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Have not had the Peppercake bitters so no way I can compare directly but I noted that the aroma of the Bitter Truth Celery bitters seemed to have a lot of ginger to them. They are also described as having a ginger component. Haven't tried them in a drink yet but it might be another option to push up the ginger flavor in a drink if you don't mind the other "vegetal" components that are described as being an aspect of these bitters. I don't really smell a lot of "celery" in it although my sense of smell was never the greatest. Maybe a hint of orange. Then again I don't really recall celery having much aroma to begin with! Taste either for that matter...

Ok, here's my DrinkLab 9 tweak: 3/4 oz Rye (Rittenhouse 100) 3/4 oz Maurin Quina 3/4 oz Campari 1/4+ oz Lemon 1 ds Jerry Thomas' own Decanter Bitters My thinking was that the sloe gin might be fighting with the rye so I looked for something else with a bitter red fruit flavor. The Maurin Quina (to me) tastes of cherry/cranberry/lemon and quinine -- but it's also not the easiest bottle to find. The JT Bitters keep it from being too tart. They're also one of the "bitterest" bitters I know of. I do think the result was pretty nice. Anyone else want to play? Dan OK, so I took a crack at it. I have Plymouth sloe gin but given the mixed reviews by the author, KC Dan, I decided to start with a Paper Plane variation with 1:1:1:1 of Bulleit rye, Nonino, Aperol and lemon. As a small tweak tried the Creole bitters from Bitter Truth. I thought it was an interesting drink and would have it again. Then I decided to make my own Maurin Quina by keeping the Bulleit rye and Aperol but replacing the Nonino with half and half of Bonal and Cherry Heering (no idea if that is even close as I have never had the Maurin) and keeping the JT bitters. Not so sure about this one but might have to try it again just to see! Not as big a fan of Campari generally speaking and the Aperol no doubt makes it sweeter and more orangey. Neither of those was a bad thing to me though! Tomorrow I may try to visit the New Red House and try a version with Campari and one with Aperol. I have the CioCiaro on hand to play with as well but no Gran Classico on hand at the moment.

Found some new friends for the Sazerac rye I picked up recently! Got a call from the store indicating they had a few other bottles from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and would I be interested? Why yes, I believe I would! So the barrel proof Stagg bourbon and Handy rye will now find a place in the liquor cabinet next to the Sazerac rye. Might as well go for all five at this point so I am now in search of the Weller and Eagle Rare. The Weller is out but I don't think the Eagle Rare has been released yet. While I was there I also refreshed my supply of the Espolon reposado and then made a pass by the H&F bottle shop. To my surprise I discovered they had just gotten in several bottles of the original formula of Lemon Hart 151. Was tempted to buy several bottles but limited myself to just one. Now I can do my own comparison between the old and new versions. So if anyone in the Atlanta area is interested in a bottle of the original Lemon Hart I suggest you beat feet down there soon! They still had 2 or 3 bottles on the shelf. Not sure if they have more in inventory and of course they aren't making anymore (I have no affiliation with the shop other than as an occasional customer). Went there originally to see what bitters they had on hand. No Bittermens at present but I did get a "travel pack" from the Bitter Truth which included Celery, Creole, Orange, Aromatic and Jerry Thomas bitters. Was mostly interested in the Celery bitters which it turns out smells more like ginger than celery. The Creole reminds me of Peychauds and the Aromatic and Jerry Thomas smell somewhat similar although the Aromatic is naturally a bit more, well, aromatic... They also had a copy of a new book about Bitters called Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons. Interesting looking but probably already out of date given the rapidly evolving market. A mix of history, descriptions of companies and some drink recipes. Finally on an impulse buy I picked up a four pack of Fentimans Shandy. Rather tasty I must say!

