bostonapothecary

so i wanted a vieux carre but i didn't want all the alcohol so i came up with a compromise... 1 oz. overholt rye 1 oz. pineau des charentes (brillet) 1 oz. dry vermouth (instead of sweet!) spoonful of benedictine 2 dashes peychaud's 2 dashes angostura lemon twist (to freshen it up) because i switched to pineau des charentes which has built in sugar similar to sweet vermouth i switched to dry vermouth which worked out well. i was afraid of having too much acid but that wasn't the case. the pineau des charentes (exacerbated by something else) brings a really mature white wine character to the drink. the mature character is strange. i'm on the fence from whether its a frail too old sort of character or a nuttiness. other people really liked the drink but i bet a fruit liqueur like maraschino instead of or as well as benedictine would add awesome defined round fruit contrast.

Is this the stuff in the squat little bottle with passion fruit on the label? Any good? ← its not too squat but it tapers seriously towards the neck. there is a passion fruit on the label. i've seen many brands. $14/750ml i'd say good but i like the fresh juice because i can add my own sugar source. whats cool is that its supposedly a solid stand alone tradition. i bet it is 400g/l of sugar with some built in acidity similar to a pomegranate. its good. a beautiful fruit expression. i just drank some with: 2 oz. overholt 1 oz. maracuja do ezequiel 1 oz. lemon juice dash angostura stirred and served over shaved ice. a beautiful fruit expression contrasted with rye-angostura spiciness... and then my brother made. (we split both drinks) 2 oz. st. james ambre 1 o.z maracuja do ezequiel 1 oz. lime juice (he can't seem to remember to add bitters) shaken and served over cubed ice. with lime juice it was still a wonderful fruit expression. a definite keeper and quite affordable.

i was going to join you on the lucien gaudin but i couldn't find any gin so i put a local spin on it... 1 oz. aguardente de santo antao (rum) "reserva especial" .5 oz. campari .5 oz. dry vermouth (stock) .5 oz. passion fruit liqueur (maracuja do ezequiel "the best azorean regional drink") interesting shades of fruit with subtle pleasing bitterness. the dry vermouth and rum make it pretty sophisticated stuff. the passion fruit liquor is sweeter than cointreau but does have acidity to make the drink manageable. gin would probably be more fun.

super hot here. rather than look for AC i made a drink... 1.5 oz. bershire's "ragged mountain rum" .75 oz. lime juice .5 oz. pineau des charentes (brillet) .25 oz. falernum (taylor) 2 dash peychaud's float of over proof goslings stirred with ice and strained over shaved ice big fan of the bershire distilleries rum. some might say the pineau des charentes gets lost but it really just seems to reflect strange light on the fruit of the lime. like observing it at sunset... the structure of the drink is quite tart because the brillet sugar ethic is probably about the same as a sweet vermouth. the taylor falernum even at .25 oz. might push the average of the two to cointreau range. i wish i could try the same formula but subbing tequila for the rum and licor 43 for the falernum.

1 oz. coco lopez 1 oz. lime juice 1 oz. kirshwasser (hiram walker) 2 oz. st. james ambre 3 dashes peychauds stirred then strained over shaved ice kind of awesome. i no longer crave air conditioning for the next fifteen minutes at least... st. james has awesome rare flavors not seen outside the distilled world... epic contrast to silly ingredients like coco lopez. i'm still really into the technique of using kirshwasser over maraschino liqueur. if you go the liqueur route you have a hard time contrasting the cherry flavor with anything else with a built in sugar content. so there is no way to achieve a reasonable structure with any fun intensity. go the eau-de-vie route and you've got a ton of possibilities. you can then even mix with spirits that are beautiful but almost too intense like batavia arrack, cesar pisco, or del maguay mezcal. a while ago i made some redistilled cointreau to use as my orange component in home made gin experiments. it is more or less completely brut cointreau or orange peel eau de vie. i could possibly use it to try some of the contrasts of too sweet classic recipes under a different sugar ethic...

