JMForester

"add glass marbles to your container to displace what was poured out. I guess some winemakers do this with experimental ferments when there is no stock to top it up with, and they don't want to/can't put down a gas blanket into a large void." I usually use a spritz of gas, but if you don't have a smaller container to decant into, something like glass marbles could work well. Just have to make sure they are inert, and sterile.

The past year or so I've been putting modern highballs on the cocktail menus at several bars I work with. I start with a flavor base, what would usually be considered the modifier, usually a liqueur, amaro, digestif, house fruit or veggie syrup etc., add a base spirit that matches well, some citrus juice, bitters, simple or other syrup as needed, and top off with 4 oz. seltzer. The permutations are endless. Dan, the Fee bitters are a little bit like nocino, but with more of a black walnut meat and shell. Nice, but more "woody" and not as broad and complex a flavor range as nocino.

Extracts aren't usually used directly in cocktails, they can be too concentrated to use easily. But there is a long history of them being used to make syrups for cocktails; especially in the Tiki world. Vanilla syrup, lemon extract used with juice and zest in lemon syrup, almond extract in orgeat, allspice, cinnamon, etc. I use extracts all the time to round out my cocktail syrups. Their use can add consistency to homemade and commercial syrups. I make an instant orgeat using almond milk, almond extract (preferably bitter almond) orange blossom water, and sugar. Takes only a minute to make and is great. I also make my own high strength extracts and tinctures. Distilled as oils, hydrosols, etc., or infused, that I use to examine botanicals flavor profile. I have over 250 of these botanical tinctures, etc. so far.

I've never liked the boiled ginger "tea" recipes. I juice ginger in a juicer and then make simple syrup. 1:1 ginger juice to syrup by volume, bring to 165-175F. Very concentrated flavor, and it doesn't get a cooked/boiled taste, but still bright and fresh.

I'm fond of a Manhattan variation I came up with last year. Eastchester 2 oz. Rittenhouse Rye 100 proof 3/4 oz. Ramazzotti Amaro 2 squirts Dutch's Colonial Bitters stirred over ice garnished with flamed Orange zest