brinza

I will admit, when tried straight, I found the Sweet really weird. It has a kind of vegetable taste. And when I say vegetable, I mean like in a V8 sort of way. However, when I tried it in a couple cocktails, it was fine. I tried a Martinez and a something (can't recall the name) that was a variation on a perfect Rob Roy. I haven't opened the Extra Dry yet. I don't want to have too many vermouths open until I get a Vacu-Vin or something. I plan do more experimenting with several kinds of vermouths this weekend. I've seen a few comments by posters who seem to like Bossiere Dry, but what about their Sweet? Anyone? If one were forced to choose between, say, M&R Sweet and Bossiere Sweet, which would it be?

um... maybe? PA has stocked vya from time to time. i've only seen the extra dry (in east liberty) recently. Robinson Town Center has both varieties right now. I'm going to the airport tomorrow so I think I'll stop in there to have a look at the bottles in person. Just to confirm: the "Quady Vermouth" is in fact the Vya. I bought a bottle of each.

I loved this quote: Any time someone brags to me about a restaurant that offers XX number of different kinds of martinis, I reply, "Oh, they have a cocktail menu, then." Then I usually get, "But they have 27 different martinis!." Uh-huh. I was in one place that had a about a half-dozen "_____-tini" drinks on their menu, and one was called a "Margeri-tini." It consisted of: Tequila Triple Sec Lime juice I'm still trying to figure out where the "tini" part comes in. I because it's served in a "tini" (read: teeny) glass.

um... maybe? PA has stocked vya from time to time. i've only seen the extra dry (in east liberty) recently. Robinson Town Center has both varieties right now. I'm going to the airport tomorrow so I think I'll stop in there to have a look at the bottles in person. bostonapothecary, thanks for the information! I'm enjoying learning about and trying out different vermouths. What non-Pennsylvanians don't understand (and lostmyshape can back me up on this) is that when you live in PA, you are conditioned to believe that there is only Martini & Rossi. Nothing else. Oh, there are a couple other choices--really really cheap stuff like Spatola and Tribuno (warning: use Tribuno sweet only if you like putting Lambrusco in your Manhattans! ).

2 questions: Pennsylvania lists two vermouths identified as "Quady Vermouth". They sell for $18 a 750ml bottle. Would these be the Vya products? No wonder I never noticed them before! I guess we've had Vya all along, and I never realized it. The stores closest to me don't stock them (which is why I've never seen the actual bottles), but I would only have to go a little farther to get them. Second, while there is much discussion on the storage and shelf-life of opened vermouth, how long can one expect to be able to keep a bottle of unopened vermouth? I imagine that some of it probably sits on the store shelves and in warehouses for longer than we'd care to admit. What I'm wondering is, is it safe to stock up on seldom seen vermouth products as long as they're kept unopened until needed?

Hell, I was surprised to find Noilly Prat on my end of the state! (not saying that's obscure, but you know what I mean.) I'm just thankful that we have Lillet on a regular basis so that we can make Vespers (and Corpse Revivers).

My absolute favorite malt is Lagavulin 16. Close behind are Talisker, Laphraoig, and Highland Park. What I love about Talisker is that it's almost like an Islay, but with characteristics of a heavier Highland as well. Plus, it's relatively higher proof gives it more robustness, IMO. I know what you mean about the Laphroaig cask strength. I was a little disappointed with it. I couldn't seem to find the right amount of water to add. Too little, and it was still overwhelming, too much, and it tasted, well, watered down. I prefer to just let the maker add the water for me. Regular strength Laphroaig 10 yr is perfect the way it is. Here's one that surprised me: Isle of Jura Superstition. Very drinkable, and by that I don't mean bland or light in any way, I mean delicious. It's full of flavor and you just want to keep drinking it! I generally don't drink blends at home for sipping, but if I'm out at a place that has no malts and I'm really in the mood for Scotch, I stick with Johnny Walker Black. In fact, if they state that they only have Glenlivet and Glenfiddich, I'm still inclined to go with the JWB! ETA: Forgot to mention Ardbeg. Haven't been able to get Ardbeg Ten for some time now. I understand that they started distilling again in 1997, so where is the Ardbeg Ten? Shouldn't we be seeing it by now?

