thirtyoneknots

I like the High Hat: 1.5 oz (or 2) Rye .5 oz Cherry brandy .5 oz lemon shake/strain/up The Move Over is also nice: 1.5 oz gin .5 oz Dry vermouth .25 oz sweet vermouth .25 oz cherry brandy dash Angostura stir/strain/up, twist. I initially discovered both of these via The Gumbo Pages' cocktail page which also has many other interesting recipes.

So I missed out on this, but I thought I'd put one in late anyway. I do have a good excuse for being late: I was attacked by a loose pit bull in my girlfriend's neighborhood last Sunday and was later in the week hospitalised to treat the resulting infection. Everything appears to be ok for now aside from the nasty gash in my leg that will eventually leave a cool looking scar. Due to the pain meds I'm on the cocktailing of late has been minimal, but I thought I'd share the following potion I'd been enjoying lately, renowned for it's "Hair of the Dog" (hah) properties to the sporting crowd of the 19th century: Absinthe Frappe (my way, adapted from Imbibe!): 1.5 oz Lucid Absinthe .75 oz 1:1 simple syrup .75 oz water Shake very well with a glassful of crushed ice and pour it all back in, adding more crushed ice to fill. I like to use a 12 oz footed beer glass for this. These are the ratios I use for Lucid, if you have a more or less potent absinthe, adjust the booze, sugar, and water amounts accordingly. A highly refreshing way to enjoy absinthe if ever there was one. -Andy

I've been watching the discussion on this drink and have one silly question. Why are you ruining good SCOTCH? Any serious Scotch drinker knows there is only one way to drink it in that way is neat! That's the only way true Scotch drinkers drink it. ← The only way to drink good scotch is The Way You Like It. If neat is the only way you go who knows what you might be missing out on? Neat spirits are lovely but purchasing the bottle entitles you to mix it with Cynar and Apry if you so desire

Not sure where you're located but try restaraunt or bar supply stores. I know there's one in Houston that will sell glassware by the dozen or (if you ask nicely) even by the half-dozen. As far as I can recall they carry the full line of Libby stuff, including the glasses shown here. I would imagine there's a place like this near you if you look hard enough.

Some liqueurs and syrups that are common to use in small amounts I actually have in dasher bottles from bitters. Since I know that I dash about 8 to a tsp, I can then measure them out with a fair amount of precision without having to worry about waste when it sticks to a spoon. I have the following items in bottles of this type: Rich (2:1) Demerara syrup Rich (2:1) Simple syrup (refined sugar) Homemade Grenadine Grand Marnier Brizard Curacao Creme de Violette Luxardo Maraschino Jade Edouard Absinthe

Damn, that does sound appealing. Now I'm going to have to pick up a bottle of Macallan Cask Strength and re-try the Affinity with that instead of the Compass Box. ← At work tonight I made 2 Affinities for customers with the Laphroaig Cask Strength, they were well-recieved. Pretty dang tasty, the intensity of the Laphroaig is well-tamed by the vermouths and bitters, and yet there's still something slightly uncivil and brash underneath. I have a regular who loves to drink things with peaty single-malt as their base, he calls them 'mean drinks'. The LCS Affinity is sort of a mean drink that won't hit you himself, since he might mess up his suit, but he has henchmen to do it for him. I'd drink it again.

I've found some info elsewhere on egullet on this but none dealing with my specific requirement: I am in the market for an electric ice crusher preferably of commercial grade that can be had (ideally, though I have no reference point) for under $150. I'm not so sure what the capacity needs to be, as far as pounds/day goes, but it's going to be used by the kitchen as much as by the bar so fairly sturdy. Is there a gold standard for ice crushers out there today? I know some have recommended defunct models but I'd rather go for a new one if possible. Thanks in advance. -Andy

Concur as well; dry vermouth and brown spirits in general is a tricky combination most of the time.

When I see those measurements I normally just mentally convert them to dashes; measurements are so much more romantic when they're obscure, vague, or imprecise. Find me a cocktail enthusiast who isn't in it at least partly for a romantic angle (not like love romantic) and I'll eat my mixing glass. But hey use what works for you; that's what I do.

