EvergreenDan

Cute logo, Fred. I look forward to reading the submissions.

Holy Cow! Kickin' cocktail menu at Little Bird! All ya gotta do is call. ;-) French Cola by Tom Lindstedt, Little Bird, Portland, OR 1 1/2 oz Amaro, Averna 1 oz Pastis, Pernod 1/2 oz Lemon juice 1 oz Soda water 1 twst Lemon peel (as garnish) Build first three ingredients with ice in low-ball glass, stir to louche, add more ice, top with soda, garnish

Just an update: Audrey has an updated version that uses Pernod Absinthe -- just reduce the lime to 1/2 oz. She was kind enough to clarify some confusion on Twitter.

Serge -- you might try more rye -- maybe 1.5 oz -- for a ratio that is a bit more Manhattan-ish. I would also try a spicy bitters, like Angostura as the pie spice would go well with the orange. Not that I don't like Regans'. Or both! It's raining and a bit cool in Boston today. Maybe this will be tonight's cocktail.

Nice find. Here's the reference to Cocktail Virgin Slut for the attribution. Damn, I think this is going to tip me over the edge to buying Drambuie.

Adam -- I'm confused about your vision for your peach bitters. Will it taste of peach flesh, peach pits (almond), both, something else?

If you like Gin and Tonics, try a Rum and Tonic with a squeeze of lime. Very good.

You'll find Fee Rhubarb bitters discussed intermittently in the big Bitters thread starting here. I initially liked them, but since learning that they contain artificial (and natural) flavors, I'm now less keen. Kindred Cocktails lists a number of recipes that use Fee Rhubarb Bitters. This one uses a half ounce. Rhubarb and Rye by Dan Chadwick 1 1/2 oz Rye (preferably overproof) 1 oz Aperol 1/2 oz Rhubarb bitters, Fee Brothers 1/2 oz Lemon juice 1 Lemon zest (as garnish) Shake, strain, rocks, low-ball. Garnish with a swatch of lemon peel My personal notes: A fun, somewhat light cocktail.

Do the molds need an epidural first?

Maybe a Whiskey sour -- appealing to both bourbon drinkers and sour drinkers? It's a great drink that isn't that popular anymore, so many folks won't have had one in a while. Sometimes an eggwhite is used to make the nice froth. I'm not a bartender, so I'm not sure if it could be safely batched ahead of time and kept on ice. It would also be more effort to shake them because they would be shaken first without ice and then with. And maybe one other cocktail, like something with sparkling wine? Perhaps with a touch of St Germain Elderflower liqueur, Cassis (currant liqueur), or some other flavor that is meaningful to you?

My hope was to define what a craft cocktail is, and I think we accomplished that pretty well. Some people (most people, probably) simply aren't interested in craft cocktails. They may have their drink (Martini, Scotch, Jack and Coke, whatever) and drink only that. They might like only beer or wine. Or they might have immature tastes. I do not mean this pejoratively; I think most of us favored drinks that disguise the alcohol when we first started drinking. Other people may simply not have been exposed to craft or creative cocktails. Gently exposing these folks can introduce them to a world that they will appreciate. This might be making a classic cocktail a bit sweeter (or less bitter or herbal or whatever). Or picking something that is easy to like, such as a Daiquiri or Margarita. And some enthusiasts of craft cocktails may favor certain types of drinks, tastes, and flavors that others don't like. A tiki lover might not like an amaro drink, and vice-versa. I don't try to evangelize everyone. If I know that a guest really likes light beer, then I just buy some. If someone asks for an Alabama Slammer, then I'll make it (subbing something like bourbon and cherry liqueur for Southern Comfort). If they want a Vodka Martini, I'll make it to their liking (to the best of my ability). But if I think they are open to something new and interesting, I might serve it to them, even if it isn't a "safe" drink. And, of course, you want to be a good host and never make someone feel bad about their tastes. I make plenty of craft cocktails. I don't have to make them for my guests if they don't want them. Hell, it's a lot easier to open a bottle of beer!

This bitterness of bitters in drop/dash quantities got me wondering whether the bitter components could be other culinary ingredients that are used in sub-perceptible amounts and add a depth than most cannot describe more specifically. In other words, I'm miss the bitter if it weren't there. (And I'm assume most of the bitter ingredients have lots of flavor in addition to the bitter taste.) A gracious offer, BA.

Just tasted them again. They are pretty similar. Aperol moderates the bitterness with sweetness, whereas Fee Rhubarb Bitters moderates it with sourness. I have used Fee in oz-ish quantities in a cocktail and liked it. It's probably silly, but now that I've noticed the artificial flavor on the label, I'm less keen.

Daisy17 -- It occurred to me that Pussers needs to defend their mark. Could they not have licensed it to the bar for, say, $1/year? They wouldn't be holding a bag of frozen peas on their eye right now.

Andy, just for fun, I just tasted both. I think I'm a taster (rather than super- or non-). Fee Rhubarb bitters is definitely bitter (and a bit sour). They are about half as bitter as Peychaud's, I'd guess (by tasting both). Aperol is most definitely bitter, and since it is used as a potable bitter in large® quantity, it makes for a bitter drink. Yes, it's mild by comparison with, say, Campari, but it certainly is plenty bitter. I don't find that most non-potable bitters deliver a noticeable bitter taste when deployed in drop or dash quantities.