Most spirits should last almost indefinitely, especially the grain spirits and rum. I keep most of my single malts around for about a year (sometimes longer) and they're fine. Tequila can lose its vegetal character after a while. I know that añejo tequilas tend to get woodier if kept too long (not that they are gaining wood characteristics, obviously, but if the agave taste fades a little, then the woodiness gets out of balance (although personally, I don't mind that so much)). Most liqueurs should last a good while, except for cream liqueurs, for obvious reasons. The alcohol preserves the cream for a little while, but not forever. I would say that Pacult's "dramatic differences" is a rather dramatic exaggeration. I don't know anything about him, but I wonder if there are industry ties that might entice him to say something like that. Hell, even Laphroaig's Ian Henderson (ret.) said that their whisky will stay good for up to a year "as much as we'd like to say you should throw away the cork when you open a bottle". You might want to limit the number of opened bottles of sipping spirits to about 7 or 8 unless you think you won't finish them in under two years.

Seagram' 7 Crown would probably be the most well-known example. http://whisky.vangeest.nl/Images/Whiskies/...crown_label.jpg

I just got a bottle of this over the weekend. If it weren't for having read this thread, I probably would have walked right by it, but it kind of jumped out at me. I was rather surprised to see it on the shelf. I grabbed it without hesitation (I have a tendency to ponder a while over new items). This is one of the most unusual liqueurs I've come across. It's simultaneously delicate and pungent. So far, I've tried it (and loved it) in the Right Bank Martini and the Parisian Martini from the Slashfood site, and in one of plattetude's rye recipes (can't wait to try the other two). I'm also looking forward to trying KatieLoeb's Cherub's Kiss and chrisamirault's New Old Fashioned Thing. There are enough good-sounding recipes right in this thread to work one's way through a bottle of this in no-time. Hmmm, may have to pick up another . . .

For some reason, to me, Brandy seems like an odd choice for a "filler" spirit with Mezcal. Also, the use of Lemon and Lime seems a bit odd. Like they were trying to split the difference between a Margarita and a Sidecar? Or replicate sweet and sour mix for the home cocktail enthusiast? If I were trying to salvage it, I'd pick lemon or lime and maybe use a blended canadian whisky or reposado tequila instead of brandy. ← That recipe actually came from the Del Maguey website. It called for a specific product, the Chichicapa, but I wonder how much difference it really would have made. Here is how Del Maguey describes that particular product:

Just got some of the Monte Alban. Wonderful. The nose is almost exactly like tequila, but the palate is much earthier and there is a fabulous puff of smoke in the finish. For me, this could compete with añejo tequilas as a nice sipping tipple. It's very easy to imagine how good an aged mezcal would be. Just as I enjoy smoky single malt Scotch in the winter, this kind of thing would nice to sip on cool summer nights sitting by a chiminea. Kent, I think you've nailed it. There seem to be very few cocktails that call for mezcal, and for those that do, it probably works better as accent ingredient, than as the base spirit. I found this recipe which does use it as the main spirit, but upon trying it, I was less than enthusiastic about it: 1 1/2 ounces mezcal 1/2 ounce brandy 1/2 lemon 1/2 lime 3/4 ounce simple syrup 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters This had an odd taste. It wasn't horrible, just odd. I'm not sure if it was the amount of mezcal or the use of Peychaud's.

Thanks. You'd think I would have remembered that since I only just finished reading his book. Doh!

