Hassouni

be that as it may, fernet is fucking vile. and I ain't no non-drinker.

Bought this right before Christmas: Possibly the most superb, iconic (and iconoclastic), and classic independent whisky of my generation has now been discontinued thanks to a lousy sale by the board of directors to Remy Cointreau. The sole dissenting vote was by founder who resurrected the Bruichladdich name and pioneered their approach. This case assures I have enough for years to come, because we may never see it again. RIP Independent Bruichladdich and the Progressive Hebridean Spirit.

D'oh! I meant dusty BOTTLE!

in Lebanon at the mo, so that means: Lots of arak (baladi, preferably, 1:2) Lebanese beer (961 Red if available, other 961s if not, Almaza as the de facto standard if nothing else is available) Lebanese wine (Lots of Kefraya Les Brétèches) Beirut, as I found out rather to my annoyance, has developed legit-looking cocktail bars since my last visit six months ago* (to my annoyance because I wanted to open one and have first mover advantage), but prices are on par with DC if not more, whereas the aforementioned drinks are usually about half that. I did, however, have a cracking Moscow Mule at a bar called...Moscow Mule...at happy hour prices, so only $3-4 or so. On NYE I also indulged in a pour of Highland Park 12 at the shockingly outrageous price of 50,000 Lebanese Lira, or $33.33. *A year ago, I had to teach a bartender here what an old fashioned was, and that yes you CAN use that dusty bar of Angostura for something...)

El Centro DF in DC makes a drink called the Red & Smokey. It's pretty excellent - Vida Mezcal, jalapeño-ginger syrup, lime juice, and generous amount of agua de jamaica, served on the rocks in a pint glass.

Aberlour A'Bunadh! Christmas dram, first taste of it. Such sherry. Very intense. So malt. Wow. Much delicious

To each his own. I grew up on Basmati (because of my Iraqi background), and although I love it to death, and as much as it's my desert island rice, I intensely dislike having it with anything requiring chopsticks, because of its a) extremely non-sticky nature and b) signature taste. Similarly, Middle Eastern or Indian food with Japanese rice wouldn't feel right to me either.

I'd stick with the aged stuff from India

I keep the following white rice on hand: Japanese style short grain (koshihikari or similar) - for Japanese, Korean, and usually Chinese cooking Basmati rice - for Middle Eastern, Indian, etc. Jasmine - for pretty much everything else - Southeast Asian, Cajun (I'm sure this is not considered kosher but whatever) I don't have sticky rice on hand, because I don't cook much food that uses it (there's a a cracking Lao resto near me, so that's where I consume 95% of my sticky rice). However, if I were to start cooking Lao food, I would definitely get sticky rice.

Just a note - if anyone's package to me is delayed, note that I'll be out of country from late in the day on the 26th until well into January---get them to hold it!

hard times call for hard liquor. Killed off a bottle of Mount Gay Eclipse Black. Just like Mount Gay killed it off. What a shame.

Are they that big that they can't produce their entire stock? They aren't Bacardi or Diageo or anyone whose brands are so widely spread that there's no way they can produce that much (allegedly Angostura makes a lot of bulk rum for Bacardi...or something along those lines)?

I haven't tried, but I can see Black Seal being a good sub for younger, less complex Demeraras in cocktails and swizzles

shkle?

with the added bicarb and cooking until VERY soft, skinning wasn't necessary for me. I will say that as you make it, there seems to be FAR too much liquid called for, but once it all cools down and sets up, using appreciably less water or other liquid results in a very stiff product. So if you think it seems too watery at first, don't worry.

Sami Tamimi's grandmother's hummus recipe is pretty much perfection in purée form.

A friend of mine brought me a bottle from his biz trip to the island - good stuff! Not easy to find, I bet (certainly never seen it here)

It's not replaced. Both are available now.Not in America, but in the only two stores that sold Noilly Prat in my area. Both places have moved exclusively to the Extra Dry.That's really too bad. It's good to have both options. The "new" extra dry is probably my favorite of the two for martinis. The dry is excellent on the rocks.Recent purchases: family size Buffalo Trace bourbon (restock), a couple of High West items that I am excited to try (Son of Bourye and Double Rye), a bottle of yellow Chartreuse that was missing in my collection, and Krogstad aquavit for a Norwegian themed party I've been invited to. hehehehe "family size"

I haven't had the same issues with them. I also live literally 2 minutes from Whole Foods so returning the bottle is no big deal. I just wish they'd give me $2 store credit for the deposit return, or a $2 voucher for the deposit on the next bottle! Personally I think the Trickling Springs is better than this Homestead one that I've got now.

Meyer Teyer?

If you like Negronis (I believe that you do), you owe it to yourself to try a White Negroni. Still plenty bitter, while being lighter in feel. Not a replacement for the "real thing" by any means, but a really great variation nonetheless. In the PDT Cocktail Book which has Wayne Collins' original recipe, they use 2 oz Plymouth gin so it's a bit less intense, which some people may prefer, and they serve it up. Yeah I just am in liquor thin-out mode after all my glut of rum and single malt purposes, I don't think I can justify getting something entirely new (Suze, in this case)

Trickling Springs- it comes in old-school glass bottles only. There's another in similar bottles called Homestead Creamery, but that's mostly though not entirely pasture/grass-fed (I currently have a bottle of that because they were sold out of my size of the Trickling Springs. It's good, but the TS has something extra)

I think I need to get on this white negroni thing everyone keeps talking about...

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey gumbo, with so-called andouille (not really), tasso, and okra. 1:1 roux more or less - gonna increase the ratio of flour next time. Stock was the turkey bones and scraps slow simmered.

I agree with the suggestion to use frozen grated coconut. Once you thaw it, it's really second only to fresh coconut - full of oil and moisture, which you want.