thirtyoneknots

I adore Chrysthanthemums, but haven't had one in forever. It's gentle enough to be a good 'beginner' cocktail but has enough complexity to hold the attention of The Afflicted as well. I think the comparison to Gewurtz is very apt indeed. With pastis it's a little sweet for before dinner but I really ought to try it with the Edouard. I would think it makes quite a difference. -Andy

This reminds me of the Vermouth Cocktail as listed on the Gumbo Pages, credited to Gary Regan: 1 oz each of sweet and dry vermouth, serially double-dash grenadine, Angostura, and Orange Bitters, stir/strain/up, twist. I really enjoyed these quite a bit upon a time, and I always thought the herbals in the vermouth and bitters (some herbal liqueurs like Benedictine do this too) combined to form a vaguely chocolatey essence. Anyone else ever get this? The page says Regan adapted his recipe from a Prohibition-era bar guide. Popular drink back then I guess. -Andy

I sometimes agree with using a specific ratio regardless of brands, and with something like a Sidecar, where lemon juice acidity can vary and the difference in relative sweetness of different Cognac bottlings is rarely extreme, I am likely to do this. To me, however, drinks using primarily aromatic ingredients (vs acidic ones) cry out more for balancing to different ratios. The Martini, for example: I usually go 2:1 with Tanqueray but 3:1 with Plymouth. And I definitely use less vermouth in a Manhattan with Saz6 than with Wild Turkey Rye. And it gets even more specific, I would argue, when you make an even simpler drink like an Old Fashioned with different bottleings of different spirits. How much sugar? How much bitters? What kind of each? I think gin definitely varies more from bottling to bottling than other mixing spirits, and so the need to balance them in recipes is more than with whiskey or brandy. But of course, depending on my mood or the preferences of my customers I'll let the spirit brand shine in the cocktail or the flavor combination: these are really the options you are choosing between. -Andy

What is up with measurements like that? They pop up all the time but why be so precise when there's no common measuring device calibrated to this amount. Why not say something like "Scant 3/4 oz" or something? Weird.

I think they're violet

Kent, many thanks for the kind words about Veritas and the cocktail program. We are rather proud of it, even though it sort of gets overshadowed by the wine list, which is amazing. I've been busy getting ready to move out of my apartment, so I haven't gotten a chance to play with the sugar yet, but I promise to report back by the weekend. It's true that Brazos County hasn't had a significant restaraunt scene until fairly recently ("significant" being relative here) but it is getting better, and I would put Veritas at the top of that heirarchy, quality-wise. The demographics of the community have changed appreciably since I moved here 5 years ago, and it's important to note that a fine-dining concept like this would not have succeeded then. College Station is definitely better known for beer joints and dance halls, but we like being able to provide something different. In just seven months since we've opened the bar program has become the best in town (in my very modest opinion ) and the wine list and food menu have been streamlined and are constantly improving. Such a privelidge to host fellow eGullet members, and I would love to again. Of course the one picture of me on eGullet has me with my eyes closed -Andy

I'll definitely try to liberate the rest of the syrup from work and try the Artist Special. As far as making the syrup goes, the puree is pretty tart by itself, so it needs a good bit of sugar, but try to dilute it as little as possible to maintain the strength of flavor (mine was a little weak). If I was going to do it again I might try making 2:1 syrup in equal amount to the puree I have/am going to use, then once removing from the heat adding the cold or frozen puree to the hot syrup, stirring to integrate and allowing to cool. I would imagine this would sweeten the puree sufficiently to take the tart edge off without diluting the flavor too much. -Andy

I've made it with Edouard and found 3 dashes to be ok, but the drink was unquestionably peculiar and I haven't been in a rush to make it again. I actually thought the Violette was too strong, not the absinthe, though that could just be a reflection of liking Absinthe way more than Violet liqueur.

That is some very interesting detective work indeed. Can't wait to see where this leads.

I felt terrible and guilty for missing out on this one, since the cocktail blog scene has been such a huge part of my experience, but a series of long nights at work conspired to make me miss the deadline. Nevertheless, I submit the following, no less heartfelt for being a day late: The other day at work the Sous Chef was going through a box of what turned out to be samples from the Perfect Puree Co. of Napa. The one that cought my eye, of course, was the redcurrant puree. I recall reading somewhere long ago about old-school substitutes for grenadine, including the one we all know and love, raspberry syrup. The other, more elusive syrup mentioned was Sirop de Groiselle, a French (of course -- what do the French do with all these sweet syrups and liqueurs anyway?) redcurrant syrup that seems to not be made or at least imported to the US by anyone anymore. And yet, there has always been a lingering curiosity in the back of the mind. There was about an ounce of puree left in the container from some previous somethingorother the kitchen had been doing and within a few minutes we had turned that into about 4 oz of Sirop de Groiselle. I was so excited. Unfortunately, it lacked the flavor punch I was hoping for, but there was little that could be done about it since that was the last of the puree. And after all that, I still had to rack my brain for a few minutes to think of something to do with it. Since the syrup was very sweet and yet lighter in flavor than would be ideal, not just any drink would work. But after a few minutes I remembered the good ol' Clover Club, as featured on the Cocktail Chronicles, and I mixed one up thusly: Clover Club (variation) 1.5 oz Gin (Plymouth-- didnt want to overwhelm the syrup) 1/2 fresh eggwhite juice of 1/2 lemon generous tsp homemade Sirop de Groiselle Shake hard with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Came out very nice, I was actually surprised at how the flavor of the syrup could still be tasted even without the power I was hoping for. Wonderful way to showcase unusual syrup flavors. Sorry for the late entry, I'll try to plan ahead more next time! -Andy

