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tanstaafl2

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Everything posted by tanstaafl2

  1. This is both enticing and frustrating at the same time. The kind of thing I would like to get my hands on but one I probably have little chance of getting without a trip to NZ. It does appear that either the bottle didn't quite get a good fill or you have been working Abigail over pretty hard! Would love to see what the liquor and liqueur itself looks like!
  2. Hmm, maybe I can finally use up that bottle of Galliano I have had for more than a decade! My luck it has probably gone bad by now, if such a thing is possible.
  3. Interesting. I acquired a bottle of the Dickel Rye recently and while it wasn't anything extraordinary it was not bad. Typical LDI/MGP rye that was perhaps a bit sweeter and maybe with a hint less of the typical LDI minty/dill sort of taste. Yesterday I was finally able to acquire a couple of bottles of the rereleased Tanqueray Malacca gin. Now I just have to figure out what to try first.
  4. Seems to be split between those who think it is little different from other LDI/MGP ryes and those that think the filtering changes it, generally for the better. Several local bartenders I have spoken with seem to prefer it for cocktails over the standard unfiltered LDI/MGP ryes.
  5. Looking for a cocktail or two to use as an introductory cocktail to novices 9primarily women) who haven't been much into cocktails in the past beyond the sweet fruity vodka types and are not generally fans of spirits neat. Can use any base spirit but brown spirits preferred if possible. Probably needs to be on the sweeter side. My inclination in this kind of situation is to reach for rum first but something using bourbon would be good as well. Looking for a "gateway" cocktail! Seems like I have seen this topic at least touched on in the past but not having much look with searching for it. I have a few ideas but any additional suggestions or links appreciated!
  6. Seems pretty likely this is a blend of single malt and grain whiskey like most (but not all) JW offerings. JOHNNIE WALKER® LAUNCHES THE SPICE ROAD™, INSPIRED BY TRAVEL AND MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR TRAVELLERS “To create the intense spicy flavour profile of JOHNNIE WALKER THE SPICE ROAD, we used well-matured single malts and grains, presenting all their fresh vibrant distillery characters, aged in carefully selected, high quality American oak casks; and of course there is a trace of West Coast smoke in the background – revealing the classic JOHNNIE WALKER signature,” commented Master Blender Jim Beveridge.
  7. Ha! You do that too? Ineed I do! Even though the Atlanta area options seem to be broader than PA (I can get most all the things you mentioned locally) there are still things available at TPS that I can't get or at least can't get as easily. But I think the taxes are higher in KY on liquor than Atlanta (which surprised me) so I tend not to buy things I am sure i can get at home. Still, it is worth a trip if I am in the area as far as I am concerned!
  8. Possibly - although the CioCiaro / Torani mix is already 70 proof - by my calculations you'd only need the final mix to contain 5% Everclear to make it up to 78. Never having used Everclear (it's not available here in the UK), I wonder if that would have a worthwhile enough effect? I suppose you don't need much of anything at 190 proof ... Might be worth a try. Perhaps there is an equivalent grain alcohol in the UK. Or a high proof vodka like Balkan at 88% ABV. About the same thing I would think.
  9. Would a bit of Everclear help the CioCiaro/Torani 50/50 mix to make it a bit drier and to push the proof closer to the original Amer Picon (which was 78 proof).?
  10. I know, this is ridiculous. I have enough stuff to open an eGullet speakeasy! ;-) You could open the west coast franchise and I would be happy to open the east coast franchise (well, southeast perhaps)! If I though I could make a living at it I might consider it! Although the hours typically suck so maybe not...
  11. I can confirm that (the far more accessible) Cocchi Americano is an equally inspired pairing. Hopefully that assuages some of those feelings. I've been holding onto that bottle of Ambré since my trip to Paris last spring...I wasn't sure what might prompt me to open it, but when I tasted the gin, I knew I would have to try them together. Where did you acquire the Tanq malacca? I have already asked about it locally but I doubt it will land out here in the hinterlands anytime soon. But stranger things have happened! is there an online shipper source?
  12. Out for dinner last night at the Iberian Pig and tried several house cocktails featuring rye and bourbon. The first was called North Park Square with bourbon, sweet vermouth, honey syrup, black tea bitters with a lemon twist. Tasty, a bit on the dry side with a hint of bitterness perhaps because of the black tea bitters. Next was the house old fashioned with bacon infused rye, maple syrup and angostura bitters. But my favorite, and I admit to having a sweet tooth, was their variation on the Gramercy variation of the Spanish Harlem found in the Kindred Cocktail library. In addition to replacing the vermouth with PX sherry they also replaced the Maraschino liqueur with Averna. 1.5 bourbon, 1 Averna, 0.5 PX sherry (they were using Gonzalez Byass Nectar PX Sherry, very rich and plummy sweet) and angostura bitters garnished with three cherries (which got eaten before I could take a picture!). A most pleasing drink to me!