Hmm. We might just need a separate Drinklab 9 thread for this. Can't wait to get started. (And my vote is to stay with Rye as the base and find ingredients that work with it. I'm always looking for a new yummy rye drink) Dan I would be happy to do my part by drinking whatever you come up with and offering an opinion for what ever that's worth! Not sure I have that much to offer in terms of tweaks to the recipe. Don't have Rittenhouse bonded and don't think it is readily available locally but have several other ryes I can try (Sazerac 6yo, Jefferson 10yo and Bulleit in hand). Would also need to track down some grapefruit bitters if that stays in the recipe. Not sure if Bitterman's various bitters are readily available locally but maybe the H&F bottle shop can get them.

Gotten pretty competitive out there in the micro brew world I suppose. And I suspect to make a splash in that competitive world, as the three world weary strippers from Gypsy noted, That youtube link may also be on the edge in an excessively conservative country. Or any place where you value your hearing... Not sure what it is with some Scandinavian folk. You kinda expect over the top "out there-ness" here in the States but they seem to be on the leading edge of "out there-ness" in Europe. Not that there is anything wrong with that as far as I am concerned!

Time to crack open the new bottle of Bols 10 yo Corenwyn! This blend of at least 51% rye, wheat and corn with the taste of an unusual whiskey, and that is certainly what it tastes like as any hint of the juniper that it started with is now so deep in the background as to be unrecognizable at least by my palate, has a delightful nose of vanilla and maybe even a bit of caramel. If I did not know it was in the genever "family" I do not think I would have recognized it as such, much less as a gin. The information I can find suggests tasting it chilled a bit so that was my approach. Vanilla is present on tasting this but the caramel is less present and is replaced with a subtle hint of spiciness on the back end. A tingle on the lips to start but pretty smooth throughout with little burn at the end. Although I must say the flavor did not linger too much at the end. There was also a hint of malty effervescence for lack of a better word. Nowhere near as much as found with the regular Bols Genever but still there all the same. All in all, a nice and rather unique addition to the collection and one to share with friends who appreciate an unusual whiskey.

A drink I like to make at parties than can use the Macadamia liqueur to good effect is a "dessert shooter" I call a "Chocolate Chip Cookie". The Macadamia nut liqueur is one I use as a variation to the original recipe. It began as a tequila based shooter called "Chocology" (From a book called Magarita Rocks by Henry Besant and Andres Masso) but I more typically use vanilla vodka these days. 3.5 oz (100 ml) Añejo tequila (I usually substitute Absolut Vanilla vodka rather than use up a nice tequila) 1.75 oz (50 ml) Frangelico (I often substitute Trader Vic Macadamia nut liqueur to give it a Hawaiian connection) 1.75 oz (50 ml) chocolate liqueur (Usually Godiva chocolate liqueur) 0.5 oz (15 ml) agave syrup (or 1:1 simple will work) Pour all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Single strain into chilled shot glasses. Grate a bit of white and/or dark chocolate on top if you are feeling all Martha Stewart-y (optional, after the second or third of these nobody much notices the garnish...). Makes four shots. Both versions are excellent (at least to me) but the vanilla vodka in place of tequila obviously makes for a different drink. Can be sipped as preferred. Quite nice if you like an occasional party shooter that is a little bit "sophisticated".

Tonight it was the Airbag I found a couple of days ago in the Batavia Arrack thread. 1 El Tosoro Reposado (Used Clas Azul reposado) .5 Batavia Arrack .5 Los Amantes Joven Mezcal (Used Sombra mezcal) .75 Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth .25 All Spice Dram .25 Benedictine Dash or so of Avery's Chocolate Bitters Stir serve up Added an orange twist just to make it "pretty"! Not the easiest of drinks to make but surprisingly tasty and very drinkable considering the recipe. The Pimento Dram does still manage to lead the way here despite being only a small part of the drink and having to hold off some pretty strong competing flavors. One I will have again and make for the more adventurous drinkers amongst my friends!

Say it isn't so! I introduced my daughter and son-in-law to the Corpse Reviver last night and pretty much finished off my Lillet! There is always Cocchi Americano as a substitute if they have that. As noted here some think it may be more like the original Kina Lillet. But I suppose that would be harder than the Lillet Blanc to find. I recently acquired a bottle of the Cocchi and made up a CR2 with both (my Lillet, while closed with a vac u vin, was not as fresh as the Cocchi). Both are good but it does make a difference. Since I tend to prefer less bitter the Lillet may have been a slight favorite but it may not be as close to the intended taste of the original drink.

