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Hmm, I recently got the Bigallet but haven't gotten around to trying it. I will have to do some comparison tasting! For science, of course.

I am likely one of those! Although bear in mind that it is basically Rittenhouse rye at a little higher proof (110 as compared to 100) and a little more age 6 years versus 4 years). That said a little can go a long way and both the proof and age help! Worth seeking out but perhaps only a modest level of urgency. Pendleton is an Oregon company that sources rye from Canada, presumably Alberta Distillers, which is the same source as WhistlePig, Lock Stock and Barrel and at the Jefferson 10yo rye (at least the early bottles that clearly said it was from Canada. Who knows what it might be now given that Jefferson doesn't have the best reputation for being straight forward with where they source whiskey). The basic Pendleton is a sweeter typical Canadian blended whisky but the Pendleton 1910 is supposedly a 12yo 100% Rye. it's biggest shortcoming for me is a thin low 80 proof. But not bad presuming it is still a true 100% rye and not a more typical blended Canadian whisky if you can get it for a decent price. I have no idea what a decent price would be in NZ. Here it goes for maybe $40. Director's Reserve is new to me. Supposedly 20yo but still 80 proof. I would guess it is a blended Canadian whiskey. A bit spendy at around $125 here in the US with a swanky leather wrapping. Swanky wrappings always make me a bit suspicious...

Amer Picon has gotten to be a bit frustrating in newer cocktail recipes to me (Or I am just lazy! It might be more of the latter...). Few people are likely using Amer Picon since it isn't readily available, much less the original higher proof Amer Picon which of course hasn't been made in several decades. So are they using Picon Biere as you did or are they creating their own based on one of the several formulas floating around? And if so what is their formula? And what impact does each different formula have on the drink? I have an old bottle of Torani Amer but it was never my favorite. David Wondrich recommended a fairly simple formula using Amaro CioCiaro here on eGullet and Jamie Boudreaux suggests Ramazzotti in a somewhat more complex formula found on various websites including Kindred Cocktails. I haven't made Picon in a while (usually if I do I make the Wondrich/Splificator formula) and tend to just gloss over cocktails requiring Picon with the possible exception of the Brooklyn. But I usually get lazy again and just use Amaro CioCiaro, which for me at least is readily available, and an extra splash or two of Angostura orange bitters. Ah well, sounds like the drink was a good one either way!

I have tried it at a spirits show some months ago and confess I found it a bit wanting. Especially since I have access to the Bellevue agricole (at 118 pf I think!) that it is sourced from. That Bellevue bottle was a liter and only cost about 10 euros! Of course I had to go to Guadeloupe to get it. Makes for a hell of a commute... I guess the question for me would be how does it hold up in a DWB?

This week I stumbled across a bottle of the most recent Angels' Envy Cask Strength after thinking I had been shut out. A nice find as I have been able to find at least one bottle each year since it has been available and always enjoyed it. Also picked up a locally made, if very young, rye called Resurgens from ASW distillery. It is an all malted rye (think along the lines of Potrero) with a bit of chocolate malt to help balance some of the grainy character of its youth. OK, maybe not an everyday neat pour but works nicely in rye forward cocktails. And this weekend I picked up some "bierschnapps" from another local independent distillery called, naturally enough, Independent Distilling Company! Owner/distiller of this small operation is a very nice and enthusiastic distiller who has worked with a couple of local breweries to make spirits from their beer wort in addition to his own rum, bourbon and corn whiskey. This one was some left over Feest Noel from Three Taverns in 2014 that has been aging for 18-20 months or so and is being released as a special one off just in time for the holidays. Somehow didn't manage to get a picture 9shocking I know!) but some additional info on the unique mashbill can be found the distillery website.

It can be a bit of pain but with determination, resilience and the last bit of VEP from the previous bottle for inspiration it can be done! It has been awhile but I seem to recall that it was a bit of a pain! I believe I was able to locate the gap between the cork and the top of the bottle and carefully cut into the wax down to that gap with a well sharpened knife until I could remove the cork. Then you can cut or peel off the wax from the stopper and replace it before carefully trimming the wax from the top of the bottle to get the wax away from the edge without getting any into the bottle. It was something like that. That last bit of Chartreuse VEP left in the previous bottle may have been more than I was planning on and it is pretty strong after all!

I finally sat down and tried the US version of the non vintage Canne Bleu. I was using it as a comparison in a side by side with the Bielle Canne Grise I brought back recently from Marie Galante. Either there is a lot of variety in the Clement bottling or you had a bad bottle! Indeed, the Clement was rather tame with mostly a dry vegetal quality. It was almost boring when compared to the funky, floral and yes, slightly diesel-y Canne Grise. Fortunately I like all that funk so I enjoyed the Canne Grise. But there was nothing subtle about it! 118 proof probably helps....

If somebody really wanted to cough up $2400 for my PVWFRR bottles then I might have to think about it! At retail, which you can't buy it for unless you know someone in the industry who is feeling incredibly generous, it is still listed at around $100 (all the Van Winkle is still priced at a retail cost that has changed relatively little. And it is now at least partly (and possibly mostly) made by Buffalo Trace anyway. Although there is some confusion about what is really in this years "Z" bottling. It has some of the original old tanked whiskey but I don't think it is clear if it is ALL tanked whiskey or if it is blended with BT made whiskey. Oh well, not that it matters. I haven't seen one for purchase at a price I would pay for several years now. I would be curious to know what they tried but didn't make the top ten as well. (ri)1 is a real oddity to me. It was an attempt by Beam a few years ago to create a "premium rye" that largely seemed to fall flat. I wasn't even aware they were still making it. And there is no Wild Turkey 101 here either. Is that really worse than (ri)1, Bulleit or some of the small distiller stuff? Other MGPs include the much derided Templeton, Smooth Ambler (although it tends to be older) and Willett, both their own make and the one they source (or used to source?) from MGP. I am not all that surprised the Knob Creek won, it was probably the oldest of the bunch, at least that they mention, by at least a couple of years (maybe 6 or so years old). I also think those prices might reflect a NYC cost to some degree.

