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Mickael

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Everything posted by Mickael

  1. My confusion exactly. ← Perso, I can go more into details if you need, but I've been working out on how to make people taste & understand Angostura in quick & simple 4 Steps: 1/ Try it over a sugar cube, like if it would be a medicine (as it was, and still is). Just suck it, ventilate the sugar and don't eat it! That way, you will get the taste. But you've got only 5 senses in your month, that won't help that much to de-confuse you. 2/ I also prepare a kind of syrup: 1 part Angostura / 1 part water / 1.5 part caster sugar. It helps me to be quicker at my OF(s), but it also gives me an incredible control of the horrible dash. It helps a lot if you want to compare or know what happened in a cocktail. 3/ After I flame it in a Boston Glass or in a tin (it's hot!). so i can get all my nose working. Cloves will be my No1, after work it out, but there is a lot than opens up, surely much more than at room temperature. It's like a barbecue, I use an atomizer, I pump & then I flame ( )The smell is incredible (Vin Chaud - Christmas ...) 4/ Before I'd finish, I fix myself a quick Trinidad Especial ; 30 Angostura / 30 Orgeat / 20 Lemon J / 10 Brandy (grape) . I share a shaker with my mates, and that'll fix my stomach for the night. Let me know if it helps, or if you've got any tips. Cheers
  2. Sorry If I'm confusing. You already gave me an anser: you use it with soda & rub some in your hands. For the nose, it's not always blackout, but it depends a lot of which catergory of bitters. The Aromatic Bitters for example (opposed to the fruit bitters) doesn't have that much nose (room temperature), not much taste (if you want it diluted with water), but they still do miracles in cocktails. So I was just curious to know how you taste your bitters when you are making them? cheers
  3. Hello there. I can see that one day you guys will be close to find the secret recipe of Angostura. can't wait Please, I'd like to know how you taste your bitters? It's quite complicated: No nose, clearly strange taste...what process do you use to make your mind. Merci Mick
  4. Hi EJE, I understand your point. This recipe is just a suggestion, and sometimes it works better that a bad brandy combined with awful triple sec, as you said. If I'm at home, and I'm a novice "bartender" who want to entertain my guests, I really think that I would go for this recipe. Also, as mkayahara said, you can go for the 100 aire or 150 aire bottling, which are 100% cognac (not brandy). In regards to the Cognac used in Grand Marnier, I've got a few bottles at home and I have to say that they are delicious. Mr Patrick Raguenaud is the cellar master of the Marnier Lapostolle house. Previously, he worked at the Martell house, and some of his work included the famous blend for Cordon Bleu. I know that some Marnier Cognacs are sold in Canada, and the XO is definitly worth a sip. ( http://fr.grandmarnier.com/grand-marnier-p...gnac-marnier-xo )
  5. Grand Marnier, Cointreau, etc.... which one for what? Honestly, i don't think that there is a better one, but for those who think that Grand Marnier is a waste of money, or only good for B52, I disagree. Let's take the example of the Side Car. It's a simple recipe, but quite difficult to balance. I like this one which is easy and cheap to make (if you consider that you don't need to buy cognac): 75 ml Grand Marnier Between 30 - 35 ml Fresh Lemon Juice depending to your taste Just shake hard and strain I've done a few blind tasting using different brands of cognacs, orange liqueurs & specs, to check which one people preferred. That recipe didn't do that bad at all. Cheers Mick
  6. Great news Peter. I'm glad that you like the dram. If you need any suggestion, don't hesitate to ask. Keep the bottle when you finsh it, or buy another one (keep it close) and wait a couple of years and see how much it will cost on the collector market. cheers
  7. Just came back from Glasgow, and even in London Heathrow, i've found this new bottle of Bunnahabhain: "Darach Ur". It means "New Oak", yep, un-chillfiltered and natural colour from brand new American oak caks. An Islay that is really worth a try. What is cool about that whisky also is: - it is an excellent dram, and - This is the first batch ever made, so the bottles are labelled with batch No 1....be quick. £30, bargain. mick
  8. I believe that this small bottle has a lot to do with the cockail culture that we see today (especially the "come back" of the classics). It's the oldest "bitters" available on the market i presume. The way to consume it, as suggested by the monks, is over a sugar cube. Looks very like the process of the sazerac or the old fashion to me. I used it in cocktails quite a few times, and I like it better on a sugar cube that i flame and I use an absinthe spoon to serve it. Flaming Sazerac or Old Fashioned anyone? Cheers, Mick
  9. Is there any law formulating what has to be in a cocktail bitters to get the appelation? If yes, when did that law dated from? I've done also a bit of work on bitters presentation, and I find it fascinating and a bit confusing, especially when it comes to search in books and etc... Is it possible that Aperitif & digestive bitters are a kind of diluted expression of Aromatic Bitters. for example, Chartreuse elixir vegetal could be an "Aromatic bitters", and Green Chartreuse, how would you classify it? It's the same, but diluted, isn't it?
