EvergreenDan

Funny how no one ever mentions the Galliano problem. Oh, my, yes. If you look carefully at my photo, you'll see that the tall bottles are positioned in the middle where they don't hit the hardware from the above drawer. I installed these drawers, specifically measuring for the Maraschino. My square bottles would have to be the solution to anything taller. OTOH, Chambord is the worst in terms of space efficiency. Having to position the bottles for the physical size messes with my like-near-like organization, but you get used to anything. I have a friend who is a collector. He has bottles in four different places in his house. Most of it is incredibly obscure hand-imported stuff from his travels. It's fun to browse and hear the stories behind the bottles. "I got this one in grad school..." (maybe 45 years ago). He's been "stuck" in Paris due to the volcano. I did mention Picon Amer to him before he left ....

These particular bottles did come from Specialty Bottles. It is known as a "Quadra" bottle, and I've found it in 250ml and 500ml. Obviously 750ml would be handy, but I haven't found it. Similar bottles may be found elsewhere. They are cheap, but the shipping is expensive. I would never do this if I had unlimited storage, but I don't. I also hosted a "liquor swap" with some local like-minded folks. The idea was to be able to obtain small quantities of ingredients that would either take you a long time to finish on your own (e.g. Creme de Violette, Pimento Dram), or go bad (e.g. Vermouth), or are hard to obtain (e.g. Fleur de Thym). It was fun, and the end result was a bunch of these bottles. I had been constantly fighting to fit the round bottles into my cabinet space. The square bottles are incredibly space efficient. Plus you can see over the small ones to read the larger ones. It requires some juggling and relabeling as I buy new things, and have some partial bottles stored remotely. It is convenient for making drinks, however, because I can quickly get to a large number of ingredients, stored in a small space. Another thing that I don't like is that some bottles are beautiful to look at, and you obviously lose that. Still, this method beats my previous struggles. I also tend to drink stuff up before buying a different bottle, which isn't a bad thing at this point. (Finish the Luxardo Bitter before opening another Campari -- do you really need both open at the same time?) I also use the bottles for infusions. There's gin / Campari / Maraschino / Pineapple in that photo, but I'm pretty sure it won't last long. I did a similar thing with squeeze bottles in the fridge for grenadine(s), shrub (the fruit/vinegar kind), simple, and other syrups. As for rinsing and overpours -- if the drink is for me or my wife, I just drink it. Kind of like licking the beaters, but for adults.

I added a 1 cup OXO measuring cup to my 2 oz one. I've found is useful for making two identical drinks. This often happens when I entertain. While it's only marked in 1 oz increments, they are all marked. I may cut the handle off so that it looks more like the 2 oz version. What I would really like is an accurate 4 oz one with 1/4 oz tick marks (all 16 of them). I would then buy 4 of them and could pretty easily measure out the ingredients for the drinks, one per measuring cup. Then ice the glasses, pour / stir / whatever. And my drinks would come out more at the same time. I can do this with what I have, but there's more washing. (Depending upon the order of the ingredients, I'm pretty careful about washing out stinky ingredients before measuring subtle ones; a quick rinse doesn't always do it for me.) I think adding another 2 mixing glasses to my existing 2 might be the best I can do to help speed my drink making, without going crazy. Someone must have worked out a better system for us home cocktail nerds -- and one that doesn't involve the top rack of the dishwasher being just bartending stuff.

I hesitate to reveal my OCD. Space constraints necessitated extreme organization. Yes, it is a pain to manage, but it's nice for quickly grabbing an obscure ingredient. And I still have to store the overflow bottles elsewhere.

Made the Riviera from this thread, although I skipped the simple (plenty sweet as is for me) and the egg white (didn't think it needed the mouth feel), and I reversed the proportions of the Campari and the Maraschino (because I like Campari so much). Good lord is that tasty. Definitely worth the 48 hour wait. As others have raved above, a great drink.

Make a round of Paper Airplanes (thank you eGullet), and boy-oh-boy-oh-boy is that a good drink. Even the non-bourbon lovers loved it. 3/4 oz Bourbon 3/4 oz Campari (Luxardo Bitter, but close to the same thing) 3/4 oz Amaro Nonino (Ramazzotti because that's what I have) 3/4 oz Lemon Really deserved to be in the rotation.

I did. Scroll up!

Thank you, sir. I used Smith & Cross and, for my minty-wussy taste, the Menta dominated. I reduced it to 1 tsp and added 1/4 tsp lime and a dash of Angostura and like the result a lot. I renamed it "Gruff and Rumble". Maybe I'm not not ready for the full glorious vile-ostity of Branca Menta.

Argh. If only I could edit. Bitter Englishman #1 1 oz Gin 1 oz Campari 1 oz Pimm's #1 1/2 oz Lemon Good; just what you'd expect; gin shines through. Bitter Englishman #2 1 oz Campari 1 oz Pimm's #1 1 oz Grapefruit Delicious; quick drinking; fairly low alcohol (for better or worse). I'm pretty sure this must be what I made originally and couldn't remember.

