campus five

I'm a big fan of the Dewey D (Don Lee, PDT) 2 oz. Rye 3/4 oz. Lustau East India Sherry 1/2 oz. Aperol dash Angostura stir, cook, strain, up orange twist Also, I just got some Dios Baco Pedro Ximenez, wow. %100 PX - so rich, so delicous. A side note, I find it funny that the best sherry selection I've been able to find around me is not any of the better liquor stores, but instead at Bristol Farms, the gourmet supermarket. They have everything!

+1 for the 1/2 + 3/4, and 1 + 2 combo set up.

I know I pretty much always use the POM. Works very well.

Don gave me that recipe a while back, but I'm pretty certain that's correct.

Was it this? Dewey D 2 oz. Rye 3/4 oz. East India Sherry 1/2 oz. Aperol 2 dashes Angostura stir, cook, strain, up, orange twist

I just found this on the bittermen's website:

ummm? Vermouth? ← Fixed - Sweet Vermouth

My go to drink was introduced to me as a "Left Hand" 2 oz. Rye / 3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth/ 3/4 oz. Campari - rock glass with one big rock only, lemon twist However, there was some argument among the LA bartenders about nomenclature and the actual recipe - I know it's one of Sammie Ross's, but eventually someone confirmation, and the actual recipe was with bourbon, served up with a cherry. Personally the lemon twist is essential, and rye is more interesting. I've made the drink with several ryes and even several bourbons, and its always a hit. I generally use Carpano Antica, but even with the ideosyncratic Vya, or simple M&R, the drink still works. It's a fantastic apperitif, especially for those who can't quite hang with campari and soda...yet. Then Chris Ojeda, now at the Edison in LA, made me something he called a "new pal" - which was basically same recipe above (although he may have toyed with the proportions), but with 2 dashes of orange bitters, flamed orange twist, served up. This drink is also fantastic, though just slighly sweeter based on the orange addition, and perhaps that's merely based on my reaction to the orange essence, not any actual sweetness. So, this all being said, I think there is just something really great about the combo of whiskey, sweet vermouth and campari.

The Van Winkle 12yr Bourbon was what he originally made it with, but it also works with rye, no problem. I actually made it with Maker's the other night, because my friend had run out of rye (I know, the horror, the horror) and it was still really good.

Here's one of my favorite cocktails from Damian Windsor, formerly of Seven Grand here in LA. The Weatherly 2 oz. Van Winkle Reserve 12yr Bourbon, or Rye 1/2 oz. Cynar 1/2 oz. Aperol scant barspoon Fernet Branca stir, cook, strain, flamed orange peel, up So, good. I made this the other night for some friends, who heard the ingredients and laughed. They said it would never work. They ate, I mean drank their words. They loved it.

Not anything novel, but this was so nice tonight: 1 oz Rittenhouse BIB 1 oz Van Winkle Rye 1 oz Carpano Antica Stir, cook, strain, lemon twist. Damn. A good manhattan is a nice treat.

Funny, I just found 8 375ml's this weekend. Nice timing.

Try dropping the Cointreau to 1/4 ounce, try a "backbone-ier" gin, and/or maybe a lemon or orange twist. EDIT - Oh, you were using Beefeater - never mind the bit about a backbone-ier gin.

A couple months ago, I was at an event sponsored by Plymouth, and they only had Chartreuse VEP. A Last Word with VEP - Now THAT was good.

So, as joke the wife and I stopped into a liquor store on the way home, which turned into a 45 minute caravan to 12 different liquor stores. Here's the haul: 1 750ml, 2 375ml's, and 2 200ml's of Malacca - for $17.99, $11.99 and $6.99 respectively. (FWIW the last 750ml bottle I sold on ebay went for $180+) A bottle of Plymouth for $13.99 Bug Juice Campari, and a really, really old bottle of Campari. (I'll have to do a taste test between the two older bottles and the non-bug stuff) I need to save up for a trip to NYC in August, so nothing like some liquor speculation to pay the bills.

Japanese Cocktail 2 oz Cognac / 1/2 oz Orgeat / dash Angostura

At Comme Ca in Los Angeles they're doing a variation on a Southside, called the Eastside. Same basic recipes but adding a couple cucumber slices to the mint when muddling (lightly of course). Served up, its great. They also serve it in a rocks glass with one 2" ice cube, and call that an Old Maid.

Since getting into cocktails, I've picked up the habit of hitting off-beat liquor stores for rare, or otherwise old bottles. Some of my recent finds: 9 bottles of Tanqueray Malacca @ $20 each A bottle of 2003 George T. Stagg @ $60 4 bottles of Plymouth with an older label @ $12.99 Anyone else doing this? Any other awesome scores?

Tonight I made a Rosita variation I got from Christine D'Abrosca, formerly of the Seven Grand and now of Malo. Rosita (variation) 2 oz. Reposado Tequila (she called for Gran Centenario, I used Partida) 1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth (NP) 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica) 1/2 oz. Aperol 2 dashes Orange Bitters (fee's) stir, cook, stain, flamed orange peel Mmm..... so good. The orange accent is really nice. The original goes something like this: Rosita 1 1/2 oz. Silver Tequila 1/2 oz. each dry and sweet vermouth 1/2 oz. Campari dash angostura stir, cook, strain, lemon twist

that sounds really good. can't wait until it arrives in Los Angeles.

I am so not the guy to properly answer that question, but my informal taste test found these differences. Cointreau was way, way sweeter and cleaner. Torani had a caramel/brown sugar darkness to it, and subtle, but not over the top bitterness.

I was going to post this in the "Drinks!" thread, but it seemed more appropriate here. I was in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend for a gig, and made a point to go by the Zig Zag (although I missed out on going to Vessel). Ben Dougherty was behind the bar and took care of us. I usually go with a straight "dealer's choice," rather than asking for something specific, but I mentioned that I wanted to try a Deshler, not having had one. (Rye, Dubonnet, Cointreau, Angostura - sounds good, right?) It was excellent. On the second round Ben set me up with a "Creole" which was also fantastic. I asked him about the proportions, and he said he'd just write it down for me, which he did. So here's the recipe: Creole Cocktail 1 1/2 Rye (he used Pikesville or Overholt, I can't remember) 1/2 Sweet Vermouth (??) 1/4 Benedictine 1/4 Amer Picon Stir / Cook / Strain / Up / Lemon Twist So, I asked him if he used Torani Amer, and he said he used "the real stuff." Of course, now I wonder what he meant by "the real stuff." Vintage Amer Picon, Modern lower-proof Amer Picon, or perhaps a housemade replica. Since, I'm back in Los Angeles, it'll be a while before I can ask. I think tonight I'll make one of these with Torani and see how it goes.

Tonight I had a Left Hand Cocktail, introduced to me by Damian Windsor from the Seven Grand, here in LA. It's essential an Old Pal, but with more whiskey. Left Hand Cocktail 2 oz. Rye (in my case, 1 oz WT Rye, 1 oz. WT Russell's Reserve Rye) 3/4 oz. Campari 3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth (in my case, Carpano Antica) Stir, cook, strain, rocks glass with a big 2" ice cub, lemon twist. That really took the edge of my week.

reviving this thread, because I just had two great cocktails with aperol, and now I've got a bottle of the stuff. as soon as I have clearance to share them, I'll put them up, but I want to check with their sources before I do. any new favorites?

Nice work Don. Now if you can just get that severance package....