Scotttos

← Anyone else find it strange that neither Maker's nor any Wild Turkey brands made the list?

After having a top notch French 75 from the flatiron longue my girlfriend asked what type of champagne they used in the drink. They told us they use Charles de Fere, a brand I had never heard of. Turns out they sell it for 9 bucks a bottle at Astor Wines, and it's really very good. From what I've seen I don't think they sell half or 1/4 bottles....but for 102 dollars a case....not a bad bargain. Here's the link: Charles de Fere

Good coverage of "Imbibe" today in the new york times, including an article by William Grimes, a chapter from the book, a slideshow, and a few recipes: Imbibe NYT

Mayur really nailed it, excellent summary of the great cocktail bars in the city and what they offer. And how good is Joaquin? He's friendly as hell and those cocktails of his are tremendous. Bitter French? Genius.

about 1000% better. ← Depthcharges it (and almost every other cocktail bar in the city) out of the water.

Wow, you guys are making things better and better. When, if you don't mind me asking, are you (johnder, donbert) usually tending bar there?

http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/1...ek-eaux-de-vie/ Douglas Fir Gimlet Pegu Club 1½ ounces Tanqueray gin ½ ounces Clear Creek Douglas Fir eau de vie ¾ ounces Fresh lime juice ½ ounces Simple syrup (see recipe below) ½ ounces Homemade grapefruit syrup (see recipe below) Measure all the ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice, shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with either a floating lime wheel, or a sprig of pine (that is pesticide-free).

After a similiar eye-opening visit at Pegu I emailed Steve McCarthy over at Clear Creek and he very kindly emailed me a list of places in NY that he KNOWS carries his products, of the many places he personally vouched for the best bet is Park Avenue Liquors (292 Madison Avenue, west side of Madison, between 40th and 41st. 212-685-2442). I saw a bottle of it there myself. Other places he mentioned were: Astor Wine and Spirits 12 Astor Place 212-674-7500 Acker Merrall & Condit 160 West 72nd Street (between Broadway and Columbus) 212-787-1700 Sherry-Lehman Wine and Spirits 505 Park Ave (between 59th & 60th). 212-838-7500 Morell One Rockefeller Plaza NYC 10020 917 464 2222 67 Wine and Spirits 179 Columbus Ave. (68th street) NYC 10023 212 724 6767 He also gave me this bit of adice "These are top stores and if they do not have what you want on the shelf, they are very good about ordering, especially if asked in a clear and firm manner." Best, Scott Edit: Oh and the clear creek douglas fir is what they're using at pegu, there was an article about it a little while ago in the NYT, it also had a recipe for the Douglas Fir Gimlet, I'll see if i can dig it up for you.

The best ice on earth: Kold Draft

Regarding the Apple Blow Fizz, I was turned onto this drink recently and think it's really delicious. The recipe I found uses Applejack (Bonded) and I think it works really well.

John I was at D&C last night and had a Martinez that just blew my mind. When I asked the bartender about it he said it had some of your homemade Abbott's in it. They had a very clear and undeniably delicious effect. Excellent work.

Which is on sale at amazon for like 5 bucks now...

Saw this on amazon this morning, I'm incredibly excited about it, haven't seen it mentioned on the boards...from the publisher: Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar, by David Wondrich, foreword by Dale Degroff. A lively, historically informed, and definitive guide to classic American cocktails. Cocktail writer and historian David Wondrich presents the colorful, little-known history of classic American drinks-and the ultimate mixologist's guide-in this engaging homage to Jerry Thomas, father of the American bar. Wondrich reveals never-before-published details and stories about this larger-than-life nineteenth-century figure, along with definitive recipes for 100 punches, cocktails, sours, fizzes, toddies, slings, and other essential drinks, plus twenty new recipes from today's top mixologists, created exclusively for this book. This colorful and good-humored volume is a mustread for anyone who appreciates the timeless appeal of a well-made drink-and the uniquely American history behind it.

Lemon twist I believe.

Hawthorn, upside down, springs facing up, egg yolk nestled in by the springs while the yolk drained into the shaker.

Yes yes, the silver lilly! Beautiful drink. Was there last weekend and my girlfriend ordered one....I had a few sips and stared at it longingly. The CdV was in the well. Amazing. Edit: about the egg white in that drink....normally I see bartenders crack the egg and separate the white with the shell....that's what the bartender at PDT did for my pisco, but when it came to the silver lilly he put his hawthorne strainer upside-down on his shaker, cracked the whole egg and put it on the strainer so the yolk kinda sat there while the rest of the egg slid into the shaker. He let it sit there for a bit and then discarded the yolk. I assumed at the time it was just his way of getting the entire white into the drink....

