EvergreenDan

OK. May I play too? Aperol Becherovka Bitter Truth E**X**R Bittermen's Amere Nouvelle Boudreau (homemade) Campari del Capo Cardamaro China Martini CioCiaro Cynar dell' Erborista Fernet Branca Fernet Menta Gran Classico Lucano Luxardo Abano Luxardo Bitter Meletti Mio Nardini Nonino Picon Bierre Pimm's Ramazzotti Ruccola (Maurizio Russo) Sibilia Stock Fernet Citrus Zucca Zwack Liqueur (alas, not Unicum)

@weinoo: Yes. Both are bitter liqueurs from Italy. An amaro may be a digestivo or an aperitivo (or I suppose neither). There is some grey area for wine-base amari, where one might consider them an aromatized wine. Cardamaro, for example, although given that it has amaro in the name, I think that seals the deal. I see this is morphing into the "amaro baller" thread. Excellent!

I tried the Gloria (because what's not to like about another 1/2 of gin) with Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao and Dolin. Nice. Maybe a touch sweet for me.

Assuming you like Campari, may I recommend a Bitter Mai Tai for that bottle of S&C? It takes a minute to get your head around tropical + bitter, but its a favorite of mine. Plus it doesn't use THAT much rum per drink, helping to slow the depletion of your new bottle.

I like gin.

Awww. Shucks.

Little bump for MxMo Green. Tomorrow is the deadline.

Katie, I -- and I'm sure all of us -- are sorry for your loss. Tough times.

@Yojimbo -- I tried your drink with Rucola and it was very nice. I can't quite recall the brix of Cardamaro, but I'd guess that going up to 3/4 oz of amaro with a 1/2 oz of lemon would be about right. (Or go down on the lemon to 3/8 oz maybe). A very nice drink for fall. The lemon keeps it out of the Manhattan camp, which is nice when you're not in the mood for something like that. I will definitely revisit this the next time I have Cardamaro open. I'd be happy to have this posted on Kindred Cocktails if you come up with a name.

Wow, that sounds great. My Cardamaro is gone, but I bet my (newly-discovered) bottle of Rucola would work.

I'm insufferably pleased with my submission's recipe and name. Bad Word by Dan Chadwick, Kindred Cocktails 3/4 oz Gin 3/4 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse 3/4 oz Amaro, Gran Classico 3/4 oz Lime juice Shake, strain, rocks, lowball, or up/cocktail glass. Delicious variation on the Last Word. Better than the original for a bitter-lover.

This sounds interesting: Tessmanian Devil by Tess Posthumus, Door 74, Amsterdam, Netherlands 3/4 oz Gin, Beefeater 3/4 oz Strega 3/4 oz Aromatized wine, Lillet Blanc 3/4 oz Lemon juice 1 ds Hot sauce, Tabasco 1 ds Cayenne pepper 1 ds Bitters, Bitter Truth Creole 1 sli Chili pepper (red, as garnish) Shake, double-strain, straight up, chilled cocktail glass, garnish.

Shouldn't that be Inner Circle Green

In October, that's just bragging.

Chris, Devil's Cut is made by a unique (to my knowledge) process of extracting the spirit and flavors that have soaked into recently-emptied barrels using water and steam. I haven't had it, but I would expect a corresponding unique flavor profile. I couldn't readily find a age statement for the Hudson Manhattan Rye, but my recollection was that their Hudson line is pretty young, which my explain the harshness.

Add rum and skip the 2 hours of shopping and 6 hours of prepping and baking fruit cake.

Here's what I found for a Nui Nui recipe, sourced from Kaiser Penguin: Nui Nui by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry 4 oz Virgin Islands Rum, Cruzan (amber or dark) 1/4 oz Allspice Dram 1/4 oz Vanilla syrup 1/2 oz Cinnamon syrup 1 oz Lime juice 1 oz Orange juice 2 ds Bitters, Angostura Shake well with crushed ice and pour into a fun cup. Huge drink. I think that I might try this with Becherovka for the cinnamon and Licor 43 for the vanilla. Sounds like fun.

