Mike S.

I'll chime in with what many might consider a great heresy: I actually prefer my "X & Coke" drinks made with Diet Coke. Much less sweet than regular Coke (although what sweetness exists does inevitably have that artificial tang that DC addicts crave), so the you get a drier drink even if you use more soda than liquor. My standard ratio for any "X & Y" highball is 2 oz booze to about 3 oz soda/cola/tonic/etc. A good rum and DC with a wedge of lime is, to me anyway, especially delicious.

This is SUCH a great thread -- I've just spent a nice long time copying down all these recipes and doing a bit of research on the side. David's link to the WSJ article above leads to a nice story and recipe about the Omar Bradley (a battle-field Old Fashioned made with orange marmalade) that looks great!

If you can find it, C&H Baker's Sugar is my favorite superfine cane sugar. Common here in CA supermarkets. http://www.chsugar.com/Consumer/bakers_sugar.html

Why in the world is this stuff not available in stores in CA? How does that make any sense? I hate having to mail-order stuff like this, but I'll probably just do it. I think Amazon carries it too.

Good luck. If you find it anywhere around here (NorCal), please advise. I'd buy some.

Yeah I agree, it's awful.

Beyond beer and a nice crisp chilled white wine, summer for me is all about the Highball...the Long Drink...the "X and Y"...whatever you want to call it, the formula is basically the same: 2 oz booze (gin, tequila, whisk(e)y, rum, brandy, you name it) 3-4 oz fizzy mixer (tonic, club soda, cola, flavored soda, you name it; just high quality please [plug: FEVER-TREE]) wedge citrus (lime, lemon, orange, you name it) Mix and match. Build over ice in a nice tall glass and chill. My current favorite? 2 oz (or less as you like, given the strength) Wray & Nephew White Overproof rum (yes, *that* stuff; people, it's *brilliant*) 3-4 oz (or more as you like, given the strength) Ting Jamaican grapefruit soda Nice big wedge of lime (at least 1/4 of a large fruit) It's good enough to put me off G&Ts (which I absolutely adore) for the duration.

I actually like W&N White Overproof a lot, but perhaps I have an older bottle (I recall a thread here some months ago, entitled something like "W&N White Overproof: why suddenly does it suck", that suggests it may have changed over time). In my tasting I found it sweet, fruity and funky under its high-alcohol attack, with surprisingly little burn and amazingly smooth for 123 proof. Someone described it as "Caribbean grappa" which I think is spot on. But you're right, of course -- what the heck do you do with it on any sort of regular basis? I've never had the guts to make something like a Daiquiri with it. It is very good mixed with Ting (Jamaican grapefruit soda) and lime juice over ice, however. As for the others mentioned, Montecristo I know is a cane juice-based rum, but El Dorado I thought was molasses-based. Is it not?

I've been meaning to try Montecristo white, but I currently have bottles of both Flor de Cana Extra Dry and Mount Gay Eclipse Silver to get through (and I've recently discovered that I much prefer Rhum Agricole Blanc to any of these; Neisson is especially nice). That said, I have not made a direct comparison between the FdeC and Eclipse Silver in any cocktails like a traditional Daiquiri. My prior comments on the Eclipse Silver are based on a neat taste test comparison I did a couple of months ago. Listed in my order of preference from best to worst, the rums involved were: J. Wray & Nephew C.J. Wray Estate Distilled Dry 80˚, Jamaica (now discontinued) Pyrat Superior Blanco 80˚, Anguilla BWI (now discontinued) Mount Gay Special Reserve 80˚, Barbados J. Wray & Nephew White Overproof 126˚, Jamaica Flor de Caña Extra Dry 4-year 80˚, Nicaragua Mount Gay Eclipse Silver 80˚, Barbados I suppose to be fair I should make some cocktails with the Eclipse Silver and see if I like it any better. But lord, tasted neat against the others it was awfully rough. Eric, see if you can find a bottle or two of the C.J. Wray Estate Distilled Dry kicking around in old liquor stores -- it's absolutely brilliant and WILL blow you away.

Mount Gay Eclipse Silver is readily available around here, I've seen it in BevMo and other places as well. I have a bottle, and I must say I'm not impressed. If it's better than Bacardi Silver I'm not sure I could articulate how. And I'm generally a huge fan of Mount Gay rums -- XO is one of my all-time favorites -- so I take no joy in saying this.

