KD1191

Much thanks, again, to Troy Sidle for this as yet unnamed flip: 2 1/4 oz Rittenhouse BIB 3/4 oz Angostura Bitters 1/2 oz Blis Bourbon Barrel Matured Maple Syrup 1/4 oz Demerara Syrup Whole Egg Freshly Grated Nutmeg Garnish I'd asked for a drink with Blis maple syrup, as it's an ingredient I've been fascinated with. Was quite blown away by this, saying it was possibly the best drink of his I'd ever had. Even in my much less skillfully prepared iteration, the recipe produces one of the tastiest drinks I've had in a very long time.

The Creole Cocktail is one of my all time favorites that is often forgotten (more than likely due the difficulty of obtaining Amer Picon). Rittenhouse BIB and Punt e Mes really set it off.

Ira, I asked Stephen the original question last night and his initial response was, "I thought amari had to be grape-based." Any thoughts as to whether that may be a sticking point? I.e. If it doesn't start with grappa (or similar) or wine, it's not an amari? Would this even disqualify Campari? (ETA: I now see that you made this point and dismissed it in your original post. What are some non-grape-based amari?) We didn't get very far, because the question reminded him that he had a bottle of Tempus Fugit's Gran Classico Bitter in the back, which is amazing stuff. Somewhere between Campari and Cynar, a healthy does of bitter, but even nicer rounded sweetness.

Gruet has been popular in these parts for topping up cocktails...though with that popularity, the price seems to have moved north as well, and so I'm not seeing it used for that as often these days. Half-bottles are around $9-10.

Closest I could find at the moment is from mid-October, 2007: Cocktail of Paul Laurent Brut, Lillet, Campari, Pineau, and Vya Served with Duck - Pumpkin, Banana, Thai Flavor Does that sound right? If not, I can ask a few folks this evening who have much greater resources than myself.

The Champagne cocktail at Alinea seems to change quite often, perhaps monthly. If you can be more precise on the date, I might be able to find a menu from that time frame that lists pairings. Happen to have a menu from March '08 sitting here and it says Cocktail of Louis Roederer Brut with Roussanne, Spiced Mead, and Curaçao.

How about reasoned, or considered...dare I say, proper? We're running into the problem of trying to throw out the "crap" as Toby so eloquently put it, without ignoring any of the "good". I don't think there's a precise enough lexicon to accomplish that (eta: at least, not with concision). Especially since it's entirely possible to get a cocktail that is "crap" in some of the swankiest classic cocktail revival spots known for "good," given the wrong confluence of events.

There's been a similar question posed in the Campari thread. Huh, you learn something new every day. I wonder if this effect is lessened if you drink significant/frequent quantities of amari...

Just back from Mexico with an assortment of duty-free tequilas...made an old fashioned with Herradura Reposado, hibiscus syrup and fee's old fashioned bitters. I wasn't sure about the bitters at first, but I think I like the combination. The floral, earthy and spice notes of the tequila all present quite nicely.

Enjoying one right now. I used Marie Brizard and Rittenhouse 100 for the rye. A fantastic cocktail, and one I'd completely glossed over when I first read the book.

My wife has been exceptionally accommodating of my 'food borne illness'. When we met, she had some inclinations to be sure, but mostly of the prefers-cooking-for-herself to eating-bad-food-out sort. Our first date was to a wonderful French bistro (she studied French history in school, how could I miss?) which continues to be a favorite spot to this day. We had a tradition for a long time of me cooking elaborate meals for her on special days (Valentine's, anniversaries), but that has been somewhat curtailed, as I was often spending two or three times what it would have cost to just go out to a nice dinner. Instead, we've taken to cooking together more often. Restaurant selection remains a very important part of our dates. For a long time we had a particular restaurant we would always go to whenever one of us was leaving town for more than a day or two. I couldn't say why, but it always seemed appropriate. Food has evolved into an even more integral part of our travel. Many of our trips start out with me wanting to visit a particular restaurant or taste a particular regional dish, and she takes over from there. This works in reverse as well, where she's planed a trip and I can't help but squeeze in the most important culinary landmarks along the route. This has resulted in some wonderful journeys, such as driving the la route des vins d'Alsace to the spectacular L'Arnsbourg in the Vosges Mountains or when she planned a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asia after my offhand comment that I would really love to try Phở in Vietnam.

