KD1191

Another absinthe-focused sour that I'm quite fond of (and which calls specifically for St. George) is the Peychaud Sour: 1 oz Peychaud's Bitters 1 oz St. George Absinthe .75 oz Lemon .5 oz Simple 1 Egg White Lemon Twist (Garnish)

My favorite is the Edouard (72%), mostly for Sazeracs & similar rinse/garnish applications.

This wouldn't be my first run-in with aromatic insect-based additives. I'm reminded of the 'Water Bug Extract' up-charge at various specialty restaurants in Southeast Asia. You'd add a few drops to a dish, inhale deeply, and pay some ridiculous amount...not unlike having truffles grated over your risotto.

Popped into Union Square Wines last night, as it was on my way, and walked out with a bottle of 6yr Sazarac Rye & 12yr Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (the 2nd release, 68.5% ABV), which was miraculously sitting on the shelf next to the regular EC12. One will be a Christmas gift, and the other will be for me. Which will be which comes down to how generous I'm feeling when I pack to head back to the Midwest next week.

Tonight, it's a Creole Cocktail...perennial favorite around these parts (or any parts I inhabit for long), suddenly happening more often now that I know my stock of WT101 Rye doesn't have to survive me. 2 oz WT 101 Rye 1 oz Dolin Rouge 1/4 oz Amer Picon (late 70's vintage, natch) 1/4 oz Benedictine (early 80's vintage, just 'cause)

Do you know the ABV and recipe of the 4R bourbon? I do love my Four Roses single barrel selections. Jim Rutledge is a great master distiller and a hell of a nice guy The 2012 was OESK. Out of town at the moment, but I believe it's in the neighborhood of 110 proof.

Well, I've always thought Luxardo was far too assertive... The Leopold is less sharp, so I can't argue with it being harder to immediately pick out, but the flavor is so much more complex than Luxardo in my opinion. The distinctive pot still characteristics, the touch of coriander, the additional natural cherry flavors, all terrific to play with in Manhattan variants, Martinezes, various "Improved" cocktails, etc. Sure, it might not stand up to a ton of citrus or Chartreuse, but I'm not sure they intended it to.

Having tried HC blanco and Caña Brava side by side (perhaps in my kitchen), I will confirm that they are quite similar. Though, my wife, who is the bigger rum drinker & huge HC fan, does not care for the Caña Brava, claiming it has some additional funk that she finds off-putting.

I can't recall having any Bols since shortly after it was released in the U.S. At the time, I thought it was pretty toned down (I may have ever been heard to say weak) in comparison to the Genevieve. The Dry Rye is somewhere in-between on maltiness, but with more juniper punch than either. The Genevieve is 98 proof, compared to 90 for the Dry Rye and 84 for Bols genever...so it's not entirely surprising that strength/depth of flavor-wise, that's pretty much how they line up. I like the mouthfeel of the Dry Rye. The Genevieve is just a bit above the sweet-spot for gin proof, in my opinion, but that's not to say it can't be calmed. On flavor, the Dry Rye lacks balance. I can appreciate high juniper content (Anchor's Junipero is another one of my favorites), but in concert with the distinct whiskey-like maltiness, I find it hard to strike the right tone when using it as the main ingredient. So, I find myself using it as I did here, as a modifier to other gins when I want gin, but something a bit more rough, complex, or maybe 'olde tyme'. By contrast, Genevieve was the first genever-style gin I ever tasted, so I tend to use it as something of a baseline. The juniper is there, but it doesn't get in the way of the predominant malty sweetness and spice. I know what I'm getting when I mix it into a classic gin recipe, or a modern genever one. The Dry Rye, not so much...it requires considerably more patience and imagination that I typically have when I'm reaching for a bottle of gin.

Last night, an Improved Holland Gin Cocktail: 1.5 oz Anchor Genevieve .75 oz St. George Dry Rye .25 oz Simple .25 oz Leopold Bros. Maraschino .125 oz Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe Dash Miracle Mile Sour Cherry Bitters Dash Bitter Truth Grapefruit Bitters Grapefruit Twist Garnish Afterward, a pour of Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel (2012 Edition)...I used to say this was the best bourbon out there that no one really talked about, but that's certainly changing.

Sounds interesting. Do you have the ratios by any chance? Unfortunately, not. I recall that it was built over a healthy amount of KD ice in a tulip glass. Knowing the VH template, 2/.5/.25, topped with wit would likely be going in the right direction, but I'll ask around for specifics.

Not exactly 'tropical' but a particularly memorable beer cocktail in the fruity/spicy genre was the Violet Hour's Shoot The Piano Player (Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy, Cinnamon Honey Syrup, House Made Amer Picon, Blanche de Bruxelles).

Is that a change?Tennessee whiskey must be a straight bourbon under the North American Free Trade Agreement The "it's bourbon or not" stems from the prebarrel Lincoln County Process charcoal filtering. Lord knows they chill filter Kentucky Bourbon after dumping without issue My understanding (perhaps erroneous) was that the specific charcoal filtering process is considered to add flavor, and thus Jack might not be eligible to be called straight bourbon (which precludes added flavors). Allow me help in clearing this up for you http://bittersandtwisted.com/content/tennessee-whiskey-other-bourbon Clear as mud. I disagree with Mr. Priseman's statement from the above with regard to Jack's charcoal mellowing that, "[a]s this is a filtration process it would remove impurities as opposed to adding any flavour or colour." And, as it happens, so does Jack Daniel's master distiller. In a video on their site called, "It's Not Bourbon," he notes that charcoal mellowing, "imparts a distinctive flavor." Now, he also claims it meets or exceeds the requirements for bourbon (though, not straight bourbon), and rephrases the 'nothing added' requirement as no "artificial flavors." Still, his language is a bit interesting, saying they, "draw all of our color and most of our flavor from the barrel." (emphasis added).

