RoyalSwagger

Just curious, and you may have already posted this but, why the blood orange juice? The drinks look beautiful with the deep crimson red, though I would imagine the flavor profile to be just different enough to be deemed as straying off the savoy path. It's an interesting choice, I would like to know the reason behind it.

Well said Troy!

That's an excellent question Apothecary, I would really like to know the deep down nitty gritty differences/similarities between crafting vermouths and crafting bitters. That might seem like an obvious question then again I'm not feeling particularly articulate this morning.

I found a little place that's basically like walking into a time capsule. Known throughout Tucson as "Ray's Harmacy" due to the marquee lacking a P. I don't think that they had a bottle of liquor in the harmacy that was younger than 1993. It was like walking into a museum where everything was on sale. A few things that stood out during my first trip... A decanter bottle of Old Grandad in honor of the Bicentennial, anthropomorphic bottles of Wild Turkey and Eagle Rare, both from the 80's, some nice looking ceramic Tiki bottles of rum that I will have to take a closer look at the next time I'm in. Last But not least, a velvet bottle of Cherry Marnier circa 1960's... which I had to buy.

So I have to bring this topic back from the dead for curiosity's sake. I've been looking through my copy of the Gentleman's Companion and I notice a lot of phosphate uses just as said in previous posts. Now this thread never really got a clear answer and I would like a little clarity. I'm speaking of a certain recipe in particular... The Rangoon Star Ruby, 1 jigger good cognac, 1/2 pony of cherry brandy, 1/2 pony of French vermouth, 2 dashes each of orange bitters and lemon phosphate, for added flavour 1 tsp of Kirsch, or 1/2 tsp of maraschino. There's that pesky lemon phosphate, used in dashes (doubt that he's talking about an effervescent beverage.) Is this a syrup made from lemon syrup and acid phosphate or is this a powder of sorts? Whilst looking through the Chanticleer Society I stumbled upon the current menu of the Teardrop Lounge, seeing that they had The Rangoon Star Ruby on the menu, including lemon phosphate. So my question is, what on earth is this and for that matter how does one obtain such a thing especially when it is currently in use at a craft cocktail institution. I know I could just e-mail them and ask "hey what's up with yer fosfate dude" but, I though that this would be a good topic and an answer from multiple sources is always better than one. One more thing, could I maybe use citric acid? Cheers, Ciaran

Pusser's navy strength is another great rum for the fish house punch, in fact a great rum for punches in general.

I'm sorry if I seemed to be saying that there is an average balance for everyone, everyone is individual in there tastes, everyone has a distinct balance as everyone is individual. I didn't mean to say there was an average amongst everyone, I personally enjoy bitter stirred drinks as opposed to the Red snapper and gin cosmo I mentioned before though I think each category is balanced. Sometimes it just takes the bartender to figure out the balance for each individual.

Hmmm... cocktails not balanced eh? That pretty much goes against everything that got me into cocktails in the first place, my mantra if you will. While yes I agree with your IPA statement I would also like to point out that beer and wine are finished products where as cocktails are the exact opposite in such regards. You almost made my point in saying I my opinion that inner peace is the final product, the balanced cocktail. The bartender is the person who sets things right, they take these ingredients and set them in harmony. Frankly I think that's why cocktails took such a dive in the seventies and eighties, bartenders forgot about balance. I think vodka becoming so popular with such a neutral taste compared to say gin, let bartenders become lazy. That's why so many people think they don't like gin, because they either had an extremely unbalanced gin drink letting the juniper run rampid (which I don't mind) or they had an unbalanced gin martini (I'm talking wall street unbalanced, cold shakin' gin.) That's where the bartenders of today who know better must come in, whenever I serve for example a Bloody Mary or a Cosmo to a customer, a guest I know I can really work with, I might substitute the Gin for the Vodka. Mostly they respond "That's the best Cosmo I've ever had!" which is from the backbone of the gin and because of balance in the ratios. I'd like to point out balance is borrowed from the lexicon of physics, lended to food sure but, seeing as Cocktails were pretty much the original American culinary contribution to the world I think we might have come far enough to talk shop, especially with the likes of Harold McGee still writing and Embury's ghost still haunting the cocktail scene. Honestly I like balance to the point that I like my Martini 50-50 dash O.B. Twist, perfect harmony for my spirit.

Hmm... I've made a drink called the Peanut Bourbon & Jelly using just as Kinsey said a peanut oil fat washed bourbon and grape jelly with lemon juice but, the idea of straight oil, interesting though I don't think I'll be putting that into any of my cocktails anytime soon, I wouldn't mind somebody making something for me along those lines. Very interesting!

Agreed, the Sazerac 6 isn't great but, compared to the R1, in my humble opinion is a step above. The Saz does lack spice though it definitely has that Rye backbone, and the price difference is a factor (and the bottle looks pretty nice on any bar alter.) "Vodkaic"... that's great.

Rye is supposed to have spice and backbone both of which were completely lacking when I first tried R1. It's a husk of a rye wrapped in a pretty casket. How could a whiskey company treat rye like vodka with more emphasis on the packaging than the spirit within. Apparently they are doing a good job of it, in the little city of Tucson where you can't find a decent drop of rye behind any bar (other than my own,) I now find R1 popping up in some of the nicer downtown establishments. I ask if they have any other rye for my Manhattan, and the bartender looks at me like I'm crazy only to respond "this is one of the most premium Rye's on the market." I feel like saying,"have you ever tasted any other rye's?" I quickly understood that this question would have fallen on deaf ears when I asked for my Manhattan stirred and he poured both the whiskey and the vermouth straight into my glass and stirred the undiluted concoction with a sipping straw.

Supposedly the juicing has been outsourced due to shall I say, some "sour" attitudes.