  10. It was because of Prohibition that the US Government (now the Taxation and Trade Bureau of the Division of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) set up a category for non-potable alcohol, which includes things such as vanilla extract and non-potable bitters (such as Angostura).Bitters such as Angostura still need to be approved by the TTB before being classified as non-potable before being sellable. Avery Angostura, Abbott's, etc were available for sale during Prohibition. ← The only problem that i can think off is how Abbott's could get heir hand on neutral spirit to make the bitters. Abbott's is from the US, isn't it?
  11. I was asking myself if this theory is possible: During the US prohibition, the sale / manufacture / transportation & consumption of Alcohol was banned. But, was it possible to buy Angostura Bitters? At that time, I think that angostura bitters was in a category on its own, Aromatic Bitters. And the US law described this category as being undrinkable alone. Now, I'm thinking if it could have been possible to buy aromatic bitters, in a pharmacy for example, during the US prohibition? Cheers for you help, Mick
  12. Just to get things a bit more confused, I would say the Cuba Libre for Trinidad...or the rum & coca cola (Andrews siters)...or the Queen's Park Swizzle.
  13. Couple of drinks using 10 ml: Free2One 3 parts Drambuie 2 parts Stone's Ginger Wine 1 part Angostura Bitters. build on the rocks and stirred. Jamie's Stephenson played with 10 ml of AAB during the Trinidad comp (which he won). Easily Satisfied 40 ml Dranbuie 20 ml Velvet Falernum 10 ml Angostura Bitters Glass Tumbler - Garnish Lime twist - (I think that it is buid) Thanks for this topic, perfect to share it here, and lets see what you like? Cheers Mick
  14. Is there any Stone's Ginger wine style produced in New Orleans. Cheers Mickael
  15. By mistake, yesterday we tried @ Lab something we shouldn't. We mixed 3 parts Drambuie / 2 parts Stone's Ginger Wine / 1 part Angostura Bitters. Lets call it Free2One and it is built on the rocks. Served like an OF. We used Jamie's S way of playing with AAB during the Trinidad comp. Just thought to share it here, and see if you like it? Cheers Mick
  16. I remeber when i last put my head down to create a Non-Alcoholic. In Europe, there is an IBA contest called the Mattoni Grand Drink. It's a kind of World Championship of Mocktail. I found the experience brillant. Also, I saw what you wrote before: many Non Alcoholic cocktails tend to use syrups to gain flavour. When I did the comp, the category of drinks was "cobbler". I've played with Mint, coriander and cucumber and I named it the Fresh Start. With simple and affordable ingredients, you really can start to create and have a lot of fun with flavours. Plus, if you take your non alcoholic drinks seriously, then I'm pretty sure that your alcoholic cocktails are going to be excellent. Here is the recipe, if you want to give it a try. Cheers Mick The Fresh Start 12.5cl Mattoni Grand Grapefruit (gently grapefruit flavoured sparkling water) 10.0cl White Grape Juice 0.15cl fresh lemon Juice 1 slice of Cucumber (1cm) 10 Mint Leaves 3 Coriander Springs Muddle the herbs and cucumber in a mixing glass. Add the rest and shake. Fine strain the content over the sparkling water that you pre-poured in a Colada glass filled with cubed ice. Garnish: cucumber, mint, cherry, olive & Black pepper http://magazin.mattoni.cz/english/mgd_2006.php#mgd
  17. " Trinidad Especial by Valentino Bolognese - Italy 30 ml Angostura Aromatic Bitters 30 ml Orgeat Syrup 20 ml Fresh lime Juice 10 ml Pisco Mistral Shake hard and long, and strain in a martini glass (or shooter glasses to share)" Did anyone try this Trinidad Especial? Since I've been playing with it, my friends and I came up with the idea that we could serve it as a shot. If someone orders a Trinidad Especial for a group of mate, then we share it in as many shot glasses, and we call it the Pre-Tox Shot. I'm not a doctor, and definitly don't pretend to be. But we thought that, if Angostura Bitters can mix and adapt in any mix, then it's possible that it can mix in your stomach. Our thoughts took us to try to have a Pre-Tox before "night out drinking". It's like pouring a very large dash of Angostura Bitters straight into your belly, and also that shot taste good. May be Angostura would then act like it does in a Punch, marrying and smoothing all the ingredients together. After, you tell me if the next morning you are not feeling much better. By the way, Angostura was created at the beginning for stomach disorder. OK, we know that it is a little bit weird, but so far, with a Pre-Tox, the following mornings have been much much better. Cheers Mick
