Hassouni

Well, I spent more money on booze (this is getting ridiculous) and picked up some ED 5 and did a very amateurish side-by side tasting of the LH80 and that just now. Thoughts: For $16, ED5 is a banger of a rum. Arguably the best value aged rum out there. As far as it compares to Lemon Hart....El Dorado is more refined, "smoother," sweeter. The Lemon Hart by comparison is a bit rougher around the edges, has a hint of smoke and fire, a definite hogo funk about it, and is much dryer. They're not really comparable at all, frankly. In a simple cocktail (aged daiquiri, or an outrigger, for example), the El Dorado would be lovely. But for complex, tiki-style drinks, I feel that it would get a bit lost and muddled, whereas the Lemon Hart would stick out. I'll do some cocktail side by sides over the next few days and report back. Maybe: Queen's Park Swizzle, Demerara Cocktail, Outrigger...any other good tests for a rum besides a daiquiri?

Yes I find the standard recipe uses far too little curaçao, though. Apart from the tartness, it's not as complex with the typical 1/4 oz or whatever usually called for.

Any updates? For what it's worth, I find the Pegu Club to be an awfully dry cocktail to begin with

Of course, there's also Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao on my radar - is that good in any Tiki applications?

I’ve had it in a L.E.S. Globetrotter with rye and cognac and it was great. Also in a Sidecar a while back. Do you have a specific use in mind?Nothing specific, I just have Cointreau and Senior Curaçao already do wondering how this would fit in

Does it play well in non-rum based drinks?

I've noticed you use the Clement Creole Shrubb as a sub for Curaçao in your mai tais - is that because it's rum based?

A shop by me has the 1883 orgeat, is anyone still using that? I got their passion fruit syrup and it's AWESOME

Yes, I think there are. On Whisky Exchange there are MANY unusually branded Demeraras, and at Hogo in DC (sister bar to the Passenger) they have a few indie Demeraras

How did you get homemade orgeat to last 1 1/2 years? i made 750ml of it and didn't use much of it... I should have seen that answer coming. Nice! But what I meant was, even if I do a 2:1 sugar : base orgeat (which I don't, but I tried it just to see how much it helped shelf life) and keep it in a very cold fridge, I've never got anywhere close to that shelf life. Now you have me thinking maybe I'm being over-cautious and tossing it too soon. I have a batch in the fridge that's been in there for 3 months or so that I was planning to dump. I just went and checked it and there's no funky smell or mold, just a layer of fat that's separated out at the top. Now I'm almost tempted to give it a good shake and try it. Maybe I'll wait until Saturday night though. That way, if I have to spend the next day with the porcelain lay-z-boy, at least I won't be at work. 3 months? Bah! Go for it!

How did you get homemade orgeat to last 1 1/2 years? i made 750ml of it and didn't use much of it... Glad you liked it! It's one of my favorite drinks as well. It's excellent with a juniper-forward gin. I am craving one but I just finished my orgeat last night. When orgeat gets bad you can tell right away by the smell (and the mold) so you should be ok. Great drink for sure. And I'm still alive! Score!

I have an old-label, Pernod-Ricard bottle of LH 151, and the 80 is basically just that but diluted. Yeah, I'm aware of the differences in stills with El Dorado, was just wondering if the LH80 was comparable to the ED5. It was VERY nice in a Queen's Park Swizzle last night!

Just made an Army & Navy, from Bartender's Choice, thanks to FrogPrincesse's post. I'm using the Orgeat I made back in October 2011 (see page 7). It smells like it might have refermented, but it hasn't gone black or fuzzy or anything. I'll be OK, right? In any case, the cocktail is TIP TOP! (And also, probably time to make new orgeat)

Pre-dinner drink: test pilot, made with all the ingredients shown (the unmarked bottle is homemade falernum, and Palo Viejo is a very serviceable rum from PR I picked up for a pittance while there 6 weeks ago) Post-dinner, nargile (hookah) on the deck COS ITS FINALLY SPRING drink: a Queen's Park Swizzle, breaking in the new Lemon Hart 80 and the genuine swizzle stick I got from Cocktail Kingdom a while back:

The ever elusive Lemon Hart 80, and my favorite white wine ever, Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli, from Georgia (more info here http://weballharder.com/2012/07/19/georgian-wine-at-its-best-pheasants-tears/)

So I lucked upon a couple bottles of the stuff today, and have access to the remaining ten cases in the US (!), should I choose to cough up the cash. I really like the stuff, and am tempted to get at least a case, but how does it compare with the El Dorado 5? I've had the 8 once and quite liked it, but never tried the 5. If the 5 is comparable, I may just enjoy these 2 bottles and forget it, as the LH80 is $24 a pop (ED 5 is way less, hell, I get the ED12 for $24)

Rafa, I love W&N, but don't use it for too many applications - mostly making falernum and allspice dram, mixing with Ting, occasionally drinking over ice, and for Jasper's rum punch. What other drinks do you make with it? (not in the flaming sense, but in the "main ingredient" sense)

This stuff is my favorite, I make it in a Zojirushi neuro fuzzy: http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/product/kagayaki-brown-rice-4-4-lbs Kagayaki genmai

By a bit I mean a couple bucks, three at max. I'm pretty sure it was around $12. Of course that doesn't include the obnoxious 10% DC sales tax

Hm, is it supposed to be so bitter?

Funny, I adopted a puppy with big paws almost 3 weeks ago! Yeah, it was either a full litre at over $30, or that at a bit over 10....I figured I'd try it out before committing

Nice writeup Mitch, thanks! Jaleo has always been one of my "ol' faithful" sort of places. Edit: by "always" I mean "since I started going out on my own," given I was 8 when it opened....

How's the Cocchi in a negroni?

And after a visit to Ace Beverage: Vermouth galore (to test out on negronis, per the Ideal Negroni thread), Chartreuse after months of hesitating over the price, and real Curaçao, for when I feel Cointreau isn't appropriate.

Yes, as something to use every day and for long cooking, the gas canisters would start to stack up. Each one can run a few hours (maybe 3-4) max.