Sounds fascinating, would you mind sharing what the wine was you used? (Just for my curiosity)

Port and chocolate is one of the most overrated "classic" food and beverage combos I know of. It is slightly less bad with tawny, but really chocolatey things wok better with something like Tokay Aszu. To me, Ruby Port and chocolate is a nonstarter, and verging on being a bad pairing. The one exception I know of is a local winery here called Messina-Hof which otherwise makes relatively undistinguished wines (though their high end stuff is impressive for Texas, but would be barely better than average for half the price out of California), but their "Ports" are quite distinctive and actually work decently with chocoloate and chocolate desserts, partly, I think, as a result of having had the fermentation stopped with heat vs. fortification. Oh yeah, chocolate works ok with vintage port as well, but thats a rare treat for most people and I don't think you'd want to be pouring it in a cocktail. -Andy

Ah, but the independence of these colonies far predates the popularity of tonic water in the Empire. More like what a pity that excellent dark rum is not ubiquitous

Of course, at that point, it really just turns into a Fancy Rum Cock-Tail with grenadine instead of Gomme! Hey, wait! That sounds good! ← Exactly

Yeah, that one sounds like 1-1.5 tsp of grenadine would have been plenty. Nice list of ingredients though.

There are various theories as to why so many bartenders are bitters-averse. My theory is simple ignorance. If they aren't into classic cocktails, they aren't drinking them, and so they have little to no understanding of what Bitters (to say nothing of vermouth) do for the balance of a drink. In a world where we all grow up on sugar, sugar, and more sugar, it's probably also difficult to conceptualize how something whose very name speaks of the antithesis of sweet can do anything good for a cocktail.

As is all the booze you drink learning at home

There does seem to be a lot of wiggle room for semantics, but I do recall that AH Hirsch 16 yr was stored in stainless steel from 1990 til up to 2003. On a side note, I was recently told that very fine, delicate spirits should not be measured with a stainless steel jigger (the spirit in question was a high-dollar scotch). This made no sense to me, since stainless steel is, for all intents and purposes, inert, certainly for the purposes of a few seconds contact. Like I said, AH Hirsch was in stainless for over 10 yrs and it's wonderful. As long as the jigger was clean, I don't see what the deal is. Kind of interesting that whiskey makers are able to follow the letter and not the spirit (hah) of the bourbon laws and get away with it. But I guess law is all about technicalities, even when making booze. Or maybe I inferred a different intent to the law than was meant.

I was just thinking (without trying the drink of course) that a dash of mild bitters or short dash of a heavier one might help mitigate the sweetness you noted. Though when I look at the recipe again I think it probably wouldn't be too much sweeter than a Negroni or Bijou. I'd still like to try it sometime with and without a bit of Regans' though. -Andy

add quote ← Agreed on all points. The whole thing smacks of gimmick to me. -Andy

Cocktail down by 10 am! My hero! Edit to add: That looks like it might could use a dash of bitters or so.

My friend sent me this link today from MSNBC: Woodford Reserve Chardonnay Finish Sounds odd. I guess they can still call it Bourbon even though they used an old barrel since it was just for finishing?

I agree drink it how you like it, though I did think it odd when a customer ordered a shot of The Glenrothes 1979 Single Cask on the rocks. As in, lots of ice. But hey he was the one paying $125 so I poured it right up the way he wanted it. As for me, the rare occasions I drink malts, usually neat or with maybe one ice cube at most. -Andy

Well, at work tonight we hosted a very special event: A vertical tasting of five different vintages of The Glenrothes, including the 1979 single cask. I was working, but of course I was able to finagle myself a taste (or several) of each one. Quite an awesome event, and a real eye-opener towards Scotch appreciation for someone like me who is more into Bourbon and Rye. Of course, after most all the customers were gone, we did a little quality assurance testing on the Beam Black and WT Rye (and of course the Glenrothes Reserve). Aren't you all jealous now? -Andy

Not sure what part of Texas you're from, but Spec's, based in Houston, carries it and they ship statewide. Always more fun to find it like you did though. -Andy