KD1191

For flavor & versatility vs. cost, it's been hard to beat either Wild Turkey 101 or Rittenhouse 100 ryes. However, with the price of both on the upswing and the shelves sporadically empty for weeks or months at a time, I've recently passed that torch to Heaven Hill Gold Label Bourbon.

I think a Galliano for Yellow Chartreuse substitution is a promising one...I'd suggest trying it with the Final Ward: 3/4 oz Rye 3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse 3/4 oz Maraschino 3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Copies of the pamphlet* will be available at The Whistler's upcoming Book Club night for RogueBeta Cocktails on 3/9. For info, go here and scroll down. The Peychaud will be pouring, I'm sure. *Not the glossy original book, the later printed version...

Hmm...not sure what you're referring to by "barrel aged"*. Eeyore's Requiem is as follows: 2 oz Campari 1 oz Dolin Bianco 1/2 oz Cynar 1/4 oz Fernet (skinny) Dash 50/50 Orange Bitters Stirred, garnished with heavy orange oil and a pigtail twist. Cynar is a great addition to a Manhattan. Or, use it in place of the Rye (and with orange bitters) and you get the Bitter Giuseppe. I really like it warm in toddy-like applications, the nose is spectacular. A Cynar/Yellow Chartreuse toddy called The Witch Season is currently on the menu at Sable here in Chicago. *ETA: I see there's a recent article that discusses the drink and mentions "barrel-aged Fernet Branca". As far as I know, the Fernet used in this drink at the Violet Hour comes straight of the shelf. I'm 99% sure the "barrel-aged" refers to the process by which Fernet is made, not something that happens at Violet Hour.

It's not just beer, cocktails are getting to be ridiculous. We were discussing this with the bartender last night at a place where the $8 drinks are considered a serious bargain. It started when someone mentioned that the Top of the Standard's new drink menu debuted with a $22 price per drink. The comment "$22 is the new $12" seemed to sum things up.

1200 gallons of punch would go perfectly with that last meal of all you can eat wings and a bottomless pot of coffee. How about a vertical of Stagg? ...by the time you took that 11th shot you wouldn't feel a thing.

If you want to be entertained regarding the classics with a good deal of history, you should pick up the books of David Wondrich (eGullet member Splificator), specifically Imbibe! and Punch.

I skipped Google and went to The Bitter Truth (a German cocktail bitters maker) and searched for where their products are available in Sweden. I ended up at this site (Barkonsult). I've never heard of them, but from clicking around they seem to have a wide variety of bar tools.

I have a set of Shuns that I expect get far less use than those of folks above, so every couple months I taken them over to Northwestern Cutlery. If I'm in a hurry they can knock them all out in about 10-15 minutes.

Looks like it's opening on Wednesday. There's a short write-up and menu link here. I can't say I'm overly excited about it, "Vegetable Cassoulet" actually made me cringe. If I want French comfort food, more often than not I'll be at Kiki's.

I agree that the Nonino is special...it was my first amaro, purchased to make Paper Airplanes (which I do w/ Elijah Craig, Campari, Nonino and Lemon). There's the delightful side-effect that subsequent amari purchases seem entirely reasonable as most are about 1/2 the cost...I guess that's how I ended up with an entire shelf of them in the bar.

The herbal choices are really limitless. A piece ginger, candied or otherwise, likely wouldn't go wrong...how about a drop or two of rose water? Any note you might pick up in the particular gin you're using could be accentuated with a garnish.

Yes, the barnyard is a frequent source of terms to describe funkier beers. I've thrown horse blanket, horse stall, and perhaps even manure around. Funny you mention "baby-sick" because just last night I was trying to describe the taste of something (an Alvbro chicken-shaped lollipop, if you must know) and the first thing to mind was actually vomit...as terrible as that sounds, I didn't necessarily mean it in an entirely bad way. Not too be too graphic, but it had a strange acidity, something I could only describe as stomach-acid like.

Well, Juan Gallardo is the protagonist of the movie Blood and Sand, while the composition of your drink is roughly modeled after the drink of the same name (Spirit, Vermouth, Cherry Brandy, Orange Juice). Really enjoying all of the cocktail blogging...particularly having some evidence to point to when my wife implies that I don't really need another bottle of Stagg.

Needed something warm for my sore throat and congestion...so the following went into a mug and were topped off by 4 oz of boiling water. 2 oz Evan Williams Single Barrel (2000) 1 oz Cynar 1/4 oz Rich Demerara Syrup 1/4" lemon wheel Garnish was a couple dashes of Elixir Végétal and some more lemon oil. Have you tried Cynar warm? You really should...it's quite a wonderful transformation.