Have never had Totilla Gold and probably never will (not sure if it is available around here and I pretty much gave up drinking a mixto 30 years ago after college anyway) so I can't say for sure but it seems hard to believe that a mixto colored with caramel is the same or better than a number of 100% agave tequilas that can be found for less than $30. Espolon, especially the reposado, comes to mind immediately. Matter of personal taste I suppose. Might give the Angostura and soda a try just to see how it tastes although I like an occasional pink gin which is more interesting to me. How much do you use? An awful lot of interesting bitters out there these days so whether others have "the same quality" is probably subjective at best.

Not exactly the liquor store but my friend returned from Kenya by way of Amsterdam and brought a new addition to the "family". Bols 10yo Corenwyn joins the growing Genever family! Not really even sure what to expect from it but it should be interesting to find out.

Thanks! If I had to guess I would say it is perhaps Honjozo-shu (本醸造)? Not quite sure what the large character on the left side of the oval label is. The right one appears to be sake. I hate to let anything go to waste so I will give it a try. Will have to see if there is someone around here who knows enough about sake to let me know if it has any value left in drinking or if it needs to find a role in cooking. Although I suppose if I like it as is then it doesn't really matter whether it is still drinkable by anyone else's standard.

Thanks. Hopefully someone will be familiar with it. It definitely doesn't smell funky at all but it has been a while since I have smelled fresh saké to compare. The smell is definitely robust and somewhat earthy but not at all unpleasant. Probably won't drink it given the age and unknown effect on quality it might have.

Your are quite correct! In my haste I spelled it a bit more phonetically than is appropriate. Can't fix it now though. Although perhaps saké is better still. Or perhaps 酒 is even better! That appears to be the same as one of the Kanji script found in several places on the bottles label. Of course in Japan I suppose it would be Nihonshu or 日本酒 if Wiki is to be believed.

Digging through cabinets yesterday when I came across this bottle. It has probably been in there since about 2004. I received this from a Japanese acquaintance while traveling in Japan in November 2003. I doubt it was anything fancy but I can no longer recall any details about it at all. Can anybody give me any info about the brand and type of Saki? It has been in a cabinet (so not exposed to light) and fairly tightly sealed with a metal screw top but it has not been specifically temperature controlled, just the normal fluctuations in a house. Might have gotten a bit warm in the summer if we were gone for a week or two. What is the shelf life of Saki anyway? It seems to smell OK, in as much as it smells like Saki to me. Doesn't seem like a vinegar or bad wine smell anyway. Any insights appreciated!

bubble gum eau-de-vie. i've found the only way to enjoy peach brandy is in a high acid cocktail. the acidity will help define the flavor and eradicate all negative connotations. somewhere way up thread i have a few recipes for it. i've been experiencing a similar phenomenon with white dogs made from certain grains. white wheat also ends up smelling like bubble gum and it is hard to enjoy in sweet leaning cocktails like an old fashioned or manhattan. in tart cocktails where you create intense tension between the aroma and acidity white wheat is quite lovely. I think that was the intent of the Kuchan Peach to get away for the bublegummy nature. They succeeded. The oak aging gave it much more of a young whiskey quality with only minimal sweetness at best to me and the peach is definitely in the background. It is no doubt exactly what it was intended to be and may prove a great mixer. Just wasn't quite what I had expected. I will have to give it another try or two and perhaps share with others who may have a little more refinement to their palate than I to see if I am missing the boat. I often do!

It is new to the market around but the one I have seen in local stores is called "The Original Mamajuana". It is different from the Hipaniola Mamajuana original as best I can tell. Not such an original names but Ms. Mamajuana herself (the woman pictured on the bottle and website) came to the area to promote it. I was told she was quite an effective salesperson... Another one I have heard about is called Kalembú Mamajuana. They all seem to tout themselves as an aphrodisiac and even "liquid viagra". You drink enough of it and I suspect it has the opposite effect.

