely be of interest to some of you.

After my earlier post I wanted to show what happens with the clarifing powder so made up and infusion and added water until it went cloudy (at around 35%abv). This first picture shows the cloudy infusion; This second picture shows the infusion with clarifying powder added, which has made it slightly cloudier. This is taken just seconds after I agitated the liquid (hence the foam). This third picture is taken two hours after the powder was added, you'll already notice that clarity is beginning to show and the heavy sediment is resting at the bottom of the container.

Sorry I should've said, the reason I refer to louche (as well as cloudiness/haze) was because I imagine some making their own infusions may look to dilute with water which can cause the product to louche in the way that you describe. They are one and the same thing to me and I've had success with the above powder clarifying diluted absinthe, for no reason other than curiousity. The great thing is that there's no noticable loss of flavour. If you let a bottle of Ango sit long enough there's a lot of sediment that gathers at the bottom. Get your hands on an old bottle and you'll typically find a helluva lot (as I've found in a number of old bitters/etc). I imagine that it doesn't settle out too much because the particles are so fine, similar to those in louched Absinthe. I spent a long time contemplating whether clarification of bitters was a big deal or not but the clincher for me was when I considered that some bars decant bitters into their own dasher bottles. Angostura being cloudy isn't so much of an issue due to its dark colour but when your bitters are lighter the cloudiness doesn't make for an appealing product to the eye. The above method I describe is a great (and relatively inexpensive) way for a bartender or enthusiast to clarify their housemade bottles. I'd love to hear some people's thoughts if anyone tries it as it's been great for me on the occasions I have.

Can you give me more info regarding the process of your infusion (abv of base spirit, how much chocolate, type of chocolate, and so on...)?

So, as promised... albeit I'm a couple of days late, apologies. Should you wish to easily remove any/all sediment and you don't have access to (expensive) filtering equipment you will want to make up a clarifying powder consisting of; 2 parts egg white powder 2 parts milk sugar (lactose) 1 part potato starch Add 1/4 ounce of this powder to every litre of liquid that you wish to clarify and shake vigorously. Put the liquid into a warm room for a day or two, agitating regularly. Within minutes you will see the louche dropping out of suspension and settling at the bottom of your macerating container. After around 24-48 hours (longer may be required) filter through coffee filter paper. As I understand it... With that in mind the powder above calls for both negative and positive clarifying agents; Egg white (positive) Milk sugar (negative) Potato starch (negative) which will ensure that all sediment can easily be filtered. As mentioned by jmfangio, Bentonite (negative) can also work but it won't work in every case unless mixed with something that has a positive charge. I'm no scientist so the explanations above may not be accurate but I can assure you the powder works and is great for clarifying small batches of liqueurs/bitters/tinctures/etc that have developed a louche/haze.

Oh yes, I have the remedy, will reveal all tomorrow...

Have you ever tried to filter the 'louche' with a clarifying powder?

The repeated rounds of drinks I made on Saturday contained basil, all my 'tests' at home (as written on the blog) have been with mint, and each person that's tried it has reported back the same thing with either basil and/or mint. I'm also interested to know if the the ABV would have an affect; would the drink be lighter with a stronger base spirit (more ethanol, less water) compared to a lower ABV gin. The interest to me would be the ability to affect/control the colour using, let's say, red basil dependent on the shakers I used and the strength of my base spirits.

No doubt there's a wealth of information on tobacco but I haven't come across much on tobacco infusing in alcohol (save for the post on Darcy's blog). The comparison often seen (with infusing and smoking) doesn't sit right as no-one smokes a cigarette from start to finish, there are points where it's burning on its own so the full level of nicotine isn't directly consumed. With an infusion it's different as the nicotine extracted is only going one place, into the spirit and then down someone's throat.

The full text can be read over on my blog. Would love to hear some thoughts on the colour difference and also on the darker colour gained when using metal-on-metal shakers.

There's too little known about tobacco infusions for it to be something worth dabbling with, plus there are other ways to get the flavour commonly associated with tobacco into your drink if so desired. I'm pretty sure that what you're getting was astringency and not bitterness.

Your last post about that Imbibe recipe sparked some interesting debate; http://egullet.org/p1817156

Interested to hear more about your bottling, particularly the flavour profile.

This tends to happen nowadays, call it mock outrage if you must.

