thirtyoneknots

Louisiana Creole/Cajun but since I'm from Houston and my mother's family is from Deep East Texas this may be a little too close to home to qualify. It is almost certainly my favorite to cook, all the way down to making the specialty charcuterie required, and it hits all the comfort food buttons in a way that few other things do. And as an added bonus, Creole cusine incorporates many elements of classical French cuisine as well, probably my very close second favorite.

Even better, my wife, a large animal veterinarian, informs me that it is essentially a useless label. Black Angus beef does not actually have to come from Angus cattle. It can come from any breed, so long as the hide is black. Certainly not a guarantee of quality.

I've seen recipes in top-notch cookbooks by authors everyone here would respect if not adore, calling for "2 octopuses" Octopuses is perfectly correct and is the widely used and accepted plural form of the word octopus, even in scientific circles. While octopode is certainly the technically correct plural, it's considered pedantic and isn't really used. Octopi stems from the mistaken assumptiom that octopus is a latin noun in which -us takes the plural form -i. Octopus is actually ancient greek. Hence octopuses. If it were latin, it would be octopedes. There endeth the annoying grammer lesson If only there were a way to convert that knowledge into an annoying grammar joke. Those are my favorite.

Grenadine syrups Passion fruit syrup Sugar cane syrups But my question was about cocktail mixers. Obviously Lancastermike is right saying "I will get no love for my products here" "To be or not to be" was addressed to all cocktail lovers (professionals and consumers). So far we predominantly hear professionals opinion and it's much appreciated but is there anybody here who could say something in favour of quality mixers they tasted? Yes, I saw them on your site (where I could not find an ingredient listing) but not in my local liquor store, hence my point about distribution.

Yeah, more or less like that, but with distribution like Monin or Finest Call has.

If you're trying to honest market research here and not just promote your existing line, here's something I can advise--cocktail-making as it is practiced by the members of this board is generally very heavy on tradition, which while generally eschewing premixes regardless of purported freshness, does have a goodly number of fruit preservations that are relied upon to greater or lesser degrees. Namely, I'm talking about syrups here. You can go all the way back to Jerry Thomas to see that syrups such as raspberry and orgeat have a longstanding tradition of use, and high quality examples are often difficult to source in many markets without resorting to mail-order or making it yourself, which can be time-consuming and expensive from a labor cost standpoint for many establishments. If you were to offer high-quality, all-natural, preservative-free (but ideally shelf-stable) examples of syrups such as raspberry, grenadine (pomegranate), orgeat (almond, more or less), pineapple, passion fruit, and others, with fair prices and good distribution, you're much more likely to elicit interest from a group like this.

This annoys me too, but I was thinking about it a lot recently and I sort of wondered at what point does the word become common enough in an English-speaking place that it can be considered an English (loan)word? I confess that even though I would readily nitpick about panini, I don't think I have ever ordered or heard anyone order "two cappucini"--"cappucinos" is a readily accepted plural form by all but the most hardcore. I've seen recipes in top-notch cookbooks by authors everyone here would respect if not adore, calling for "2 octopuses", and my best friend and I once had an hour+ discussion on the correct way to refer to multiples of a Toyota Matrix. Ever pulled out a single strand of Spaghetto to test for doneness?

If you're not going to cut corners for 200 covers worth of people who are often as not surly and high maintenance, why would you cut corners for 20 people you actually like, especially ones you actually like enough to give your booze to? For the last several years, largely thanks to David Wondrich's influence (Splificator on this board), old-timey punch has become the party drink of choice for professionals and home enthusiasts alike. It does a good job of economizing potentially labor-intensive items like citrus and of course has the advantage of being made ahead of time to allow the host to socialize during the shindig. That being said I'm sure that parties where sour mix, tonic, and a few bottles on the counter where guests are left to fend for themselves are still far more common than Fish House Punch.

You're right that there has to be some description. But there are exceptions: Wife: "Honey, when you get home we're going to have sex three ways." Husband: "I'm at the front door now!" versus: "Honey, when you get home we're going to have sex one way." Husband: "I'm at the front door now!" Okay, bad example. Husband: "Honey, when you get home we're going to have sex three ways." Wife: "I'm leaving now!" versus: "Honey, when you get home we're going to have sex one way." "Did you pick up the dry cleaning like I asked?" Ok this is a far better line of reasoning.

