Yojimbo
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Posts posted by Yojimbo
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Funny, Chris, recently I've been leaning heavily towards the El Pres and slight variations (a spoonful of maraschino, Green Chartreause, what-have-you) as the weather's warmed up heareabouts, while contemplating whither the next bottle of blanco rum -- El Dorado 3 or Barbancourt). I'm sure I've said it before, but I'll reaffirm after you that the mixture of a flavorful light rum, Dolin Blanc, Cointreau, and decent grenadine is a taste of heaven on earth.
That being said, I also worship at the holy trinity of Martini/Manhattan/Negroni, but where is the love for the Martinez, with Ransom Old Tom, Punt e Mes (I'd say Carpano Antica if I could afford it as an everyday mixer) and Luxardo Maraschino, surely the Gnostic Gospel to the orthodox recipes of the aforementioned drinks?
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Thanks too all for picks and suggestions; I wish I could report back my tasting experiences so far. If I'd been really systematic, I'd've written up my tasting notes and presented them here in fine detail, but for two pragmatic issues:
1. In the moment, I was as much concerned with winding down after an intense day of work, rather than recording the nuances of a particular brand, and
2. I recognize that, even aside from the personal idiosyncrasies of taste, the world of Bourbon is just too diverse to rank one-on-one.
My goal was to identify a bourbon version of Rittenhouse BIB, i.e., good value and mixable, and I soon found out it's just not that simple. Some prefer wheated Bourbon, others high rye; some lean toward higher proof for mixability, others look for smoothness, and everybody's got a different price in mind for their go-to brand.
I will say i was impressed with Basil Hayden and some of the higher level expressions of Eagle as sipping whiskeys; almost on the level with a pot still Irish whiskey or some single malt Scotches, but I'm still on the lookout for an everyday mixer.
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My apologies if I'm breaking the rules of eG; I'll remove this post immediately if it's inappropriate:
I have one ticket to the second Independent Spirit tasting on Tuesday, May 21st, that I was soooo looking forward to using. Due to my own disorganization, I had already committed to another event (an orchid lecture) on the same night. It's up for whoever wants it, at the regular ticket price of $50. Let me know if you're interested and we'll figure out the details of ticket transfer. A promise to take notes and report back would be totally on a voluntary basis, but greatly appreciated.
Jim
Click here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums.
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What with the constantly shifting grains in the hourglass of the bourbon market (to say nothing of rising prices), the imminent run for the roses, spring, etc., I thought it might be worthwhile to revisit a general topic: what's your go-to brand (arbitrarily defined as under about $40) for everyday mixing?
I've been undertaking an alphabetical sampling of bourbons at my local bar (hard work, yeah), but have been sipping them neat because I just want to taste the spirit, and they're mainly a craft beer bar without decent vermouth or amari. While I've been impressed with the balance and smoothness of some, I have yet to find a clear winner. If I had to pick right now, it'd probably be Russell's Reserve.
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2 oz. blanco tequila (Herradura)
scant 1 oz. Luxardo Triplum
3-4 hard dashes of absinthe (Lucid, bought years ago when it was one of the few available in the U.S., still trying to use it up)
1 dash Angostura orange bitters
juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 orange
built over ice and stirred. No garnish, but could've benefited from an orange twist.
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I second Astor, as someone who isn't used to NYC prices, their prices are pretty good and selection is great.
I bow to no one in my devotion to Astor and its vast selection, but since we're talkin' Brooklyn, I might add to the list Heights Chateau on Atlantic and DrinkupNY on 4th ave in the south slope, both excellent, with good websites as well. Happy mixing, and wait until you get past the basics and into amari and some of the more obscure liqueurs . . . .
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Those who play with firewater sometimes get burned?
Seriously, we should probably all be apologizing to the OP for hijacking his thread!
