thirtyoneknots

I'm with you. The depressing thing is that that kind of flourish and 'frippery' go a long way with a lot of customers, especially in more backwater-type cocktail locales such as the one I inhabit. I'm sure it's not all that different in the lesser places in NYC and other known cocktail cities though.

Don't go putting just any green Jamican herbs in there though...

Maybe consider using some sort of Curacao instead of Maraschino, to pick up on the orange notes found in many mixing-grade Irish Whiskies. I could be completely wrong but it seems like Maraschino might be more difficult to balance.

Blanco tequila, I would assume?

The difference is $4 or so usually, and it's perhaps the best return on $4 between two liquors of the same type. You'll be glad you did, except when you realise you're going through the stuff at 2-3x the rate you were.

I had a friend snag a bottle for me when he was in Chicago, he said it was about $25, which makes it comparable with the price of Plymouth gin at Spec's (something like $23 or 24 cash price). I'm slightly appalled at the prices quoted for NYC. In related business, when I started buying Plymouth over 2 years ago it was like $12 or 13 for a 750 mL bottle, making it a no-brainer as a go-to. Now it's approaching the price of things like Junipero and Tanq. 10. What gives? I love the stuff, but not when it's 25% more than Beefeaters.

I've got a recipe for a Pink Lady that calls for gin and applejack. (and lemon juice, grenadine, and an egg white). Made one, but it seemed a little weak. I think I need to tewak the ratios. The recipe I found was really just a list of ingredients from a cocktail menu. ← Try this: 1.5 oz gin .5 oz applejack (bonded please) juice of half a lemon tsp raspberry syrup or grenadine if you must 1 egg white (or 1 per 2 drinks is fine) Shake according to your preferred method for eggwhite drinks and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Quite tasty, if a bit unusual.

using that definition for spirit, what about drinks that used Cointreau? It's 80 proof. Just like most gins, vodkas, etc. That would make a whole lot of drinks fall under the "two spirits" type. Of course, I don't think that's what we are looking for here. So, there must be more to the definition of what makes something a spirit. ← Cointreau is flavored and more importantly, sweetened. It's high proof makes it a fantastic and versatile liqueur, but it's not a spirit as traditionally understood.

Good points all around, but don't forget the humble Pink Lady. Barack Palinka or other dry apricot brandy is imo absolutely bewitching with dry white rum like Flor de Cana. For proof, I present the Culross.

Decided after squeezing in a long-overdue yard-mowing in ahead of a (hopefully) impending deluge from the fringes of Dolly way down south, that I need more Tiki in my life. Specifically, I realised that I couldn't recall having tried a single new drink from Sippin' Safari, despite having had the book since February. Flipping through, this one cought my eye for its relative simplicity and restrained use of an uncommon ingredient: Kamehameha Rum Punch 1 oz light rum (Flor de Cana) 2 oz pineapple juice (canned) 1/2 oz lemon juice (1/2 a lemon) tsp Blackberry brandy (DeKuyper) tsp grenadine (homemade) tsp simple (2:1) Pour everything together and swirl to mix, then pour into tall glass with crushed ice and give a few stirs. Float: 1 oz dark Jamaican Rum (Appleton Extra) fill with more crushed ice if necessary. This is pretty tasty. Kind of sweet, as might be expected, but not overly so. The pineapple dominates as it is wont to do, but the really interesting part is played by the blackberry brandy, which is elusive and understated. I had actually expected to not be able to taste it, but it's there, in perfect balance. Makes me want to retry with a better brand, but thankfully the otherwise unremarkable DeKuyper works decently. Recommended, but next time I might either increase the lemon to a full ounce or just drop the simple, but sweetness is kind of subjective and others might find this perfectly balanced. -Andy

Alcuin makes the obvious (but good) point that sweet mixers will typically cover up the more interesting characteristics of better liquors, but that said there are a few that I think might be on the fence, price-wise that are sufficiently unique in character and delicious that it might tempt a "and coke" drinker to try the naked creature out, it might even become their gateway to a new world of liquor appreciation. My votes are for Eagle Rare 10 yr in the Whiskey category and Cruzan Single Barrel in the rum department. You should be able to find either for about $25/btl, and while both are artisinal products worthy of the snifter, neither is so rare or exotic that I would cringe at giving them to someone who would probably mix them with coke. The Cruzan Single Barrel in particular has a charcoal/woodshop character to it that might appeal to the lover of both Jack Daniels' and rum. It might be worth tactfully noting in giving the gift that these are just as good on the rocks or neat as with Coke. Hope this helps. -Andy

