thirtyoneknots

If you'll entertain another question... Is the lack of mention of Anchor Genevieve to be taken as a sign of its inappropriateness as a sub for Hollands Gin in the recipes given? Blue-bottle Bols is not (yet, I hope) available in Texas, and I'm jealously hoarding the small stash of green bottle Bols I have. Genevieve I can get relatively easily. What say ye? I know it's quite a different beast...

I totally get the brut side of things, but I am a bit curious about the French part, given that quality sparkling wines from other regions are now readily available. Is it a matter of personal preference or is there just something about Champagne champagne that tends to work well in a punch? ps. very jealous of all those that have gotten their copy already. mine is in the mail and I can't wait for it to arrive. I definitely agree that French sparklers have a peculiar acidity balance not generally found in the wines of other countries. My own experience is that decent sparklers from other parts of France work well though with my budget it's a question of drinking it with imitations or not drinking them at all (Francois Montand is a favorite at about $11/btl). I absolutely believe the man when he recommends the Genuine Article though.

Great read indeed. You've covered this before on this thread and others, but I was susprised to find no general recommendations on sparkling wines in the book apart from a recommendation to stay Brut and one recipe that says go French. Any new opinions on 'champagne' for punches resulting from research for the book? Can't wait to try some of these out.

Ha! I picked up something new to me too. It's called Underberg. On the label, it says it's not a beverage. It has something in common with Fernet Branca. Underberg is quite exciting stuff.

I really enjoy keeping Sherry around and typically have open bottles in the fridge for much longer than the times listed above without a terribly noticeable decline in quality, though for all I know they were already past when I opened them (tasty anyway). You may not find a Fino or Manzanilla as delicious on its own after a couple of weeks but it's still great for a Bamboo, or even to cook with.

I can't offer details on that particular drink (which I actually thought was made with GT Stagg), but having enjoyed more than my share of Handy Sazeracs I can only say that (like any other Sazerac) it's pretty much impossible to mess up unless you make it too sweet. My typical MO is to use a scant 2 oz of rye, tsp of sugar or rich syrup, and 3 dashes of bitters. Extra long stir, chilled glass rinsed with Jade Edouard, lemon twist. My actual preferred route is to go half Handy and half Saz 18. The 18 lacks interest on its own in a cocktail, but when pointed up like that it is quite fine indeed.

Is accessibility really an issue in this day and age? And surely online ordering is the most accessible way of purchasing practically anything nowadays, particularly when speaking about a global audience? For an enthusiast? No, in fact the internet is an aid to accessibility. To someone with only a very casual interest in cocktails, however, if they can't buy it at the liquor store then they probably won't buy it at all. It's just an extra (if minor) level of hassle, which is more than enough to deter most people. If I'm understanding correctly that the target audience here is people who aren't already reading forums like this, then making things easy to obtain is key. For my own part I've got something like 15-20 different bitters around, not counting ones I've made for myself. My dad, who has only a minor interest in making someonthing for himself more complicated than a Tom Collins, has only the bitters I've taken to him.

If accesability to a broad audience is the criteria, then it would seem best to go with whatever is more widely available to purchase in a store without resorting to online ordering and the attendant hassles that can entail. How you would determine which is more available I'm not quite sure, they are roughly equally so for me but that may not be the case everywhere. I should note that the only widely available orange bitters at retail for me are Fees, and if I had to choose between Fees OB or Peychauds, I'd probably go with Peychauds. If Regans or some other more interesting choice in OB were the alternative the choice would be more difficult. Oddly, Regans seems to be a mail order only proposition in TX. TBT are to be had for those who care to search, but wow are they pricey, which would be another obstacle to accessibility. edit: spelling

Yes, I found one brand labelling what would otherwise be powdered or confectioner's sugar as superfine though the ingredient list included starch (tapioca starch I think). I should add that my recent move to a town of no more than 11k has limited my everyday grocery selection a bit. Domino sugar is not universally available in Texas, which still has strong ties to Imperial Sugar, even though it is no longer produced here.

Good to know, though the only thing I can find labelled as "superfine sugar" has starch added to it to prevent clumping.

It may well be the same thing. I have recently become the proud owner of a new food processor so I'll have to give that method a try; I keep forgetting about it for some reason.