Trying to replicate something fellow eGulleter Troy Sidle put together for me earlier this week...it's bitter & brown, not sure if it has a name. 1 oz Cynar 1 oz Averna 2 oz Carpano Antica (I used 1 oz M&R Rosso and 1 oz Punt e Mes, as I've found in most cases this does not produce a particularly noticeable difference.) Stir, flamed orange peel. I omitted the flaming citrus and topped with a dash of Amer Picon. This was fine, but not an improvement.

Moving right along...I found a book called "The Standard Bartender's Guide" at a used book sale last weekend. It's by Patrick Duffy, but what piqued my interest was that it was "revised and enlarged" by James Beard. While flipping through the pages, I found this: Ping-Pong 1/2 Sloe Gin 1/2 Crème d'Yvette Juice of 1/4 Lemon I have been neglecting my bottle of Rothman & Winters Violette, and the idea of pairing it with Sloe Gin was appealing. What I made was: 1 1/2 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin 1 1/2 oz R&W Crème de Violette 3/4 oz Lemon Juice Shaken and strained. My god if that isn't a glorious color...and the taste blew me away. I've seen many people disregard the R&W Violette as overkill at 1/4 oz, and until I tried this I generally agreed. But, this is really good. The overwhelming flavor I get is raspberry, like real freshly picked rocky mountain raspberries.

Hadn't made a shaken drink in awhile, and I've got some good eggs... 2 oz Hendrick's 1 1/4 oz Lime 3/4+ oz Hibiscus Syrup (1:1 Hibiscus Tea*:Sugar) 1 Egg White Dry shake, wet shake, strain. Top with 1 drop of rose water and 4 of Angostura orange. Is it a Pink Lady? Is it an eggy Southside? Whatever it is, it's just delicious. *Dried hibiscus petals I found at a market in Chinatown steeped in hot water then strained.

I'm not entirely fond of absinthe, but my wife loves it, and so for her birthday we decided we would sample several. Last night, via various drip preparations (including the quite novel Cusenier 'see-saw' courtesy of Stephen Cole at The Violet Hour), we had the Marteau, Vieux Pontarlier and St. George. Each was unique. Though I found it exceptionally dry, the Marteau really spoke to me. It is certainly my favorite absinthe to date, with an amazing bouquet. The Vieux Pontarlier I found to be too funky, it had many of the same notes as some unpleasant Farmhouse Ales I've encountered in the past. I can only describe it as musty, perhaps "horse blanket". The St. George will most likely remain my go to for garnishing and 'improving' certain drinks, but I didn't enjoy it all that much by itself. My wife loved the Vieux Pontarlier (good thing, because she was gifted a bottle), thought the Marteau was most approachable and concluded that the St. George was too one-note for her tastes.

Funny, I just heard that story last night when I asked a favorite bartender if he'd be open to making me something with Batavia Arrack.

There are a couple posts in this thread.

I grew up in Milwaukee, and was a regular of Ira's at the Violet Hour. I was surprised when he told me about the move, but I think Milwaukee just might be ready for this. The formerly somewhat clubby Blu at the top of the Pfister hotel has apparently just undergone a remodel and significant cocktail update with the help of a Chicago consultant. The Whiskey Bar opened just off Cathedral Square Park. There have always been a couple nicer places to drink in MKE. People shouldn't have to be bothered to drive down to Chicago for an injection of cocktail culture. I'm eagerly looking forward to Distil.

I heard a rumbling that something might be up, and upon visiting the Rogue Cocktails blog this morning, I see: "Due to a trademark infringement claim by Oregon Brewing Company (Rogue Ales and Rogue Spirits), rogue cocktails is no longer available for purchase through blurb.com." That is sad. Are there any IP attorneys in the eGullet community?

I don't mix with single malts often, but do like the Balvenie 12 (Doublewood) in Rob Roy-ish drinks, which I'd say includes the Bobbie Burns. It should run you around $40 in most places.

