ChrisTaylor

Cinder. Mostly equal parts, this one. Jalapeno-infused silver tequila, reposado tequila, lime and simple. A smaller quantity of mezcal. A couple dashes of Angostura. The glass is rimmed with smoked salt. I normally dislike salty drinks/salt rims/etc but, seeing as I'm the bartender, I went easy on the salt. This is pretty good.

A gin and tonic following an article someone on my Facebook feed linked to. 30mL Gin Mare to 60mL Cascade tonic water. Garnished with the suggested mango peel and black pepper. It's good. Best gin and tonic ever? Eh. It's a gin and tonic. It's, more than maybe anything, a drink of personal preferences re: the garnish, choice of gin and gin-to-tonic ratio.

Gin Mare, Espolon blanco and Go-Shu's junmai sake.

I just made a small batch of Death & Co's jalapeno-infused silver tequila. I can't get the specified tequila locally so I went for the affordable-but-acceptable Espolon instead.

It's basically a weed. It should be easy to grow. In my experience--similar to yours--I found location was everything. For instance, parsley kept dying on me ... then I found the right spot and it went nuts. Same with mint. Same with coriander. All three I've grown from 'seedlings'. You want a lot of light but not too much: morning light in preference to the harsh afternoon heat. The leaves can be fragile. A lot of water. Rich soil. Once it gets going you'll need to keep an eye on it. It can die quickly and will go to seed before you know it. It also seems a bit more fragile than parsley which, once established, withstands even the most brutal of haircuts. I recommend planting it in several locations in the garden..

It's been a while. Hakushika Namachozo. Dig the frosted bottle, hepcats. Normally not an encouraging sign. Reminds me of a shower screen. Anyway. Nice balance of fruityness--stone fruit--and savouriness. The creaminess and sweet/sour balance of lemon curd, the sweeter kind, on the tail. Then, somehow, the finish goes all dry to remind you that this sake packs a punch.

Tried a couple of darker beers recently. The one I'm working away at as I type this is Asahi's entry into the fray: Dry Black. It is black yet the flavour profile is basically a much maltier Asahi Super Dry. Despite the colour you don't get clobbered with the usual chocolate/coffee/dark flavours. It's alright.

I assume people are aware of this but on eBay one can find--assuming one isn't American--refurbished Thermapen thermometers. They discount, in AUD at least, is significant. By all accounts the refurbished ones are fine. I picked up one (with free shipping from the UK) for ~$66AUD. A new thermometer, prior to shipping, would cost $96AUD. As for the American bit, for some reason most (possibly all) sellers refuse to ship Stateside. I don't know if that means eBayUSA has discounted and refurbished Thermapens of their own, tho', or if you can find a workaround (i.e. Australian consumers purchasing 'region-locked' products from the States are able to have products shipped to companies that then forward them on to Australia).

Havana Club 3-powered Daiquiri. 2:1:0.75. A dash of Scrappy's lime bitters floated on top.

A local that I stumbled upon for the first time today: The Duck's Australian Pale Ale. For foreigners, this is a nod to the Australian expression 'the duck's nuts'. The expression is applied to something that is very good. For example: The Duck's Australian Pale Ale is not the duck's nuts. It's not bad but it's just another fruity, hoppy 'summer' ale. Bit of yeastiness to it. Matilda Bay can turn out some pleasant beers. This is one of their least compelling.

Slightly off topic, but after the dry 'brine' what temperature do you roast it at?

Couldn't you just throw cans of condensed milk into a water bath to make dulce de leche? That's how I'd make it at home if I ever wanted it and I suspect a lot of commercial users would do the same.

