brinza

I'm sipping this right now (although the Wild Turkey 101 I happen to have is rye). This is excellent! Great idea.

That's wild. Here (in PA) Ezra Brooks is $11.49 while Evan Williams is $11.99. And it wasn't all that long ago that they were both $10.99. I don't blame you for being reluctant to take a chance on a 1.75L. I would be too.

With all the discussion of various components that could be used to simulate Amer Picon, I'm wondering if Pimm's could be employed somehow. I know it's sweet, but with it's orangeyness and flowery, herbal notes, I'm thinking that perhaps Pimm's, Averna Amaro, maybe, and orange bitters might be used to produce an adequate substitute. Any thoughts? Would this come close at all? If not, what about using say, Aperol, or Meletti Amaro?

Not sure if it is the journalist or the bar, but it's good to know I'm not the only one who confuses the Bronx and the Brooklyn. Even though I'm not sure that Bourbon, Punt e Mes, and Campari could really even be called a Brooklyn. Well, at least it is closer to a Brooklyn than a Bronx. ← That sounds more like this drink: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1620043

White Horse Scotch: I've been buying this stuff for years. It's a terrific affordable mixing scotch that doesn't fade into the background in a cocktail. Just enough peat to remind you that there's scotch in that glass. Brugal Anjeo rum: Damn, I keep seeing this in the stores and wondering if it's crap or if it's one of these sleeping good-value items. Now I know. Paul Masson VSOP: I've yet to be able to bring myself to spend the kind of money on cognac that I do on single malts, so I tend to stick with lower-priced items like Chalfonte if I want actual cognac, or brandies like Raynal or St. Remy. As soon as I'm through the E&J XO brandy I have now, I think I'll check this one out. Evan Williams: I still think Ezra Brooks (same price point) is better, but hey, maybe the fewer people who know that, the more there is for me. Mr. Wondrich, if you're reading, I'd love to know how you feel Ezra Brooks stacks up against Evan Williams. All-in-all, this a valuable rundown. These are all good to keep in mind. BTW, I love the brown paper bag motif. Nice touch.

I'm with you on that. Just as with all the "-tini" drinks around, I hope we don't start seeing a number of convoluted mixtures all named with the suffix -"-attan". If that bar in Toronto just called them all "crustas" I suppose they wouldn't be entirely off the mark.

It also works well in hot toddies, and I'm thinking it should mix well with something lemony.

I like the stuff myself. As already suggested, cutting it with bourbon or even rye is definitely a good idea. One thing I noticed about it is that besides the honey sweetness, there is a slight orange note to it. Thus: a little WTAH, a little bourbon or rye, some bitters, a cherry, and there you are: An Old Fashioned. Sounds too easy, but try it!

Isn't "cocktail sherry" sweeter than that? Like an oloroso? ← These are good questions. I haven't really experimented with sherry in cocktails mainly because I'm never sure which sherries to buy for the purpose. I've seen (and deliberately avoided) bottles labeled "cocktail sherry" because they always seem to be very large bottles on the bottom shelf, and I worry that they might be only a step above supermarket cooking sherry.

Definitely. A much better sub for rye than Maker's Mark would be. Sam, do you find that the Rittenhouse is closer to Sazerac than to other ryes (such as Old Overholt or Jim Beam)? BTW, is Bulleit pronounced like bullet, or bull-eet?

Glad to see you mention Graham's Six Grapes. I've fallen in love with that stuff. I've had Cockburn's as well which I also liked. The Six Grapes is so agreeable to me that I'd have little reason to bother looking for another ruby port unless for some specific purpose.

Gary Regan would probably classify that under New Orleans Sours. There is a drink called the Lola Martini which consists of OP vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, lime juice, and elderflower syrup. Although it doesn't have bitters, there are at least six drinks in his New Orleans Sours list that do include bitters.

True. Just ask a chemist. They stir with rods, not spoons (although part of the reason may be to use glass, which is inert, instead of metal). Lately, I've been stirring everything that does not call for citrus juice.