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What's wrong with Mount Gay Eclipse?1 oz. Mt. Gay Eclipse (got it for free, trying to use it up)
A totally fair question, MK, and I should've clarified my statement, but those two drinks were rather de-clarifying . . . . there's nothing wrong at all with Mt. Gay Eclipse as a gold rum, except for two things:
1. I never have enough space in the liquor cabinet, so I tend to try and drink up the stuff that I've acquired accidentally to make room for the stuff I've bought on purpose, and
2. My rum tastes lean towards light but flavorful blancos, (I second Rafa's take on the El Dorado 3 yr!) or something darker and funkier, i.e. Lemon Hart, S & C, or even blackstrap, so I have less interest in a gold rum, and in general I prefer Appleton V/X for mixing.
The Mt. Gay did work very nicely in the drink, though.
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That's odd. I was just about to post my update to that cocktail... (You'll note my naming strategy in calling it "Craft." That lets drinkers know that what they're experiencing is an expertly balanced and tasteful concoction hand-crafted by an artisanal mixologist. Just a naming pro-tip ;-)...)
by Dale DeGroff, Clyde Common, Williamsburg, MA.3/4 oz Limoncello3/4 oz Strawberry eau de vie (squirrel-infused)3/4 oz Eau de Vie of Douglas Fir3/4 oz Raspberry Shrub3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur3/8 oz Cranberry (Pickled)4 pn Tartaric acid powder1 ds Demerara syrup (3:1)1 rinse Grenadine16 spl Fernet BrancaPlant, grow, ferment, and distill eaux de vie from lemons, strawberries, and Douglas Fir on-site in the greenhouse on the terrace of your Brooklyn loft. (Must be on-site. Must be Brooklyn.) Sweeten the lemon eau de vie with fresh cane syrup. Infuse the strawberry eau de vie with squirrel (fresh only!). Combine. Hand craft a barrel out of staves rescued from your father's first yacht and age spirits in barrel for six weeks or until you've grown bored and moved on to your next artisanal project, whichever comes first. Empty barrel, and heart. Combine contents of barrel (but not heart) with handmade raspberry shrub (with raspberries plucked from your significant other's father's estate) and authentic Maraschino liqueur. In a mortar and pestle, mash with pickled cranberries overnight. Strain. Ferment in the gullet of a hoatzin, the Guyanese stink-bird (for that touch of Demerara smoke!). Kill and gut bird; double strain. In Erlenmeyer flask, add tartaric acid (fresh squeezed only!) and Demerara syrup, then smash the flask over a rotary evaporator and evaporate its contents rotarily. Convert the remaining liquid into a spray and serve out of an atomizer inserted into the mouth of a grenadine-rinsed and hand-taxidermied squirrel (eastern gray only!). Splash Fernet Branca (or other difficult amaro) until fragrant. Serve up.I assume you garnish with a squirrel tail, rinsed with home-distilled absinthe employing fresh herbs, table scraps, and stuff found under the bed the day after the last Beltaine, and aged in the armpit of the bar-back for a weekend?
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A variation on David Wondrich's El Presidente (the later Imbibe version, not the Esquire version):
1 oz. Flor de Cana blanco
1 oz. Mt. Gay Eclipse (got it for free, trying to use it up)
1/2 oz. Luxardo Triplum
1 oz. Dolin blanc
juice of 1/2 lime
1 capful (about 2 teaspoons?) homemade grenadine
I'd post a picture but the second one already went shockingly fast. I will say that Dolin blanc and a decent white rum is a match made in heaven(Flor de C's not even my favorite, the El P. would sing with a better rum) .
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Since Hendricks has been mentioned, I'll admit I don't like it, or anything else with cucumber -- it's just not a flavor I enjoy in drinks, though it's fine in food. It's not that Hendricks is "bad," but even among other new gins it's way down on my list. And that whole "let's make it seem like we've been distilling this stuff in a stone croft in Scotland for centuries" marketing campaign? Very effective, yes, but authentic? Nah.
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Re-upped on the Doulin dry and splurged for Gran Classico bitters while buying a mixed case of wine (partly mixed, half of it was the vinho verde to which my wife is addicted, God help me).