From CocktailDB (with ginger ale): Pimm's Cup From About (with lemonade & cucumber): Pimms Cup Pimm's #1 is pretty commonly available. It is a low-proof liqueur based on gin and herbs. I recently bought a bottle and made a fantastic drink, which alas I didn't write down. It contained equal parts Pimm's and Campari. I *think* it had an equal part of Lemon and one of gin, but I'm not sure. I have to remake it soon, as it was delightful (if you like Campari). <kicking myself for not jotting it down>

TGTTONGETK. To good to throw out, not good enough to keep. I hate extravagant packaging for items that aren't stored in the package. They just clutter the house, yet it bugs me to throw them out. While I used the Booker's wooden carton to start a fire this winter, I had no use for the Carpano tin. Now cardboard scotch tubes make great guinea pig tunnels for my daughter's swine....

The Beta Cocktails' Search for Delicious also contains a pinch of salt and Cynar. They say it's supposed to be like an artichoke with caramelized endive and lemon. Sort of does. Great drink, although you have to be very light with the salt. Nicely low alcohol too, for when that's handy. As for balance, I found that there is an abrupt transition from "yum - enough" to "yuck - must fight welling emesis". The first time I made this drink, I ended up doubling the other ingredients to dilute my "maybe needs a touch more salt" addition. I would guess that in a busy bar, this would be a tricky drink to make.

1/2 oz that is. Can't edit. Argh.

I'll keep an eye out for that Bitter Lemon. I tried the Bitter, Bitter, Bitter (Bitter) tonight and liked it rather a lot, as did my wife. I added 1/2 Lemon (as part of my bitter lemon simulation, along with about 5 dashes Lemon bitters), and I liked the acid addition. I need to retry it with real Bitter Lemon and also with Campari. I used to drink Bitter Lemon as a kid, as my grandmother liked it. Fond memories. Kind of hard to believe in retrospect that I liked it.

Tried the Weeski, and found it like Irish Whiskey: I'd prefer the ingredients as two separate drinks. Maybe I just like whiskey neat too much. Or maybe Clontarf wasn't up to the challenge?

Sound great, although good Bitter Lemon is hard to find around Boston. (Polar brand is available, but I haven't tried it.) Maybe substitute some soda, fresh lemon, and lemon bitters? I'd think the Aperol would need a little lemon for acid, since it's sweeter than Campari. Shouldn't that be Bitter, Bitter, Bitter, Bitter? I'm trying this tonight!

Well-written. Excellent storytelling. Thanks.

Because you always keep Zirbenz Stone Pine at hand? What does that stuff taste like? Is it similar to Clear Creek Douglas Fir Eau-de-Joist? And how was the Fairview?

I stand qorrected.

Maybe try Bourbon, fig, and a touch each of Allspice Dram (or Nux Alpina Nocino) and Averna? Might be a bit sweet, in which case switching to Rye might help. Sounds good in my head.

I made this up to bring to my quarterly "foodies" dinner, this particular one Mexican. The international ingredients aren't exactly authentic, but it was a big hit (except for one wrinkled nose that wouldn't try a bitter-tinged cocktail). Quatro Naranjas (Four Oranges) 1 oz Tequila, Anejo 2/3 oz Aperol 1/3 oz Campari 1/3 oz Creole Shrubb 2/3 oz Lime 1 dash Angostura Orange

So I infused about a cup of kumquats (whole fruit was pureed) in a cup of Wray & Nephew overproof rum for 2 weeks and strained through a coffee filter today, yielding 250ml of yellowish-orange rocket fuel. So I made a variation on a Hemingway Daiquiri. 1 oz Kumquat-infused rum 1 oz dark rum (Flor de Cana) 1 oz Orange juice 1 tsp Maraschino 1 1/2 tsp Agave syrup It was good. Very good. By itself (neat), it had some wonderful bitter notes, fairly sour, with a strong alcohol nose and "funk" from the Wray & Nephew. If you infused gin with kumquats, you could just add a bit of sugar and drink it straight up as a "Quatlet". Works in my head, at least. Would also make a pretty interesting Martini with a big lemon twist and a sturdy vermouth, perhaps diluted with un-infused gin for balance.

Looks beautiful, particularly in that barrel-sided glass. Does it cool your nose when you drain the drink? Knock you out? If they have cracks, could you remove it from the mold and immerse it in chilled water, then drain and re-freeze (or use as-is if you want warmer ice)? I would think capillary action would fill in the cracks and make them both look more solid and prevent breaking.

So I tried making two caipirinhas, one with squeezed lime and one with muddled. First, the biggest difference was that the muddled one was sweeter, because the muddling extracts less juice. To compensate, I added a touch more simple to the squeezed one. At that point, any differences in taste were associated with the sweet/sour balance, rather than any flavor components differences from the lime oils. YMMV, of course.

Inspired by you, I bought a container of kumquats. They looked beautiful, and were fairly sweet (for kumquats). I'm infusing a cup of W&P overproof with about a cup of them, pureed. We'll see. My first experiment. I muddled a couple in a Batida: Old Sao Paolo 2 oz Cachaca 1/2 oz Elisir M. P. Roux (could sub some green chartreuse and a bit of Pastis) 1/2 tsp simple 2 kumquats (sub some orange w/ peel and a bit more lime?) 2 eights lime 2 dashes Fee WBA bitters I have to day, it was great. Now, I'm not sure if would have been just as great with a bit of orange and peel....