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Everything posted by haresfur
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Tried this tonight. Definitely "Cure"
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This was a great opportunity for me to try to work out something using Inner Circle Rum. So this is loosely based on a Toronto cocktail. Since Toronto seems to be a non-sequitur I figured I'd call this: the Auckland 1 oz Inner Circle Red rum 1 oz brandy 3 teaspoons Fernet 1 teaspoon 1:1 simple syrup about 3 good dashes Fees aromatic bitters about 3 good dashes Regans orange bitters Stir with ice, strain float of your favorite rum on top (for lack of anything better I used Captain Morgan's Dark, but please don't hold that against me.) I suppose the non-metric units are out of place, too.
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I don't expect subjectivity in spirit reviews. Interesting, because as I think about it, I don't see the language developed in a way to make subjective reviews possible or meaningful. The beer people can talk about "true to style" and hop profiles, and yeast qualities in a way that pretty much describes a bottle. Wine people have their whole language - not that I can personally relate it to what I would like or dislike. But for spirits there are few stylistic guidelines. Maybe for single malts but they are strongly location oriented so not much more help than looking at the label. London dry gin is a distinct style, I suppose, but how good are people at describing the differences within the style in a way that let's you know whether something is worth buying? Most of the words thrown around are so generic, I'm not sure how much use they are or how often they are used because they sound impressive, "smooth" "citrus" "caramel" "oak" "funk". Personally I rely on eGullet and sometimes on favorite bartenders. Not that my tastes always align with either. I suppose that's no help to someone who wants to be at the front of the curve but there are some advantages in not being an early adopter. My eGullet strategy could probably be applied to the aggregate of internet reviews, with caution regarding freebies from companies. Much can be gleaned from how people write about a spirit. If someone says that a particular rum makes an amazing Ti punch then that would carry more weight with me than if they only use it in some weird combination of ingredients where its influence is diluted or perhaps neutralized. It is not necessarily bad for an ingredient to be the basis for an entry into a cocktail competition, but I take it with a grain of salt that it is the best of it's kind or even that it is worth exploring. Certainly a long thread dedicated to a specific form of booze is promising. A few more posts and I'll have to break down and buy a bottle of Cynar. Staying power is good, but not everything. If people seem to tire of something and head off in other directions, then maybe it isn't so amazing after all. Anyone remember St Germaine? Nice stuff but maybe not so important. I think the hardest is to judge among the various base spirits because the nuances are very subjective and because so much depends on how it is used. The skill of the bartender is in how they can make the most out of a particular spirit and I suspect sometimes something gets panned because it doesn't behave like the one they are used to. Then again sometimes getting the most out of something means using it to clean windows...
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Let's just say I need more visitors from the old country...
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Guess I'm off to the eGullet hall of shame because when I read this I had 2 different editions of the Moosewood open as I tried to morph between the two. Guess I won't invite you over for black bean soup. Yeah some of the recipes suck but that's the same for most cookbooks. ... ok maybe I should say some of the recipes don't suck. My vote would be for almost any blender cookbook.
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Good one, thanks! I used Seagrams and "Rosso Antico"
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How do you "dash" your absinthe? Being lazy, I have been just slopping as little as I can from the bottle, but this isn't really adequate (or should I say the amount is usually more than adequate). Do I need to hurry up and use up a bitters bottle to recycle it? Do I find a mister? Can I recycle a plastic eyeglass cleaner mister or do I need to find a glass one somewhere? Is there something I can do that doesn't look tacky, or should I just embrace tacky?
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Good call! Made this with Havana Club Especial and TBT orange bitters, serves as a slightly mellowed dram of Cynar with powerful orange aromas. Hey Fire, Where are you buying your HCE & Cynar?
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Although it may go against the standard cocktail-wiener wisdom, for such an event, I go with cheap booze and fresh juices/flavors if at all possible. No one is going to care about the nuances of the taste - if they could even tell in the hot dry air and with the ice. I think the flavoring will make all the difference. Some citrus wedges or even bringing in a few planters with fresh mint would be fantastic. When I went to a Rainbow gathering, the load of fresh fruit that someone packed in was definitely the high point.