Licking our wounds after that first cocktail, this one seemed like a sure thing. Indeed, this is a pretty fantastic cocktail. I hadn't been familiar with this particular Apple Brandy, but I guess it was a contract distillation by St. George for some folks that own a Gravenstein Apple Orchard in Sonoma. ← I made one of these last night (using Laird's Applejack, because that's what I had). Nice nightcap -- I liked it enough to make another tonight. It's amazing how a drink with no honey in it can taste this much like honey. ← Doesn't Benedictine have honey in it?

While it might not technically be a cobbler, it seems to be a drink that conveys the idea of a cobbler. It's kind of cobbler-esque, with the fruit liqueur standing in for the actual fruit. You make a good point about the sherry. I think it warrants a discussion on what kinds of sherries were intended in the old recipes that call for it. The recipes never specify what kind of sherry is meant to be used.

Thanks. I'll have to hunt down one of those when traveling or have a friend pick some up, but in the meantime I'll give Monte Alban a try. I would have anyway, but wanted to see what someone else thought of it. You would think that by now even the stodgy PLCB would have brought in at least one more choice of mezcal. I guess they need the room for more vodka.

Just bumping this see if anyone has an opinion to offer about mezcal. What's good, what's not. Is Monte Alban typical of the category? Also, a correction to my previous post: 65% should read 60%.

Nomenclature aside, I tried George's Rye "Cobbler" and let me just say this: That was one of the few times I made the same mixed drink twice in the same weekend. Lip-smackingly good. In light of this thread (no offense to slkinsey, who is technically correct), I suggest calling it a Rye Quibbler.

All the drinks that call for Worcestershire sauce are already using vinegar as an ingredient. I've often wondered about the result of substituting Worcestershire sauce where Angostura bitters is called for. Never had the nerve to try it, though.

Thanks, Mayur. I'll definitely try that next time. It makes perfect sense.

White Horse and Ballantines are decent mixing Scotches as well. If you absolutely must use a single, Glenlivet 12 or Speyburn might work, but malts like Ardbeg or Highland Park are way too intense for that purpose. I suppose through a lot of experimentation with different kinds of bitters and vermouths you could achieve a workable arrangement, but you'd probably waste a lot of good malt in the process. I do occasionally find myself zeroing in on some cocktail recipe that calls for scotch only to realize I've got like 6 malts and no blends on my shelf. If I'm bent on making the cocktail, I'll try to choose the most neutral of the lot. (In some of those situations I just say screw the cocktail and pop open the Talisker)

You absolutely should try to get some of the Ettaler Kloster-Liqueur if at all possible. http://www.original-ettaler.de/ I had it once (the yellow variety, or "Gelb"), and it's incredible. The only way I can describe it is it's the closest thing there probably is to Tolkien's miruvor, the cordial of the Elves. Yeah, it's that good. I imagine the Grün and the Magenbitter are wonderful as well.

That's an interesting use of Angostura bitters--as the base spirit (and at 90 proof it would certainly qualify I should think). The most extreme example I'd seen prior to that is the Seelbach Cocktail which calls for seven (7) dashes each of Angostura and Peychaud's. One of my favorites is gin and bitters, or Pink Gin. I prefer Ted Haigh's recipe which calls for "six goodly dashes of Angostura bitters." It's a magical transformation in which some of the flavors in the gin are enhanced while others are held back. And for all the bitters being used, no sweetener is necessary, the gin itself is enough.

You've convinced me. I am definitely going to the try the Rye Cobbler, which sounds delightful, and maybe the Tequila Cobbler as well.

Made a martini tonight with: 2oz Blue Coat American Dry Gin 3/8 oz. Noilly Prat vermouth 2 drops Regan's Orange Bitters Lemon twist Stirred with 1/2-inch ice cubes. Damn that was good. This might be my preferred combination for a while. This is my first taste of Noilly Prat. I've never seen it for sale before in PA. I did a side-by-side comparison with M&R (not blind), and definitely prefer the NP. It seems less astringent than the M&R. It's amazing how well it marries with the gin.