This. This. This. This. Sorry but, ja, Springbank. I've only had a small number of the large range but heartily recommend the cask-strength, twelve-year-old expression. I've also had a Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling--'Cowboy's Delight' at, I think, fifteen years of age--that was just incredible. They also put out whisky under the name Longrow. I tasted the entry-level Longrow recently and was very impressed. I've seen a sampler pack that bundles together the entry-level expressions of Longrow, Springbank and Hazelburn. If you can find that, it might be worthwhile. I've never had Hazelburn of any age but I'd happily blind buy a bottle based purely on my fondness for the Springbank expressions I've tried. Islay-wise, I assume you've ticked off most of the big names: Laphroaig (in its ten-year-old and 'quarter cask' variants, at least), Lagavulin (sixteen-year-old--haven't tried the younger expression yet) and Ardbeg. I like Ardbeg Uigeadail. The ten-year-old standard is good, too. Can't say I've tried many of the special bottlings. I really, really, really like Bruichladdich's work. The ten-year-old 'Laddie' is nice. I'm fond, too, of the very young 'Octomore'. At least the one I have (a limited run every year or so). I wasn't blown away by the Coal Ila I've tried but it was just an independent bottling, slightly younger than Coal Ila's own brand entry-level offering. I can tell you that exist but cannot recommend them based on a lack of experience. Same applies to Bowmore. I wasn't impressed by some well-aged Bunnahabhain I tried. Just didn't do it for me, much to the horror of the gentleman trying to sell me a (ridiculously well-priced) bottle. Still on the Islands (but beyond Islay), I like Talisker's Distiller's Bullshit Edition. I used to love the ten-year-old standard but have heard its gone down hill. If you can pick up a bottling from a few years ago, though--a dusty bottle on a shelf in some crappy little store--go right ahead. Lowlands ... hmm ... Auchentoshan's Valinch is okay. I've had the bottle on the go for a while now and doubt I'll buy another, though, unless I happen to stumble across a reasonably-priced Triple Wood. I know I've seen a sampler pack that contains minis of three or four of their expressions, including the classic, Valinch and the Triple Wood. Rather than blindly purchasing a 700mL bottle, that might be the way to go. Particularly if, like me, you're happy to try lots of stuff. Ralfy (ralfystuff/YouTube) rates Bladnoch very highly but I've yet to remember the name of this 'still when I've been at a whisky bar or anywhere else likely to serve it. Oh well. Glenkinchie's entry-level offering didn't hugely impress me. Other malts from here and there? Aberlour a'Bunadh is good. At least the two or three batches I've sampled were good. Different, tho'. haresfur and I once did a side-by-side comparison of the bottle he owned (batch 30something) and the bottle I owned (28?) and found them clearly distinct. Both nice. Glenlivet's entry-level bottling doesn't do much for me but their Nadurra (a short-run special? a new permanent fixture? no idea) is pleasant. Glenfarclas' aged variants--the 15, 21 and 25--are nice. Not a fan of 8 or 105. Want, badly, to try the 30 and 40. For whisky that's older than me--just--the 30 isn't crazy expensive. So far as old whiskies go. One cheapie worth snapping up if you see it is Dalwhinnie. It's hard not to like the standard bottling. Granted, I say 'standard' but I don't even know if there are other bottlings. Most Dalwhinnie winds up in blends. I might also steer you in the direction of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottlings. Yeah, membership is a bit expensive (at least if you're only buying a bottle or two and live, like me, a helluva long way away from their members-only bars) but you'll find the odd bar that sells their whiskies by the glass to the masses. Melbourne's Whisky and Alement, for instance, sells all of the current malts--plus a few from earlier in the year--by the glass. It's a bit of a trap, though. I've not had a bad one yet. And then, when I go to the SMWS site and see that the 'nice glass of whisky' was poured from a $400 bottle, I'm glad it was nice. These malts offer something I've yet to find in even very good whiskies elsewhere. I mean, going to any of Springbank's standard offerings--as lovely as they are--is a helluva step down after your introduction to the 'still was a SMWS bottling.

Fernet sling, subbing in D&C's house vermouth (1:1 Dolin:Punt) for Carpano. 'Cos I ain't paying $65 for a bottle of vermouth. Interesting observation about the weird soda flavour from a weird country in the comment. Makes me wish this came in cans.