Launching on Monday 18th July 2011; Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Aphrodite Bitters take their name from the Greek goddess of sexuality and love. Aphrodisiacs are substances that are alleged to increase sexual desire and like many traditional bitters the botanicals selected for this bottling have been chosen for their alleged medicinal qualities, in this case as an aphrodisiac. The finest chocolate, cocoa nibs, ginger root, red chilli, Arabica coffee and ginseng are compounded to create a complex flavour profile with each botanical playing off and enhancing one another. Tasting Notes: Dr. Adam Elmegirab’s Aphrodite Bitters pack a real punch with a creamy texture capturing fresh roasted espresso, creamy milk chocolate, rum & raisin truffles and a soft spicy kick throughout all leading to a long wood-spiced finish. Merchant Quarter As featured on the new Aphrodite Bitters label, created by Adam Elmegirab June 21st 2011; 25ml Redemption Rye 25ml English Harbour 5 year old 25ml Martini Rosso 2 Dashes Jade Nouvelle-Orleans Absinthe 3 Dashes Aphrodite Bitters Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with cubed ice and stir for 15-20 seconds Glass: Chilled cocktail Garnish: Homemade cocktail cherry Ice: N/A

I'm not sure if you're allowed to post links to external sites but I thought this would be of some interest to many of you here due to the fact I couldn't find anything like this on the interweb. Anyway, I was recently asked to clarify some Scotch Whisky pronunciations on Twitter and it got me thinking about the vast number of distilleries in Scotland whose names can be a challenge even to those that reside in this beautiful country of ours. Having trawled through the internet I was surprised to find no one resource that detailed phonetic spellings of each distillery/whisky. There were various sites that had the odd bit of info but nothing extensive covering each and every distillery so I decided to take it upon myself to put something together... Scotch Whisky Pronunciations / Phonetic Spellings

I've not yet gotten my hands on a bottle of The Botanist from their second batch but did write about their first batch when I got some back in January.

The abv dropped to 25% a couple of years after Diageo took over which would've (obviously) been related to cost in the UK due to the way that alcohol is taxed. Whether it was 40%abv when it was first bottled I'll never know but I guess that was to keep it in line with other spirits? I said that in the post prior to yours. Those were different times where fruit cups (in this case James Pimm's No. 1 Cup) were very well known, I guess it would have been strange to use a pre-bottled drink as an ingredient in another (I'm still trying to ascertain exactly when they started bottling the No. 1 Cup). I don't really understand why that's odd to some. As for the history of Pimm's that's not in question. If that's where the query stems from then it's a strange one. No. 1 Cup was the original drink name, made by James Pimm. The Pimm's branding would've followed, likely due to the success of his drink (given the fact that it was then bottled for consistency when sold in other bars - James Pimm worked in an Oyster house if I remember right) and the fact that fruit cups were a big deal in early-to-mid 1800s Britain. By what I've read it seems the original (No. 1 Cup) was made using gin, wine, liqueur/s and botanicals (quinine for one and I imagine various spices). Bottled Pimm's is just that in a bottle. Hence the RTD reference. Add mixer, garnish and you're good to go.

Huh? Bottled Pimm's gave you all you need to make a No. 1 Cup which I guess is the reason it wasn't used widely in other drinks. It wouldn't have been looked at as an ingredients in its own right (such as Sweet Vermouth) but as a pre-mix you'd use to make your own No. 1 Cup (commonly referred to nowadays as a Pimm's Cup). Even nowadays Pimm's is rarely used in anything but a Pimm's Cup or one of its variants (speaking from a UK perspective).

Not sure what you mean by the bolded bit? As I understand it the drink (No. 1 Cup) was originally made fresh by James Pimm (consisting of gin, spices, liqueur, that sort of thing) and the bottled version came about due to demand, thus giving you one of the first bottled cocktails (just add water, ice and fruit). For that reason I can understand why no-one was adding what was essentially a bottled cocktail (an 1800s RTD if you must) to another drink. As for modern use many don't know what Pimm's actually is. "It's, erm, Pimm's."

That may well be because it was regarded as a bottled cocktail/Gin Sling which originally was a drink in its own right (the No. 1 Cup).

Definitely not, old advertisments have it laying claim to being the first bottled cocktail (as it was used to aid digestion), hence the Gin Sling reference.