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I have some serious envy issues when I look at your posts about what you've bought at the liquor store! I have been doing more than my share of schmoozing of late to try to be on the top of the list for the "good stuff". Payed off again today!

Nope! I guess I am more fortunate than I know since I don't have to be envious. Despite the occasional item that I can't readily get here I only have to go as far as my basement to locate Apry, Ramazotti or Averna. Not to mention the Regan's and Angostura orange bitters. I am a bit envious though that I don't have a few cocktail enthusiast friends around this evening to share a novel cocktail or three with...

Last night I decided to try a Holland House Cocktail. Seems to be a bit of variation out there for the recipe but I was specifically looking to use the Bols genever and so I decided to go with the recipe on the from the Savoy Stomp website that was associated with the new introduction of Bols genever a few years ago. Pleasant enough drink but not as noteworthy as I was expecting/hoping it would be. Then again the Dolin, while refrigerated and closed as tightly as the screw cap will allow, wasn't fresh. It has probably been open a few weeks and my available vacuvins are all still engaged on other bottles. A little preliminary taste beforehand didn't seem bad but I am no expert! In addition the lemon juice was left over from lemons juiced on Thanksgiving and although it had been sealed up and refrigerated since then perhaps it was past its prime as well. Will have to consider giving this another try when those two ingredients are a little fresher to see if it makes a difference. Or maybe mix things up with Dolin blanc instead of the dry. There also seems to be at least a little similarity to the Aviation/Blue Moon family here so I wonder if a touch of Crème Yvette might help out here? The berry essence might be a nice addition. Maybe back off the vermouth and add a quarter ounce of it? Not sure Crème de Violette would be as useful. In addition to being my first Holland House Cocktail it was also the first frost of the season last night. That may result in the end of the roses in the rose garden for the year. A shame as they have been loving the recent cool but not too cold weather and have been fairly prolific of late!

Argh. I really hate it when I enter a cocktail into my local development server Campari Swizzle entry should be all set. Let me know if there are any corrections. Gotcha on the substitutions, but I it's a very fine cocktail and deserves being made where Vergano Americano isn't available. BA is right, it's quite sweet. I hadn't noticed it before because it has an alum-like astringency, like the tannin in red wine, which hides the sweetness. Who is the importer/distributor for Vergano Americano Chinato? Is it still Louis/Dressner in NY? Can't find any indication of local distributors on the website with an initial glance. My primary store maintains a decent stock of vermouth/fortified wines (Cocchi Americano, Bonal, Cocchi Barolo Chinato, all three Dolin's, Lillet, Carpano, Punt e Mes, M&R Rosato, etc along with all of the usual vermouths) but I haven't seen Vergano Americano to date. Perhaps I can encourage them to see if it is available locally.

I presume this is shaken, strained and served up?

In my ongoing quest to gain a better appreciation of rye in all its manifestations I learned that Woodford Reserve was doing a pairing of rye as part of their Master's Collection for this year. Woodford Reserve Rare Rye Selection Today I was able to pick up one for myself. A bit spendy but the reviews seemed intriguing as I rather enjoy the notion of having the opportunity to try the comparisons between the two versions. Quite interesting how much lighter the aged cask bottling is compared to the Straight Rye Whiskey. It is the same 100% rye formulation aged for essentially the same amount of time (roughly 7 years I think) with the only difference being the barrels. Descriptions suggest that the aged cask version is much more grain forward than the new cask version which takes on much more of its characteristics from the barrel. Little icons on the bottle help to emphasize the point (the barrel is pretty visible in the picture under "Rye" on the left bottle but the stalks of rye shown on the right bottle are not as evident because of the lighter color). These are 375 ml bottles that come in a boxed set. Nice but I would have happily forgone the box for a little more whiskey! Might bring them along to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and give them a try. Whilst at the store I also decided to pick up a bottle of the M&R Rosato to give the recently described Antihero a try. The "Cold Comfort" listed just below it sounded interesting as well! Also thought the drink for thanksgiving described by KC Dan here sounded interesting but couldn't find the Clear Creek Cranberry liqueur. I wonder if Chambord or perhaps Creme Yvette might be a good substitute? Not cranberry of course but I already have both of those so it saves on buying another bottle of something. Might try subbing Calvados as well to give it a French theme. Probably will go the sweet direction. Perhaps the spiced simple syrup I made recently might add something as well?

