If you don't mind a bit of that seaside taste, go for Ardbeg - it's argued to be the most peated one out there, though I think it's on par with Laphroaig - but without the excessive brine and iodine. But really, I can't recommend Caol Ila highly enough, there's definite smoke, but it's a very gentle, enveloping whisky. Good thing you didn't get the Laphroaig cask strength!
Highland Park 12 is a superb whisky and probably one of the best values out there, but I BARELY pick up any peat or smoke from it. For a similar price, I'd say Caol Ila or Talisker have a bit more - with Caol Ila reminding me of barbecued meat (really), and Talisker a bit more balanced - not dissimilar to Highland Park in that regard, but with a bit more of a tang - another superb whisky
Ardbeg comes to mind. Caol Ila too, though that's less smokey. Really only Laphroaig has that iodine deal, from what I can tell. You might also check out the Compass Box Peat Monster, or another blended malt called Smokehead
Where do you get Barbancourt 15 for under $20, and can you send me some? Usually the 8 year (5 star) is in the low to mid 20s. Also, rum is cheaper than whisky, to my knowledge, because of the shorter aging times required in the hot Caribbean climate, no? For what it's worth Rittenhouse is low 20s in DC, and Bulleit is about that much from the Montgomery County monopoly, but much higher in most other shops - which is why I've bought those two
So does Dolin blanc fit the bill for dry vermouth for most cocktails, or should I stick to the dry? Also, seems everyone loves Old Overholt, but it's only 80 proof and I'm skeptical of aged spirits so cheap - am I missing something?
Chris, a few questions which are not specific to Manhattans, but which I might as well ask here: 1. How are Dolin's other vermouths, and how does the dry compared to the blanc? 2. How's the Wild Turkey rye? I've only ever used Rittenhouse or Bulleit 3. My bitters bottles (especially Angostura) will leak bitters as soon as they're angled downward, so that even with the quick downward gesture, there's more than "one dash" in the mixing glass.
Made a Jasper's Rum Punch (following the recipe from the book on Kaiser Penguin) and HOLY SHIT This is one of the best drinks ever. The interplay between the nutmeg and the Wray and Nephew is unbelievable
My issue was more that when mixing i could not incorporate all the flour without having lots of dry lumps or just plain flour sitting in the bowl. For the record, I was using KA bread flour.
So I used to make the NYT recipe for no-knead bread a lot a few years ago, then stopped (better access to good bread). I'm making Kenji's recipe for pan pizza from Serious Eats, in which he makes a no-knead dough. I've seen all the videos with Jim Lahey, Bittman, and whoever else, and they always do the merest stir of the dry ingredients after adding water. I did that too, and I ended up with lots of dry flour, and bits of dry dough invading the wet dough. How the hell do I avoid that? I couldn't even incorporate the excess dry stuff when mixing last night...
I've only just had their ramen (and accompaniments), but this place is the JAM. My friend who lived in Japan for several years says this is on par with the best he's had outside Japan.
H Mart still has a very good selection of Japanese stuff - the only thing I can't really find there are herbs and greens like mizuna, mitsuba, myoga, komatsuna, etc. Almost everything else you'd need, they have. They have several kinds of miso, konbu, nori, wakame, udon, soba, konnyaku, Japanese style rice, Japanese shoyu in several varieties, real mirin, gobo, shungiku, negi, etc etc.
Going on Tuesday for 4 days, was wondering if anyone had any up to date suggestions? No idea where I'll be going, but I imagine at least a day or two in San Juan
Last Word is one of my favorite drinks, and I found a place that sells Chartreuse for $47 so next time I'm in the area I'm buying some. Anyone tried a LW with Beefeater or Broker's?