EvergreenDan

Try a white rhum agricole. Couldn't be more different from a heavy Jamaican-style molasses rum like Smith and Cross. I like both. For some reason, good agricoles can be hard to find, at least around me.

Try tasting what you have (by adding sugar and vodka or water). That said, I believe most people "rest" their lemoncello after its been made for quite a while. I make "Amer Boudreau", a homemade imitation of Amer Picon, and it definitely is better after it has rested in the bottle for a year. That said, I'm drinking the few-months-old batch right now because I ran out.

I recommend that you buy "The Joy of Mixology" by Gary (aka Gaz) Regan. It has a great intro and also presents a methodology for organizing recipes into families to make them easier to understand and remember. Also, "The Essential Bartender's Guide" by Robert Hess is a spiral bound (lay-flat) book with lots of simple recipes in an attractive format. For shakers, I recommend that you call The Boston Shaker in Somerville MA. They can help set you up with good basic bar tools. I am still using the tools that they originally recommended for me, with one exception. I now use two metal "tins" to form a Boston Shaker as I find them easier to open that one metal tin and a pint glass. They also recommended these two books to me (which they also sell).

Odd that a Last Word variant would omit the citrus, since it is fundamentally a sour. I'd try adding lemon to that.

Thanks (blush): High Line Stroll

2 oz Rye 1 oz Cappelletti Aperitivo 1/2 oz Maraschino good cherry 2 oz Bourbon (too cowardly to try rye but hey I used Bulleit) 1/2 oz Amargo-Vallet Angostura 1/2 oz Punt e Mes good cherry

I'd say if you want it sweeter, skip the dry vermouth. I generally like things on the less-sweet side.

Water was room temp. So I'm guessing the oils were in the Everclear-type high-proof that I added and they louched when the proof was lowered.

Dilute 80 proof vodka to about 40 proof. Add a small quantity (<10%) of 192 proof GNS. Poof. Cloudy louche forms. Dilute a bit more with water. Louche persists. Any clue?

That's what I did, although for 3/8 is no harder than 3/4 with my Oxo, since it measures 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4. Plus with two 3/8 measures, you can just go for 3/4 between the two. Soooo... Whatdathink?

I bet this could be simplified, but this is pretty great. Stems from the apple brandy Vieux Carre's that I've been making. 1 1/2 oz rye (Bulleitt) 3/4 oz apple brandy (Laird 100) 3/4 oz Bonal 3/8 oz Punt e Mes 3/8 oz dry vermouth (Bossiere) Luxardo cherry Big rock

Bull Shot with congealed Domino's pizza and a coffee mug of Cap'n Crunch?

@Craig E I tried your del Capo / CioCiaro idea with a mix of cognac and rye because a) I didn't have Spanish brandy on hand and b) cognac alone didn't work. Nice. I wondered how this would be recast as a sour in the Paper Plane model.

A shaker makes a perfectly fine mixing glass. I use two "tin" (stainless steel) unweighted shakers. I haven't tried weighted though. Not sure which I'd prefer. Using two metal shakers makes it MUCH easier to break the vacuum seal caused by the ice chilling the air inside. You can squeeze the outer tin and pull the inner one right out. Consider adding a little high proof vodka to any syrups to extend their shelf life.

I remade Rafa's Dead Last but with 1.5 oz rum, 1 oz Cappelletti, and no simple. Really a great drink, and I'm not much of an apricot fan.

Brooklyn with the last of my aged Amer Boudreau. The new batch is immature, harsh, and without refinement. Amer Trumpeau, if you will.

A friend of mine supplied the following idea: 2 parts Islay Scotch (Bowmore) 1 part Cynar 1 part Becherovka 1-2 parts dry vermouth I liked this. I am currently playing with other amari for the Becherovka, which has a strong cinnamon note. Looking to use up a languishing bottle of Amaro Mio, I liked that version even better. Tonight I included a bit of Biggalet China-China with the last of the Mio (and an orange swath), but I think orange is a step in the wrong direction. If anyone else want to play along, I'd be interested to try other ideas. @FrogPrincesse will no doubt want to try Fernet Branca.

@frogprincesse Nice garnish. Dragon Fruit has a high beauty to flavor ratios.

Yes this belongs here! Welcome! It was an interesting read. I wonder what the bitter version of the cocktail was.

I believe the original Widow's Kiss is an even-sweeter 2:1:1 ratio.

@JoNorvelleWalker What ratio do you use for your Widow's Kiss? I had Calvados one at a good bar and could barely finish it, even with a squeeze of lemon from my plate of oysters.

I made @Rafa's Stenton, a successful attempt to make a non-crappy Blood and Sand. In truth, I lacked the barspoon of orange juice, so I used lemon. I'll brave the orange the next time I have one on hand. After that, I wanted a second drink, but low in alcohol, so I did equal parts Bonal Gentiane Quina, Dolin dry, and Alessio Vermouth Chinato, with a float of Mescal. Holy shit. Needs perfecting and a name.

I try overproof spirits at bottle strength and titrate* down to something without excessive heat and still with a nice mouthfeel. Often that's 80-100 proof for me. If the spirit is still hot or rough at 60 proof, make cocktails with it. Or Bananas Foster or something. Some old spirits can be surprisingly mild even at high proof. * Or, as autocorrect prefers, "tit-rate".

Futzing with my Last Word variation: 1 oz Vida Mescal 1 oz Contralto Bitter 1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino 1/2 oz Kick Ass Amer Boudreau (very bitter, dry, strong) 1 oz lime Successful.

@Craig ESimply dilute each to a reasonable sipping proof (say 60-80?). 50/50 would end up at 75 proof, which would be easy to measure. Also, for spirits that are destined for a cocktail (as I suspect this is), maybe you need to very carefully make two cocktails that highlight the product. I tend to prefer bolder / rougher spirits in cocktails than I do neat.