I'm finding the GC eminently mixable, not just with the obvious (gin, rye), but with blanco tequila as well.
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My version of the In Spades, with 2 oz. Buffalo Trace, .75 each of Salers and Bitterman's Amer Nouvelle, and about .5 of Galliano, was a mess at first, and too bitter, but melded surprisingly well, considering it was way over the recommended ratios! I'll try it again with what KD recommended above, but I have a feeling that Aveze would offer a more diverse flavor profile than what I'm using. Still, it's an intriguing recipe, and worth playing around with, thanks!
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KD, I'm guessing 2 oz. of bourbon to .5/.75 each of the gentianes? Any more would seem pretty bitter, but perhaps that's the intended effect. I only have Salers, so I'll have to experiment . . . . Bitterman's Amer Nouvelle, perhaps?
Any suggestions as to garnish?
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Definitely on the Laird's - it needs to be the bonded. Do you know which chocolate bitters were being used?
Sorry, no. Should've asked.
>This reads like a Laird's-based riff on the Left Hand, subbing Luxardo for the Campari.
If you're looking to recreate, I'd start with 2:1:1 (as in the Left Hand) and tweak to taste. There is only one Laird's product that is suitable as the backbone of a cocktail, and it is the Bonded.
If you're looking to improve--well, you'd be better off listening to almost anyone else here--but I'd probably start by substituting the Luxardo with Cynar or Campari.
Of course, I've yet to encounter a Left Hand variant that is anywhere near as good as the Black Hand (Cruzan Blackstrap in place of Whiskey)
Great call on the Left Hand. I'm wondering if they weren't using the bonded -- that would certainly explain why the spirit didn't shine through at all.
Something else interesting, coming off the Left Hand remark: they served it over ice, in a collins glass (no garnish).
The Black Hand sounds delicious; I need to try that. I definitely don't want to simply recreate, as the Greely's Feast wasn't anything special in the glass (even though it appealed on the page). I have both Cynar and Campari, so maybe I'll play with some things and report back...
The thing about Laird's bonded, as fabulous as it is (and still a great buy), is that, to me at least, it softens the overall flavor of a drink if there are other strong flavors present, and the apple notes are easily lost. That very nature, however, makes it oh so blendable with almost any other brown spirit. If you're into experimentation, you might try half Laird's and half rye, for instance, or even try it 50/50 with the blackstrap rum, which has the opposite issue of being so strongly molasses flavored (not that that's a bad thing in many cases) that it can make drinks somewhat one-dimensional. We're all looking for that alchemical synergy among disparate ingredients!
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I don't think we should talk too much about our vitage Picon bottles... just sayin'...
Not unless you're willing to mix one for us all! ;>)
With the new interest in gentian flavored amer/amari going on, I wonder if anyone is petitioning the makers to bring back the original formulation?
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I asked the bartender at a restaurant last night to make a negroni with Gran Classico subbed for the Campari -- I wasn't able to see him make it, so ratios/brand of vermouth/degree of stirring etc. were unknown.
I had liked GC in another drink the week before, but in this instance what a got was a hint of complex spice, which was nice, but not nearly the bitter punch of Campari, which is part of what makes a Negroni a Negroni, of course. I'd be curious to try again with more control over the mixing details . . . .
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. . . .
And none of this addresses my question, which was what to do with Mango, Spiced Peach, and Plum-Vanilla syrups, cocktail-wise.
Plum/vanilla sounds like it might be an excellent match with gin, particularly with something sour or bitter (citrus, vermouth/amaro) to balance out the sweetness of the fruit.
Keeping in mind I'm about as far from having any sort of cocktail knowledge as is possible without growing up in some sort of stringent anti-alcohol community, would a riff on a daiquiri be an option? I had (please, please don't laugh) what was described as a rhubarb daiquiri the other night, and it was quite good (although my boyfriend and his friend exchanged amused looks). The syrup in it was vanilla, but I could definitely see doing something similar using a fruit syrup.