Oh, BTW, way up-thread someone asked if Fee Rhubarb bitters contains artificial flavors. The label says that it contains both natural and artificial flavors. OK, now back to the hijack currently in progress.

Did you mean gustatory, perhpas? I'm not sure if you taste one thing and you describe it as bitter rather than sour, or if you taste two things -- sour and bitter. I haven't had raw, unsweetened rhubarb in a while, but I only remember the overwhelming sourness, and the need for a shocking amount of sugar needed to make even a tart rhubarb sauce. I used to pick it outside my grandmother's barn and my parent's house. Grew like a weed, more-or-less. Now its expensive in the market.

That marketing copy is a humdinger. Now back to the usual repartee...

The makings of a mind-blowing rhubarb bourbon sour? No wait, a gin fizz? No wait, a Margarita-like tequila sour? No wait, Aperol and seltzer? The stuff sounds fantastic. Curiosity and impatience make poor bedfellows.

I'd use an orange liqueur -- maybe something brandy-based like Gran Gala or Grand Marnier, if you have it -- instead of the peach liqueur in the following. A spicy, rye-forward bourbon would be nice, if you have it, I think. Or rye, of course. Bourbon Belle by Joy Richard, LUPEC, Boston, MA 3 oz Bourbon 1/2 oz Peach liqueur, Mathilde Pêche 1/2 oz Sweet vermouth 2 ds Angostura bitters 1 Maraschino cherry (brandied, as garnish) Stir, strain, straight up, cocktail glass, garnish Personal notes: Cocktail Virgin Slut recommends Carpano Antica. This drink is huge; I'd scale it down by 25% or serve as two small drinks. -- Kindred Cocktails | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community

My wife came home with a pineapple. Sniffed it this morning -- fragrant and sweet (olfactory, not gustatory ). Time for Rivieras. The Riviera by Toby Maloney, Violet Hour, Chicago, IL 2 oz Gin (with Campari & Marschino, infused with pineapple) 3/4 oz Lemon juice 3/4 oz Simple syrup 1 lf Mint (as garnish) 1 ds Orange bitters (as garnish) Dry shake 30 seconds, shake with ice, strain, straight up, coupe, garnish with mint and drops of orange bitters. Pineapple infused gin: 4c gin : 1c Campari : 2c Maraschino, 1 pineapple. Cut into speakrs. Infuse 1-2 days. Divide recipe in half for a more manageable quantity. Personal notes: I flip ratio of Campari and Maraschino (more Campari than Maraschino), omit the simple and egg white, and use 2 1/2 oz infused gin mixture for a fast, simple drink. I, uh, washed the jar well first. -- Kindred Cocktails | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community

How's the elbow? Manhattans lovingly stirred in a 2 gallon Igloo cooler? Or maybe this: http://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/viewtopic.php?id=10303

The following is based only on myself -- how I perceive flavors and tastes. I question the strength of sweetness enhancement for me. Section 2.5 discusses the importance of experimental setup in demonstrating the effect. Some think it is an artifact -- an error in the experiment's design ("halo dumping"). I'd also be curious to see the degree of the effect; I bet it is minor compared to measuring accuracy and ingredient sugar consistency (e.g. different brands of orange liqueur). (I haven't read any of the primary research to confirm this hypothesis.) My hypothesis is that sweetness enhancement, if it exists at all (especially for a trained taster), is swamped by other consideration in a cocktail -- measuring error, sweetness of ingredients, other flavors, tastes, the progression of flavors and tastes during the sip and so forth. More interesting are certain taste interactions. In particular: Sweet and Sour moderate each other, creating a unique sweet/sour flavor that is distinct from dry (the absence of both, like straight gin, rather than dry like in an acidic wine). Sweet moderates bitter, but not strongly. Most amari are still quite bitter, despite lots of sugar. Chocolate and perhaps coffee seem to be an exception. Sour moderates bitter strongly, hence those wonderful sour + amaro drinks. So how does this relate to non-potable bitters? If I don't believe in "bitterness enhancement", then I'd prefer that bitters actually taste bitter and things that are flavorful but not bitter be called something else, like tinctures. My thinking about this has informed the algorithms involved in how Kindred Cocktails suggests "similar cocktails". The calculations are done based upon the flavors characteristics of the ingredients. The results aren't uniformly great (and never will be perfect), but I usually see a drink in the similar cocktails list that makes me think, "oh, that sounds good."

Yeah, but I think most of us here have strong personal memories of the Martini -- from ourselves, parents, or grandparents. This is/was my parents' preferred drink. I don't recall any Bosco in the liquor cabinet.

VioletFox - It looks like no one has tried it. I wouldn't infer that folks here wouldn't like it, but rather that some don't like the name. I had a similar experience when I mentioned a XXXX Old Fashioned. No discussion of the drink itself, but lots of discussion of what an Old Fashioned is.