thirtyoneknots

I think it's because most of the money is invested up-front in growing the agave and the other things I outlined. Also, the reposado and añejo bottlings aren't aged as much as you might think. Reposado mezcal is only aged between two and twelve months, and añejo mezcal only needs to be older than one year to qualify for the designation. When you consider the entire production cycle starting with the growing of the agave, a joven mezcal might take 8 years and a reposado mezcal might take 8.5 years (aged 6 months) and an añejo mezcal 9.5 years (aged 1.5 years). These are only production time increases of 6.25% and 18.75% for reposado and añejo, respectively, versus joven mezcal. Looking at the Los Amantes mezcals, Astor Wines sells the joven for $60 and the reposado for 8.3% more at $65. So. . . it's not the same thing as, say, whiskey, where the vast majority of the production time and expense happens post-distillation. In contrast, an 18 year old single malt has a production time that is 50% longer than a 12 year -- not to mention that there are increased losses due to the "angel's share." ← Good points all around, thanks

Good point, and I'm also often bewildered at how the white, unaged version of a line can be as expensive or nearly so as the reposados and anejos. Slightly off-topic, but as far as a value-priced 100% agave goes, I'm liking the Sauza Hornitos Plata at around $25/bottle. Of course I'm only just finally coming around to tequila after years of strongly disliking it, so take this recommendation with a grain of salt.

Is it me or are these really expensive? $45+ for a bottle is as much as 12 or 15 year Scotch. Why is mezcal, which doesn't require aging, that expensive? Are they much cheaper in Mexico? ← My guesses are: because there isn't much demand for them, so it's more expensive to transport a smaller amount of something than in bulk, and that yes, they would most likely be less expensive.

Also decided that as a nightcap, I'd give the old Coffee Cocktail another try, not having cared much for it the previous two attempts. Made with Dow's Ruby and Handy VS Cognac, it wasn't bad, actually, if a little on the rich side. Tastes a bit like dog hair, so to speak.

Slightly off-topic, but next time you're having foie gras, you might want to treat yourself to a totally dry Gewurztraminer, from Alsace, which is what they pair with foie gras there. And a wonderful combination it is! ← What isn't foie gras good with? Gotta admit that dry Alsatian Gewurz and Riesling are my favorite white styles.

Maybe a little less sugar and sub in absinthe for the bitters and you're pretty close to a Biter Cocktail. Edit because the Biter calls for "lemon juice, slightly sweetened."

Improved Brandy Cocktail from Imbibe again, but this time reduced the amounts of all the modifiers down to the original recipe. Since I have various syrups and liqueurs stored in empty bitters bottles, I literally 'dashed' them in, though for those playing along at home, I have repeatedly quantified my average dash from these as 1/8 tsp. 2 Dashes Angostura 3 (generous) dashes gum (rich simple) 2 (generous) dashes Maraschino (luxardo) 1 dash Absinthe (Jade Edouard) 2 oz Hardy VS Cognac Stir/strain/up into coupe, garnish with twist. I think I like this drier version better. No disrepect intended to the author, of course.

Yeah sorry I see that the post I quoted (and hence my post) makes it look like the sherry should go with the main course, but a dry sherry, either a fino or amontillado, would be perfect with the appetizer. As for the dessert, I do not normally go for sweet wines paired with sweet desserts, but I often find myself in a minority there. If that's the route you want, something sweet-ish and bubbly looks like just the ticket, though maybe sweeter than prosecco. Perhaps a Moscato d'Asti like Ms. Loeb suggested. For the record, my preference is to have coffee with sweet desserts and have something more savory, like cheeses or foie gras, with the sweet wines. I like the contrast. And the Cab or Syrah would be just the thing for the big lamb leg. If it was me, I'd take it as an opportunity to drink some Hermitage