One additional caveat I'd add is to make sure it's under 140 proof...that's the FAA's cut-off for 'Hazardous Material' as applied to alcohol. So, no Everclear, 151 Rum, or George T. Stagg (some years) on the plane.

Is that a change?Tennessee whiskey must be a straight bourbon under the North American Free Trade Agreement The "it's bourbon or not" stems from the prebarrel Lincoln County Process charcoal filtering. Lord knows they chill filter Kentucky Bourbon after dumping without issue My understanding (perhaps erroneous) was that the specific charcoal filtering process is considered to add flavor, and thus Jack might not be eligible to be called straight bourbon (which precludes added flavors). Allow me help in clearing this up for you http://bittersandtwisted.com/content/tennessee-whiskey-other-bourbon Clear as mud.

Is that a change?Tennessee whiskey must be a straight bourbon under the North American Free Trade Agreement The "it's bourbon or not" stems from the prebarrel Lincoln County Process charcoal filtering. Lord knows they chill filter Kentucky Bourbon after dumping without issue My understanding (perhaps erroneous) was that the specific charcoal filtering process is considered to add flavor, and thus Jack might not be eligible to be called straight bourbon (which precludes added flavors).

Well, I think it's typically one of two things... 1) Sweet meaning not (as) spicy...typically said of low-rye bourbon, or wheated bourbon (such as Maker's). or 2) Sweet meaning evocative of vanilla, caramel, molasses, various fruits, or any other flavors frequently present in bourbon, which our minds typically associate with sweetness. ETA: As far as sweetness being undesirable, I think it gets a bad rap because of all the crap syrups and artificially flavored booze out there. Some relations commented about the Buffalo Trace that I'd brought to a family function rotting their teeth out. I guess some people would rather their whiskey taste more like rot gut than dessert.

...or, even broken clocks.

As it seems to be described as a Manhattan riff, I would start by bringing the vermouth into a 2:1 ratio with the rye, and dialing back the other ingredients. Try: 2 oz Rye (Bulleit isn't bad for mixing, but something at 100 proof would probably be better with the other strong flavors here.) 1 oz Punt e Mes .25 Green Chartreuse Barspoon Maraschino Chocolate Bitters to taste

Um, pretty sure posting on a thread about what you've recently purchased is supposed to be the very definition of conspicuous consumption. At least I didn't include the picture. But, if I've erred, then I do repent and am prepared to offer nips from the GTS library as penance. People will have to cross the Hudson to get them, which will surely keep demand in check.

The 2013 William Larue Weller and George T. Stagg showed up on my doorstep while I was out of the country (grabbed replacement bottles of Elixir Vegetal and Nikka from the Barrel on the trip, in addition to much wine). No time for detailed tasting notes at the moment, but will observe that for the first time ever the Weller (136.2) is higher test than the Stagg (128.2), and, that said, it (the WLW) is still not at all hard to sip straight.

Czerquershuus, Thank you for recommending Dan Carlson's Last Caress. It immediately caught my eye because I thought that the rye + maraschino liqueur combo looked promising. It is at the basis of one of my favorite cocktail, the Brooklyn, and many of its variations including another favorite, the Red Hook. The aroma was citrus-forward. On the first sip I tasted the rye with a lot of spice, then a hint of lemon, herbs from the Benedictine, long finish. Overall it felt very smooth and had just a hint of smoke from the mezcal in the background. The rye + Benedictine combination reminded me of the Monte Carlo that I tried a few nights ago. Really good. Agreed, thanks to both of you for bringing this one to my attention. Reading the recipe, I thought about using the Mezcal as a rinse instead of integrating it. I expected the final product might need something more olfactorily to stand up to such complexity on the palate, but I mixed it up as written. On tasting from the mixing glass, I was impressed by the harmony of flavors, but did find the aroma lagging behind. So, I pulled down a bottle of Chartreuse that has some fantastic vegetal notes (it's a mid-70s bottling, a dark, musty green) and rinsed a chilled rocks glass with it, then in went the otherwise textbook Last Caress (I used Rittenhouse for the Rye, Vida for the Mezcal, and Leopold Bros. for the Maraschino). The result was thoroughly enjoyable, and remarkably food friendly. I will be making a batch of these the next time I make barbecue.

Interesting that you find it interesting...I've been acting under the impression that it's been shorthand for that distillery for years, at least for some time before this list was compiled in 2010. I believe it was adopted in an attempt to differentiate BF's 354 operation for the 414 in Shively (on the other side of Louisville).

I've noticed a lot of shelves flush with Rittenhouse recently. In other good news, the stuff in the bottle once again appears to have come off Heaven Hill's own still (DSP 1 is listed on the bottles I've seen recently), as opposed to the Early Times make (DSP 354). Was never completely satisfied with the 354, compared to the pre-fire stuff. So, not sorry to see it go.

For the Holidays, you can't go wrong with Tom & Jerry.