A day late, and probably now several recollections short, but here is the menu we had on Wednesday. Bold lines are the course descriptions from the printed menu I still have, subsequent info is to the best of my memory: Amuse Bubble Tea with Hendrick Gin Flavors. Tapioca balls soaked in gin and rosewater, cucumber juice, juniper cream & coriander ice. Crab - Pine, Mushroom, Plantain Pine/Juniper and banana purées, crispy plantain wheels and strips of king trumpet mushroom adorning small piles of peekytoe crab. A reduction of BLiS Elixer dotted the plate. Reducing > $25/oz vinegar is not likely a profit maker, but it is darn tasty. Pea Soup - Menthol Crystal, Meyer Lemon Can't tell you anything about that, as we received instead Chimay Beer Cheese Soup with Pretzel Gougère, Mustard Skin and Dill Emulsion. I would love a gallon of this. Tortelloni - Cauliflower, Coco Nibs, Curry Two flawless tortelloni filled with cauliflower puree and bathed in coco nib consommé. What I believe was a smear of taleggio sat at the bottle of the bowl and coco nib brittle and a sprinkle of Parmesan completed the plate. After this course an off-menu course appeared, a gift from the chefs, their well known Quail Egg Ravioli with Reggiano, truffle and oh so much butter. Maki - Green Curry, Root beer What a strange little plate. A maki roll with green curry flavored rice and hoja santa in place of nori, sprinkled with both dried and fresh tobiko. Pickled carrot imitated the traditional ginger somewhat in appearance and intense flavor (the curry with which it had been infused). Root beer soy sauce completed the sushi portion of the plate, but the best thing was probably the miniature mug of housemade root beer. The contrasting flavor and texture of the two tobikos was also quite interesting. Tiger Fish - Watermelon, Red Pepper A finger of white fish, which I believe is also known as Pintado, sitting atop a bed of plump watermelon and red pepper couscous with crunchy black quinoa, pickled watermelon garnish. A smear of red pepper "blood" was painted across the bowl. The fish here was upstaged by the brilliant couscous/quinoa. Sweetbreads - Corn, Patron, Cilantro Small pieces of candied sweetbreads strewn about corn and Patron tequila gelées, roasted corn kernels, popcorn and micro cilantro. Probably my favorite sweetbreads of all time, but that isn't really saying too much. The popcorn actually made sense here. Pork - Zucchini, Garlic, Borage Sous-vide pata negra collar, various zucchini, black garlic and white anchovy purees, edible flower and crunchy garlic chips. Everything about this dish was phenomenal, with the exception of the anchovy. It was very powerful and 25% of the volume used would have sufficed for me. Thankfully, the way the dish was presented, I wasn't forced to eat the anchovy. Cheese Taleggio coddled with egg, sprinkled with dehydrated honey. Delicious. Dessert Rhubarb soup with rhubarb pieces, black pepper ice cream with cold-pressed foie gras...perhaps some galangal? I didn't taste the foie, but the black pepper spice was nice. Finally, another off-menu gift from the kitchen, 2nd Dessert was a cornet with red bean ice cream, topped with Violet Hour Bacon Bitters.

If I can be forgiven for name-dropping, I will back up Blether on the topic of the Whisky Mac. Colin Field told me that it should be blended Scotch Whisky (he likes Famous Grouse) and green ginger wine (Stone's is the only version I've found in the U.S.), enjoyed warm (perhaps by adding a bit of hot water) and in whatever ratio the circumstances dictate. He said it was a favorite drink of students at University, and so I imagine a touch more whisky than wine or water. Adding a bit of green chartreuse adds more spice complexity than the ginger wine can lend alone.

The Violet Hour has had a couple punches on each menu for maybe the last year or so...they are composed a la minute, but some ingredients such as tea concentrates are necessarily done ahead of time. I believe they are a great option for larger parties, especially as a first drink of the night, as otherwise it could take some time for everyone to get their cocktail. Blu at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee is apparently doing punches as of yesterday.

Drink Up NY tweeted on the 24th: It seems they do still have some.

Still on an old-fashioned kick, but I gave the applejack a rest tonight, deciding that I needed to use up some of the ginger syrup I made recently. 2 oz Ransom Old Tom 1/4 oz+ Rich Ginger Syrup (2:1 Sugar/Ginger juice) 12 Drops Habanero-Lime Bitters 4 Drops Angostura Orange Bitters Combined and stirred with faux-draft cubes. This is a tasty, if somewhat abrasive, cocktail. There is the somewhat familiar pairing of ginger and juniper, but the funky whiskey-like features of the Ransom become almost fruity in the presence of the spice and heat of the bitters. The cardamom notes and Angostura Orange are pretty much a match made in heaven. The habanero-lime bitters were a gift from a friend several months ago, and I've had a devil of a time working them into any cocktails, though they do make a fantastic addition to ginger beer. This is the first cocktail I've tried them in that I'd consider a success. Anyone else have ideas for their use?