Just a few details on the gun and why this is one of the most subtly clever drink names in history. In case anyone is interested. The Modele 1897 75mm was the first piece of field artillery in history to have a hydraulic recoil dampening system, meaning that unlike all previous wheeled guns which had to be relaid (aimed) after every shot since the recoil pushed the carriage back, the Mle 1897 could simply be reloaded and fired again with reasonable expectations of actually hitting something. Rates of fire and accuracy increased dramatically, from around 2 rds/minute to over 15 (sustained) from a well-trained gun crew. So here you have for the first time a means of rapidly delivering large-bore firepower downrange in large quantity. As anyone who's ever wasted an afternoon drinking this beverage can attest, the comparison is very apt. One of my favorite drinks, too. -Andy

Second

Lazy Sunday, tried out a few new ones, including the Knickerbocker from Imbibe: 2 oz Santa Cruz Rum (Cruzan Single Barrel) 2 tsp raspberry syrup (Monin) 1 tsp Curacao (Grand Marnier) juice of half a lemon Shake with shaved (crushed) ice and decorate with fresh (frozen) berries. Deeelightful. I went against the book's advice to use lime, mainly because I had half a lemon already cut from a few days ago that I wanted to use up. Also, the odd tension between rum and lemon always seemed so old-fashioned to me. Wonderful drink, highly recommended.

Thanks, I was able to get a friend working in California last fall to pick me up a couple of bottles, but since then it's caused quite a sensation at work when I took it up there one day and let people try it. I still haven't gotten around to playing with it in cocktails much, but my boss will be tickled to know it's available now. Is Glazer, in fact, the distributor? -Andy

Not from a production standpoint. In fact I'd bet the company officially denies that the new tastes any different from the old, sort of how Coca-Cola claims that there's no difference between sweetening with cane sugar vs. HFCS, taste-wise.

If it just specifies 'Bacardi Rum' and you're wanting to add a little more 'character' then maybe try the Flor de Cana 4 year Gold, which would, I imagine, come close to approximating the old Bacardi Carta Oro: The other Bacardi Rum.

My (old) bottle claims 24% alcohol (48 proof).

Best way to handle this would be a blind tasting; I can't imagine that any of us here wouldn't be biased against the new formula if we knew what we were drinking. Edit to finish thought.

We used to have the 100 yr and 150 yr Grand Marnier in addition to the regular ol' Cordon Rouge at work. We once did a semiblind tasting on all three side by side and everyone unanimously preferred the cordon rouge to the 100 yr, with the 150 clocking in as the faraway favorite. We no longer stock the 100 yr. Now it could be that some do prefer the 100 yr, but my suggestion is that since it isn't all that much more, go ahead and give the 150 a shot. It's quite nice (one of our wine distributors used to drink it like water). ← i was gonna try and make some and see what kind of results i got. bottle of high end cognac. peel of a couple seville oranges oranges. (in season now!) 34% sugar. (go slowly until you get what you like, grand marnier could use less sugar) pierre ferrand makes small format bottles that might be awsome for experimentation. (the musky character of Selection Des Anges might be really cool contrasted with some orange) i'd start building it piece by piece. maybe even sugar first. then add your orange peel slowly to get your desired intensity. age until next valentines day... save the juice of the tart seville orange for a st. james cocktail... its breaks tradition but i really like to use the mild agave nectars in liqueurs. they dissolve so fast in alcohol, and enliven flavors so well at small doses. a nice bottle of sophisticated hand made orange liqueur would be awsome to keep on the kitchen counter to sip when doing the dishes... ← If you're trying to approximate the profile of the 150, my advice would be to start with something exceedingly mellow (the real thing is based on 100% Grande Champagne Cognac) and maybe mix in a little tangerine with the orange peels; to my taste it has a very distinct tangerine flavor not unlike Van der Hum. Maybe some subtle spice/herb components as well, and yeah some kind of unusual sweetener, maybe even like a Pineau de Charantes. It would raise the proof slightly, but so what? If one was willing to invest in it, some very interesting combinations of orange/brandy liqueurs could no doubt be compounded. -Andy ← this is starting to sound awsome... you'd already be down in proof if you were diluting 80 proof cognac with pure sugar... so you would have to add lots of pineau de charantes to get the sweetness you want... but the less sweet and less alcohol it has the more you can justify drinking! a rainbow of orange sounds beautiful... ← I was thinking the Pineau in lieu of actual sugar; it seems that you prefer relative dryness in liqueurs, so you may be able to achieve the sweetness desired with the Pineau de Charantes alone.

