TexasCocktailGeek

I received a bottle of Faretti Biscotti Famosi liqueur as a gift over the holidays, and I haven't the slightest idea of how to use it up. It tastes exactly like biscotti cookies, but is unbelievably sweet. I tried a Sidecar-ish variation with it (along with cognac and lemon juice), but I wasn't exactly blown away. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears!

I did, and there was certainly some cherry to it, but a lot of what I tasted was tea-like (tannic?). I don't have the most refined palate in the world, so take that with a grain of salt. And maybe that's just because it's black cherry, rather than artificial red cherry flavor. Thanks! I'm looking forward to figuring this out.

A while back, I bought a bottle of Cherry Heering from a liquor store that was closing down. I'd never tried it before, and at half price, I couldn't pass it by. The bottle didn't appear to be very old (no tax stamp or anything), but the cork was in fairly poor condition. It sat on my shelf for a little while, and I tried it in a few drinks in which it played a very minor role. I didn't think anything was amiss, but I'm a bit of an amateur, so... Tonight I brought out the bottle to try out a Singapore Sling, which I've never tried before (either at home or at a bar). I used Dale DeGroff's recipe, but I've gotta say, the results were pretty underwhelming. Kind of like an alcoholic, slightly-tropical iced tea. The color was pretty terrible too: a funky-looking brown. Here's the bottle, a glass with a splash of the Cherry Heering in it, and my poor excuse for a Singapore Sling. So, can anyone tell me, does the Heering look right? I'm pretty sure the Sling doesn't (and yes, I know I'm missing the garnishes). Any suggestions?

Picked up my first bottle from Spec's on Smith Street last night, and made an absolutely awesome Corpse Reviver #2 with it! I laughed out loud when I got to the shelf at the store - someone had taped a note there reading "Egulleteers: your long wait is over!"

The other night I had (what I thought was) a really excellent bourbon cocktail: The Undertaker (from Misty Kalkofen of Drink, Boston) 1/4 oz Cynar 1 1/2 oz Eagle Rare 10 Year 1/2 oz grapefruit juice 1/2 oz Grand Marnier orange twist garnish Mellow, bourbon sweetness elevated just a bit by the grapefruit and just a pleasant hint of bitter. A new favorite for me.

It's warming up here in Houston, so I thought a few summery cocktails would be appropriate. (sorry about the blurriness) On the left is my drink, the False Dichotomy (from Bobby Heugel at Anvil in Houston): 2 oz Flor de Cana Extra Dry rum 1 oz lemon juice 3/4 oz Sonoma Syrup Co. Lavender Simple Syrup egg white lemon twist Angostura bitters misted over half the drink On the right is my wife's drink, a Pisco Sour (using Gary Regan's recipe): 2 oz ABA pisco 1 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz 1:1 simple syrup egg white Angostura bitters mist Yum!

(Hope it's okay to bump an old thread.) A friend from out of state asked me to send pictures of my liquor collection, so I took a few shots, and I thought I'd share them here. I don't think my home bar/liquor "cabinet" is very well organized, but it suits our purposes. We bought an Ikea shelving system to give us more storage space when we moved into our current apartment (galley kitchen, yuck). We now keep most of our plates, bowls, pots, pans, and specialized cooking equipment on the shelves, and my wife swears that we'll never go back to closed cabinets. I love the open shelving too. We keep our champagne & wine glasses hanging upside down, and below the bowls and plates (not visible in the pics, sorry) are our cocktail glasses. Most of my bar equipment is in the sink at the moment, so it's not visible either. Those horizontal bars that are holding our pans are actually Ikea towel racks that have been screwed into the shelving top. As far as organization goes, it's mostly by height and ease of retrieval, rather than by spirit family or by name. My collection is small enough that I don't have much trouble finding what I need quickly. Here's what it looks like all laid out: I didn't include the multiple vermouth bottles in the fridge, the limoncello in the freezer, the leftover vodka from making the vermouth, or my eye-dropper bottles of absinthe, maraschino, etc.

Great to know! Then I won't be afraid to ship whatever I can't fit in my suitcase from Anchor & St. George (we'll be visiting San Francisco next month).

Thanks, bmdaniel. I admit that I'm a bit leary of running afoul of the TABC's rules against shipping liquor to Texas, but you're probably right that it would work out fine. I think I'll just keep up my vigil at Smith Street till it gets here. It sounds like from eas' post that it won't be much longer.

Bobby Heugel (of Anvil in Houston) has some pointers on tequila here (near the end of the article). I haven't tried the Siembra Azul Blanco (his recommendation), but it's on my list. I've seen it on the shelf at Spec's on Smith St. for about $36.

If anyone hears anything about availability in Texas, please post...

Thanks, Katie! My wife and I will enjoy these this weekend!

Hi Katie, Speaking of proportions, I was looking at the online beverage menu for Oyster House, and I was especially intrigued by two of the drinks listed there: I hope it isn't inappropriate for me to ask this here, but would you mind sharing the proportions of those drinks? They sound great, and I'd love to try recreating them at home.

My cocktail of the evening was the Ideal: 1 1/2 oz Aviation gin 3/4 oz Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth 1 tsp Maraschino liqueur 1 tbsp fresh squeezed grapefruit juice grapefruit peel garnish Quite nice - just bitter, sour, and sweet enough for my liking. I can't remember where I found these proportions, though they're very nearly the same as Harry Craddock's version.

Was it the green or the yellow bottling? I wonder if they exhibit the same effects?