The story/legend/theory goes that it was created in honor of the visit to New York by the first Japanese dimplomatic mission to the United States., which occured just a few years before the recipe was first published in Jerry Thomas' 1862 Bon Vivant's Companion. Full story here. ← Great bit of history. Kind of makes you wish you knew Tommy, he sounds like someone you would want to have a cocktail with. ← Ain't that the truth

I'm not familiar with this, so I'm not quite sure how thick it is, but do you/can you dilute it to a syrup with water? Does the stuff have a significant flavor of it's own or is it pretty neutral?

Milk punch

Maybe you get some of it, but I think Sloe Gin is a little bit tart and astringent to play that part. I could be wrong though, I'll report back after trying it tonight.

I haven't tried this but it appears in Dr. Cocktail's book slightly modified as the Modernista. Of course his addition of Swedish Punsch made the drink inaccessable at the time to most of us, unfortunately. I'd be willing to bet that a half-tsp or so of Grenadine won't make the drink appreciably sweeter, but by omitting it you're missing out on what is in my opinion one of the greatest combos possible in a cocktail: anise (from pastis or absinthe) and red fruit (grenadine, cherry heering, etc). I might give this one a go tonight if I get a chance, to the original specs. If the grenadine is in fact making it too sweet for you, try adding another 1/4 oz or so of scotch. Just my $.02 -Andy

The story/legend/theory goes that it was created in honor of the visit to New York by the first Japanese dimplomatic mission to the United States., which occured just a few years before the recipe was first published in Jerry Thomas' 1862 Bon Vivant's Companion. Full story here.

I remain convinced that there is an earth-shattering cocktail waiting to happen in the combination of agave nectar and scotch. I haven't hit on it yet (and haven't tried much lately actually), but mark my words, it's out there somewhere.

A noble goal if ever a goal could be called that.

If it's true that Trader Vic was using the neutral spirits based Orange Curacao from DeKuyper when he created the Mai Tai, I'm not so sure that the brandy blended Grand Marnier (or even the Brizard Orange Curacao) is the most "authentic" choice. Have you done comparative taste tests? I've mixed with Grand Marnier so infrequently, I'm not even really sure what it brings to a cocktail. ← I personally think that Grand Marnier is too heavy for many of the places people try to use it (Margaritas, etc) though of course it's largely a matter of taste. I've made Mai Tais with Brizzard, modern DeKuyper, Cointreau, and Grand Marnier and my perference is for the Brizzard or Grand Marnier, depending on my mood that day (or what is available). The GM brings a nice richness to the drink while the MB is slightly cleaner, but retaining character, whereas I think Cointreau tastes a little too clean for this particular application. Modern DeKuyper, on the other hand, doesn't even really taste like orange when compared to the other products mentioned. All that said, I didn't claim the substitution was the most authentic, I said it was 'better' --a subjective claim to be sure but I think if you try it you'll agree. Authenticity for it's own sake is a fun and usually delicious way to go about making drinks, but if that means I've got to use an inferior product then I'll be inauthentic. Of course I've never tried 1940's era imported DeKuyper Curacao (how was that stuff so common with the Nazis in control of the Dutch distilleries?). I'd be curious if anyone ever has....Dr. Cocktail?

Absinthe Drip, if you want to get all romantic. Also much more of a 'Continental' style of thing to drink, and I would imagine more popular with the locals (at the time) than any of the others.

I would say that Grand Marnier is a better sub for Curacao in a Mai Tai, but Cointreau will certainly do no harm.

Texas undoubtledly would get a Crown and Coke

There's a sick part of me that wants to put this on the cocktail menu, with no explanation other than "hope you like scotch!" and see what happens.

I don't know how closely this really approximates the functioning of an old-school Soda Fountain, but I like to splash a bit of Monin (or other) lemon syrup in the glass and hit it with the syphon. Highly delicious and more 'lively' than commercial lemon-lime soda. If you want to add some lime syrup as well, use very little, like maybe 3 or 4 parts lemon to 1 part lime, maybe even less. Lime syrup tends to dominate the mixture if you're not careful.