weinoo

I don't know if an 8 oz. Martini is really the way to go. It'll get you there fast, however. If what you mean by consistency is consistency in measurements, it's why most serious cocktail bars use jiggers. Certainly all the good ones.

Same here.

Fauxssoulet, or cassoulet without sausage, but with Tarbais beans from @rancho_gordo, house-cured duck confit, pork shoulder.

Today's breads...it's nice and cold here! Same dough for the boule and the focaccia. Overnight poolish, 10% whole wheat. 77% hydration. BUT...I started by proofing the boule in a room-temp Dutch oven, into a room-temp oven to bake, after it had proofed for 40 minutes. Baked about 25 minutes after oven reached temp, lid removed and baked for another 20.

Nice plating. Penne with meatballs and sauce. (Yes, penne first tossed with sauce, plated and then a schtickle more sauce, and the balls, over the top). Brussels sprouts with Schaller & Weber double smoked bacon.

Oh, and (somewhat) finally: I hope we can all agree that, in general, the ideal dilution for a cocktail with 3 - 3.5 oz. of liquid falls somewhere in the range of 25% - 30%. That way, it fits nicely into proper (chilled) glassware.

Make sure it's cold enough. I have a question about the "experiments." Talking about cocktails, even if the shaker, jigger, ice, etc. etc. are all as cold as they can be in a home/bar environment, don't they start heating up immediately, when they're brought out of the environment which made them so cold? And (somewhat) finally: I've had cocktails mixed by everyone mentioned in this thread (and then some), and all I can say is that I wouldn't have sent a one of them back for being over diluted, too cold, too warm, whatever. And I can't say that for the thousands hundreds tens of cocktails I've ordered in places where the skill is less than optimum. Or the ice is shitty. There's a reason to order bourbon neat, soda water back.

You bring the ice.

Nothing wrong with good, house-made garlic bread. And how could there possibly be any argument about the above?

How about a Japanese-inspired Martini, by one of my favorites, and easily a top 5 Bartender, Kenta Goto... https://fb.watch/a_cLYSvVya/

I think one thing we can all agree on, is that if @Duvel is going to do these experiments with dilution, it would be good to do a bunch of them on the same day/night. That way, @Duvel, you can get really smashed - just no driving!

What you might want to do is check out Dave's podcast, and simply ask questions of him. Or even via the bird called twitter.

Also, let's not pretend that Don Lee, Dave Arnold, et al., didn't scientifically work on these experiments. What's whittled down in print may be just for ease of comprehension. https://www.cookingissues.com/index.html%3Fp=4585.html

One thing not (not yet, anyway) mentioned here in this thread, is that in the serious cocktail bars, a Martini or a Manhattan (unless they're served along with a sidecar and not the Sidecar cocktail) is generally made to fit quite nicely into a Nick & Nora glass, or a coupe, both of which, in my experience at said bars, had a 5 oz. capacity. These two glasses came respectively from Pegu Club and PDT, most likely. So a cocktail with with 3 - 3.5 oz. of liquid, once it's diluted to 25 - 30%, fits just right.

Especially when the observations are from some of the top cocktail minds in the biz.

As long as you're taking the deep dive, and are really worried about this stuff while drinking straight gin, @Duvel...

Who do you think you are, Dave Arnold? Science of Ice

Cilantro, maybe?

Dave didn't touch on this in that article, but at one time the Martini was built like a Manhattan, at 2:1 (see below for what he has to say about the Martini in his classic book, Esquire Drinks!) I think it has been suggested that dilution of a properly made cocktail comes in at between 25% - 30%.

Here's an interesting web site and chart which show where our electricity comes from... https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3 We have a way to go...

Here's the Doug Baldwin info, which I tend to follow: Turkey, Duck or Goose Leg Confit Duck, Goose or Turkey Legs Rendered Duck or Goose Fat (or Lard) Salt and Pepper Place legs in a 5–10% brine (50–100 grams salt per 1 liter) for three to six hours. The brine may be flavored with sprigs of thyme, bay leaves, garlic, and orange/ lemon slices. After brining, rinse legs and pat dry with paper towels. Season with Kosher/sea salt and coarse ground pepper. Individually vacuum seal the legs with 2–4 tablespoons of rendered fat. Place the vacuum sealed legs in a 176°F (80°C) water bath for 8 to 12 hours. Since some of the liquid in the bag will change phase (to gas), the bag will puff and may float to the surface. To prevent uneven cooking, the bags should be held under water using a wire rack or some other restraint. [After cooking, the legs may be rapidly cooled in ice water (see Table 1.1) and frozen or refrigerated at below 39°F (4°C) indefinitely.] To serve, (reheat and) sear until skin is crispy. May also be served without skin and torn into pieces.

At most, a tablespoon in each bag, but these legs are quite fatty, so I don't think that'll be necessary. I'll probably go 82C for 7 or 8 hours. The long method, as advocated by Serious Eats, is 68C for something like 36 hours, allegedly for the best texture.

Exactly - because what some may forget, is that electricity has to come from somewhere. Wind, fine. Solar, fine. Geothermal, fine. Water, fine. Most of that stuff is available in California, but not necessarily in a lot of other places in this country. At least not consistently.

If you're shopping at the Gowanus Whole Foods, you can't honestly say there aren't children running around in that nuthouse. As well as privileged aholes leaving their carts all over the parking lot.

I don't know how they made it home sometimes in the 50s and 60s. The hawkeye drink isn't a Martini, however. It's an ethanol injection solution - remember, I believe they were making the gin, and they had no vermouth anywhere near the place.