Hmm, prune juice might be stretching it a bit...

I will try to play with the drink a bit and see what I come up with. Not familiar with the King's Ginger. Website seems to be of decidedly limited help. A good bit about randy old King Edward VII (He was certainly Flashie's kind of guy!) but not much about the liqueur itself. Seems to be limited to the UK for the most part.

I noticied your recipe on the KC website was still the same as posted earlier in this thread. Did you ever try this again and come to a final conclusion on the appropriate balance? I was thinking of trying the increased Canton and Lime (Lemon? It say Lime on the KC website and above) that you note here but stay with 1.5 of the Arrack and leaving the Cynar at 0.5. A bigish drink perhaps but sounds tempting.

With a touch of fall in the air I felt like making it a fruit brandy night last night so ended up sampling the Kuchan Peach oak aged brandy or Eaux-de-Vie and the Laird's 12yo apple brandy. Started with the Kuchan Peach. Perhaps I had raised my expectations above a level this could achieve but was a bit disappointed. The bottle suggests chilling it a bit before serving so I gave it some time in the fridge before drinking rather than drinking it at room temp and warming it a bit with my hands as I might do with regular brandy. Certainly didn't expect it to be peach kool-aid but it was a little less "peachy" than I expected given the 20+ pounds of peaches per half bottle. Also at 80 proof it had a little more burn than expected given it was aged a bit. I will give it a few more tries but it may prove to be more of a mixer than something I will routinely drink neat. At 12 years old I would have expected the Laird's apple brandy to be a bit smoother even at 88 proof and indeed it was. I also chilled it a bit to make the comparison with the Kuchan more consistent. Even so it would be reasonable to expect it to be a comparison of apples and oranges/peaches given that it has spent a much longer time in the barrel and that was the case. A much more pleasant drink after dinner to be sure. The apple flavor is light but present while more vanilla flavor is present. It will warm you right up but it is not as hot as the Kuchan to me. Was meandering through the site and whilst looking at a thread on Batavia Arrak I noticed something called the Airbag. I believe that will have to get a test drive soon, perhaps even tonight! Don't have the specified brands of tequila and mezcal but feel sure I can come up with an alternative. Maybe the Clas Azul or Milagro SBR reposado and the Sombra mezcal will work. The Sombra should certainly be able to match the Los Amantes for smoke intensity. Then I may need to follow that one up with an Arrack Attack.

Haven't had their absinthe but have heard good things about it so I look forward to trying the gin. I generally chill a new gin slightly and give it a go neat to see what it is like. I hope to give this one a taste this weekend. I also plan to give the new Rusty Blade gin I got recently a try as well.

You would think I would know better by now! Inspired in part by my forthcoming attempt to make Katie's spiced simple I decided the only way to insure that Kronan Swedish Punsch arrives soon was to break down and buy a bottle of Batavia-Arrack and try to make my own. Beside the Arrack has its own uses right? So I was just going to go in and get that and nothing else! Yeah, right. The addiction is too strong, kinda like a Lay's potato chip... In addition to the Batavia-Arrack I picked up a bottle of Flor De Caña 4yo to have a reliable white rum on hand (it was that or the Brugal white) and another half bottle of Dolin Blanc since you never know when you are going to find that size. Then I saw to my surprise and delight that the store was now carrying the new St. George gins and decided to try the Dry Rye version. I will never learn...

Tonight it was The Socialist. This was a drink recipe we were given at the recent rum dinner I went to that was created by the head barmen at Pura Vida, Paul Calvert. It uses The Scarlet Ibis rum I recently bought so seems a good one to try. 2 oz The Scarlet Ibis rum 3/4 Carpano Antica 1/2 oz El Dorado 12 yo (Only had the 15 yo so I sacrificed some for this experiment) 1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice dram 1 "healthy" dash Reagan's orange bitters Stir over ice and serve up with an orange twist Had everything but the 12 yo El Dorado but had what seemed a suitable sub. Very tasty drink with a lot going on. The pimento dram is always fun to use. Will have to share this one at my next appropriate gathering.

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!