How would it work if in making a liqueur like this you infused the booze with non-chocolate flavors, say orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla (or whatever), and then sweetened it with a high quality homemade chocolate syrup?

Why is this called the Alfonso cocktail (I thought it would have Alfonso mangoes)? ← Can't help with the name, but the drink, as far as I know, originates in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, the recipe appears here in it's original form.

Meant to put this up last night but forgot. I was trying to think of a rye drink I hadn't had in a while while cooking supper for a bit of a celebration and hit on a Slope, which I had previously made with preportions something like 2:.75:.25 and enjoyed immensely. Well while measuring I got destracted and accidentally overpoured the Punt y Mes and Apry. Never fear! I was able to improvise to success, to my palate even better than before: .25 oz Apry .75 oz Punt y Mes 1 oz Thomas Handy Rye stir/strain/up (this is to go in a 3 oz glass). Garnish with a lemon twist, or don't. I really wish there were a more available barrel-proof rye. Even if it wasn't significantly cheaper than Handy, I'd still love for there to be something with that much oomph that I didn't have to hoard and dole out on special occasions. 100 proof is nice (should be the standard in my opinion) but sometimes you just need more.

Word.

So just a bit of question to stimulate discussion; are we naming drinks that are "essential" in the strict sense of the word, ie ones that we expect to be able to order and have made correctly at any cocktail bar worth it's bitters, or are we simply naming our favorite drinks? Seems to be both methods at work here. I recall reading a thread on Drinkboy some years back about "10 drinks for a desert island" or something similar. It would seem that this is a bit different that the ten most 'essential'.

Not if you make them this way. 50ml Light rum (Havana 3, Flor de Cana 4, 10 Cane, Bacardi Superior, etc.) 25ml Fresh lime juice 2-1 sugar syrup to taste (15-20ml should suffice) 8-10 mint leaves Splash of soda Procedure - Add first four ingredients to glass, fill with crushed/cracked ice and churn. Top with crushed ice and a splash of soda Glass - Collins/highball Ice - Crushed/cracked Garnish - Lime wedge & mint sprig ← Yeah unfortunately folks typically want a mint-flavored soft (hard?) drink flavor so I don't think I'm going to be able to get away without muddling, however more subtle the flavor may be. One particular fellow who sometimes seemed to find his drink lacking in mintiness came in one night so I asked him if he wanted to try something similar but a little different. He agreed, so I proceeded to make him a Green Swizzle from Esquire Drinks, which is a delicious compound with a beautiful rum-lime-mint flavor balance. He complained that it was "too strong". I should have known better.

Balance is subjective to some degree; many of the recipes coming from such hallowed sources as the Pegu Club, whose pedigree is certainly beyond question, seem a bit on the sweet side to me. Clearly these are perfectly balanced to the lion's share of drinkers. There was a time when I was making drinks for customers the way I like them, and the way I like them can be a bit...difficult for some, which was reflected in the more modest following the bar program had at the time. WHen I learned to balance drinks for the more typical palate, the results showed in my tips and sales. The thing is, many of those drinks, the most popular ones at work, are sufficiently sweet to my palate that I would want only a single small one for myself, and very cold. For most people this is not a problem. Balance, like other aspects of taste, is subjective.

Would you say that Cornas as a whole fared ok in the 2002 Rhone weather problem? I've seen a few online whose prices did not reflect the overall poor quality of the vintage in that region and I wondered about it. Thanks, Andy

And this is where I would say, full of faux sincerity, "Oh, sorry...I don't have any cranberry juice. But, hey, if you like Cosmos, let me make you a..." And this is where the Jasmine usually comes in, or I may go with an Aviation, with violet. I have yet to make that for someone where they haven't immediately declared it their new favorite cocktail. ← I know its cool to hate on them, but I don't think there isn't anything wrong with a well made cosmo. I understand people not wanting to make a million of them because people order it as a shortcut, but I don't think there is anything inherently bad about them. I make them like Robert Hess http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/41/cosmopolitan/ and think they taste great. ← I agree, it's never a drink that I'll complain about or roll my eyes at (well thats bad form anyway but I mean internally). When made well, adhering to basic principles of balance, it can be a revelation to people who have never had it made that way, and with a little prodding can lead them into a greater appreciation of other more interesting cocktails. And hey, it's faster to make than a Mojito. That said, the last time I made one at home was probably two and a half years ago.