My bottle of Luxardo is 32% as well, as is my bottle of Maraska (for comparison purposes).

I love this game! There are tons of older "mom & pop" liquor stores in the greater SF Bay Area and I'm slowly working my way through them. I've found many treasures, including: J. Wray & Nephew C.J. Wray Estate Distilled Dry Rum (a fantastic premium Jamaican white rum unfortunately discontinued many years ago) Stubbs Queensland Dry White Rum (interesting rum from Australia) Forty Creek Three Grain Canadian Whisky (my favorite expression, and one of their original bottlings now no longer produced) Marnier-Lapostolle Cherry Marnier Cordon Rouge (no longer imported to America) Marnier-Lapostolle La Grande Passion (discontinued long ago) Pisang Ambon (green banana and spice liqueur, no longer imported to America) Old bottle of Drambuie in a beautiful cut-crystal decanter There's a few I'm still (and always) on the hunt for, including Malacca (I have several bottles but have never seen any in a store) and Kahlua Royale (an old product blending Kahlua, brandy, chocolate and orange; one of my Mom's favorites).

For those in the SF Bay Area, Blackwell's in SF and Beltramo's in Menlo Park both have Plymouth Sloe Gin on the shelves (at least as of today ). I just picked up two bottles at Beltramo's and can't wait to give a try in something.

I've not read this entire thread so it's probably been mentioned along the way, but just in case: Wild Turkey 101 Rye is really quite good. I do like Rittenhouse BIB better, but if stocks are running low don't hesitate to bring in the Bird!

Ugh. Your tax dollars at work. I wants a bottle of this stuff, and I wants it now!

Is there any reliable information about when Plymouth Sloe Gin will be available here, including where it might be found for sale?

For those in Northern California / Bay Area, Beltramo's in Menlo Park typically has Genevieve in stock. 3 bottles as of yesterday afternoon.

My favorites have always been of the "X and Tonic" variety, with many different things playing the "X" part. Gin, obviously, but also rum (esp. Mount Gay) and tequila. Metaxa also makes an excellent tonic-based highball, garnished with a wedge of lemon.

Bumping this thread (again) because...well, because I just can't let it go. Various people along the line here have asked for drink suggestions that work especially well with Malacca. Classic Martinis and Pink Gins are, of course, outstanding when made with Malacca. A premium G&T made with really really good tonic (like Fever-Tree) is also brilliant, but some have pointed out that you might not want to "waste" so rare a gin on so "common" a drink. Maybe, but a well-made G&T is one of my very favorite drinks so if your Malacca reserve is large enough I say go for it! I'd like to add one more suggestion, which I found doing some extended Googling on Malacca. This one was new to me, but may be well-known around these parts. Apologies if so, but I thought I'd mention it just in case because I think it works so beautifully with Malacca: The Greek Tycoon 2 oz Tanqueray Malacca 1 oz Metaxa brandy (at least 5 Star; 7 Star is even better) Nearly all of the recipes I found call for it to be served neat in a brandy snifter. I tried it this way, but did not like it very much. Stirred and strained into a chilled cocktail glass, however, and you've got a wonderful Martini variation with the infused flavors of the Metaxa playing the roll of a mellow high-proof vermouth. No garnish necessary; the amazing color is all the ornament this one needs. This drink may also work with some other gins. I've tried it with Bluecoat to good results, and the botanicals in Hendrick's might also match well with Metaxa. But it was made for Malacca, and one taste will tell you why.

Ah, didn't know it was that new. Perhaps it's so new that Tanq has not had time to add content about it to its website? Nothing like being on the ball....

Anyone have any thoughts about Tanqueray Rangpur? Overall, I think it's pretty good, and actually works quite well in certain applications including a G&T (omit the lime wedge). It also mixes well with ginger ale and cranberry juice. My favorite use, though, is in a traditional Gimlet made with Rose's Lime. Have not tried to make a Martini or other gin-based classics with it. What do others think? But perhaps more importantly, does anyone know whether this product has been or is about to be discontinued? Tanqueray's website makes absolutely no mention of it. I seem to recall that happening with Malacca, before it disappeared.

