Ritty

Am I the only one who feels compelled to make a special cocktail for The Ides of March? Ides of March in Latin is Idus Martii, so I decided that I should make an Idus Martini: 3oz London gin 1oz Aperol (an bitter Italian aperitivo) 1oz Cocchi Americano (my favorite Italian vermouth) a drop of Nelson's blood (aka English rum named after Lord Horatio Nelson) It is a very good Martian red variation on The Classic.

Does anyone know when orange bitters were largely dropped from the martini? I'm trying to do a timeline of this iconic cocktail and haven't nailed it down.

Thanks for the recommendations! I bought a bottle of Ricard a couple years ago and have only used a fifth of it because most cocktail recipes call for so little. I'm thinking that when dealing with dashes, they will all be about the same. Eventualy I will chase the green ferry, but I might try Henri Baruoin or La Muse Verte first, if I can find them.

This oldish post caught my eye, but none of the responses discuss the differece in taste and use of pastis vs absinthe. I'm loathe to spring for a bottle of absinthe to make a cocktail that calls for it, unless the drink would be much better with the real McCoy. What do other people think?

I made a Brooklyn, substituting Averna for Amer Picon, because in the backwaters aka The United States, one has to make due with what's available. Here's the Recipe: 1 1/2 oz Rye 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth 1/4 oz Averna 1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur I loved it. I'd like to try one made properly just to see if it stands up to this variation.

I'm hosting a history of the Martini party, in which I will make precursers to the martini, such as manhattans and martinez as well as the various interpretations of this iconic cocktail since the turn of the previous century. Even if people have samples, rather than full drinks, it will turn out to be an awful lot of alcohol to have without food. I'm hoping forum members can give historically acurate sugestions of what could be served.

Adding some form of bittering agent to to classify them being branded as bitters would be a good start... I keep tinctures of gentian, calamus, and wormwood handy just for this reason. There are many times when the only thing lacking in a drink is a bit of bitter, which is easily added. Granted in a bottle of "bitters" it would be better blended from the start.

Thanks for directing me here. I've read about a quarter of the posts, but hadn't seen this one. Before I look too carefully at your notes, I'm going to sample my tinctures, so as to not be influenced when I try describing some of the same things. Even though it may produce an inferior product, I'm planning on mixing separate tinctures, until I think I have a combination that works. Then I'll macerating several items at once, when I'm done experimenting.

Ha! I picked up something new to me too. It's called Underberg. On the label, it says it's not a beverage. It has something in common with Fernet Branca.

I'd like to get this discussion back on bitters. I've started to infusing my own, but am taken aback by the huge number of bittering agents. As an experiment I infused about a dozen separately, to try to get an idea of their flavor profile, but still it's hard to get an idea what I should put together and in what proportions, to create a unique and well balanced bitter. As a recovering home brewer, I know that hops added at the end of the boil will impart a nonbitter flavor and flowery nose, from volatile oils, I'm assuming steeping times might be different depending what one is after. Maybe I should have a greater proportion of leafy things in my herbaceous catnip bitters, and rooty things to go with something like dandelion & burdock. Aside from endless experimentation, can anyone offer me a bit of advice?

The list for me is more about the cocktails that I couldn't do without. Martini- needs Plymouth or Martin Miller gin Daiquiri, Mojito, Caipirinha- one dark and one light rum or cachaça, maybe Batavia Arak(I'm afraid I mix these up a bit) Manhatan and Mint Julip- Bourbon Fanciulli ( basicly a Manhatan with a substitute) Fernet Branca Corpse Reviver #2- Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, and pastis or absinthe, Bloody Mary- Vodka(infused with cucumbers) El Floridita- maraschino liqueur I didn't add bitters or vermouth because they're in my pantry for cooking, anyway. The list would allow me to make many other of my favorite cocktails. A bottle of creme de violette could be split between 10 people for each to make a years supply of Blue Moons, hardly worth counting for these purposes. Calvados is a must have for sipping, but I don't use it for cocktails, so we won't count that either.

I'm inocent! I really didn't think you'd share with me, but am rather interested in having others get a better grasp of the formulations of defunct bitters. The more people who try them, the greater understanding we might get of their composition.

I'm not surprised that it's turning out well; sounds like a good concoction. Concider picking up a bottle of Sailor Jerry as it's much better than Captain Morgan. Kraken is a dark spiced rum, which has recently shown up in our liquor stores, and I'll try it when the Sailor Jerry gets low.

How on earth do you find all these rare bottles of bitters? Geez don't you get a lot of people who want you to share, for the good of The Cause.