this weekend saw various pina coladas with aged guyana rum, cachaca, etc. but today i really wanted some batavia arrack 1 oz. coco lopez 1 oz. lime juice .5 oz. kirshwasser 1.5 oz. batavia arrack van oosten 2 dashes peychauds stir with cubed ice then strain over shaved ice. awesome contrasts. refreshing structure. just enough dissonance to keep me happy. last night on the front steps this was highly regarded: 1 oz. overholt rye 1 oz. hiram walker kirshwasser 1 oz. taylor's falernum 1 oz. lemon juice dash peychaud's the angular clove-y christmas-y character of the rye becomes very tropical. kirshwasser adds awesome round fruit contrast and i prefer using it to dousing a drink in non citrus fruit juices.

1 oz. lemon juice 1 bar spoon of sugar 2 oz. plantation 1990 guyana dash peychaud's bitters poured over shaved ice unfortunately the sour components didn't do much to elevate the rum. good but in no way worth the extravagance. i wonder if lime would have been a better foil. i just bought a commercial ice shaver for my kitchen. i thought it would take some of the labor out of making drinks for the rest of the summer. simply pour liquids over a glass full of snow. let it dilute elegantly. my frequent guests can make their own drinks and stop bothering me. 2 oz. spirit, 1 oz. citrus, heaping spoon of sugar, random bitters. we are slowly drinking through the massive collections i've inherited from various events. i've found that if i add batavia arrack or kirshwasser to all spirits i deemed boring like georgian raisin brandy they become quite amusing.

I may be the odd one out, but it IS the sweeter brown sugar notes, and more smooth and syrupy(word??) mouth feel that I did like about the Zaccapa and Zaya, but to each his own.. I guess i say this to ask if you think I may not then enjoy the Santa Teresa as much? should I try to find a different sipper? Or is there enough flavor and complexity to warrant broadening my palate with rums.... thanks shanty ← i'd say broaden your palate. barrilito used to be among my favorites but it is really expensive in boston. in the not so rich style it has lots of exotic notes. i'm still in love with the vintage plantation series. right now i've got the 1990 guyana and i think it was only $35. my favorite was the 1986 barbados which was so stinky dates didn't want to sit next to me while i drank it at city bar in the lenox for $7. more intense than any single malt i've come across. i even really enjoy sipping bacardi 8.

corn'n oil muddled lime (hoping for an ounce of juice) 1 oz. taylors falernum 2 oz. el dorado 5 year dash angostura crushed ice treatment float of over proof goslings to make it more oily. grated nutmeg. i think i took the drink in a more acidicly structured direction than what is classic but thats how i roll. quite refreshing. after a long day of roughnecking i'd take one of these over a beer.

there was only one lime left and i had to make it count... 1 oz. lime juice 1 oz. taylor's velvet falernum .5 oz. batavia arrack .5 oz. kirshwasser (hiram walker) .5 oz. berkshire's "ragged mountain" rum (the must have of all local distillates) .5 oz. del maguey "chichicapa" mezcal dash peychaud's bitters the spirits side of the drink, though elaborate, seems to work. a pretty cool collage. but over all things seem too extracted. i think the falernum is probably too intense and next time i will use half as much and a scant spoonful of sugar.

today was kind of cold and i just had a late breakfast under the grape arbors of the "neighborhood restaurant" in union square. the whole experience made me crave something of the sweeter, lower acid structure. marconi wireless-esque. i had just 1.5 oz. left of clear creek 8 year apple brandy. and as i was digging through the fridge for sweet vermouth i found one of my last canning jars of "late summer" vermouth i made a few years ago. 1.5 oz. clear creek 8 year apple brandy (epic!) .75 oz. "late summer" vermouth dash peychaud's bitters flamed orange twist the aromatized wine is definitely too low art to truly be called a "vermouth" but that makes it potentially a better contrast to the spectacular apple brandy.