It could also be that synthetic vanilla or some other vanilla-like flavoring component is substituted. Personally, when I tasted it from a distributor rep I thought it smelled and tasted more like french toast (in a relaitvely unsubtle way) than vanilla per se. Mildly interesting, and even at $50/btl (!) we could probably sell the stuff like hotcakes but happily the boss agreed that that kind of thing didn't need to be in the inventory. The level of quality available in whiskey (for example) for $50/btl makes, I think, the most compelling argument against that kind of product

For those who like the Jasmine, and as an even easier gateway to the world of Gin and Campari, allow me to recommend the Bitter Elder, which I first saw on the Drinkboy forums here (I think): 1.5 oz gin (Plymouth the delicious and approachable choice) .75 oz St. Germain .5 oz Campari .5 oz lemon (juice of half is usually what I do) Shake/strain/up Even more like grapefruit than the Jasmine, its remarkable (and a little less sweet while maintainging balance). These have become a runaway hit for us, converting even a few folks who were strictly in the wine-only set to branch out a bit and try some of the things from the bar.

Just tried this myself with Grand Marnier, Old Grand-Dad 114, Punt y Mes, Noilly Prat, and a dash each of Angostura, Regans, and Fee's Aromatic. Pretty unusual, the Punt y Mes dominates a bit and definitely a far cry from what I expect from a Manhattan, but danged if it ain't tasty. Cask Strength would have been better but I couldn't bring myself to break into precious Thomas Handy so the OGD had to do. Worth a spin. ETA: Much, much tastier as it warms. This might have to go in the rotation.

If discussing the most essential drinks then I would agree with 5 on your list: Martini Manhattan Sidecar Old Fashioned Margarita* And would agree with weinoo on these as well: Daiquiri Negroni Gin Fizz (close enough to a Collins but with egg white, so it's better) And also toss in: Mint Julep Highball (as a single drink and as a category) Basically I would say if you can make these correctly then you can make pretty much anything. I didn't number or rank them because I think they are all more or less equally "essential" *I put the Margarita on my list simply due to it's popularity, although I'm not huge on Tequila and I actually think the Sidecar illustrates the same concept in a more elegant drink. If the list were to be strictly about the academic/conceptual qualitites of the drinks then I would probably replace it with...I'm not exactly sure; either Brandy Punch (or something similar) or a Vieux Carre.

It was because of Prohibition that the US Government (now the Taxation and Trade Bureau of the Division of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) set up a category for non-potable alcohol, which includes things such as vanilla extract and non-potable bitters (such as Angostura).Bitters such as Angostura still need to be approved by the TTB before being classified as non-potable before being sellable. Avery Angostura, Abbott's, etc were available for sale during Prohibition. ← The only problem that i can think off is how Abbott's could get heir hand on neutral spirit to make the bitters. Abbott's is from the US, isn't it? ← Abbott's was made in Maryland, yes. Distilled spirits are necessary for industrial applications as well as recreational ones, so distilling would not have come to a complete halt. Something like NGS would have still been available, especially in the bulk industrial buy it by the rail car type of context.

It was because of Prohibition that the US Government (now the Taxation and Trade Bureau of the Division of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) set up a category for non-potable alcohol, which includes things such as vanilla extract and non-potable bitters (such as Angostura).Bitters such as Angostura still need to be approved by the TTB before being classified as non-potable before being sellable. Avery Angostura, Abbott's, etc were available for sale during Prohibition.

Hey there! Are you saying I have tastes like a "Maiden"? I resent that implication! Besides, the Maiden's Prayer is about the same sweetness as a Corpse Reviver. ← Heh I was actually referring to the sour with oj formula. The Maidens I drink with all like Rye, so it's definitely not a pejorative around here