Pretty pleased with: 1.5 oz gin .5 oz Campari .5 oz Aperol .5 oz Green Chartreuse .75 oz lemon juice Shake, strain, rocks. A bit big; feel free to scale back.

Venetian by Absinthe Brasserie & Bar 1 oz Gin 1/2 oz Amaretto 1/2 oz Campari 1/2 oz Dry vermouth 1 sli Lemon zest Stir with ice until very cold and serve straight up. Express the oil from the Lemon Peel garnish. I'd like to like this drink, but the amaretto got in my way. Into the sink and re-made without the amaretto results in a nice Martini variation. I think you have to really like amaretto for this one.

Do you like a bit pain in your drink? A smidgen of suffering? A bit of bite? I'll start with this little work-in-progress by Zach Pearson. You might visit the link for the latest recipe. Krakatoa, August 25th, 1883 by Zachary Pearson 1 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross 3/4 oz Amaro, Sibilla 3/4 oz Torani Amer 1/2 oz Demerara Rum, Lemon Hart 151 1/2 oz Pineapple juice 1 bsp Allspice Dram, St. Elizabeth 3 ds Bitters, Scrappy's (Aromatic) 2 ds Bitters, Angostura orange 1 spg Mint (as garnish) Shake, strain over new crushed ice, garnish with a mint sprig. I tried this tonight without the Allspice Dram (which he just added). It is very, very good. Stimulating. Exciting. Cerebral. Surprisingly, the caramel of the Lemon Hart dominates the initial sip. The large dose of Amaro Sibilla (an intensely bitter amaro) doesn't come in until after the swallow, but lingers nicely. The crushed ice is helpful. There is a lot of alcohol in this drink. One was plenty. I believe Zach may have something to say about this drink in an upcoming article. Note: I used a mixture of Bittermen's Amere Nouvelle and homemade Amer Boudreau in lieu of the Torani Amer.

A Gimlet wouldn't have the carbonated mixer. Perhaps it's a Cooler or Highball. Do you prefer the DRY Lime to fresh squeezed lime juice plus unflavored soda or seltzer?

Yikes. I'm scared, although you seldom steer me wrong, Chris. Corriander, orange, apricot, juniper, grapefruit, pie spice, oh my. That's a pretty advanced cocktail for a fundraiser. How did it go over with mere mortals?

Results of a trip to Boston's North End. The Rucola (Maurizio Russo) is an arugula-based amaro, mildly bitter and mildly sweet. It makes a nice sipper. In a cocktail, it's pretty subdued. Also fairly expensive $28/70cl as I recall.

I tried: 1/2 oz rye (overproof would be good, I used Rittenhouse) 1/2 oz Punt e Mes 1/2 oz Campari 1/2 oz Lemoncello (I used Luxardo, but I don't know how it compares with others) 3/4 oz Lemon juice Very nice. Obviously in the Paper Plane camp. The lemon flavor is mild enough to stay behind the other big flavors, and the Lemoncello "Pledge" flavor disappeared.

This week I heard news of two new cocktail book efforts. Stew Ellington has a kickstarter going to try to publish his "901 Very Good Cocktail: A Practical Guide". It is a mix of worthy classics and cutting-edge modern drinks. I certainly think this is a worthwhile project, from the looks of it. I pitched in my financial support, but he needs lots more to make a go of it. Unless he makes his goal, you don't pay anything. http://www.kickstart...practical-guide Fred Yarm (Cocktail Virgin Slut) noted on his fackbook page that he's completed the writing and editing of his "Drink & Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book". It's a guide to 4-5 years of sampling craft cocktails at Boston top (famous or not) cocktail bars. I'm sure it was painful research. I'm looking forward to seeing it in print http://www.facebook....151012526313458 And speaking of books, I have some free give-away copies of "Bitter Drink", a cocktail-infused crime novel by F. G. Haghenbeck, a Mexican writer (now translated into English). http://www.kindredcocktails.com/review/bitter-drink