needed a refreshing drink before bed and all that was around was a lime. 1 oz. lime juice 1 oz. kirschwasser (hiram walker) 1 oz. "african" rye whiskey (overholt redistilled with rooibos) spoonful of sugar 2 dashes peychaud's scant float of mezcal (del maguay chichicapa) rooibos seems to have a pretty good affinity for kirshwasser. refreshing.

i saw a curious liqueur at the store last week and decided i had to try it... villardi's liqueur of "jabuticaba" from brazil ($14) curiously they use the words "distilled and bottled by" on the back. i wonder what they distill the fortifying spirit from? the pictures of the jabuticaba tree are pretty wild. the fruit grows right off the trunk and branches and not in the typical dangling clusters of anything north american. over all, the taste of the liqueur is pretty one dimensional and "foxy" but not exactly like concord grape. based on wikipedia's description of the fruit, i was kind of hoping for a taste a little more like an italian mirto but didn't find it. trial by sour was in order .75 oz. liqueur of jabuticaba .75 oz. lemon juice 1.5 oz. armazem vieira "rubi" cachaca. this worked out really nice. the cachaca really added refined contrast to the foxy fruit. i was tempted to use a spirit like don cesar pisco or unaged cape verdean rum to ensure something challenging and adult tasting but things worked out and i was able to keep the brazilian theme...

"fenaroli’s handbook of flavor ingredients" has a chapter that goes into detail on amaros, particularly fernet and its contruction. fernet is described by fenaroli as being primarily about a mint and saffron ratio contrasted with a series of bitter notes. branca menta is described as a variation with a ratio of significantly more mint to the saffron ratio of regular fernet. fenaroli explains some weird stuff in his take on amaros. he even talks about amaros with certain basic notes like anise or artichoke that for some reason can't be adapted to a "menta" style variation where a ratio changes significantly. they supposedly can only be refined with supporting notes. who knew...

so i kegged a gallon of lemon juice to see if an oxygen free environment (i purged everything with CO2) would help retain freshness. i'm slowly drinking my way through it all... cocktails, lemonaide, etc. and i haven't quite made up my mind as to how preserved it is exactly. (a decent amount of oxygen is probably absorbed as it drips from the juicer but maybe not the terminal amount that turns lemon juice into pinesol). it is still definitely enjoyable. anyhow. i've got a couple liters to go. 1 oz. three day old kegged lemon juice 1 oz. cape verdean orange liqueur (22% alc.) 2 oz. force 53 cognac (53% alc.) very cool. i used the force 53 to add a little more alcohol to the drink and maintain an average closer to a classic side car. the cask strength cognac also adds more "cognac fruit" intensity augmenting the orange into something really interesting. i'm pretty sure this orange liqueur is sweeter than a triple sec and is probably more akin to the sweetness of simple syrup or grenadine.

summer is finally in effect around here. caipirinha entire cut up lime generous spoonful of raw sugar 2 oz. armazem vieira "rubi" (8 years old apparently) muddle limes and sugar then add the rum and stir. fill with crushed ice i keep hearing that armazem is not going to be available anymore. and its distributor (commonwealth) just merged with another so their portfolio is getting shook up regardless. well i found a nice cache of the rubi in somerville for only $20. its either a typo or a very ancient price. i like the raw sugar because the structure of the drink changes as you sip. from refreshingly tart to slightly sweeter at the end. the fruit and fino sherry like notes of the rubi are awesome subtle contrast to the lime. makes me wonder if any lean finos or manzanillas would taste good juxtaposed with lime cordial or falernum.

i was thinking of rin quin quin but couldn't remember the name. i've seen it around here in liquor stores but have never tried it or seen it behind a bar. does it taste like peachy dubbonet?