  18. What I'd like to dream is that all bartenders at that time were kindly supposed to be the doctors of life...Thanks to the monks, a few dashes of bitters in booze or on a sugar cube could do miracles... Cock-Tail! To spice things up, may be the monks were a bit naughtier than we thought. I have to check if they were allowed to drink alcohol, but anyway, booze weren't very far away because they needed neutral alcohol to create the elixirs of life. May be the naughty boys were playing with a local cognac and they started to mix herbs or something like that... Or may be even much better: Lets say that they kindly fix themselves a kind of Monk-Ey Sazerac. Large measure of brandy 1 sugar cube soaked with Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal Crushed the sugar and stir the drink till the sugar is dissolved Optional: Ice To be honest, I don't know what the true is. But I'd like to believe that the monks were making drinks... Mick
  19. Hello Egullet, I'd like to know if some of you are playing with the Elixir Vegetal De la Grande Chartreuse. http://www.chartreuse.fr/pa_elixir_uk.htm I'd like to think that It is the oldest Bitters that we can still buy to make cocktails - and it costs no more than $20..... The thing that is intersting is that if Charteuse Elixir is a Bitters, then cocktails could take another turn: - First of all, Chartreuse Elixir is pretty old, something like 1737 (with a recipe dating back from 1605). - The recipe is a mix of herbs, spice, plants, etc... with medicinal properties...so I'd like to think that It should be classified as bitters. If it is a Bitters, then the tradition to drink it over a sugar cube in France could be the start of the Sazerac, the Old fashioned and the Champagne cocktails' Cocktail Cultures. It could mean that mixing tradition with spirits came from Europe, and may be from the French Alps. The knowledge that the monks have learned by working with natural vegetals is still today in practice in order to find and make medicinal success. Mr Peychaud was a French Creole, may be influenced by traditions from Haiti - & Mr Siegert was a German doctor... I just came back from Paris for the Cocktails & Spirits Bar show, and it was very interesting to see everyone involved with the european cocktail culture. Please let me know what do you think of this possibile road to perdition, and if you consider Charteuse Elixir not as a Bitters, then why not? Cheers Mick
  20. Thought that i would share that one with you: Green CSM - {Chartreuse Smoky Martini} 35 ml Green Chartreuse (chilled is better) 15 ml lillet Blanc 5 ml Peaty Islay malt Stir till chilled and strain in a cold cocktail glass - Garnish white grapes. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes...2/06/green-csm/ I like also very much to play with the Elixir Vegetal, the small bottle containing green charteuse at the original 142 proof. Lovely wood packaging.
  21. Hello Everyone, I just realized that I've been granted a participating membership, I'm so happy. It's my first post here, and I'll do my best to share with you some stuff that I like. Talking about bitters, I like the fact that they were not supposed to be drunk straight, as you explained perfectly at the beginning of the topic. Now, I went to Italy last year (a country that loves everything that is Bitter) to check a few cocktails for a competition (Angostura), and I nearly dropped of my chair (or thought that I was going to die) when a bartender from Bologna picked up a jigger and a bottle of Angostura Aromatic when starting his cocktail. He used 30 ml in his recipe, and the result was incredible (obviously you have to like bitters). He also won the European final with this one.... Many of my friends and colleagues have made this cocktail since, and they too were stunned by the result. If you have a couple of minutes, you should give it a go: Trinidad Especial by Valentino Bolognese - Italy 30 ml Angostura Aromatic Bitters 30 ml Orgeat Syrup 20 ml Fresh lime Juice 10 ml Pisco Mistral Shake hard and long, and strain in a martini glass (or shooter glasses to share) I personally classify this cocktail as one of the most interesting that I've ever tasted. Cheers Mick
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