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Continuing my fun with knock-offs... I just opened a bottle of Rosso Antico "the Classic Italian Drink". Put most in a beer bottle, capped it, and stuck it in the fridge. "Hmm, what to do with this...?" I confess that I don't quite get Manhattans but it seemed appropriate. Well, I might be a convert. "How does Rosso Antico stack up against Carpano Antico?", you ask? I don't have a clue since I've never tried Carpano Antico. The Rosso Antico seems to have a bit of a cherry taste to me so next time I'd probably use a touch less to go with my off-brand bourbon (don't have any rye, either) but the Fee's Aromatic Bitters went well.
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Let's see... my basic rums are: 1) Captain Morgan's Dark when I'm in a country that sells their non-spiced rum. I prefer it to Meyers and way better than Bacardi. 2) Inner Circle. Unique, what can I say. 3) Cruzan light or Havana Club (real not Bacardi), but I need to try the slightly more expensive HC next time I can buy it. 4) Barbancourt 5-Star. My favorite sip. There are other's I like too, Pyrat and Goslings come to mind. Haven't really explored Agricole.
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That's an interesting thought. My understanding is that Plymouth style gin used to be fairly different from what it is today, and kind-of split the difference between London dry and genever. It's unclear to me that there is a meaningful categorical style difference between today's Plymouth gin and what may be called London dry gin. I guess the question is whether it would taste good (even if different) as a substitute for Plymouth. I think Dry Fly gin from Spokane Washington uses wheat mash. I don't recall it being very malty or junipery, though.
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Another way to go would be to use ginger-infused vodka and simple. That way you could adjust the ginger intensity and the sweetness separately. When I infused vodka I used candied ginger so it had some sweetness. If you keep it in the freezer the ginger hotness seems to stay for quite a while (and the left over candied ginger is great when put on halibut and baked).
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Looks tasty! When I was working in N.S. for a couple of months many years ago the local Conservation Officer told us about catching a couple of 70 year old guys with 2 does out of season. They pleaded with him to just take the deer and not arrest them. "I'm not going to take your deer. You dress them and I'll take half of one." So maybe you are in the wrong job. But the locals said he was made C.O. because he could hold his own when someone picked a fight at the dances and because it got rid of the worst poacher!
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I've never tried Canton. Stone's is godawful sweet - I think I read that it has a currant wine base. Can't see drinking it straight. Maybe ginger simple syrup would work. The lemon not only balances the sweetness but brings out the ginger bite. I like the ginger wine, not only for its taste, but for it's British Empire cachet and because it's inexpensive. Must be taxed as wine, not spirits (a bottle of Jim Beam white will run you around $35 here - gag!). So I'm taking it as a challenge to make interesting drinks with simpler ingredients. I'll leave the multiple layers of obscure bottlings to the professionals like bostonapothecary (although I'm a 2 hour train ride from a good bar).
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On a ginger wine kick recently. So here's a take off on a sidecar. I couldn't think of any clever name relating ginger to motor cycles so I decided to name it after an indie band I like. Maybe they will google themselves and discover this! Ginger Envelope 1 1/2 oz Brandy 1 1/2 oz Stone's Ginger Wine 1/2 oz lemon Shake, strain, lemon twist tossed in. I had a bit of a hard time balancing this one. I'm more used to lime with ginger but with some experimenting I think I got it. Of course your citrus may vary. Enjoy!