  13. Made a trip up to Kentucky this weekend for an event and so I made a pilgrimage to the Party Source while in the area. Also popped into a few other stores along the way. Never know what you might find! I had reserved a bottle of Barry Crocket Legacy Irish Whiskey at the Party Source just to be sure it would be there. Spendy but I decided I needed a present! Also picked up a variety of whiskies there and at other spots along the way to include: Glendronach 15yo Revival - hadn't seen it locally and wanted to give it a try to broaden my scotch appreciation. CEHT Warehouse C Tornado Survivor bourbon - getting scare and they aren't going to be making more so I picked up another bottle just for fun. Lot 40 Canadian Whisky - A surprise find and an impulse buy. Just named Canadian whisky of the year on Whiskey Advocate so I decided what the heck! Willet 8yo barrel strength bourbon - Willet is always a crap shoot but they had an open bottle to taste and i thought it was good. Hard to go wrong with 8yo cask strength bourbon from a major distiller even if you don't know which distiller it was. Heaven Hill or maybe LDI/MGP I suspect but don't know for sure. George Dickel rye - another LDI/MGP product that has been given the Tennessee whisky treatment with maple charcoal filtering but a good price at under $20 and a few bartenders have said good things about it. Abraham Bowman port finished bourbon - the pleasant surprise find of the trip as it is a new limited edition bottling. So I got 2! Greenore 15yo - Another impulse buy to add to the Irish collection. Don't typically see it locally. Old Portero - like the Greenore it was an impulse buy because I rarely see it in my area. Also a few odds and ends that caught my eye. Bittermen's Amere Sauvage, Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao and El Massaya Arak (another impulse buy) I really need to improve my impulse control...
  14. There is a difference between flavored whiskey, which is usually lower grade whiskey anyway and probably needs to be flavored, and finished whiskey, which is a whiskey that may have been finished in a port, cognac or wine cask or perhaps a different barrel wood than the charred oak barrels straight American whiskey start in. Some would say that Tennessee whiskey like Jack Daniels and Geo. Dickel are "flavored" whiskey because of the charcoal maple filtering that they go through. Finishing is a pretty common practice in Irish and Scotch whiskies and recent examples in American whiskey that include the Parker Heritage Collection cognac finished bourbon, Angel's Envy port finished bourbon or Bowman port finished bourbon are all excellent examples. But flavored stuff is what the "unwashed masses" seem to want (they sell well) and the notion the liquer companies aren't going to provide it, and try to make money in the process, is just wishful thinking. Some honey flavored American whiskey liqueurs (Wild Turkey I think?) have already been around for quite a while.
  15. Yeah, they have been doing that for some time now. Been doing it with vodka and to a lesser degree gin for years so I guess now that the bad ol' days for brown spirits, especially bourbon and rye whiskey, seem to be behind us for the moment it is their turn as well. Which is a bit ironic since the white dogs by definition aren't brown...
  16. White dog and white whiskey does seem to be hot. Perhaps an attempt to cut into the vodka market? Of course white dog is also common among smaller "craft" distilleries" to try to make some money until aged spirits mature. But now more of the big boys seem to be jumping in with both feet. I just got a bottle of the new Jack Daniels Unaged "Tennessee" Rye. I was fully prepared to dislike it but rather enjoyed it as a sipper more than the few other White Dogs I have tried. It is a 70% rye, 18% corn, 12% malted barley mashbill and must of it will go into making a true aged JD "Tennessee" rye whiskey. I do dislike one thing though. The price is a remarkably high $50 for a bottle this not only is it unaged but it is cut to 40% ABV . But I sucked it up and bought one and Jack Daniels mania will no doubt make it successful. This is unlike Dickel who is charcoal mellowing an aged rye sourced from MGPI in Indiana (which is the same source as the rye found in Templeton and Bulleit for example). I have not yet bought the Dickel but a few people I know who have tried it seem to really like it especially as a mixer. The charcoal filtering seems to make a difference in the taste. Next to come is "Jacob's Ghost", a white spirit from Jim Beam that is aged for a year but has been filtered to be a white spirit. Kinda odd so for the moment I don't plan to pursue that one. Anyway, back to the JD. Its taste is a little sweet with a strong rye/sourdough bready component and a bit of maltiness to me. Quite sippable if you can choke back the price.
  17. Anybody ever tried crossing Batavia Arrack with S&C plus other assorted ingredients? Seems like that would be a better representative for a drink called "Both Indies". Of course it also sounds a bit like Banks 5 Island rum...
  18. Thanks for reminding me about the okolehao. I have a bottle of the liqueur that I use in tiki drinks, including one that I think is in Remixed - the Polynesian Paralysis. It's really flavorful/funk. I don't remember a coconut taste though, I will have to check. I will be curious to hear what you think. It would certainly work in tiki-dom. But it is quite sweet and if not coconut then some sort of tropical fruit taste. But I definitely thought the new Okolehao 100 proof spirit to be a superior concoction although I can only presume it is much closer to the what the true okolehao would have tasted like.
