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My problem is there are only ever small quantities, full stop. As we speak, there is none at all. (But a new ferment has been started this very afternoon, destined for a gin run.) 'Distribution' has so far consisted of taking some into work for a select few to taste, and likewise to my favourite bar for their opinion. Although dinner guests are likely to get handed a Wellington 75 as they come through the door these days, if I have the wherewithal. Exports to Melbourne seem unlikely at this stage.

Alas, the experiment failed. The alcohol sucked no flavour at all from the peaches, and I have to confess peaches were harmed in the making of the attempt. But see this.

I find I have been remiss in providing updates on the progress of my various concoctions. The second batch of amaro was similarly successful to the first. There's a subtle difference between the star anise and aniseed versions that I can't quite put my finger on, but both are good. I've subsequently made something else slightly similar which was less successful - the main difference was bay leaves, which totally dominate. It's quite drinkable, but the amaro is much better. The mandarin liqueur is fabulous stuff and I'm now on batch 2 of that. Contrary to the illustration in the book I took it from, it doesn't pick up any colour from the fruit, but the amount of taste it pulls out is amazing. Both times I've made it it's gone cloudy when the syrup hit the alcohol (there is no doubt a good reason for this, which haven't bothered to research yet), but it clears over the next few weeks. Delicious. On the off chance of achieving something wonderful I tried the same 'suspend the fruit over the alcohol' trick with peaches, but all I got was wrinkly peaches. Seems it's dependent on the oils in the skin of citrus. Today, having finished off another run through the still, I've started a batch of Jerry Thomas's English Curaçoa (sic). This again will be a second attempt; the first one worked just fine and I'm not changing much (if anything). And finally ... any guesses what this is (or will be)?

I guess the theory of why you shouldn't is it might introduce bugs from the surface into the interior. But it's pork; presumably you're not serving it rare. I do the garlic thing (and rosemary) often, but mainly with lamb. I say do what Toots wants. Isn't that usually the best plan?

If those are your 'indecent' photos ... Right, I'm coming to your place too. But I won't tell you when; that would make it too easy.

As promised: In my view, that's pretty much how they should be. Chips golden and crisp, with a fluffy interior. A good choice of spud is important. I don't know what my shop uses, but my all round favourite for chips or roasting is Agria. Fish batter thin, also golden and crisp, no spongy bits (which are unfortunately too common in bought F&C). The fish, as I think I've mentioned before, is warehou; a good meaty, juicy mouthful. And they have to be in newsprint. The box for the fish is unusual, but we were feeding three people rather than the usual two. Maybe it's easier for the shop to handle this way.

Hi Andy. Welcome to eGullet. I'm impressed - I've never heard of humans eating spotties. I guess there's no reason why not, although separating the meat from the bones would be a bit of a task. I've caught a few in my time, mainly off the launch wharves in Picton as a kid. Cats are certainly very fond of them. Fish and chips from our local shop are on the menu tonight. I'll see about posting a photo.

Nothing wrong with being gay. Had one of my Mai Tais tonight (with Gunpowder) and my head is ever so slightly spinning, so nothing constructive to add.

Unfortunately I just saw this after my daiquiri preparation was well under way. However after reading up on Gunpowder from their website, Gunpowder seems to be a dark, sweet rum -- which Black Barrel is not. I would say Black Barrel is dry and tannic, although it is a little fruity. The Black Barrel daiquiri is not undrinkable, but for a daiquiri rum Busted Barrel works much better. To bring out the best in Black Barrel I think I'll need a different type of drink. Edit: rather than clutter up the daiquiri topic -- for comparison I made up a daiquiri with the last of my Barbancourt 5 star. As good as or better than the Black Barrel in my opinion. Probably the Barbancourt and Black Barrel will not be replaced. Both are OK (but not wonderful) for sipping, although I don't know what else to do with them. I'm really hoping for more suggestions on Black Barrel, as I have a lot of it to get through. I'm sure it must be good for something. Well, Gunpowder is certainly dark, but I wouldn't call it sweet. It's really not a sipper either, unless you have masochistic tendencies; the chilli tends to grab one's tonsils on the way past. Your description of Black Barrel as 'fruity' again leads me to suggest a Mai Tai float. Go on - what could it hurt?

Any of the Artisan 5 Minute breads I've made is good, although the stuff is so moist it often needs extra time in the toaster. I think I prefer the rye or other wholemeal if I'm having something like cheese and tomato, and the white for marmalade. There is no good reason for this preference, and in practice I put whatever I want on whatever type of bread I've got at the time.

Jo, how about making your favourite Mai Tai and adding a float of Black Barrel? I've never had BB but a float of Gunpowder Rum is pretty terrific on my Mai Tais.

I felt the need to make some ice cream recently, which left me with a not-inconsiderable volume of egg whites. So ... This gave me the opportunity to answer the question posed some six months ago: with an eye on possibly-unhealthy eggs, what internal temperature do these things reach? The answer - measured at the end of 'active' cooking time, before leaving the beast in the oven to finish off - is 88°C (in a 150°C oven). So I think you're pretty safe, even if your chickens aren't as careful about washing as you might like. The temperature stayed up around that level for quite some time after the oven went off. Having never attempted the measuring thing before, I was amazed how 'liquid' the pav still was at the time I measured it. This emphasises the importance of leaving it in the warm oven for an hour or two after the oven is turned off. I was a little worried that opening the door might have an effect on the final product, but I don't think it did. It certainly tasted just as good as ever.

