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Bought Elijah Craig 12 today. I've developed a real taste for it and it mixes well in the right cocktail.

So have there been any Suze sightings yet in the States? I've read it's coming back.

I prefer a dryer version of this drink as well - 2 parts gin, 1 part chartreuse, 1 part vermouth. Give it a try with those proportions. I think you will enjoy it.

I just bought a bottle of this myself. I played around and made this variation of a Bijou 2 oz gin (Gale Force) 1 oz Punt e Mes 1 oz St. Germain 1 dash Peychaud's lemon peel Not bad for my first time playing with this cordial.

I recently received a bottle of Gale Force Gin as a gift. It comes from Nantucket RI. It is a classic London Dry Gin at 88 proof. It is light on juniper and botanicals. It makes a nice dry martini, but doesn't mix well in other gin cocktails. I haven't seen it in the NY/NJ area, so I'm guessing it isn't widely distributed.

I was already being pretty generous with both the whiskey portion and dash size; but, go ahead, sounds good to me. Adding the Wray & Nephew, you might need to call it Brain-Cell Eraser, or something... The Brain-storm is an example of a single serving, volume based recipe. Allowing that the "Wineglass" measure is indeed about 2 oz, this would, as written, be a very small cocktail. By the way, I do find some Brain-storm Cocktail recipes which call for Scotch instead of Irish. These usually use Italian Vermouth instead of French. In addition, in "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks", Embury makes this cocktail with Rye instead of Irish Whiskey. ← I may try the Scotch version. I love the Bobby Burns, so why not this. I don't have a bottle of Irish Whisky right now, this might be a reason.

The Brooklyn has become one of my favorite cocktails, although I do use a traditional rye like Sazerac or even my Van Winkle. I probably use slightly more Amer and Maraschino, but nonetheless, I like this as a nice foil to a Manhattan. I'll have to try to brighten it with a lemon peel next time.

I bought a bottle of this and I'm looking for ways that people have incorporated it into cocktails. I look for places where replacing orange bitters with lemon may be a nice twist. Wondering what others are doing.

I typically use Martini & Rossi sweet and dry vermouth for my cocktails. I will also try Punt e Mes in cocktails calling for red vermouth to experiment with the taste. Without locating and buying the different vermouths on the market, I was wondering what the different flavor profiles of the brands are and any personal recommendations. Thanks

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Rye, Jeff. The first time I had a proper Manhattan, it was an eye opener. Now, it's the only way I roll. ← The only thing that stinks is that you'll have a tough time ordering a Manhattan when you are out, since most bars haven't seen a bottle of rye in 50 years.

Thanks for the redirect. I'll have to give D & C a try on a weeknight.

Just curious if anyone has been there and has any observations. The top three Pegu Club bartenders left to work at Death & Co. I was at Pegu last night and it wasn't quite the same. Its hard as a customer to break in new bartenders.

Agreed. Most cocktails start somewhere around 3 parts spirit, one part sweet, one part sour (or bitter). Tweak it from there. Many new creations are unbalanced to the sweet side to match the taste of this generation. If 6 year old would like the cocktail, its probably not a drink I would like.

Thanks, Katie, for the strategy about air travel. I re-read my message and it sounded like I haven't tried Bluecoat. I have been lucky enough to try it, once. The not-so-widespread blue bottle got an honoroable mention in the gin tasting in our current issue. ← Cool. Not surprised it did so well in competition. I find it quite delicious and well balanced. I confess I'm not a lover of the juniper "piney-ness" in many gins, but love the citrus-forward flavor of the Bluecoat quite a bit. ← I bought my first bottle of Bluecoat and I really liked it. I was in Philadelphia last Saturday for much shorter than planned but I stopped into the liquor store on Chestnut and bought two bottles. I made a martini last night and it really stood apart from gins like Ten and Hendrick's. I'm not a big citrus gin fan but the Bluecoat still had enough dry hints to make for a tasty martini. I'm looking forward to mixing it in other cocktails.

Sample bottles? I want your job.

