EvergreenDan

A duo of Rob Roys, made with Punt e Mes. Won't be many takers, though.

Haha. CR#2 does indeed sound like a frat boy drink if you have no idea what it is.

Chris -- try a bit of dry vermouth the next time your favorite sweet is gone. It really helps keep the drink from being too sweet and rich. I had a Lua Bonita (Cachaca Negroni) tonight. Lovely drink. Really wonderful. Made it with Punt e Mes.

Zach Pearson (the Kindred Cocktails editor) got a bit steamed up: Creation and Craft I think Derek has it wrong. Rather than blame creativity, blame a lack of knowledge, talent, and taste. Why cocktail and not food? Can you imagine a chef suggesting that chefs stick to well-made classic?

[big breath] Okay. You like Campari , enjoy cognac neat, and have a bottle of Black Balsams. [creaky door opens] Welcome to the club. We're your friends and we're going to give it to you straight. Dump all that sweet / low-end crap in your bar and start over. Glug. Glug Glug. Faux "schnapps" goes down the drain. Buy good quality spirits. Start by making one great cocktail and learn to make it well. Listen to Chris. Resist buying more things for your bar until you tire with what you have. Fear fruit liqueurs. Except for high quality orange liqueur, there aren't really any "must be able to make" cocktails that require fruit liqueurs. And really good fruit liqueurs are expensive, hard to find, and often have a short shelf life (e.g. good cassis). Learn to use citrus and dry vermouth to balance sweetness. Mix with fresh ingredients, not soda. Make a Negroni. Then a Perfect Negroni (split the sweet vermouth with an equal amount of dry). Then try one with more gin. Or try Punt e Mes (a wild bitter version of sweet vermouth). Or try Bourbon (Ssssssh. I's a Boulevardier if you use the right proportions. Don't tell anyone who isn't in the club.) Make a great Margarita (or maybe Sidecar since you like cognac). Vary the proportions and see how the drink changes. Don't fear a bracingly tart drink; not every drink has to be "balanced". Ditto for a Daiquiri, but use good rum. Rum is cheap. Even good rum is cheap (compared to other spirits). Yup. Welcome to the club. And make good drinks for your girlfriend and eventually she'll stop wanting sweet craptails.

Riga Black Balsams is awesome. Bitter, dark (almost black), herbal, peppery, high in alcohol, and low in sugar (relatively). Made in Latvia. Lovers consider it best after its aged in the bottle for at least a year. My "Midnight Ruby" uses it to very good effect. Pimm's and the Black Balsams stick out. Both are acquired tastes -- rather the opposite of the other bottles. -- www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community

@Chris @Mitch - I revisited the Gin-Cyn-Cin (but I made it with Punt e Mes) and liked it even more than I remembered: Gin-Cin-Cyn by Washington Post 1 oz Gin 1 oz Cynar 1 oz Sweet vermouth 1 ds Peychaud's Bitters (or angostura bitters) I don't have a good attribution for this. Anyone know who created it and when? And sometimes it's just Cin Cyn.

Really enjoyed the Rapscallion. I was skeptical it would pass my "better than the ingredients" test, but it did. I enjoyed it as much as I would have the Talisker by itself -- which is quite a bit.

A user just posted this single serving egg nog. It's really a flip, but, well, close enough. It calls for Snap, but I bet you could use another ginger liqueur and perhaps some Pimento Dram or something. (I'm not buying Snap until I find a use for the 720ml of Root that I have. )

With Earl Grey, Batavia Arrack, and dry vermouth, I think that Caroga Punch is for a cocktail enthusiast than a novice. Earl Grey is like cilantro -- a love-it-or-hate-it flavor. If you make it, I'd have a backup punch on hand too.