Damn shame about the Library Lounge closing. Apparently it's now some sort of private "smoking club". Whatever. In addition to the Swizzle Stick (which is great), definitely try the French 75 Bar at Arnaud's -- Chris Hannah is a master.

I look forward to trying Q Tonic when/if it gets out here to Cali. In the meantime, I must say that I've never had any mixer at all (tonic or otherwise) that I've liked as much as Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water. It's all I could ever ask for in a companion for gin -- or dry rum, or blanco tequila, or just a heavy squeeze of lime. Best by a mile.

Pink Gin, New Orleans-style, per Wes over at Chuck's Looka! 3 oz Plymouth Gin (though I used Bluecoat to outstanding results) 4 heavy dashes Angostura 2 heavy dashes Peychaud's Long stir with a scant dash of simple (my addition), strain up and no garnish. Heaven. Cheers, Mike

This is a shockingly irresponsible theme, and therefore warrants in response the most shockingly irresponsible drink masquerading as a respectable "cocktail" I know. One of the strongest recipes published, at least that I've seen, has to be the Savoy's Earthquake Cocktail (a.k.a., for some reason, the Bunny Hug): 1/3 gin 1/3 whisky (no real specification beyond that) 1/3 absinthe Shake and strain. No garnish specified; I suppose the louche from the diluted absinthe provides its own visual impact, and really what after-the-fact addition could possibly compete with those ingredients? Oi! That's a lot of booze, and on paper one cannot see where any sort of balance comes from -- if indeed any was ever intended to exist. Hard to tell, honestly, given Savoy's commentary: "So-called because if there should happen to be an earthquake on when you are drinking it, it won't matter. This is a cocktail whose potency is not to be taken too lightly, or, for that matter, too frequently". Uh, yeah -- copy that. Is this just a drink purpose-made for inducing drunkenness as quickly and efficiently as possible? Or is there a more serious mixological goal at work? I suppose it's all in how you make it. For better or worse, here's how I tend to on the exceedingly rare occasions when I dare: 1.5 oz blended scotch (typically Johnnie Walker Black or Famous Grouse 12-year) 1.5 oz Cadenhead's Old Raj "Blue Label" gin 1.5 oz Jade Edouard absinthe Stir until the absinthe has turned the whole mess pearly-opaque, strain into a frozen (not merely "chilled") cocktail glass. Garnish with a designated driver and/or an understanding spouse. Or at least a large ice cube. For those keeping score at home, that's 1.5 oz each of 80, 110 and 144 proof spirits, respectively -- and nothing else apart from whatever small amount of water can force itself into the mix during construction. Since the pre-dilution concoction is 4.5 ounces of straight alcohol that must be well above 100 proof on average, my guess is that the finished product is probably the functional equivalent of drinking 5-6 ounces of 80-proof spirits neat. So, what's the answer to the dichotomy posited above? I'm drinking one literally as I post this so I do feel qualified to say that it accomplishes the first objective (quick and efficient drunkenness) very well indeed; a few sips are all that's all needed for that. Personally I find that I rarely finish one, and won't tonight. But perhaps it's not a dichotomy after all, because I do think there's something more going on here. Built right with the hightest quality booze available there is a certain balance to this drink, fragile though it may be. Despite the inordinately high-octane nature of the ingredients -- even after dilution -- most spirits and cocktails enthusiasts would be hard pressed to say that the drink "burns" like one would expect. To the contrary, it's surprisingly smooth as it beats you like a rented mule. Moreover, there seems to be something about the interaction between the scotch and the absinthe that polishes off the rougher edges of both, rather like noise-cancelling headphones in coach when the inevitable screaming infant is seated right next to you. What the hell the gin is going there, however, is anyone's guess. Filler? Not with Cadenhead's; amazingly its strength and saffron-tinged botanicals manage to punch right through and duke it out with the bitter anise of the absinthe as the dominant top note. Overall, the flavors work astonishingly well...at least as long as the thing is very, very cold. In all events, this "limit one" is a 9.0 killer. It bears no resemblance whatever to either bunnies or hugs, and it's not to be taken lightly. Be careful out there. Cheers, Mike Edit: Spelling and clarity.