For the same reason that it's weird if the menu says "Red-wine Braised Chicken with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions" instead of "Coq au Vin". Most menus have subheadings that allow for more complete descriptions, which is the typical place to elaborate on what Coq au Vin is to the uninitiated, or what the three ways of duck cooking are to the curious. The name of the dish itself shouldn't test the diner's attention span, though. Agreeing to disagree is ok, too

Interesting. Is it the name or the concept you are opposed to? If the name, what alternative system to describe this would you propose? The name. It's a cliché at this point, implying a dated reference to Thomas Keller, and yet, when I see it on the menu, it's not because I'm at French Laundry. It's the nomenclature version of horizontal plating. As for another name, I'd suggest X. A menu listing simply "Duck" isn't terribly informative to a diner, though. To be a useful a menu should convey, ideally in a relatively concise way, both the item being prepared and the method(s) of preparing it, if the method is not intrinsic to the dish. "Duck Two Ways" at least hints that a variety of preparations are being employed. It would seem to me that if the rather straightforward name of the concept is cliche or dated then the concept itself must be as well--a somewhat different issue. I'm not trying to nitpick the fun out of the topic (believe it or not ) but while "oven-fried chicken" would make me run away from a misguided and inferior preparation method, "Duck (or whatever) Two Ways" would provide a subtle mix of information and intrigue, if the menu were well-written. Hardly something to run away from I'd think.

Interesting. Is it the name or the concept you are opposed to? If the name, what alternative system to describe this would you propose?

My short answer is that premixes are relatively expensive, and even if they could somehow match the flavor of fresh juices, mint, etc (unlikely), it robs the bartender of a highly important aspect of flexibility. Can't adjust the sweet/sour aspects of anything, and you can only use each mix to make a very limited number of drinks. With just lemons, limes, and simple syrup and the possibilities are literally endless.

They don't taste particularly similar, I would imagine a Rainwater Madiera is close enough to pass but a Bual or Malmsey is going to be quite sweet. Around here cooking-grade marsala can be had for like $4/btl (good stuff, otoh, is hard to come by). If you can get that, might as well use it.

I don't consider myself particularly qualified to give notes on Scotch to I've never really done any writeups here but the place I used to work had a vertical of The Glenrothes, vintages 1972, 1979 single cask, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991, and of course the Select Reserve. During the course of working two tasting events I was able to gain a degree of familiarity with the lineup...my favorites were the 72 and 85, though I'll gladly accept a 79 single cask if you're offering. Which is the one you had?

"Perfect" with regards to flowers refers to ones that are essentially hermaphrodites--I wonder if this could be a related usage.

I got a chance a year or two ago to sample, side by side, an over-aged sample and the white dog along with 'normal' Makers Mark. I am, at most, an infrequent consumer of the stuff but I find it a perfectly fine product. The sampling was quite instructive as to why the distillers and blenders choose the age they do; the bottled stuff was more interesting than that with the extra age, which I found too woody. My first impression on tasting the 46 is that it was probably essentially the exact same thing I had tasted as an "over-aged" sample. It's certainly good, but I wish the proof were higher still, to balance out the woodiness. Mostly though, I wish it weren't 50-60% more expensive than the original. Every new spirit being priced in the "super premium" price bracket is getting tiresome.

I don't think it's a tradition in the same sense, but I once was advised that a bottle of Crown Royal (this is Texas, after all--but I'd prefer to give or receive Bourbon) and a Scrabble set was a perfect housewarming gift.

Jerry Thomas himself calls for this tactic a few times, so it certainly has a long history and unimpeachable pedigree.

I've read before that Absinthe, unlike almost all other spirits, can benefit from bottle aging. This is perhaps related to the type of closure used on some of the bottles.

I haven't been there since it reopened after the post-Ike fire, but Brennan's is something of an institution, by the same family who owns Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Very elegant and special for brunch or dinner.

I'd concur on the Alsatians, but those are of course from France! Australian Semillon, maybe? Torbreck makes one that is or at least used to be quite nice, at a very fair price. I haven't had it in several vintages. August Kesseler, from the Rhinegau, makes some really nice Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), afaik they would fit the budget given. I've had some really killer Pinot Noir from the Bio-Bio Valley in Chile before, but they may be a tad heavy for Salmon--not heavy like Central Coast CA by any means but think warm-vintage Gevrey. They are (or were) very cheap though! Italian Pinot Bianco could be a worthwhile direction to explore, too. Sauv Blanc without much wood is a nice safe choice as well, though it may limit the fireworks.

Looks like more of an "Improved Oaxaca Cocktail" Tried that smoked syrup in an East India yet?

Does it really, on any level, get better than an Old Fashioned made with Old Weller 107 and Angostura? I submit to you that it does not. At least not tonight.

I agree with much of Kohai's sentiment. Dan, perhaps I didn't articulate well what I meant, but in my opinion the problematic nature of the way most writers and recipes classify rum is precisely due to the fact that they do it the way you did, instead of paying attention to the details of individual character. Flor de Cana 4 yr gold, Mt Gay Eclipse, St. James Ambre, and Smith & Cross are all about the same color. These are extremely poor if not outright inappropriate substitutions for each other.