haresfur

Any idea what pineapple water is? Also curious as to what kind of Madiera is being employed here, if you happen to know. One of my favorite beverages. The pineapple water, whatever it is, gave a light taste, similar to my infused rum. Sorry, I didn't think to check for any more details about the madiera. I'm pretty sure it isn't the $50/glass stuff Andina has on their desert menu, though.

Made it to the Teardrop Lounge in Portland. Very nice. Started with a High Hat: 4 roses bourbon, house sweet vermouth, house amer, pau d'Arco bitters (forgot to ask what they are), and green Chartreuse. Beautifully bitter and complex. Second was the Other Side of Summer: Clement agricole, Blandy's maderia, pineapple water, kirsch, lime, demerara syrup. A touch sweet with a very strong sequence of flavors hitting the tongue in succession. But very nice. That was plenty to get me ready for a trip through Powell's books.

I would expect that that is almost certainly the case. And as I noted above I'd be willing to bet it doesn't matter at any rate anyway. I agree, but the grain was produced more locally when the industry was developing. Not bourbon, but Dry Fly here in Washington State uses "local" ingredients which means mostly wheat for their whiskey. I think there's another year to go before the first batch will be out, though. The abstract focuses on the water, but my reading is even more that the taste of the water on how the water and the soils affected the settlement patterns and production. Importantly, the steady water temperature springs was important for the condensers. As was noted above, Kentucky isn't the only whiskey producer. There is limestone terrain (karst) in Pennsylvania. and plenty in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia so that can't be the only factor in developing bourbon as a distinct product.

Here's a talk at the Geological Society of America Meeting next week. Move over Pinot! Actually it should be well attended since there will be a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir tasting at the end of the session Not sure I can make it because of my presentation. 2009 Portland GSA Annual Meeting (18-21 October 2009) Paper No. 270-11 Presentation Time: 4:30 PM-4:45 PM LIMESTONE WATER AND THE ORIGIN OF BOURBON FRYAR, Alan E., Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 101 Slone Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0053, alan.fryar@uky.edu Bourbon whiskey, which is made from fermented corn mash aged in charred oak barrels, is a uniquely American spirit produced almost exclusively in Kentucky. Exports of bourbon totaled more than $700 million in 2007. Its distinctive taste has traditionally been attributed in part to the “limestone water” used in its production. Given the prevalence of carbonate rocks, corn cultivation, and alcohol consumption throughout much of North America and indeed the world, why did bourbon originate in Kentucky, and what roles has water actually played in its history? Addressing these questions requires a consideration of settlement patterns and practices and the characteristics of water in karst terrains. European immigrants, in whose cultures alcohol production and consumption were ingrained, began moving beyond the Appalachians in the latter half of the 18th century. Thousands of settlers were drawn to the Bluegrass region of north-central Kentucky, which is marked by fertile residual soils developed on limestone bedrock. Corn was readily cultivated and its distillation provided a high-value product that would not spoil. Consequently, production of whiskey commenced there as early as 1776. Many farms and settlements were located near perennial springs in the Bluegrass region. These springs were valuable not only because of a year-round supply of water, but also because their relatively uniform, cool temperature (~14 to 15 C) facilitated condensation of steam during distillation. Moreover, shallow groundwater and streams in the region typically have dilute, Ca-Mg-bicarbonate-type compositions with circumneutral pH, which limits dissolved Fe and promotes growth of bacteria involved in fermentation. The production of bourbon became standardized and industrial in the first half of the 19th century. Because of the relatively low yield of springs in the Bluegrass region, most distilleries now rely on treated stream water, but some smaller distilleries still use groundwater. Regardless of the exact source of water, its role in the taste of bourbon combines terroir and craft through the growing of grain, fermentation, and distilling. 2009 Portland GSA Annual Meeting (18-21 October 2009) General Information for this Meeting Session No. 270 Terroir—The Relationship of Geology, Soils, Hydrology, and Climate to Wine: A Special Tribute to George Moore Oregon Convention Center: B113 1:30 PM-5:30 PM, Wednesday, 21 October 2009 Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 7, p. 696

Is there a right way or a wrong way to clean my (home) shakers, strainers, etc? I have always washed beer glasses by hand because it is supposed to result in a better head but I have either just rinsed off the cocktail gear or thrown it in the dishwasher. Recommendations?

I read this and thought: does Zeno's paradox apply to pie? I don't think so. There's something about the slab turning into a slice turning into a piece turning into a crumb that doesn't happen with the more deliberately cut and structured pie, I think. True, pie is more, "Excuse me, I'll just clean this up for you." But the prevention is the same. Except for the selfish people who throw off the slice count because they are on a diet, too full, or whatever.

I use granulated garlic for things that are going to get heated rather than cooked because it doesn't have the same harshness as fresh. Throw some on leftover spaghetti with good olive oil and Parmesan and heat just enough to warm through. It also makes a good systemic insect repellent for the horses. Which brings up another point, granulated garlic can vary quite a bit in quality/taste: My DB ordered 5 lbs to feed the geldings and they delivered 50 lbs. So that's what I used in the kitchen for the longest time. The horses finally used it up and I bought a mere Costco-size jar. Much, much better.

This brings up an issue in my house. I'm pretty sure the Dalmatian has learned to equate late night activity with food and has been waking me up in hopes of getting her midnight snack. I tend to go for sweet and easy. Pie is perfect but lacking that (dog gets crust), fruit jelly candy does ok (dog gets a biscuit).