I think it's mostly treated the same as aquavit or vodka--ice cold and straight. Also, you can use it to thin out your sambuca if you find that liqueur to be too sweet.

For stirred drinks and drinks calling for cracked ice, I've been using these: http://homebarsupplys.com/mix_pro_ice_cubes.html Granted, the claims they make in their ad copy are probably inaccurate*; for example, I don't think these cubes are suitable for shaking, but for stirring, they've been working quite well. I haven't tried them in a blender yet. *The claims regarding durability and being odor-free, however, are spot-on.

For me, a good Winter drink is anything brown and served neat. Preferably Scotch.

Pyrat Rum has a very funky taste. Probably the funkiest spirit I've come across.

I have to concur with Andy and Erik here. I got the chance to taste the Ri at the Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival and I was not all that impressed with it--at least my impression of it didn't match the hype (and the price). Even less so when shortly thereafter I tasted (for the first time), the Thomas Handy. Holy cow, is that good.

Oh rats, I thought maybe there was some other interesting edition of the book out there. I know mkayahara has a later "expanded and revised" edition, which I need to track down. Thought maybe yours might have been the same. ← Sorry to disappoint. My edition is the same as yours, based on the photos you posted back in post #32 in the Stomp. I don't know why I was thinking it was bourbon. I made a Lawhill this weekend as well, but I didn't think I made two cocktails that called for Canadian Whisky. But the Lawhill I made was from Duffy, so maybe his is different and then I just mixed up the two. I'll have to check. Say, when you reach the Old Pal in the Stomp, you might want to experiment with, or invite discussion on, using different whiskies in that drink. It probably works well with many types.

Bourbon? Interesting. Which version of the Savoy Cocktail Book do you have, brinza? Both versions of the book I have (sadly) call for "Canadian Club" in the Old Pal. ← Mea Culpa. Faulty memory (I only had one, Officer, I swear!) Of course, it is Canadian in the Savoy. My point actually was that even though the OP's mystery drink involved rye (real rye), it still might have been an Old Pal that he was served, and other sources seem to call for rye and bourbon as well for that same cocktail.

This is too weird. I just made an Old Pal Saturday evening, but it was before this thread was ever posted. The Savoy (where I found it) calls for Bourbon, but it is also given as using Rye, such as here: http://www.gumbopages.com/food/beverages/old-pal.html What I liked about it was the way the whiskey cut the intensity of the Campari. The Campari's flavor is certainly prominent, but its bitterness is mitigated by the whiskey, yet it is still a fairly dry drink. This is an excellent use for Campari that doesn't involve gin. ETA: I see that some websites describe the Old Pal as Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, and Grenadine. That seems rather pointless. Correction: I said the Savoy calls for Bourbon, when it is in fact, Canadian Whisky.

I managed to get a hold of a bottle of the St. Elizabeth recently. It turns an ordinary hot toddy into something really special. I noticed too that a little of this liqueur really goes a long way. Using it is almost like working with bitters. It doesn't take much for it to make its presence known. I expect the bottle to last quite some time, which is a good thing.

I tackled the very same problem this past weekend, however my approach was somewhat different. I built another liquor shelf behind my bar. I recently discarded a very old (something like 30 yrs) bottle of Tia Maria, but only because the cork stopper started to crumble and bits were falling into the bottle. Otherwise, having tasted it while the cork was still intact, it seemed fine.

But wait, if the hotel had a bar, couldn't you have just . . . aw, never mind, your way was probably much more fun and adventurous; I'd probably do the same.

Ok, I'm way behind the times on this but I'm trying to imagine how ATF determines if something is potable or not? I mean, what poor SOB gets the job of seeing if he can hold the stuff down??? Great product BTW. ← I'm curious about that as well. What I find interesting is that Underberg Bitters is sold in gourmet food shops, is 44% alcohol, is considered potable and is intended to be drunk straight. You don't drink much you, but you can down it easily and it tastes quite good, actually. Perhaps because it's sold in such small bottles and the per-ounce price would actually make it cost-prohibitive as an imbibing liquor.