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tkd7

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Posts posted by tkd7

  1. I made a bijoux. equal parts gin, chartreuse and sweet vermouth, orange bitters and a twist. I have to say I was not a fan of this really. Gin was tanq, bitters were angostura orange. It is just too sweet for my palette. I find a negroni too sweet too unless I am really in the mood. I love the flavor of the chartreuse in this, but found the vermouth too heavy, and the drink all over just too sweet. May be I will tweak it by doubling the gin. That would make it not really the same though I guess, and I may save the chartreuse for cocktails I know i like.

    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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. that is my kind of a drink....double the benedictine and give me a spoon full of wray and nephews over proof and we'd have a winner.

    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.

  5. 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

  6. Manhattan.

    My first one with rye.  Bought some Wild Turkey today so I could try a more authentic version of this classic drink I've been enjoying recently and have been making (at home) using Jim Beam.

    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.

  7. 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.

    :biggrin:

  8. To a great extent, most cocktails are a "twist" on something or another, be it a Sour or other recipe category that the drink falls into.

    Making up "new" drinks sometimes means substituting one ingredient for another, or sometimes means doing something like introducing a new flavor via an infused simple syrup or an infused spirit.

    But there's not too much that's really new under the sun...

    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.

  9. slobhan:

    The Bluecoat is damned good and I'm certain you'll love it.

    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.

  10. I did consider tweaking the vermouth preportion as well, I'll give it a go before the bottle is empty (soon ;-)

    If you like Negronis, try a Bijou (equal parts gin, red vermouth, chartreuse, dash orange bitters). It tastes very little like a Negroni and is not at all bitter, but it has the same rich quality to it. Or, feel free to adjust the ratio for a drier drink.

    -Andy

    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

  11. Tonight I cleaned out my fridge.  Never a pretty sight.  I did find a couple of limes in the crisper drawer that needed to get used or tossed, so I chose to make a Pomegranate margarita out of them to try and use up some of the overabundance of Pama Liqueur I have around.

    2 oz. Cabo Wabo Anejo

    1.5 oz. Pama pomegranate liqueur

    1 oz. fresh lime juice

    .75 oz. Gran Gala orange liqueur

    .5 oz. spiced simple syrup ('cuz it's what I had in the fridge)

    All in all a pretty tasty concoction.  It was a record breaking 70+ degree day here in Philly so a summery drink didn't seem so out of place.

    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

  12. Very well. As I am sure you know, I was referring to when cocktails became popular - during US prohibition where the American Bar had substantial influence. Regardless, it's not a book I'd recommend.

    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.

  13. 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.

  14. I called and they said the PH for 2 dry aged 21 days.  Me must check it out :biggrin:.  tkd7, who does it rank over? Thanks!

    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?

  15. We shared a bottle of inexpensive Zinfindel between the five of us. 

    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.

  16. We shared a bottle of inexpensive Zinfindel between the five of us. 

    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.

  17. 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.

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