We used to have the 100 yr and 150 yr Grand Marnier in addition to the regular ol' Cordon Rouge at work. We once did a semiblind tasting on all three side by side and everyone unanimously preferred the cordon rouge to the 100 yr, with the 150 clocking in as the faraway favorite. We no longer stock the 100 yr. Now it could be that some do prefer the 100 yr, but my suggestion is that since it isn't all that much more, go ahead and give the 150 a shot. It's quite nice (one of our wine distributors used to drink it like water). ← i was gonna try and make some and see what kind of results i got. bottle of high end cognac. peel of a couple seville oranges oranges. (in season now!) 34% sugar. (go slowly until you get what you like, grand marnier could use less sugar) pierre ferrand makes small format bottles that might be awsome for experimentation. (the musky character of Selection Des Anges might be really cool contrasted with some orange) i'd start building it piece by piece. maybe even sugar first. then add your orange peel slowly to get your desired intensity. age until next valentines day... save the juice of the tart seville orange for a st. james cocktail... its breaks tradition but i really like to use the mild agave nectars in liqueurs. they dissolve so fast in alcohol, and enliven flavors so well at small doses. a nice bottle of sophisticated hand made orange liqueur would be awsome to keep on the kitchen counter to sip when doing the dishes... ← If you're trying to approximate the profile of the 150, my advice would be to start with something exceedingly mellow (the real thing is based on 100% Grande Champagne Cognac) and maybe mix in a little tangerine with the orange peels; to my taste it has a very distinct tangerine flavor not unlike Van der Hum. Maybe some subtle spice/herb components as well, and yeah some kind of unusual sweetener, maybe even like a Pineau de Charantes. It would raise the proof slightly, but so what? If one was willing to invest in it, some very interesting combinations of orange/brandy liqueurs could no doubt be compounded. -Andy

It's hard for me to imagine a company tinkering with a formula and changing only one thing. If the cochineal was a cost issue, I imagine other ingredients were as well, and were also altered. Makes me wonder if this is the first time they've done this.

The label on the back will say 'CONTAINS CARMINE' on the old bottles and will say something regarding the use of artificial color on the new ones. If I'm not mistaken, the bottle shape may be very subtly different as well.

Seems like an attempt to dumb it down, yeah. Not pleased Around here one can still find the old formula if one looks a bit, especially in liters.

We used to have the 100 yr and 150 yr Grand Marnier in addition to the regular ol' Cordon Rouge at work. We once did a semiblind tasting on all three side by side and everyone unanimously preferred the cordon rouge to the 100 yr, with the 150 clocking in as the faraway favorite. We no longer stock the 100 yr. Now it could be that some do prefer the 100 yr, but my suggestion is that since it isn't all that much more, go ahead and give the 150 a shot. It's quite nice (one of our wine distributors used to drink it like water).

More from Imbibe: Tonight after a bit out on the town, including a glass of Lucid at my place of employ (how/why did I manage off on V-Day?), I tried the Gin Punch: 3 oz gin (no Hollands unfortunately, and the Junipero is low; used Bellringer) 2 oz Water 2 tsp sugar .5 oz Raspberry syrup (Monin) Juice of half a lemon Shaken with lots of crushed ice slightly larger than a pencil eraser, along with 2 orange slice and a couple of pieces of (thawed) frozen pineapple. Poured into a pint glass, placed [frozen] berries on top. Verdict: Hm its pretty good, but lacks the certain je nais se quois of the brandy version. Until I can try it again with some Continental gin styles, I must reserve judgement on the whole, but with this London Dry, it's probably a pass. Not that that kept me from finishing it. Edit: clarity

digging into my recent memory banks, this sounds familiair I think this is called a Bennet Cocktail? Do I have that right, Toby? ← Technically a Bennet is completely unsweetened.

I actually quite like the Kesseler R for what it is, but be warned that it is quite dry, and may be a surprise for people who aske for riesling thinking they are getting an off-dry wine. I enjoy the style and think it's quite well-made for the price. -Andy