Felt like something a bit light and simple last night. I enjoy Aperol but it occurred to me I had not tried, as best as I can recall, the Intro to Aperol. So that was my drink for the evening. As delightful as I had expected! Threw in a twist of orange for no particular reason other than it was handy. Not sure what the house gin at The Pegu Club is so I tried one with Plymouth gin and then decided to have another, this time using Aviation gin. Not sure there was a dramatic difference between the two.

The picture of Bonal is there but couldn't find one of the Americano. Might just be me!

No longer at the Oyster House (I think it was) I take it? Are you able to reveal the secret yet? I need to know where to go for a quality cocktail the next time I pass through Philadelphia! Although admittedly I have no idea when that might be yet. Working at a brand spanking new establishment called Tapestry, at 5th & Bainbridge Streets in Philadelphia. It's walking/stumbling distance from my home, and I have the most astonishing back bar I've ever worked with. If and when you make it to Philly I'll be happy to serve you whatever your heart desires but want to be on the same side of the bar with you when I show you all the other great places there are to drink. I will make a note of the new location and look forward to the tour/bar crawl of Philadelphia's finer drinking establishments!

Sounds like a good idea. I wonder if just sealing them in a sandwich bag does much the same thing? I usually do that with my garnish volunteers.

Dredging up an older thread but trying to stay on topic with perhaps a slightly different and perhaps odd question about garnish from someone who is not in the bartending biz but is instead a "professional consumer"! I usually try to add a twist or garnish when called for as I try to improve my knowledge base and experience with making and drinking cocktails. I believe to make them well for others, something I take great pride in at home when making drinks for family and friends, starts with doing them the same way when I make them for myself. But as it is often just me having a drink in the evening I tend to always have at least one sad looking lime, lemon and/or orange in the fridge looking like a junky down on the street corner with all manner of "track marks" from past use as the lone soldier on garnish duty. Obviously I don't keep them once the fruit starts going bad but does it have an adverse impact on my garnish and the citrus oils I am seeking to keep punishing the same poor fruit over and over again? And they last a surprisingly long time! A week or more at least with little or no noticeable impact that I can discern.

No longer at the Oyster House (I think it was) I take it? Are you able to reveal the secret yet? I need to know where to go for a quality cocktail the next time I pass through Philadelphia! Although admittedly I have no idea when that might be yet.

Last night it was a Zephyr (made with Hendricks gin and a cucumber slice as garnish) while out to dinner at Sprig. Nice, light and refreshing. A last taste of summer as the weather gets increasingly more cold than warm. Then it was a return to the Airbag when we got home. I am really liking this particularly drink! Big and bold certainly but always interesting. But I am thinking it might be worth backing off on the mezcal a touch as that is such a dominant flavor and it manages to take the lead along with the powerful allspice which is already at 1/4 oz. Maybe cut them both down to 1/4 oz and seem what impact that has. Might let the Arrack come forward a bit more.

Some pictures of the Ebay glasses I bought recently. I probably overpaid for them but I liked the rose theme (which is probably obvious if you have seen some of my other pics!) so what the heck. A libbey 5.5 oz coupe for comparison. A slightly shorter glass with a much wider bowl that holds about 7 oz when full. Could well be a dessert glass for all I know. They look fairly contemporary to me and I doubt they are crystal. But they have become my go to glasses when friends are over.

I am looking for some coupes to give as a wedding present, elegant ones like the one with the rim on the right of the first picture; know a source? Williams Sonoma has some Riedel glasses with a platinum rim that are quite elegant looking but ridiculously expensive (then again what isn't between Riedel and Williams Sonoma...). Kind of a cross between a coupe and a standard martini glass. At 9 oz capacity they are bit large for typical cocktails though. This comes as a set of four different glasses with the platinum band. Have seen at least one review that claims the rim washes off quite easily so caveat emptor. I don't own them myself. I bought a set of six coupe glasses with an engraved side from Ebay a while back that I like and use regularly. Will try to post a pic later.

Excellent, thanks!

I have never tried to an infusion but I guess it is something I should try to do at least once or twice to see how it goes. I suppose I could try for Thanksgiving! So, would you be willing to share this recipe? And once made it is one you would mix in a cocktail?

