haresfur

Love reviving old threads... I bought a bottle of the white and thought it was drinkable. Bought a bottle of the dark and thought it wasn't. Wouldn't go out of my way to drink either straight.

I was given some home made nocello and Zubrowka vodka by some Polish friends. Decided the white Russian treatment was in order. 1 nocello 1 Zubrowka splash heavy cream Cuts the sweetness but keeps the walnut richness. It wasn't bad before adding the cream either. There has to be a clever name in there somewhere but I'm not sure where.

Beauty!

Anyone have any information on brands available in Europe or Australia like Kenwood or others? Any thoughts on food processors that have blender attachments? My blender met a premature end because I plugged it into the 240 V outlet on the voltage regulator/transformer (I had taped over the 240 V outlets on the regulator but then it got swapped with a second one that wasn't idiot-proofed .) I saw there is also a 'Jamie Oliver' brand made by Tefal. I expect that I won't be a heavy user - pesto, pie crust, chopping nuts, some slicing when I'm in a hurry.

I think there is less demand for Grade B because an A is a better grade in most people's minds. Not a lot of choice here so I buy Costco Grade A medium amber. Dan, what a great memory. I have heard of them throwing some fresh syrup onto the snow to make instant candy. We always felt cheated where I grew up because it was too cold for sugar maple trees.

Well there probably is if the opened bottles are 70 years old

Lemon sorbet + Campari. (I don't eat that much ice cream so there is a good chance I still have some sorbet in the freezer.)

Counting on the International Date Line working for me. Tiki trouble is actually having an approximation of everything needed. But Tiki opportunity is finally getting off my tail and making some orgeat. Piece of cake, really. That is if you start with blanched South Australian almonds bought from the grower. I found that the immersion blender worked well for grinding the almonds in some of the water. And a cut up pillow case worked well for straining. Nice and milky, oily. How does it taste? Tastes nice, not strongly almond, but I have no real basis for comparison to what it should be. So last night I discovered that there wasn't a single piece of citrus in the house. But I acquired orange lemon and lime at the end of a long work day. With ebbing energy I decided on a Fog Cutter: 2 oz Cuban white rum 1 oz cheap French brandy 1/2 oz Plymouth gin 2 oz lemon juice - a bit much for my taste 1 oz fresh Valencia orange juice 1 oz plus some orgeat float cream Sherry After balancing the lemon it turned out quite nice. Oh, and we split it 2 ways. Bonus drink: Orgeat in a bourbon cocktail with Fee's orange bitters is a nice use of orgeat even though (or perhaps because) I used cheap bourbon.

Pretty much every Aussie gas barbie comes with a grillplate on one side.

Of course there are a number of classics that can be made with different base spirits. In some ways it is clearer than coming up with an fancy name for something that is basically a variation on a theme. But I agree with the original point that mucking with the whole ingredient list and then calling it a classic is confusing and annoying.

Wow. Drinks that clean up after themselves when you spill them. Wish I'd thought of that!

Perogies and beer go well together.

You may find the Fee's orange are not bitter enough to take the drink where you want it to be, but hey, mix a small one and see what your think. I would guess the chocolate may go better with rum but once again, go with your palate. I like to smell a whisky then smell the bitters. Doesn't totally tell you what will go together but gives an idea (except for my woefully pitiful sense of smell). Next time you are at Nick's you might want to pick up the Angustrua orange bitters and try them (or try 50:50 with Fee's). And according to their web site they have Fee's whisky barrel aged bitters. I use them or their aromatic bitters where Angustrua is called for. For the Peychaud's, find some absinthe for a sazarac or let me know next time we link up and I'll give you some Obsello - got lots since I generally use it only in dashes.

San Diego has a Mingei museum? I need to make a trip! I guess if you want to live past a hundred, become a ceramist: Beatrice Wood

I was wondering about this. It's not like cooking slowly at low temperature, it's heating to speed things up. It seems that the only issue is not heating so far that flavours change. Seems you could heat the infusion up to the right temperature and put it in a Thermos bottle until it's done.

I tend to agree - an americano is equally satisfying and more refreshing for me. And I'm happy to drink Campari and soda. Although I haven't had a negroni in a long time so I suppose I should revisit them.

Good idea. Any thoughts on what kind?

Aperolitini 1 1/2 oz Beefeater gin 1/2 oz Aperol Stir, strain, you know the drill I liked this, my partner not so much. And yes, the name is supposed to jerk a few chains. Might try it with Tanqueray. Or perhaps 6:1 instead of 3:1...

I know a bit about salinity measurements but haven't used them for food. Salinity meters measure the electrical conductivity of the solution and conductivity is just 1/resistivity. The units are typically microSiemens/cm which used to be called micro-mhos/cm: mho = backwards ohm, ha ha. Most meters will then use a general calculation to convert to salinity. The difference between resistivity and resistance is the distance component. The resistance between 2 probes 1/2 cm apart will be less than 2 probes 1 cm apart. The size of the probes will also make a difference when measuring solutions. Temperature affects the conductivity of solutions so all but the really cheap instruments will be compensated for temperature. So in theory you could use an ohm meter if it measures the right range of resistance. But you need to keep a consistent geometry on the probe and preferably platinum plated electrodes. Then you would need to calibrate at the temperature you would be using unless relative numbers are ok. With cheap electrical devices these days, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.

I'd have to agree with you although I like other styles, too. Makes a great French 75 variation. I need a trip to Harcourt soon. Here in the country, blokes still get a bit of a sideways look ordering a cider at the bar. Invariably Bulmer's. Still it's better than Victoria Bitter.

Happy Australia Day! Celebrating with a Knickerbocker: 1 1/2 oz Inner Circle Green 1 1/2 tsp Cascade raspberry cordial 2 tsp Cointreau (don't have any curacao) juice of 1/2 lime Shaken with the lime peel and strained over fresh ice I think I'd cut back even more on the cordial next time.

Thanks for the tour of the CBD. Several times I've found myself there with no idea where to eat.

1 1/2 oz Beefeater gin 1 1/2 oz Amontillado sherry (Australian) 1/4 oz black currant cordial I like this. It seemed to me that the sherry had a bit of acidity that needed some sweet to round it out and the gin adds some herbal elements as well as some punch. I tried adding some Scrappy's orange bitters but that took things in the wrong direction. Still some more layers might be nice. Can't figure out what, though. Hops? Cardamom?

Great blog, Chris. I'm going to have to refer back often. It's really great to hear what's out in the suburbs. So many choices!

The term confuses me, too. I think they are more similar to Rose's so I would think pretty much synonymous (sp?) with syrup. Although barley cordial seems like it would have more in common with Orgeat (I haven't tried it). Part of my interest is from wondering what the alcohol component of Cassis brings to the table. I like the idea of using locally available items in my drinks from a philosophic and cost perspective. The Cassis choices here are a mass market line of various flavours (kind of like a Bols knockoff) or quite expensive import. In any case, without a detailed comparison it seemed to me that the cordial made a decent drink, although you probably wouldn't see any reason to sweeten up your wine. I think rum is a good bet. Maybe something like a knickerbocker. I haven't seen agricole here.