Yeah I've been experiencing the same thing....I wonder if there is more to the story. I was actually pretty disappointed when I didn't get the desired color change. I mean don't get me wrong I think the violette does add a nice complexity to the drink, and overall that's what really matters....but that "sky blue" story is pretty sexy.... Anyway, I have nothing to compare it to but I think the R&W product is solid.

Did you get the "sky blue" tint? I find that using even a sizable (2tsp) about of the R&W only gives the slightest hint of a color change. And even that is more cloudy sky than blue sky, unfortunately....

I believe the two drinks highlighted were created by johnder and donbert! ← ya? both wonderful drinks my girlfriend couldn't get enough of the reverend palmer, she's not typically a whiskey fan but she just loved this cocktail.

Excellent point. Very well said. It makes complete sense thinking about it this way.

Good to see this thread bumped. I went there as well for the first time this weekend (Saturday night, early) and enjoyed myself quite a bit. I went with my girlfriend and we made reservations that day, calling around 3:30. When I first stepped into the phone booth I was a little nervous considering the wall that doubled as a door was quite solid. Everything I'd read about the entrance led me to believe it would just kind of open up, lol. Turns out you have to pick up the phone and get buzzed in, which makes sense. The space is small but very nice, the ceiling is quite low and adds to the whole secret closet feel of the joint. We each had 3 different cocktails, all of which were impeccably made and delicious. I had a Pisco Sour, Solstice (applejack, rye...), and a El Puente (odd mix including mescal) while my girlfriend had a Trident, Reverend Palmer, and another drink I forgot the name of, it had Crème de Violette, Gin, egg white, and something else… After the first drink we ordered 2 chili dogs and waffle fries and I have to say, what at first seemed pretty incongruous turned out to be pretty spectacular. Sitting in a beautiful place, sipping delicious cocktails, and munching on chili dogs? Yeah it works, trust me. Only possibly knock was the music (total mish mash, didn't really fit the overall atmosphere of the place, but perhaps this is their way of distinguishing themselves, or concessions made due to the neighborhood they're in?…like sure we make cocktails as good as any other place in the city but listen to popular music and serve hotdogs….) it looked to be piped from an ipod, hopefully it changes from bartender to bartender…. Speaking of which while a total pro (all of our cocktails were perfectly made, including the Pisco Sour, no easy feat) he was reluctant to really strike up a conversation and seemed a little too austere for my money. One thing of note though, he did make a drink I'd never seen/heard about called a "Flame of Love Martini" or something like that. Not sure exactly what went into it but before pouring the drink he flamed a lemon peel into the empty glasses, and then after he poured it in he flamed another 3 or 4 more lemon peels, for each drink! I'd never seen anything like it. Tiny explosion after tiny explosion. ….he said the drink was allegedly invented for Dean Martin. Anyway great place looking forward to the next visit.

I know ordering off the menu is commonplace at fine cocktail lounges, but I'm curious what you guys think about ordering say a Pegu drink at D&C, or vice versa? (and this isn't a NY specific thing, it could apply to any fine cocktail lounges accross the country). Reason I'm asking is because I was at PDT this Saturday and heard someone order a French Pearl and it struck me as a funny thing to do. Perhaps I'm totally off on this and when I asked the bartender he basically told me as much, saying that most bartenders in the classic cocktail circle have worked for the various high-end places in the city, so they know they're way around the different drink menus. It still struck me as weird, I figured if you wanted a French Pearl you'd go to Pegu and if you're at PDT you should order a PDT drink….am I just being misguided here? I thought maybe it was seen as a insult to the bar you're sitting at if you go ahead and order another bar's drinks….but maybe that's how classics are born. Any thoughts on this?

Anyone able to find a good source for Clear Creek products (especially the douglas fir!) in NYC? Pegu's Douglas Fir Gimlet is outstanding....to be able to create that at home?...I could have never dreamed it so.... edit: scratch the above, looks like park ave. is the place to go. sorry for the clutter.

Wow, excellent work. I've been trying to crack the recipe as well (with admittedly less success than you've shown). Also great point about the muddling a few posts up, was at Pegu last night and the bartender did in fact muddle the mint as you described (in a shaker with the room temp. liquids). Everyone I know is enamored with this drink, so glad we finally have the recipe : )

Just checked their shipping page, looks like it's a go for NY.