Hassouni

That recipe (type of rums aside) is basically the original ratio, omitting the rock candy syrup (which I find unnecessary). OG FTW!

Another rare foray here. I stumbled upon organic, grass-fed ribeye for $10 for 10 oz the other day, so leapt upon it. Seared in cast iron with a garlic and butter baste, which was then used to sear brussels sprouts and maitake mushrooms. To the latter I applied TJ's balsamic glaze, and to the former, leftover thanksgiving gravy thinned out with some Dolin rouge. To paraphrase the Dos Equis guy, "I don't often eat red meat, but when I do, god damn!"

My friend got back from Boriken today and got me some Palo Viejo blanco and some Barrilito Tres Estrellas. Huzzah!

From a few nights ago for my pop up, I have a bit leftover: Camarena reposado tequila (great value) Pisco Alto del Carmen reservado (even better value - seriously, this stuff is a steal!)

the Verve would have to hit real hard at the opening, then fade to a bunch of blah in the main body of the drink, with no finish at all, until a full 5 minutes later when there's one last flash of awesomeness on the palate.

Wouldn't a proper British diplomat drink a pink gin, and nought else?

A talking one, too

Yalla, in.

Speaking of Chelsea, the Pig's Ear on Old Church St is about as good a gastropub as you'll find. While in that neighborhood, the Cross Keys is a very proper if gussied up pub, quite charming, with very solid "traditional pub fare" if you're interested in that.

Yep - yet another reason why London is the greatest city in the world! *coughgetyourshittogetherDCcough*

I don't have much to add here, as both times I lived in London I was either an unpaid student or intern, but: Alounak in Westbourne Grove is one of, if not the best Persian restaurants I've ever been to anywhere (and I'm a huge connoisseur of Middle Eastern food from the Eastern Med on east) Le Chef Masgouf on Connaught Street (Place? Can't remember) serves high quality Iraqi food, which you're unlikely to find almost anywhere else outside the Middle East. Get the grilled fish special (masgouf, the namesake of the place.) Bar Shu and Ba Shan are both high quality Sichuanese places in Soho with some involvement from Fuchsia Dunlop, and Golden Days, if it still operates under that name, on Shaftesbury Ave near the intersection with Cambridge Circus, has very good Hunan cuisine. The north end of Soho also has a string of quite good tapas and wine bars, Fernandez & Wells come to mind, but there are a few others. Check out Koya in Soho if you want A+ soba, it's probably the best I've had. As for Indian, I'd go for Rasa or one of the other southern establishments, as that food is harder to get in America.

Right, so, did another pop up yesterday, offering these drinks: Regent's Punch (lemon and orange oleosaccharum + juices, pineapple syrup, sencha, Hennessey + Kyrgyzstani cognac, S&C, W&N + Dillon agricole for the arrack, and Crémant de Bourgogne) Infante (Camarena reposado + homemade orgeat) Spiced apple old fashioned (cinnamon syrup, Laird's bonded, a few shakes of Regan's orange bitters and one shake of Angostura, with grated nutmeg garnish) Turc Noir/Blanc (this one is my secret, but think Levantine spin on a Black/White Russian [and no vodka, either]. One guest described it as "tasting like the Middle East" and another said she was "waiting for the mud at the bottom of the cup" - exactly the reactions I wanted!)

Oh man. Hosted another pop-up cocktail bar last night, and the Regent's Punch was one of four drinks served. I followed the classic Wondrich recipe, with some substitutions: Hennessey VS and the remainders of a bottle of Kyrgyzstani "cognac" for that element WN overproof and Dillon rhum blanc agricole for the Batavia Arrack Red navel oranges instead of regular oranges, and a slightly tart, large satsuma for the bitter orange. 2 bottle of Crémant de Bourgogne brut for the champagne What a corker of a drink. Somewhat of a pain, but so worth it for the wild praise it received.

What bottling of Lemon Hart is that???

mmm funk

Neither are a lot of "X sour" drinks

This sounds huge. I will make one very soon!

I'm sure someone in New York has some under-the-table Havana Club...keep looking!

I'd call that a sour. The traditional punch definition is "1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong, 4 of weak." (in Barbados I think they add: "stir it well with lots of ice, and of course add some spice" [bitters], or something like that) Of course, there are punches that don't follow that, but they're made in crowd-serving quantities and thus still count.

Havana Club is the gold standard - Añejo blanco and añejo 3 años are the rums to use when light is called for. I find Cruzan has gone downhill fast, with Brugal and FdC being the most easily available good options, with FdC having a slight edge. Don Q Cristal is OK and relatively ubiquitous, better than Bacardi, but I think the previous two are better.

you would have a hell of a smokey mai tai. Think the mid-level of peated whisky, like Caol Ila. It would also be drier.

column distilled, light in taste, some molasses notes but not too much, with enough of a bite to be felt in drinks (for the good rums, anyway)

Ah, so simple and yet it eluded me! Thanks Chris and FP!

I just did the same for a Regent's punch, and can confirm that a vacuum seal is entirely unnecessary! Thanks for taking the photographic evidence plunge, Princesse! Edited to add....how the hell does one get every last drop of the stuff out of the bag?

...only if a place has paid extra for the 24 hour license! I really need to get on this arrack thing...