With 3 children, my father developed a superb eye for dividing a pie in fifths. Your friend needs to work on sevenths.

Sounds very tasty. I don't know about pineapple size changes but at least some of the pineapple sold these days is much less acidic than older varieties (e.g. Delmonte Gold). I wonder how that might change the drink?

Mexi-mocha 1 c milk 2 tablespoons Dagoba Xocolatl hot chocolate mix with chilies and cinnamon 1 1/2 oz tequila 1 oz coffee liquor put in frothing pitcher and steam with an espresso machine pour in mug and add 3 dashes Fee's orange bitters.

The discussion in the Restaurant Life Forum on starting a food truck resulted in exposition on the wonderful street food in Portland, Portland Street Cuisine. I obviously have missed something on other visits, but will be at a conference at the convention center later in October. Any hints on what to look for in the ephemeral world of street cuisine? Something other than the Mexican luncheras we have here in Eastern Washington would be wonderful - especially if it were in striking distance between sessions.

Blinker highball 2 oz rye (Sazerac) 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup (Torani) stir with ice and top with Izze sparkling grapefruit juice I don't keep regular grapefruit juice around and had bought some Izze to try. Figured it was a good way to experiment with some recipes and the Blinker seemed to fit the bill. The first taste is all grapefruit - more than the straight juice. Then the rye comes through. A bit strange but not bad.

Yet another St. G. Martini variation (YASGMV ): 1 oz gin (Bombay Sapphire) 1 oz blackberry infused vodka 0.5 oz St. Germaine good dash Regan's Orange Bitters Stir, strain into the goofy freebee glass that came with the gin, a lemon twist would have been nice if I had a lemon. Not much of a gin drinker but I quite like this. Next time I think I'd try dashing the bitters on the top after straining - my current theory is that I like the taste of gin better than the aroma and I've found that some bitters to hit the nose first are a good thing.

I like it

Kind of interesting that the prohibitionists used (likely overstated) accusations about adulterated liquor as an argument against legal alcohol. I suspect the notion that prohibition vastly increased adulteration of black market liquor is as much a myth as the previous assertion that much of the pre-prohibition product was adulterated or that cocktails were invented to cover up bad booze.

Feeling better now: 2 Tbs. blood orange marmalade dissolved in 1 oz Perrier 2 oz Campari 2 oz Scotch (or was it 1.5 oz? had to do some adjusting. I used Abelour 12 yr) Stir with ice, strain and add Perrier to taste.

Perhaps not a central role in the origin of cocktails, but didn't Prohibition have a big impact on sending American bartenders and drinkers offshore and thus spreading cocktails into the rest of the world and conversely at least contributing to the development of new cocktails through encounters with new ingredients?

The world's most expensive beer-can?

Anything with a flair in it's neck so it doesn't slip through my grasp when I'm drinking I'd have to agree with others that the Sazerac bottle is great for being distinctive and functional. Without making judgments on the contents, the Bombay Sapphire bottle seems well thought out and is pretty and distinctive enough to keep the marketers happy.

I like Havana Club a lot. I'm not a huge Appleton fan. I think it would be a versatile choice for you and would give you some experiences to talk about when you get back home, "Yes, this is a nice drink but I prefer it with Havana Club..." That being said, I drink more dark rum and you can get great Ginger Beer in Oz for your dark and stormies. I like the Cascade, from Tazzie. Never mind the alcohol costs, have you checked out the price of limes?

Pan-Pacific Southern Canadian Old fashioned 2 oz Tangle Ridge Whiskey 2 tsp. Matcha simple syrup 3 good shakes Peychaud's bitters 2 good shakes Fee's Peach bitters I wanted to try some flavors that didn't blow away the Canadian and were not blown away by edgier rye. I'm pleased enough that I'm on my second. I do have to eat some crow, though. This bottle clearly says, blended whiskey. I'm sure my first one said 100% rye.

If it's more convenient and doesn't result in a loss of quality then it's easy to see how a rational person could contemplate using pre-peeled garlic. If it results in a loss of quality then that's another story. But so far nothing has been established. The only semi-objective analysis seems to be something done by Cook's Illustrated but I haven't read it. ← I don't see how you are going to get a definitive answer to this. Seems to me fresh garlic is better if it is better or fresher garlic. Pre-prepared will be better if it is a better variety or stored better. I could easily see how my friends' organic farm specialty varieties might be better quality initially but with time might not keep as well. Maybe you should split a batch of garlic into unpeeled and peeled then store under the same conditions, sampling periodically to decide which is "better". Of course, that could depend on which varieties you chose and your subjective judgment of "better".

Heck, I think what you are asking for is pretty much by definition "small batch, artisanal and expensive." Not necessarily implying snobbery but, face it, the vast majority of the market doesn't share the cocktail passion and is happy enough with drinks that disguise their basic spirits. Unless there is some untapped source of booze that is extremely popular in some other part of the world so it is already produced in large amounts, then you are looking at a variation on an existing theme like more kinds of x, or something that will rotate in for last year's fad, or a small supplement for the cocktail subculture. I suppose the other option is to figure out good things to do with underutilized spirits. Maybe rather than supercilious jabs at Canadian whiskey, someone could figure out a way to highlight the spirit without it getting lost (as I've said before, I rather like my Tangle Ridge). Maybe something that appeals to the Crown Royal drinker would get them interested in Alberta Premium and thence onto other experiences. Or for a real challenge find a good way to use Bacardi.

Yes you can! Happy dance...