  19. Do you get a bit of cocoa, as well? As a former brewer, Todd knows his malts. He said he only uses about a handful of chocolate malt in each batch of rye, but its presence is an intriguing foil for the berry fruit (apparently the result of esters that come from the secondary bacterial fermentation). When I first tasted the Banks 7, my initial thought was that they'd taken the 5 and aged it. It had all of the characteristics I associate with the 5, but mellowed a touch and rounded by age. Clearly that's not what they've done here, but I think it's still a way to think about it if you've had the 5 and are wondering if you'd like the 7. Didn't really pick up a chocolate malt undertone but the raspberry jam taste Todd noted as being from those esters is very noticeable even to my palate. I think your description of the Banks 7 is a good one. All it really needs is more proof.
  20. I have only tried a small sample of it so far. I think of the Banks 5 as a mixing rum and not really a rum to drink neat. The Banks 7 has that same smokey vegetal quality imparted by the Arrack but it has been smoothed out a bit in this rum. Don't know if there is less due to the increased number of rums in the blend or if some older and sweeter rums help to smooth it out a bit. Reminds even more of a nice rhum agricole with a hint of smokiness in the background. I would still likely use this for mixing rather than drinking on its own but if you like the 5 then I suspect you will like the 7 as well.
  21. A few odds and ends over the past several days. First time i have seen Kummel in the area that I can remember. I think I will try a "Stomach Reviver" first. 1 Cognac 1 Kummel 0.75 Fernet Branca 5 dashes of Angostura Instructions suggest shaking with ice but seems like it could be stirred. Either way it should prove interesting... The Banks 7 Golden rum is the relatively new companion to the Banks 5 Island rum. Also picked up Oronoco rum which is from Brasil, Leopold Brothers Maryland Style Rye (which is an interesting tasting rye on the sweeter side with a nice raspberry jam kind of undertone) and Kilchoman Machir Bay whisky which is the young Islay distillery's first ongoing release. It just recently made it to Georgia. Got the 100 proof "Hawaiian Moonshine", known locally as "Okolehao" (which means iron bottom, or more precisely bottom iron, to describe the rounded bottom iron three legged pot first used to distill the spirit in the 1790's), and the Okolehao liqueur on my recent trip to Hawaii. The liqueur is very sweet and tastes like a coconut rum (both are cane sugar based products) but the 100 proof Okolehao spirit is quite interesting. It is flavored with the root of the Ti plant and tastes a bit like a sweet tequila with an interesting vegetal component. Quite good on its own as well as a mixer. But not readily available outside of Hawaii that I know of except online (the liqueur may be in a few places in California). The tiki possibilities seemed immediately obvious! A bartender acquaintance quickly came up with a delightful cocktail which we named "Bottoms Up". 1.5 Okolehao 0.5 St Germaine 0.5 pomegranite juice Stir with ice and then pour over fresh ice. Top with ginger beer (about 3-4 oz) and then squeeze a lime wedge in the drink and drop the wedge in. We also made a Doctor Cocktail subbing the Okolehao for rum which became a Kauka Cocktail.
  22. Not a huge difference as far as I can tell. The Clément Créole Shrubb is rum-based and therefore it makes sense to use it in rum cocktails. I prefer it to Cointreau in Mai Tais for example, although the difference is quite subtle. Grand Marnier being cognac-based is not very versatile in cocktails in general and I hardly ever use it (for Crêpes Suzette maybe). There is an extensive review of orange liqueurs on the Oh Gosh! blog that I found very informative. Thanks. I quite like Clement Creole Shrubb myself but haven't done anywhere near the amount of cocktail experimenting you have! I have been through the Oh Gosh! orange liqueur threads before but was just curious on your thoughts given you have seem to be playing with different types almost everyday. I need to try to do more. I don't have as many different options as on the Oh Gosh! site but I have managed to end up with 8-10 different orange liqueurs that deserve more regular use.
  23. Do you find any difference in a drink with Creole Shrub as compared to using Curacao? Seems like the shrub would bring something slightly different the way the brandy based Grand Marnier is a little different from Cointreau/Curacao.
  24. A recipe I like where I use it is the El Presidente from David Wondrich in the Sep/Oct 2011 Imbibe magazine although it doesn't use much. I just picked up a bottle of Oronoco rum which would probably work well in this drink! El Presidente This classic rum cocktail is refreshing and full of flavor. Be sure to use real grenadine for the best-tasting results. 1½ oz. rich white rum 1½ oz. Dolin Vermouth Blanc (Martini & Rossi or Cinzano Bianco are fine substitutes) 1 barspoon orange Curaçao or Grand Marnier ½ barspoon real grenadine Thinly cut orange peel Cracked ice Tools: barspoon, mixing glass, strainer Glass: cocktail Garnish: maraschino cherry (optional) Stir ingredients well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled glass. Twist a swatch of thinly cut orange peel over the top and drop in or discard as you prefer. Garnish, if desired, with a cherry. Leon's in Decatur had another version of the El Presidente that I liked and where I think this curacao would work well but I don't have the full recipe. It included Scarlet Ibis rum, Punt e Mes, Curacao (their house version but I think the Ferrand would be good too), grenadine and orange bitters.
  25. That does sound tasty! May have to try that one this weekend.
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