Well, if you are going the tiki route with umbrellas and all then you must have "bamboo" straws as well! Either paper or I suppose you could do the real thing!

Back down to the Islands before Thanksgiving so it was a bit of deja vu all over again for me. Except for this time I managed to get to Marie Galante and tour Poisson and Bielle distilleries. Alas, Bellevue was just a bit too far especially since they all generally closed up shop at 1300 in the offseason. But I did pick up several rhums of interest! And I wish I had room in my luggage to bring back a few more. But I was limited to about 9 because glass is heavy! The Pere Labat 1997 from Poisson is allegedly an 18yo-ish rhum bottled last year but oddly is lighter in color than the 8yo next to it. But a very nice flavor as I got to taste pretty much everything at the distillery before buying. It was kind of like having an open bar! Bielle was similar with an opportunity to taste everything beforehand and had several cask strength offerings that I wish I could have brought. There was a very nice 2002 vintage but it was rather spendy. Instead I picked up another cask strength Rhum Rhum 2015 which was about half the cost of buying it at Astor (I just couldn't resist!), the Bielle 40th Anniversary is barrel proof 7yo-ish agricole made to celebrate some anniversary or another and the Canne Grise which was a particularly unusual blanc rhum made from the gray species of sugar cane, rather like the Canne Beu that Clement makes. And speaking of Clement Canne Bleu I managed to stumble upon a 2009 vintage in St. Lucia along with a 2014 vintage of 1931 from St. Lucia distillery (I picked up the 2013 vintage last trip), a 10 Cane from Trinidad which has since been discontinued that was an impulse buy (that I kind of regret now as it took up potential space for another bottle). We also had the chance to tour Depaz in Martinique where I picked up the 2002 vintage agricole that was bottled in 2013 so is about 11yo. Ah, so much rhum, so little luggage space.... But unfortunately due to a minor medical issue I am on the wagon at the moment. Talk about frustrating! But I hope to fall off and get back in the gutter soon...

And invite two friends! Or one friend and a couple of big glasses...

A fool and his money, as it were!

Well, at the rate old amaro's are being revived and new ones seem to get produced that is going to be out of date sometime yesterday! Does look interesting though.

I did find a bottle of the Clement Canne Bleue in a local store so I picked one up to try to see if it is that much different from the typical 80 proof Clement that I usually see. The Bleue is 50% but has no vintage date so I presume it is a US thing. I hope it is not as bad as you found it!

Sounded a bit sweet as written but the eau de vie might help. What did you think? I would rather miss the Benedictine I think.

So what is the verdict on the Ko Hana? Pretty spendy for a 375ml of 80 proof rhum! The Lahi reviews, what few I have seen, suggest it is a bit sweet which is a little disconcerting. The style I see now is the Kea on the website. After I was a bit disappointed by the St George agricoles I haven't been very inclined to try anything else outside of the Caribbean.

As much as I like Port finishing I did find I liked the Zin more than I thought and probably would put it (a distant) second behind the cask strength 2004 and just ahead of the port finish. I should finally get my own bottles of the 2004 in hand by next week. At least I hope so!

How about as compared to Ransom? That is my usual go to gin for a Martinez.

Don't know how I missed that! Apparently I didn't realize there was one more page. Too much agricole perhaps... Of that group I have had the Batiste, Capoville and the Clement Canne Bleue. As it happens the Clement I had was also the European bottle from 2011 (wow, has it been that long?) but I don't know if they have a vintage bottling every year and a regular Canne Bleue, or if they have stopped putting a year on it, or if that is just a US thing. Have never tried the US bottling as it is not available locally to my knowledge. I found the the 2011 to be refreshing and had an almost light morning dewy smell and the taste was as I imagined that smell must taste. Very pleasant. Sorry to here the US bottling was not even close. The Capovilla was indeed the most unique to me with a lot of body and a richer grassy quality than any I think I have ever had. I found the Batiste to be very thin at 80 proof (which I suppose could contribute to it being subtle?) and I don't recall the coconut character but I only tried it once and don't have a bottle of it. I was disappointed with it. But I must confess most 80 proof rum seems thin to me unless somebody has poured a lot of sugar in it. Then it tastes less thin and more syrupy sweet. Not a good thing.

Hmm. I searched but did not find it. But I should have known you had! In fact now that I see it the post looks familiar.

My thoughts exactly! Inquiring minds want to know...

Did you dial back on the simple to account for the Canton instead of fresh ginger?

Well, I should hope so! Interesting. A bit off topic but have you tried the Baie du Galion from Smugglers Cove? It is off the regular menu now but I had them make it for me when I was there several weeks ago. It has become a new favorite. Certainly another entertaining use of Drambuie!

Yes, interesting read. Sounds like it has changed considerably over time to reflect the changing palate of the consumer over the last 50 years or so. But it also sounds like it would be a challenge to ever know what the original cocktail tasted like.

So many liqueurs, so little time! Sadly it seems nearly impossible to keep up with what is available or being "rereleased" these day, much less with new products. Sounds intriguing though. Is it in the US yet?