Took your challenge and last night adapted the last word formula to cask strength Connemara, lime, Falernum & St. Germain, cheating down a smidge on the liqueurs and up on the citrus & whiskey. It was still a bit too sweet, but the 120 proof-backed peat did a good job of cutting through to make the drink enjoyable. ← another attempt. 1 oz. velvet falernum 1 oz. lemon juice 1 oz. dolin dry vermouth 1 oz. st. james royal amber float of goslings 151 i wanted to make something last word-esque but as i poured out the falernum i realized it was too sweet for my tastes to pair with another liqueur. dolin dry seemed like a great idea adding acid, and gorgeous fruit to the drink. without the float the drink is really integrated but not too distinct and memorable... the floats adds a memorable grotesque juxtaposition.

add citric or malic acid to a super fruity dry vermouth like gallo until it is as tart as a lemon.

2 oz. aquardente velha de santo antao 1 oz. john d. taylor's velvet falernum 1 oz. lime juice 2 dashes angostura i tried the drink first with a 1990 demerara rum but the contrasts didn't do much to flatter the decadent spirit. switching to cape verdean rum did the trick as its unique fino-esque character had more affinity for the bluntly spiced falernum. yet the drink would probably be even more fun with a larger rum quotient... any falernum drink recommendations out there?

1.5 oz. aquardente velha de santo antao 1 oz. 2004 jean de lillet 1 oz. lemon juice scant spoonful of demerara sugar so far the jean de lillet hasn't really impressed me in any classic lillet drinks. its just not really similar to lillet or vergano's "luli". too saunternes-esque... but here it is augmented by the lemon juice and sugar to create an interesting shade of grapefruit. other drinkers perceived some sort of salinity which may have been from the interesting style that is cape verdean rum. there wasn't a huge amount of angular contrast so i'm sure a dash of angostura would make it better...

just got a bottle of el dorado 5 year demerara rum for $15 / 750 at gordon's in waltham. they also had numerous other older el dorados which i've never seen around here which is strange because their rum selection is kind of lacking relative to their other collections. 2 oz. el dorado 5 year 1 oz. lemon juice spoonful of demerara sugar 2 dashes angostura 2 dashes peychaud's a nice rum for the money but the drink needs more contrast for my taste. the bitters aren't cutting it. i should have slipped in a spoonful of chartreuse.

Perhaps this was the intended presentation of the drink: Take a glass of Absinthe and shake with ice, serve in a goblet in front of drinker and recite the following lines: "Yet markt I, where the bolt of Cupid fell. It fell upon a little western flower; Before, milk white;..." Stir in a dash of grenadine and continue to recite: "...now purple, with love's wound, And maidens call it, Love in idleness. Fetch me that flower: the herb I showed thee once. The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid," Add a dash of bitters and continue: "Will make or man or woman madly dote, Upon the next live creature that it sees." Drinker slugs down drink and, his courage thus bolstered, goes off to pursue the woman of his fancy... ← most amusing. the flavors remind me of patxaran.

1.5 oz. gin (beafeater) .75 oz. nocino (alpenze) .75 oz. lillet (2004 jean de lillet) .75 oz. lemon juice this was supposed to be a riff on the 20th century. not amazing but i think it could be better with some different bottlings. the vegetal and under ripe green notes of both the walnuts and the juniper stuck out. jean de lillet also wasn't the best choice because its so sauternes-esque and doesn't have a lot of orange notes (at least at its age). adding peychaud's and orange bitters really mended the lack of fun contrast.

1 oz. rum JM aguardente velha de santo antao 1 oz. allen's ginger brandy 1 oz. lemon juice scant spoonful of sugar (there is sugar in the ginger brandy) dash regan's dash angostura the fino character of the rum is an excellant foil for the spicy ginger brandy. i think this is the oldest of JM's rums and it is good at $27 but the lesser cru bottling is epic at $20. the ginger brandy is some pretty cool stuff. dirt cheap and amusing. lately i'm prefering these strange rums from cape verde to the piscos and cachacas they are comparable to. a much better deal than armazem viera.