EvergreenDan

Maybe go brown? Rye, Lemoncello, and a healthy dose of Angostura might be nice, combining the peppery-spice, citrus, and pie-spice flavors. Or a bit of an amaro insead of the Angostura -- Campari, Cynar, Ramazzotti, Averna all seem promising. You might need some additional acid if the Lemoncello is quite sweet. Fernet also seems like it would go wtih Lemoncello, but that would be a fairly narrow-appeal cocktail.

Frog -- how about mixing that Cruzan Blackstrap with something mild and dry, like Flor de Cana? It's pretty assertive on its own.

I've never tried it and it's full of HFCS, but I've seen Smucker's recommended. How about making it yourself? Buy some frozen raspberries, puree in a blender, sieve to remove seeds, boil down with sugar. Doesn't sound that hard, and I bet it would keep a long time in the fridge if you get it thick enough. You could do it with fresh berries, but that would be pretty expensive.

Secret supply of Unicum in Chicago?

I asked Maks if -1/2 really meant 3/8 and as I recall he said that it was intended to indicate a slightly light pour, subject to the bartender's judgment. I interpret it as "just shy of 1/2 and take care to not over pour, you klutz."

That's odd. Luxardo Maraschino liqueur is quite sweet. Kirsch is an eau-de-vie, the pure distillate of fermented crushed cherries and pits -- completely unsweetened.

Kerry -- that doesn't look very blue-tinged. No Creme de Violette? I think that adds quite a lot in very small amounts. Kirsch would not have any sugar to stand up to the lemon. It must have been quiet tart.

Made this tonight too, and liked it quite a bit. It does call for Punt e Mes, so you didn't deviate there.

I'm having one of those "I can't believe I didn't think of that" moments. Thanks. That tip went right into the Honey Syrup article on KC.

Kindred Cocktails may not be perfect, but the recipes are curated. We try to reference original sources when available, and/or note modernizations by noteworthy people. Corpse Reviver #2 by Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail 3/4 oz Gin 3/4 oz Triple sec, Cointreau 3/4 oz Aromatized Wine, Lillet Blanc 3/4 oz Lemon juice 1 rinse Absinthe Shake, strain, straight up, cocktail glass rinsed with absinthe My notes: Creole Shrubb + Bonal Gentiane Quina esp. good White Negroni by Pegu Club 1 1/2 oz Gin 1 oz Aromatized Wine, Lillet Blanc 3/4 oz Suze Stir and strain.

At Fred Yarm's suggestion, I've been subbing the new Salers liqueur for Suze. I enjoyed the White Negroni, but it could be more more bitter and a bit less sweet to really warrant the Negroni name, even with Cocchi. I'll swap the ratios next time.

Katie: That sounds incredible. Or make it as a punch, carve the pineapple half into a boat, tiny oars and all, fill with JWray, light, and sink it just before the ceiling blackens.

You sure that isn't really Rowan and Martin

Just to remind you Kerry that God will kill a kitten every time you use that Creme de Banane. If you use Midori, he kills two. I think you'll find Booker's very helpful in making potent cocktails that also contain non- or low-alcohol ingredient. Pricey, but very flexible.

A couple of new amari, an agricole, and a couple of bottles of firestarter. The amari are both from Varnelli. The dell'Arborista is very nice, quite bitter, and (very lightly) sweetened with honey. Long bitter finish. Blurb on dell'Arborista. Sibilla is also lightly sweetened with honey and is prepared with "herbs and roots" "over a wood fire." Intense long bitter finish. Blurb on Sibilla. Both were quite expensive ($58-$65), but for a 1L bottle. Not knowing where to start with the amari, I made one each: 1 1/2 oz gin 3/4 oz amaro 3/4 oz lemon 1/4 oz rich simple I only added the simple because these arami are not particularly sweet and it was just too sour even for me. I would just scale back the lemon and skip the simple next time. Both have intense long bitter finishes. Something of the Black Diamond of amari. I liked them both, but I there is much room for improvement, I think. Suggestions are welcome.

A Gipper?

Wait. He had a stock-my-bar housewarming party and he got Bulleit Rye, CAF, and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao? When I had one, I got a gift set of a bottle of Bailey's and two logo glasses. Your friend has some friends.

Nice. I took Chris's idea and added 1/2 tsp of Branca Menta to a (admittedly weird) Mojito made with JWray overproof & Smith & Cross. I'm not a fan of tall drinks, so the high proof rums were a way to keep the alcohol bite. I liked it and would try 1 tsp next, or Fernet Branca. The Menta added a subtle menthol undertone and some hard-to-describe complexity. I think I'd try it with all JWray next time, or a mix with something like Flor de Cana white.

Probably not, unless you got very old stock. The Bitter Truth made (past tense) Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters under contract (which ended a while ago) in their usual dasher bottle. TBT now makes a chocolate bitters of their own, which I have not had but I understand to be pretty chocolate-forward. Bittermens now makes their own Xocolatl Mole bitters (blue dropper bottle). The current version uses the authentic Bittermens recipe; the The Bitter Truth version had some changes (one might say compromises) required to be able to manufacture it in their facility. A bit more detail. Which one did you get? I'm very vond of Xocolatl Mole bitters -- complex, deep, and not overtly chocolate. Works great with tequila, of course.

Oooh, Luxardo Abano in a Manhattan-formula drink. Great idea. The black pepper seems really complementary to the rye spice. I guess I could *force* myself to drink one on a hot day.

Hmmm. I wonder how a half a tsp of Fernet would be in a Mojito....

I like the Broken Shoe Shiner, but it can tend to be overly sweet and sweet + anise = candy, an association I don't like. I used absinthe instead of Pernod and that helped. It might need a touch more lemon than the recipe call for. It will also depend upon the sweetness of the pineapple (fresh, or at least something better than those little Dole cans). Let us know what you think, Tri.

Sound wonderful. Quantities? Something like: 2oz gin 1oz grapefruit juice 1 tsp Pernod Shake, strain, down, rocks. Garnish with a lemon twist? So it's basically a Greyhound, but with English gin. Maybe call it Springer Spaniel? Or just go for the speed reference with Wippet.

@Paolo - is that creation yours? The combination of artichoke and lychee is certainly unexpected. Maybe the mint/menthol from the Fernet (which seems to go with both) is a bridge? BTW, 5ml is almost exactly 1 tsp, which is a pretty common measurement here in the US.

BTW, to anyone making the Weeski, thirtyoneknots has kindly pointed out that in Dave Wondrich's 2005 book Killer Cocktails, the amount is 1 tsp of Cointreau, rather than the 3/4oz that the Food & Wine source lists. I've updated the cocktail and must say it sounds great with just a touch of Cointreau.