I would second that choice. As someone who drinks only an occasional scotch the three "Glens" (Glenmorangie Original, Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12) typically make a good milder intro to single malt and are generally readily available. I keep Glenlivet in the house as it seems the mildest of the three but of the three Glenmorangie might be the most unique and require the most adjustment to a new drinker (With Glenfiddich somewhere in the middle). Glenmorangie is a Highland malt as compared to the other two which are Speyside malts. But since your GF's father is already a blend drinker he might not find it that much of a transition and it may have a tad more character than the other two.

Do you then drop the peel into the drink as well? I did. I got a decent spurt of flame when I pinched it (watched the Jamie Boudreau video again first to be sure!) so I think I was pretty close.

Last night I went with Katie's Old Fashioned #6 except that I subbed the Mole bitters for the Whiskey barrel aged bitters and had it with a single large ice cube. Not sure it needed the ice but it was habit I suppose. Quite a lot going on in a single glass! But well worth having again. Might also try a smidge of orange bitters as the peel didn't seem to add that much orange to the drink (or perhaps I did it wrong). I suppose I should also try it once as written!

Unless you're a completionist, I'm not sure you'd regret skipping the Eagle Rare 17 year. It's typically the least interesting of the batch. I'm absolutely in love with this year's WLW. Probably the best wheated bourbon I've ever tasted, Pappy's included. I look forward to trying the Weller. My favorite of the three Single Oak Project bourbons that I have proved to be a wheated bourbon. Good to know about the Eagle Rare. Having already expressed my interest at the store I will no doubt go ahead and get it this year if the opportunity arises just to try for myself and to follow through with the store so that I keep a place on their list for hard to find items. Still hoping to score some of the Pappy when it becomes available. Being able to try them all this year will also help me narrow my focus for subsequent years. And yes, I admit I am sufficiently OCD to want to "complete the set" at this point!

I saw that! Was just about to settle into an OF #6 as I type. Will keep the idea of ginger on hand for the next time. I think we may have a gold filter somewhere. When we switched to the single serve coffee thingie (Can you tell I don't drink coffee...) it probably got tucked away somewhere.

As I suspected now that the store knows I will come and buy a bottle that I request it was not hard to pry a new bottle away from them to add to my liquor cabinet. And so "Will" joins George, Thomas and "Saz" in the growing Antique Collection family. Now we are just waiting on the arrival of "Eagle", the wayward hippy brother from the the commune.... I am a fan of cream liqueurs so I tend to drink my dessert in the evening. I recently finished off a bottle of Amarula Cream and since I have been enjoying El Dorado rum of late I decided to replace it with a bottle of El Dorado rum cream which I have not had before. I was also given a bottle of Cruzan rum cream recently so I will have to do a little comparing. Still have some Castries as well that needs some attention so it looks like a Caribbean theme for dessert for awhile. I look forward to dessert tonight!

Tonight I finally made time to whip up a batch of Katie's Dessert spiced syrup. The aroma of the spices was quite delightful. Decided to use regular sugar but if I make more I might try using Demerara sugar for added flavor. Final product still had a bit of flotsam and a tad of jetsam floating in it after straining but that no doubt adds to the enjoyment! Had a bit "neat" once it had cooled. I think for me it was a tad to peppery so I may modify the recipe a bit with less black pepper and crushed red pepper (which I hope is more or less the same as red chile flakes). Perhaps the peppery-ness will be a bit muted when used in a drink. It does make quite a lot! May have to try to cut it down a bit next time. Plan to take this batch to Thanksgiving to share with family and friends. Was going to have a rum Old Fashioned with it but by the time it cooled it was getting a bit late. So I will need to try an old fashioned or two for myself in the near future in addition to any other drinks that it might be useful in.

Yep, I noted that link recently as well. That said it never hurts to be able to check for yourself! I tried them both once before at a dinner hosted by Ed Hamilton a few weeks ago but under less than ideal circumstances. And as much as I enjoyed meeting Ed and believe he appeared to be a straight shooter so to speak, he is still the distributor of the new stuff. So it would seem beneficial for him to note that it is still the same good stuff others knew and loved in the old bottling. So anywho, I look forward to sitting down and doing my own head to head comparison! If I can round up a few friends to help me judge so much the better! And I will be happy to share my thoughts afterwards for what ever it is worth.