Embrace the raisin! In this part of the world there's a sweet slice consisting of fruit mince between thin layers of flaky pastry. This is popularly known as 'fly cemetery'.

So will the cochineal beetles be going back into Campari?

Or ... cut the hole, squirt foam, cut away excess the next day. That's how I did it. Not saying your method isn't fine, Alanz; there's just more room for the foam nozzle with a bigger hole. The major problem is measuring where to put the hole in the first place. The lid I was working with wasn't flat.

Yes, it's on Kindred: http://www.kindredcocktails.com/cocktail/ash-tray-heart?f=1

I feel your pain, Jo. After a Mai Tai each on Saturday night I find I now need more Wray & Nephew, more Appleton and more Smoke & Oakum. And I need to make more orgeat and Curaçao, the former being easier/faster than the latter. This is what comes of drinking ... A desert island rum is a problem. I'm rather fond of Gosling. Then there's Bounty Overproof from Fiji, which is almost impossible to get without going to Fiji although I have a feeling it's available in Australia, where it masquerades as Inner Circle or something. I've had delicious things with Smith & Cross but I can't get that here either. Forget about Lemon Hart. But you specified a rum for Mai Tais, so I'll happily agree on W&N.

Punt e Mes, Cynar, Noilly Prat (oily rat?) and Lighthouse gin.

That might be tricky, depending on how long you're planning on keeping them. If you're thinking of just keeping the day's fresh batch on hand for drinks in the evening you might be OK; I don't think they'd perform very well if kept for more than a few hours. You should probably start with reverse spherification so the spheres don't just keep setting until they're solid. Although I guess that may not matter, depending on what's in them and the effect you're going for. Presumably you're doing something like gin spheres to float in a G&T (sorry, first example that came to mind), so your best bet is probably to keep them in the liquid they're filled with. It's an interesting problem and I'd recommend experimentation in small quantities first. Let us know how you get on.

With Rafa's interests (and manly credentials) in mind, earlier this week I started a batch of what I hope will end up as peach liqueur in a few weeks. I'll keep you all posted (probably in the Infusions thread).

Last night a preview of the second Hobbit movie was followed by a trip to the Hawthorn Lounge. Well, it's just around the corner. "Do something Tolkieney," we said to Gian. So he did. And it was delicious, such that we ended up having three of them between the two of us. JRR Tolkien. So Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross), Ramazzotti and a Tangelo liqueur, with a dash of 'Elemakule Tiki bitters. Tangelo is a new ingredient for Kindred (sorry, Dan) and it occurred to me to wonder if the fruit was a local phenomenon, but Wiki says it was created in the US around 1911. The liqueur Gian used was Golden Bay, a local product I hadn't met before, but I'd think something like Curaçao would sub quite well (as long as you could forgive yourself for losing the T). Or make your own tangelo. And a quick movie review would be "slow slow quick quick slow". There are some great action sequences, spectacular scenery and hilarious references to the LOTR movies, but it's an age before it really gets moving and the whole thing is just so long. Your mileage may vary, but we didn't see the full-on ride that seems to have left some reviewers breathless by the end. Nice drink, though. Apparently I can't spell Tolkien. Thanks, Matthew.

Foreigners! Right, I have now made a Scotch Breakfast. Rather nice, but I think a more assertive Scotch might have improved it (I used a sort-of homemade version, and the PX dominated). Here's a thought, though: how would it be with an egg included? Certainly appropriate to the breakfast theme ... Scotch Breakfast Flip? Edited after making one.

That's pretty close to one I rather like, the Rapscallion (from PDT, I think, but don't quote me). 2.5 oz Scotch (the recipe specifies Talisker, so not the hugest peatyest Scotch you can find) and .75 oz PX in an absinthe-rinsed glass. I might try yours tonight, PV. Does it have a name?

My 220v version is working magnificently in its new chillybin/Esky/beer cooler (strike out geographically inapplicable terms). No evaporation I've noticed, and the outer walls stay cool. Yesterday was my best-ever pork belly (around 11 hours at 78°C), and when that came out I added a couple of litres of cold water to get the temperature down and started some beef short ribs, destined to be tomorrow night's dinner after 48 hours at 54°. What's was really impressive over the wekend was watching the Anova come to temperature. For the pork belly, it hit 78, wobbled twice back to 77.9 then stabiised really quickly. For the ribs it overshot the target (by a whole 0.1°) and spent a little while alternating between 54 and 54.1 but was rock-solid on 54 when I checked on it this morning. The sound of the fan/propeller is noticeable - our kitchen is beside the lounge and can't be closed off - but is quite acceptable from the bedroom. And ours is not a big house. I'm very happy with my Anova. You should get one, too.

That's a tough one. PX is fantastic stuff with Christmas pud or blue cheese, and in a Rapscallion (et al). Fino or manzanilla are brilliant in summer, both alone or in things, but you may by climatically disadvantaged this time of year. I haven't tried cream sherry in a cocktail, but it's a delight with a bit of ice and orange zest - again, better in warmer weather. On balance I might go for PX, but this may just reflect my love affair with the stuff.