If you bought these liqueurs because they appeal to you, then I'm guessing you like straightforward (not complex, herbal, or bitter) drinks, with ample sugar and familiar fruit / candy flavors. You are not looking for challenging or hard-to-like drinks. You might best like drinks that are simply beefed up versions of these youthful flavors. Consider just adding them to vodka, dark rum, juices, and/or soft drinks. While this doesn't appeal to me now, it certainly would have earlier in my life. Some flavor ideas: Rum + chocolate, coffee, or toffee, either singularly or in any combination Vodka + chocolate, coffee, toffee + dairy (cream) Vodka + peppermint + chocolate + dairy Tequila + grapefruit juice (or grapefruit or citrus soda) Rum + lime + sugar (a Daiquiri) Rum + peppermint (possibly + seltzer and/or fresh lime) Tequila + lime + orange juice + sugar (almost a Margarita, kinda) Rum + pineapple juice + coconut cream (Coco Lopez, for example) (Pina Colada) Same as above + orange juice (Painkiller) (God help me. I'll repent with a Bernet Frankenstein.)

I poured a small sample of Lagavulin for a friend, honestly thinking that he would love it. With wrinkled nose, he exclaimed, "Band-aids!" and dumped the rest out. I peed myself a little.

How they can call this a Manhattan, I do not understand. It has no rye, no vermouth (sweet or otherwise), no bitters, and no cherry garnish. Might as well call it a Mediterranean Boilermaker.

Meletti Lemon Flip by Ned Greene, Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA 2 oz Amaro, Meletti 3/4 oz Lemon juice 1/2 oz Rich simple syrup 2:1 1 Whole egg Dry shake, shake with ice, strain, straight up, lowball. Fabulous. Great flip for the non-flip lover. Surprisingly not bitter. I get a gestalt of chocolate from Meletti, but others don't.

@Chris -- The problem with mixing with something like Talisker is that it raises the bar for the cocktail: it needs to beat a glass of Talisker neat. Bowmore Legend, maybe?

In the Campari thread, bostonapothecary revised Stew Ellington's Campari-heavy drink to be equal parts. That got me thinking about equal parts drinks that could be improved by adjusting each ingredient to the ideal proportion. So I made a Last Word with: 2 oz gin 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse (enough to come through, without overpowering the juniper) 1/4 oz Maraschino (just a hint, not enough to suppress the Chartreuse) 3/4 oz lemon (enough to push the balance from lightly sweet to solidly tart If you enjoy sipping Chartreuse or Maraschino, this would probably not be an improvement. But it is for me.

Mizz Mazza by Stew Ellington 1 1/2 oz Campari 1/2 oz Eau de Vie of Douglas Fir 1/2 oz Gin 1/2 oz Ginger liqueur, Domaine de Canton 1/2 oz Dry vermouth Build in an ice-filled vintage, purple-tinted rocks glass. My notes: Substitute lemon juice for dry vermouth. I used King's Ginger. Truly excellent.

Sam's Fitzroy is a Rob Roy with a Islay rinse -- the Gibson of the Manhattan family, I'd say.

I shall not covet thy neighbor's bottles. I shall not ...

I think there is a happy medium. With frozen glassware and/or hard cold ice, 3-4 oz of ingredients into the shaker makes a satisfying drink that is easily finished before it gets warm or watery. A very high proof drink, like a 4:1 Martini would get a bit less (maybe 2.5 oz plus dilution). Oh, and the reason that a historic 2:1:1 Widow's Kiss tastes lousy after a few sips is because it tastes lousy after one. It needs more spirit or acid.

Sub Scotch and it's easy peaty.

Kerry - How was the sweetness of A Moment of Silence? There was a comment that it was a touch sweet when make with Apry (as written). I've only used Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot and liked it. And I'm the President of the Sugar Haters Club. I haven't had apricot liqueur in the house for a while, but this is such a nice drink that I think I'll pick some up today.

Alrighty then how about something chocolaty, like a touch of Amaro Meletti or a dash of Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters?

haresfur - Angostura, or another spicy bitters, maybe?

Dan- I haven't tried actual fresh ginger, and I don't doubt that it's best, but King's Ginger has much more ginger bite and heat than Canton. If you're feeling lazy...