Hassouni

69 cents a pop at Whole Foods in DC today, which seems pretty normal. May check the suburban ethniquerias this weekend.

Ladies and gentlemen: 8:2:1 is a winner. Yes, it's more tart than sweet, but everything is in relative harmony. I might go so far as to say 8:2.5:1 is my ideal, but I think this is my new default ratio, unless it's a really hot day and I need the extra bite that 8:3:1 gives - but in either case, the 8 parts rum to 1 part 2:1 SS is where it's at. Of course, this was all with Don Q, which brinza rightly pointed out as not being the best stuff to use, but since the first two were done with it, the third had to be as well, for consistency's sake.

The brown one is the one I mentioned. I don't care what it looks like, it's the jam!

100%. Yo soy un hombre del Yucateco (¡Kubtil-Ik, por favor!) As to why people like Tabasco, etc, that eludes me also. If I want chile flavored vinegar, the stuff that NC Barbecue joints serve is better.

Most excellent, I can actually make this one at home!

Bollocks, to my even greater horror I just now realized I'm out of WNOP (I made an audible gasp when I checked my vice closet). Sounds like I need to get some of that, get some limes (also, my MicroPlane has disappeared ). Given all that, is there any commercial stuff comparable to homemade?

I discovered to my horror that I'm out of falernum. Given that limes cost what they do now, I'm considering going the Velvet route. What's the verdict on that versus homemade?

It's OK, I went to PDT without realizing what Crif Dogs was! It's funny, I went both there and Little Branch on a Saturday evening in 2011 and neither were very crowded.... Death & Co, on the other hand, I have never been able to get into.

Don Q is not my default white rum, I just had a bunch of it leftover from an event. I'm jealously hoarding my bottle and a half of Palo Viejo... For those without access to Boriken's finest, Flor de Caña is my rum of choice.

Quick, get your arbitrage hat on. I'll take a dozen!

Like, into the hot dog place, or through the phone booth?

To expand on what weinoo said, he created this entire site and concept and for that I'm deeply grateful. I lurked here for 5 years without joining and learned so much, and now that I'm a member I've learned so much more. My cocktail pursuits would be nowhere without Steve's creation, and my food adventures would be all the poorer. I didn't know him personally or really engage with him here, but my deep condolences go out to everyone who did, especially his family.

Very useful, thanks!

Ahmad Tea is also good stuff - they have a much wider selection so for many full-bodied black leaf teas they're my choice. They also make some of the best no-nonsense teabags, their "English Tea No. 1". Right now I replaced my Alwazah with Ahmad Ceylon w Cardamom, but I have yet to see how it fares in the Samovar test.

Hear hear, what!

Navy Grog courtesy of Hogo, also Ciaociaro and soda courtesy of Passenger

Righto, test results in: Made the 2.5:0.75:0.5 Daiquiri, with Don Q instead of Batshitcardi. It JUST fits into my 5.5 oz coupe with the tiniest gap below the rim. Difford's write-up is correct, it is "perfectly balanced," with no element dominating. However, it's a bit too perfect. The half ounce of 2:1 syrup is, to my taste, as I predicted, WAY too much. This drink is bordering on Smirnoff Ice territory - the extra sugar hides the rumminess of the rum, and it blurs the lime into a generic citrus tang that never rises to prominence. If I were serving a daiquiri to someone new to cocktails, or with a sweet tooth, this is what I'd make them. There is nothing offensive about it. However, I prefer a nicely tart Daiquiri, and my 8:3:1 ratio gives that - I call it "alcoholic liquid nitrogen" because by God, in my mind, that's what a Daiquiri is. Having an 8:3:1 one now, I will admit the lime is quite prominent indeed, but I suspect 8:2:1 would still come out tangy and refreshing. I'll try that ratio next time.

I'm 6'1" but my hands are not especially large. I CAN one hand shake with the Korikos, but it doesn't feel stable at all. That Royal set described in that like is 16 and 33 oz, vs 18 and 28 of the Koriko, so I will definitely keep an eye out

Sooooo, after several months of happy use with the Koriko set, I've come to notice something. Nearly every serious bar in DC that uses a metal-on-metal shaker is using some combination of shakers such that the smaller one protrudes a mere 2-3 inches above the top of the larger one, allowing for easy one handed-shaking. I don't know if it's a larger large tin or a smaller small one, or just different diameter openings. My small Koriko fits deeper down into a large non-Koriko weighted tin that I have, but the latter isn't as high quality as the large Koriko one and doesn't seal quite as well. Anyone know of any quality all-metal Boston shaker sets that allow for easy one handed shaking? Having done several bar-style cocktail events now, I'm seeing the benefit to be able to shake up 2 servings of 2 different drinks at the same time.

Yeah, I have 5.5 oz glasses now, and really 3.5 oz is the most I can get away with. That being said, half an ounce of 2:1 syrup is a LOT! If the stories about Constante Ribailagua (sp?) are to be believed, he made a wickedly dry Daiquiri. Surely Embury would agree, also. I typically go for 2 oz rum, 3/4 lime, 1/4 2:1 So, an 8:3:1 ratio. Next time I'll try Difford's, and see how it is, and if my glass doesn't overflow... ETA - Difford's also calls for Bacardi, which we eGullet Spirits & Cocktails folk know to be pure rubbish.

Not bad, you could probably hawk them here under the newly-allowed classified rules and make at least 50% profit on them!

Whatever I end up doing, it will NOT be making mojitos and daiquiris with lemon, as they do in Lebanon. Ick.

Soooo where to begin. Tonight: Leftover Silk Punch (my Arabic mulberry-based variant on a Roman punch) Brooklynite Scofflaw Trinidad Sour Basra Daiquiri (with chai numi basra concentrate instead of lime juice) Saz'iraq (Guess what: Arabic sazerac, with my homemade sharqtreuse rinse and homemade Arabian Bitters) Infante with mezcal instead of tequila (smoky!) Had 2 friends over, so I didn't have all the above, but I certainly had a majority and samples of the rest

Damn. Where do you work, and can I drop by?

I'm waiting with bated breath to hear your impression of it!