Speaking of Plantation rums (cheap--ha-$80-110/bottle for the majority of the range in Australia!), I've tried a few of the ones I purchased recently (a six-bottle sampler). Some early thoughts: Guatamala: Er, this is interesting. A confrontational rum. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first sip but ... I think I need to revisit this one to understand it.White Rum: big molasses for a white rum. A bit funky without being overpowering. Despite the low (~40%) APV it stood up in a Daiquiri in an interesting way, altho' that's not something I'd repeat. One of the few whites I've had that I'd enjoy neat.Jamaica. Unmistakable sugar cane flavour.20th Anniversary: Holy shit. BIG. Makes one of my current loves, Dictador 12, seem restrained. Will probably pick this up in its 700mL form at some point.

+1 on the immersion blender/jug combo. Throw jug in sink. Drop the blade attachment in the sink. Damn close to zero effort, even if you're hand-washing. My immersion blender--and it's not a particularly flash one--seems to handle everything I throw at it without fuss. If you want to be really fancy you could throw a fine strainer into the mix. Tip the contents of the jug into your serving vessel via a strainer.

An Australian sake. The label bangs on about Go-Shu being Australia's best sake. Go-Shu make two sakes. So far as I know--and perhaps I'm wrong--no one else makes sake in Australia. This has a restrained ... sake aroma. Balanced palate. Sorta fresh. Sorta creamy. Sorta umami. Unremarkable while still vaguely pleasant. My vague recollection of the classic--the plain old junmai, as opposed to the junmai ginjo--is of something a bit more interesting.

A Flor de Cana-powered Mojito.

Pearls Before Swine. I don't make or drink eggy drinks so I guess this is the only fizz/flip in my near future. The book calls for Martin Miller's Westbourne-Strength. The only gins I have on hand, bar genever, are Tanq and Col. Hawthorne's very malty and Very GoodTM gin. Tanq it is then. Everything else as prescribed. It's not my kind of drink--it's probably not something I'd make again any time soon--but it's pleasant enough. Like some long lost ice cream flavour reimagined as a cocktail.

I have mixed opinions on their Manhattan formula. I like it but I can see why my partner finds it too boozy. When batching some for company I wouldn't consider to be particularly polite I returned to the 2:1 ratio I previously used. Altho' I did retain the Punt e Mes/Dolin blend. I mean, a D&C Manhattan ... it tastes like two would be enough to knock a horse on its arse. Which works for me but doesn't necessarily work for friends that aren't regular partakers in brown liquids. Still, I guess it's one of those G&T/Martini/Negroni ratio things--within certain bounds, it's 'right' if it works for you. EDIT On a side note, one of the flip and fizz recipes sees Greek yoghurt replace the egg. Is that something that'd work more ... widely? Has anyone tried it?

I think that eight episodes works better than sixteen. I thought the 'half seasons' that Sean Brock, April Bloomfield and Edward Lee got were more focused than Chang's. The Chang season seemed to revisit the same ground a lot. And this coming from someone that has really enjoyed everything the show's had to offer so far. Not knowing any of these people in person, I have no idea if the show reflects their ... characters but I think that the show has done a really good job of exploring and differentiating their personalities.

Purchasing a little atomizer and loading it up with Herbsaint put me in the mood for Sazeracs. I made D&C's take on the classic Sazerac, using a 1.5 to 5 combo of rye and cognac, and now I'm onto an Alembic. I used Bols Oude in place of the Anchor. Both are nice drinks. And, on a side note, the atomizer is a much better way of rinsing a glass than the standard setup of pouring a small quantity of booze directly into the glass. I find the viscosity of Herbsaint means that it's very easy for too much of the stuff to adhere to my preferred Sazerac glass. Dig me learning something everyone else in the booze-mixing world learned a hundred years ago.

North Garden. Old-Fashioned variation based on Laird's apple brandy, Buffalo Trace (I used Eagle Rare) and Laphroaig 10 (Quarter Cask). Angostura bitters. Dem syrup. Lovely.

Manhattan following the Death & Co rules: Dolin rouge, Punt e Mes, Angostura and Ritt 100. I like it. I like it enough that this is the Manhattan I'll be batching on Saturday for a small-ish gathering.

The rum was an impulse purchase.