If there are any apprentices for this year's Tales, step on up. Just got the e-mail this morning. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. Looking forward to working with everyone. Ciaran Wiese

Oh definitely, Jager can be used basically like a sweeter amaro or Zwack Unicum Bitters, I made a drink called the Stag Horn Cobbler which included (the recipe is at work so I'm not positive) Mount Gay, a medium bodied sherry, Jagermeister in equal parts with half a lime and sugar served as the Sherry Cobbler ala Splificaters Imbibe. Mi-T-Fine if I do say so myself. Vice, excellent idea I hope you don't mind if I try and run with the idea, that's brilliant. Maybe some Cherry Heering and a Pine infusion with some espresso is in order.

Jagermeister, Peach Schnapps, and cranberry juice usually served as a shooter. I shudder to think. I actually like the challenge of mixing with Jagermeister, it's just the combo of all the above, especially bottled cranberry juice... no thanks. Back to topic, I've been trying to make a drink that I can name after a Twin Peaks character. We serve hibiscus iced tea at the bar I work at and the combination of deep red hibiscus tea and lemonade made me laugh at the idea of calling it the Laura Palmer ala Arnold Palmer. I was trying to make an Audrey Horne the other day; Rye, "Fresh Squeezed" Grapefruit, Honey Heffeweizen Syrup, and egg white served in a coupe with one drop of angostura on the top representing her beauty mark. The drink fell flat sadly, oh well back to the drawing board.

I dunno, the marconi wireless was a brilliant name as shown in a previous thread. If you name it they will ask, one of my fellow bartenders named one of our house "nut infused" drinks after the first asylum to treat inebriation as a form of disease. When a customer orders the drink, 75% of the time I am asked about the name and I have a good/ intelligent story to tell as opposed to a blatant "hey let's get fucked up" name such as a screaming orgasm. I'm red headed and the first time someone ordered a red headed slut at my bar I was definitely pretty confused. By the way, I really like the Herzog reference.

Not long ago I watched a video of Jamie Boudreau explaining that dry shaking the egg white first and adding the rest of the ingredients one at a time and dry shaking each time will produce a thick head. After having tried this a few times I have to say it works, whether it be the citric acid working with the egg white or the sugar being added later, or even just the prolonged broken dry shaking I'm not sure but, it really works for me though I only use this technique when the crowd is dying down at the end of the night. Sorry for not posting a link to this video, I will try finding it later.

In response to previous post A cocktail that i have been a huge fan of since getting into cocktails... Beehive cocktail as written in cocktail DB 1 1/2 oz bourbon 2 oz Grapefruit juice 3/4 oz honey Shake, Strain no garnish (scale down the propoertions to your liking, 2 oz of grapefruit a bit much..) Like a sour but, not.. One of the most delicious sour based cocktails I have ever had yeah, the Airmail doesn't come close A whiskey sour mixed with elysium.

I infused some gin with hibiscus and created a drink called The Hi-Society Hi-society Hibiscus Infused Gin Sweet Vermouth Lemon dash Sugar 3 Generous Dashes Peychauds Don't remember the ratio sadly, written down somewhere at work. Simple drink I created early in my bar career, I was slightly influenced by a drink at PDT about 2 years back.

I've always wondered the same thing concerning the maker's label and here it's being discussed by two gentlemen on the other side of the Atlantic. That makes me smile.

One punch that I've yet to hear about in the forums is the Chatham Artillery punch from Imbibe. It is the last punch recipe in the book and the instructions are a little leave-it-to-the-reader but, I have to say, after making it, this punch is one of most delightful/deceitful punches I have ever made. I recommend it, top notch. When you visit the town of savannah Enlist 'neath the temperance banneh, For if you should lunch, On artillery punch, It will treat you in sorrowful manneh. Artillery Punch, what a name

I can't stop laughing at this...

Funny, I'm currently sipping on an old school Tequila Daisy made with Meyer lemon juice and substituting the orange cordial with yellow chartreuse. Damn tasty if I do say so myself. Spirit of choice 2 oz (I'm using Gran Centenario Anejo meself) Sugar 1 tsp Yellow Chart 1 1/2 tsp Meyer Lmn 1/2 oz Shake, Strain into small cocktail glass Top off with seltzer And smile! (Edited for clarity)

Amen to that, while in Holland this summer I would drink a shot of Genever with a beer. When I came home to the states with a bottle under each arm, I now use the genever strictly for cocktails (to hard to come by at the time.) Even though I still almost only use the Genever for cocktails I still love to take a nip of that lovely yeasty elixer if I happen to be sipping on a Duvel.

Long time reader first time poster. A couple things to add, one being in response to campus five, a little correction on the Red Hook it being a riff on the Brooklyn and not the Manhattan but, still getting your meaning through. The other thing actually has to do with both my first point and the topic itself. On my current drink menu at work I have a cocktail called the Hat Town (awful name owing to my own inside joke) that is in itself a riff of the Red Hook. The Hat Town Contains Rye, Punt y Mes, and Creme de Cacao, flamed with an orange twist. Here's where the topic comes in, recently taking inspiration from Brian Miller I decided to infused some Wild Turkey with candied walnuts and replaced the rye in the Hat Town with the Walnut Wild Turkey. My bartenders and myself were calling this drink the Nut Town which soon evolved into the Nut House, one of my bartenders was doing a little research and found a little bit of interesting history. The Binghamton, a New York state asylum being one of the first asylums to treat inebriety as a disease, thus we had a keeper of a name. The walnut infused riff on a Red Hook, The Nut House became the Binghamton. The Binghamton Walnut infused Rye or Bourbon 2 oz Punt y Mes 3/4 oz Creme de Cacao 1/4 oz Dash Fee's Barrel Bitters Stir, Strain into coupe Flame with liberally cut orange twist