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Ah, there's the rub. When does that huge tin of oil go from being slightly rancid but tasting good to past it's shelf life? I don't know, but perhaps it's better to start on the overly "fresh" side and not go bad. Remember the trained testers (and the chemical analyses) are not determining whether an oil "tastes good" - they are identifying specific flavours that indicate certain properties of the oil. I'm not willing to assume that the Cooks Illustrated panel represents the tastes of the general public or my tastes. And bitter is pesky - I think we tend to taste bitter and think "bad" as an immediate response but once it sinks in it can add a satisfying depth as most cocktail lovers know. And maybe some of the other off tastes or missing good tastes of the lower grade oils are not picked up conciously by the less trained panel. Another factor is the potential health benefits of unsaturated fats. For that reason, I would rather my oil not be rancid. Your point is well taken that EVOO is not necessarily better tasting or a good value. It's a flaw in taking differences and turning them into rankings. Maybe a good analogy is maple syrup where many people prefer the grade B over grade A.
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Aside from the obvious dishonesty of adulterated oils, I wonder about the oxidation. Is the issue of oxidation one of transport? Then it might be that the production is ok but the companies need to figure out better ways to ship halfway around the world. Or perhaps this is a case where locovorism is a good idea. As far as the taste question goes, I'm far from an expert but the oxidation could cause a number of different changes, positive or negative and even rancid yak butter has its place. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, though, I'll go for fresh and fragrant.
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Perhaps, using spearmint as usual in the drink and garnishing with a big, spanked bunch of a different kind or different herb would be the way to go. Seems to me the julep is more about the smell anyway. Don't forget to trim the straw so the drinker has to get their nose right down in the garnish.
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To label this cheese tasty is an absolute travesty. I think they missed the "Not" And that's why I buy 'extra tasty'! lol! This could turn into a living in Australia thread. Mostly it's not the things I can't get but the cost of the food I covet. But stuff I miss includes year round limes, reduced fat Oreos (so shoot me - I like them better), Swiss Miss fake-hot-chocolate (gee I'm really sounding like a boor), Triscuits, Goldfish, whole wheat tortillas, decent decaf coffee except from the Victoria Market in Melbourne, those red tins of sweet paprika (and the yellow tins of hot paprika I've only found in Pennsylvania), decent Swiss cheese (but I have found goat cheese), Tilamook cheese in general but especially monty-jack, blue corn tortilla chips (oh how I miss those!), wild salmon, and decent tasting orange juice. I'm sure I'll think of more. eta: ok, the junk food doesn't count as ingredients, sorry.
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6 bottles of clean-skin South Australian Shiraz-Cabernet from Aldi for $9.99. Quite drinkable IMO. Have to wonder, what is going to happen to an industry with such an overabundance of riches. But for now, I'm happy to gloat
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I was going to suggest we make a group effort to get some key "consensus" cocktails with perhaps some variations into recipie Gullet. But I think it would need considerable rework to be useful as a general resource where you could browse by spirit type or search effectively. There are some awesome recipies in "what are you drinking" but really hard to find. Could we pin a moderated "best of eGdrinks" thread? If nothing else, it could lead to some enlightening discussion on what works for different people.
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One of my families greatest camping meals and stories: It was near dusk and time to look for a camp ground as my father drove along somewhere in North America. A pheasant flushed in front of the car and smacked the windshield with a thud that made everyone jump. My father stopped the car to investigate and found two dead pheasants on the road. He grabbed the warm one. I have no idea how he knew how to dress a bird - he wasn't a hunter but he managed, fried it up, and added it to the night's spaghetti sauce. A vast improvement.
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I just had some whiting this week - it was quite nice but I'm not sure it was significantly better than other choices - hard to say when ordering for one. But the fillet seemed to be approximately the right shape and they charged $2.50 more. Still haven't seen any flathead. BTW, what's the deal with "minimum chips"? I usually order $1.00 chips which is less than "minimum". The amount I get for the dollar is pretty variable but usually enough.
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Just had some Roquefort and Caramelized Onion chips from Aldi. The taste reminded me of used sweat-socks. The sea salt and lemon are better. Still, my bench mark for a bad potato chip/crisp idea is steak and kidney pie. Well that and what passes for Bar-B-Que. But having grown up with BBQ chips, they hold a strange appeal in spite of the lack of authentic flavour.