Andy, I've recently taken to the Bijou, but I've been making it 2 oz gin 1/2 oz chartreuse 1/2 oz red vermouth orange bitters. I'm thinking of adding a bit more chartreuse as I think that ingredient makes the drink. Now I'm curious as to how your version and mine compare. I really enjoy the recipe above. Tom

Katie, What is your take on Pama? It seems like a pomegranate margarita would be better served by juice rather than liquer. I've never tried the liquer so I'm curious to know how it mixes. I've seen it behind some neighborhood bars but the bartenders don't seem to go to it often. Tom

I disagree. It wouldn't be the book I use to start my library, but I would recommend it for an intermediate collection. It is useful to see cocktail recipes that are lost or changed. I sometimes get bored with my usuals and will seek out something new (which is old). I can go out to a bar to get the new creations, it is much harder to get the retro ones.

I had a bijou cocktail tonight Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain 1 1/2 oz gin (4.5 cl, 3/8 gills) 1/2 oz green Chartreuse (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1/2 oz sweet vermouth (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1 dash orange bitters Add cherry I think I'm in love. Chartreuse is my new muse.

Bulleit Boubon. I feel like I'm in the old West.

I'll have to try Pete Lorenzo's in Trenton. One of the guys we go with lives in Haddonfield and we are looking for places in his neck of the woods.

The places we've been (in no particular order) Sammy's Peter Luger Chophouse Morton's Roots Ruth's Chris My favorite steak was the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle. What are your suggestions?

hopefully they reworked their wine list sine the time I went. There were very few options under 80 dollars at that time. other than convenience, i see little reason to go to Roots for steak, assuming one has access to NYC, which i assume most people around Summit do. i don't think it compares to even mid-tier NYC steakhouses (S&W, Palm, etc), assuming your tastes lean towards the dry-aged end of the spectrum, as mine do. ← My friends and I have been doing the steakhouse thing for a while, and the best steak I've had was the Porterhouse for Two at Stage Left in New Brunswick. It beat all the steakhouses I've been to. ← I looked at SL's menu and only saw a Wood Grilled Filet Mignon. Is that the steak you're talking about or did you have a strip? Thanks ← No, they had a porterhouse for two. It is on the daily menu. I would suggest calling ahead to ensure it is on the menu when you go. One problem with Stage Left, if you think it is a problem, is that in their effort to bring the freshest food to the table they will often run out of things. They would rather serve fresh food and run out of it then keep something too long.

hopefully they reworked their wine list sine the time I went. There were very few options under 80 dollars at that time. other than convenience, i see little reason to go to Roots for steak, assuming one has access to NYC, which i assume most people around Summit do. i don't think it compares to even mid-tier NYC steakhouses (S&W, Palm, etc), assuming your tastes lean towards the dry-aged end of the spectrum, as mine do. ← My friends and I have been doing the steakhouse thing for a while, and the best steak I've had was the Porterhouse for Two at Stage Left in New Brunswick. It beat all the steakhouses I've been to.

I visited Roots last Saturday with a group of four other guys. The interior is very well done. Our table was at the front of the restaurant. I never felt crowded by another table or bar patrons. The vibe is of an upscale casual restaurant, if that makes sense. I started with a martini. I will say that Roots does not excel in cocktails. The bar is certainly servicable, but they spend their time on the wine collection, not the cocktail program. I had the French onion soup as an appetizer. It was tasty but not spectacular, which is fine with me. That is all I am looking for from French onion soup. My preference would have been to try one of the seafood selections, but my group was not into that. I had the T-bone special for dinner. Not all the steaks are dry aged, so if that is important to you, make sure you ask about your selection. I would say the steak was cooked a tick over medium rare. The butter finish on the steak was apparent but not overwhelming. The strip steak portion was the tastiest. We ordered a selection of sides. I sampled the asparagus, brussells sprouts, and mushrooms. The vegetables were prepared well but not as flavorful as I would like. Perhaps it is the time of year. We shared a bottle of inexpensive Zinfindel between the five of us. Dessert was a chocolate pudding cake that was very well done. Rich but not too sweet. The bill came to $103 a person. I enjoyed the meal and the service was excellent. We never felt rushed. I will be going back.