Fad chasers replace loyal customers and then eventually move on to the next thing. At that point, the restaurant is worse off than before. One can only hope that they haven't refinanced their mortgage to add an addition or brought on additional and/or more expensive help/ingredients while temporarily flush with extra cash. We have a name for exactly that phenomenon here in Chicago, it's called the "Check, Please Effect" (after a popular PBS restaurant review show). And, it's been the cause of more than one cherished spot closing its doors. There's some truth to that Yogi-ism, "No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

Well, a last minute cancellation seems like the most likely answer, but now that I think about it, I don't know if the room was ever full when I was there last (albeit for lunch). I know it's an exceptionally small kitchen, so it's entirely possible that there are times when they don't feel up to seating the entire dining room for a service, perhaps due to the complexity of the current menu or if a particularly demanding or favored regular guest will be dining? That said, I know others have reported an excellent success rate of trying for a same-day reservation the morning of, perhaps there is a table set aside for last minute bookings.

Andouillette. As I described it elsewhere:

I think it's the East India Solera...at least, that's the one that looks most familiar from a Google Image search.

One of my favorite sherry drinks is from the current menu at Violet Hour. Heads You Lose: Vida Mezcal, Lustau Sherry, Nux Alpina Black Walnut Liqueur, House Orange Bitters Proportions? Your guess is as good as mine, I haven't inquired because I don't own even one of the ingredients and don't need the temptation. I'd try something like 2:1:+.25:Dash

Not until you explain to me how any of the above approaches the level of "abuse"... I don't particularly care for excuses, I was offering them because they have been discussed across many threads and I didn't want to see your allegations go unchecked. I don't care why they closed, better that then operate when they'd rather be someplace else (as I've had happen to me at several places in town, which have all mysteriously gone out of business since). The only real thing that matters to me is that if they close unexpectedly, they make it right with those whose reservations they've had to cancel (unless the person is a jerk to them about it, in which case good on them).

Well, I assumed that there was some good food there when I TRIED to get a reservation. Unsuccessfully. It was for a special occasion - in fact, for me, I would consider any nice dinner a special occasion. But I will not plan a special occasion with the knowledge that there is a significant chance that the restaurant will cancel my reservation with virtually no warning. NO restaurant is good enough to put up with such customer abuse! What's with the "significant chance"? You do realize that the unexpected closings have been few and far between, right? ...having to do with things like the restaurant being honored with a Michelin star and needing to attend the gala, or the building having no water, or a serious mental breakdown of the chef as a result of cooking a meal for the dozen best chefs in the world? You also realize that people who have an unfortunate experience with a restaurant are far more likely to make it public, thus making it appear far more common (as your posts themselves prove?)? And, you no doubt know that they make every effort to reschedule reservations that they must cancel unexpectedly? And, again with the "abuse"...if you honestly believe that no food could possibly be worth having to make a few calls and possibly make some last minute adjustments to your plans, and that such is tantamount to abuse, then again, Schwa is not for you. ETA: I guess the only real lesson to learn here is that "special occassions" that absolutely must be celebrated exactly as planned, and which are more important than any food could be, probably shouldn't be booked at Schwa. Oh, and, that if a restaurant unexpectedly needs to cancel your reservation, you should try to treat them as you would like to be treated if you unexpectedly had to cancel due to an emergency of your own.

QFT

I am very leery of making a reservation at a restaurant with the knowledge that there's a real chance they may not honor it - AND may cancel it at the last minute, without even giving a reason. It's even worse when you have to phone the restaurant dozens of times to try to make a reservation, only to receive a message that they are busy and their answering system is full. That's what happened the last time I tried going there, only to give up in frustration. There are thousands of restaurants in the Chicago area, and NO other restaurant perpetrates such travesties upon their customers (at least, not that I have heard). There's absolutely no reason to put up with such abuse when you can avoid it anywhere else. There are many restaurants where it is much harder to get a reservation than Schwa, and the number of times they've closed unexpectedly is blown drastically out of proportion (and the various reasons therefore have been discussed ad infinitum). However, I can't put it any more simply than, if you consider the process that exists for getting to dine there "abuse", then Schwa is most definitely not for you. Maybe if you had eaten there then you'd understand why people put up with it...or maybe you'd still think it a giant waste of time. Either way, I'd respect your opinion. But, having not even sampled the food, your comments regarding whether there is or isn't a reason for trying to get a reservation are entirely baseless.

Sic semper a genius. I give very little weight to reviews that focus more on the operation of a restaurant than the food, and less than none to the opinions of those who haven't eaten there. I would suffer a million such "indignations" to once again taste that quail egg ravioli.