Had some Orgeat this year made with almonds that not only had not been blanched, but had been toasted beforehand as well. I have to say, it made me question Orgeat Orthodoxy quite a bit. I'm not quite sure how well it would work across the board in lieu of traditional orgeat, but I certainly think it has potential to improve some drinks...Japanese came to mind. [Credit due to Robby Cimmino of Republic Steakhouse in College Station and occasionally at Anvil in Houston]

Agreed. If I get the itch for a Daiquiri or a Ramos at home and haven't got any Caster Sugar, I'll make something else. Can't explain quite why, but I feel like it is just clutch in some drinks. I'm very willing to entertain the idea that it is perhaps just slightly sweeter per given volume, and coupled with it's easy-dissolving nature, it probably just balances drinks better at the given ratios I tend to use. Wonderful stuff, though rather pricey as sugar goes (about $4/lb)

Slightly off topic here but this brings me to something that's been puzzling me for quite a while now, the connection of the Scottish Toddy to the American Cock-tail. Their DNA is very similar, spirit-sugar-water-spice for toddy, spirit-sugar-water-bitters for cock-tail, and both were consumed for their remedial qualities (morning drinks, pick-me-ups and as a cure-all). And then there's the toddy stick... There's not really much question that the Cocktail is inexorably linked in its origins to the toddy/sling is there?

To the best of my knowledge, it is the quinine itself that glows under a black light, so any number of other quinine-containing ingredients should do the same trick (Lillet, et al.) without contributing potentially undesired dilution/clashing flavor that tonic can have.

Drops are very important, a heavy hand with Absinthe is not the best idea here. And since I'm already giving an opinion, I think citadelle is perhaps not the best choice for this type of drink (though really I'm not much on it in general).

Maybe this would best be moved to the eggnog topic (there is one of those, is there not?), but I've got a question as well; is there any good way to consistently keep eggnog from separating? I tend to end up with a lot of foam floating on top after a while. Or is that supposed to happen?

That looks like it would be fun to give the Sazerac treatment to, though what the rinse would be is a little tricky.

I've used high proof neutral spirits (ok, Everclear) to make limoncello and other liqueurs on several occasions and I think the trick to get rid of the medicinal/industrial character it imparts is to make sure it is well diluted/sweetened and then rest it for several months in a cool dark place. This not only takes the alcoholic edge off, it also integrates the flavors better and makes the apparent sweetness less pronounced as well. That, coupled with chilling to freezer temperature, will go a long way towards mitigating the character of raw ngs. After all, any vodka one might use, regardless of proof, started out as 190 proof neautral spirit at some point. Add water, plus or minus a little filtration, and it all comes out more or less the same.

That sort of depends on what proof and sweetness level you desire out of your finished product, but for my own part when making liqueurs I try to use a richer syrup as it gives you more control over dilution and sweetness as independent variables. Generally speaking, a 2:1 syrup will be approximately equivalent in sweetening power to a given volume of granulated sugar, whereas a 1:1 syrup will have about 50% more water. In other words, a tbs of 2:1 simple has about a tbs of sugar in it, whereas a tbs of 1:1 simple has about 2 tsp of sugar in it. Maybe not exact enough for the laboratory, but it's pretty close. If you use 2:1 syrup you can add water to control dilution (somewhat) independently of sweetness.

My intro to absinthe a couple years ago involved tastings of Kubler and North Shore (using a traditional drip). The North Shore is excellent. When I started putting together a home bar last year, I bought a bottle of it. Since then, I've tried St George and was blown away by its complexity. When my North Shore runs out I'll be replacing it with a bottle of St George. Has anyone compared St George to the Jades? I'd be interested in how they compare. Dan I'm hardly an expert on Absinthe, but I have had the St. George, and while I enjoy it a lot, it has a very distinctive character that I don't think of as traditional. Their use of unorthodox (afaik) herbs like mint and terragon gives a very culinary profile to it and while I like it a lot in a drip or frappe, I wouldn't think it was particularly well-suited to something like a Sazerac (if that type of versatility is important to you). Quite nice when you want something different that is not too hard on the budget (for Absinthe, that is).

Scarlet Ibis...a lot of it, 19th century drink paradigm, sounds like it might end up quite popular... Scarlet Fever? Just a thought. Naming drinks is way harder than inventing them.

To me that sounds more like a lack of familiarity with what raw distillate tastes like. Certainly most people would not qualify these products as "smooth", delicious though they are.

To me, something that is "confused" would still be "complex" in an absolute sense, but there would be a lack of harmony in the flavors present. A mix of Campari, Genevieve, Frangelico, and espresso is going to be complex on some level, but is unlikely to taste very good due to a lack of harmony or coherence in the components. I'm not sure I've ever tasted a neat spirit I would describe as confused. Any ready examples?

There's a small distiller based in Waco of all places (otherwise famous for David Koresh and a Baptist university) that makes only two products, one of which is a minimally aged corn whiskey made from heirloom Hopi blue corn. I've taken to calling an Old Fashioned made with it and the JT Decanter Bitters an "Old Fashioned Old Fashioned". Quite an interesting drink.