It's kinda hard to go seriously wrong by adding rum and lime to almost any fruit juice or puree, but that begs the question (as folks raised above with regard to sidecars) of whether the result is any more a "true" daiquiri than those abominable flavored vodka creations that are called "martinis."
If it tastes good to you, it IS good, so don't let orthodoxy get in the way of having fun with mixing drinks!
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Looks like we can get only the ingredients for one drink recipe donated, so I plan to ask for cognac, rum and cointreau, so I can build Sidecars, rum sours, and tiki-esque drinks from the list. Giving up the scotch is really hard, but another parent pointed out that serving neat single malt might result in a rather different evening from what's planned.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions; as it happens, I have a full bottle of orgeat I plan on getting rid of so I can try homemade, and plenty of Falernum on hand!
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I've been asked, once again, to create a drink for my daughter's school fundraiser. This year it turns out that a parent works for Remy Martin, and can probably get the liquor donated. I was forwarded the following list of brands I can probably use:
Cointreau
Highland Park
The Macallan
Remy Martin Cognac
Mount Gay Rum
Passoa (passion fruit liqueur)
Rough, huh?
With this level of quality, I could serve almost all of this stuff straight up and be very happy. Water pitcher and ice on the side, 'nuff said. But in the interest of philanthropy and experimental philosophy I thought I'd throw the list out, Apollo 13 style, and ask, what would you make with these ingredients plus mixers for a diverse group of NYC public school parents on a rare night out?
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Flavored, meh. Home-infused, yeah!
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Unnamed drink:
2 oz. Ransom Old Tom
1 oz. Dolin dry
1/2 oz. Ferrand Dry Curacao
1/2 oz. Meyer lemon juice
2 dashes Angustura
built over ice and stirred.
Much as I was hoping for synergy, this was kind of two drinks fighting it out in the glass, with the orange/spice flavors of the gin and curacao not quite melding with the floral notes of the vermouth and the bright citrus of the lemon. Still pretty tasty, but it's clear that in most cases, Ransom does better with sweet vermouths. There is a reciple with Doulin bianco that I have yet to try, though.
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Tough question! If you've never had the Ransom, it's nearly impossible to explain, I'm afraid. Matt? Someone? Bueller?
I'll take a crack at it -- whereas Hayman's has mostly a sweetened, oilier London Dry profile (my personal take, feel free to differ), Ransom is drier, with all the botanicals of London Dry (heavy on the cardamom and bitter citrus) and the added malty and resinous character of a genever (I'd say its closest American cousin is Anchor's Genevieve, but it doesn't have quite the paint-thinner character -- I actually mean that in a positive way -- that Genevieve has). Nothing against Hayman's, I made some fine cocktails with my bottle, but Ransom is really a whole different take on Old Tom, and a knockout. You'll just have to try it and see!
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White Dog, though rather in fashion with distillers right now (it's the first thing a small craft distiller can start selling, natch!), can be tough to mix with -- if it's a good brand, you don't want to overwhelm the fresh grain taste, but you often need to soften it a bit. Maybe it's time someone started a White Dog thread?
I finally found a source for Appleton V/X and am excited to start using it in tiki drinks and two spirit cocktails -- it's kind of like Demerara's younger, smoother cousin, and like many rums a good buy for the price.
(Not So) Simple, Flavored, & Spiced Syrups
in Spirits & Cocktails
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Cassia v. Canella in cinnamon syrup?
I'd been meaning to put up some cinnamon syrup to get ready for tikki weather (naturally, we hit a cold snap right afterwards), and decided to use canella instead of regular (to U.S. folks, at least) cassia cinnamon. Since canella is popular in Mexico, I used piloncillo cones instead of regular sugar. The syrup came out a bit light due to the ratios employed, but it worked surprisingly well with a blanco tequila and a little Benedictine and lemon: not the most obvious combo for tequila. It should be great with rum as well, which I plan to test tonight.
Anyone else used/using canella?