Hassouni

I can also buy a single wooden stave from a former Bourbon barrel for $45 - those things are pretty big, could probably do several bottles at once...

Righto, so I think devotees of W&N would agree with me that an aged version would just be staggering - along the lines of a Smith & Cross or something but even more so. How might something like this work for a trial run? http://tuthilltown.gostorego.com/barrels/barrel-aged-cocktail-kit.html

His reasoning was that an outrigger is the tropical equivalent of a sidecar, and would be a good name for a rum drink

Yeah the Montgomery County (MD, across the river) liquor monopoly, which oddly, is the cheapest outlet in the area and has good selection - had Appleton 12 at $25 for a few months running so I bought a few bottles. They've also had Mount Gay XO for $35 since Summer 2011.

Hmm I have shitloads of Appleton 12, I'll give this a try soon!

Indeed not, but a sidecar deserves real Cointreau. That said, Cointreau should be one of the first things you buy as it's an indispensable ingredient for countless classic and modern cocktails.

Oh also, Dan's website is a fantastic resource for cocktail knowledge!

Three previous posts seconded, as well as a strong second to the advice to ditch most of those liqueurs - give em to your nearest college freshman! (ditto the Bacardi. Get Flor de Caña or Brugal or El Dorado white rums instead, they will be the same or cheaper than Bacardi and infinitely better).

If you like Campari, get some sweet vermouth, add gin, and you have a truly classic (and much loved here) drink, the Negroni

Go to a Lebanese shop for pinenuts, I doubt you will get anything not Product of Lebanon!

Dare you say mostly Caucasian? No, because the vast vast majority of white people in the world are not in fact from the Caucasus . However, many white people I know do indeed have an aversion to fish, ESPECIALLy whole fish.

Used to be a big Sriracha fan, but now I find it too sweet and garlicky. I still use it, but not as a universal spicer-upper. My favorites are the Yucateco Kutbil-Ik "Exxxtra" hot Habanero salsa (I initially picked this cos it has no artificial colors, but GOD DAMN is it good), and Busha Browne's Pukka hot sauce (http://www.bushabrowne.com/product_pukka_hot_sauce.php), made from Scotch Bonnets - but I've only seen that in London. Lately I've taken to just adding chopped habanero to my dish when I went a clean hit of heat without any additional flavor like vinegar or sugar.

Lapsang

water caltrops? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop

Apple tea is vile, made from chemicals, and no self-respecting Turk drinks it. It can be found at any overseas Turkish grocery store, too, in the same mass-produced packaging. Don't waste luggage space on it. As for Turkish delight (lokum or rahat lokum) - Istanbul airport has a ton, and the Mısır Çarşısı has a decent vendor, Güllüoğlu (one of the best for baklava), but the VERY VERY BEST, and the inventor of it, is Hacı Bekir, whose main shop is on İstiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue) just south of Taksim Square. If you're going to Istanbul it's a shame not to spend an afternoon at least on İstiklal Caddesi - definitely get your lokum from here. They also do ceviz socuğu if I remember correctly, though don't quote me on it. Here's their website http://www.hacibekir.com.tr/eng/asayfa.html and their address: İstiklal Cad. No.83 / 6 34433 Beyoğlu / İstanbul They also have a location in the old town (Eminönü), which you can see on their site. You can find Hacı Bekir products overseas, but not as easily as some of the more inferior brands, so get a few boxes at their shop. As for ouzo, if that's your thing, Efe Rakı and Tekirdağ Rakı from Turkey are more refined and smooth than almost any ouzo I've tried. You can get Tekirdağ at Istanbul Airport but not Efe. As for olive oil, you're going to the Med region, so I'd get a bit of high quality stuff from each place, if you're interested in that. Keep in mind that really fresh olive oil starts to deteriorate very quickly.

The spellings are all as written in Turkish, except for sargol, which is Persian. The equivalent in Turkish would be "çiçekbaşı" but that's just a translation so I'm not sure if that's a valid expression, and I can't guarantee a vendor will know what you mean. "Iranian saffron" in Turkish would be "İran safranı" - I would say if whatever saffron you find has a really uniform deep dark red color, you're good to go. Do NOT get safflower by accident - it's worth looking up a picture of it so you know how to tell the difference, if you don't already. for everything else, it's exactly as written in Turkish - Turkish uses a form of the Latin alphabet. Domates salçası is tomato paste, biber salçası pepper, if it's hot it'll be acı biber salçası, mild will be tatlı biber salçası. There might be other adjectives in front (adjectives in Turkish go before the modified noun), but it should be a nice deep red and smell good. You might be able to have a sample. Ceviz sucuğu (or sucuk, it changes as a function of grammar) is sold both sealed and unsealed, hanging on strings off of hooks. The open air ones are better - the bag ones are more industrially produced. Tiryaki çayı will get you in no trouble at all, don't worry It's made by a subsidiary of the Turkish govt so it's all good. Don't worry about the Lezzet spice vendor, it was just to show you what isot looks like. Mısır Çarşısı is simply the name in Turkish for the famous market known in English as the Spice Bazaar, one of the two main bazaars of Istanbul. It's not nearly as big as the grand bazaar, and has lots of stuff besides spices, but it is more food-oriented than its larger counterpart. There are also lots of vendors along the outside walls of it. It's right by the waterfront of the Golden Horn, near the Yeni Cami (new mosque) and the ferries to the Asian side. If you're by the dock, you can have great fish sandwiches (balık ekmek) for a song, sold off a cart on the docks. İzmir: not very familiar with it, but they say it's the most European city in Turkey culturally. It's very famous for its nargile (hookah) culture, so if you're into that, send me a message and I can give you some tips.

In Istanbul (I assume that's where you're going in Turkey?), in general, food is to be found not at the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) but at the "Spice" Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı - Egyptian market) - so called because indeed that's where you buy spices! Some local markets will of course have food too. Beware most of the red thready stuff for sale there is safflower, not saffron. As for real saffron, despite what you hear about Spanish and Greek and god knows what, the best, hands down, is Iranian "sargol" saffron (sargol = head of the flower). See if the saffron for sale in Turkey is from Iran, and if it's all a uniform dark red, then you're in business. Get something called isot, which is roasted, dried, and oiled hot pepper flakes. It's similar to "Aleppo pepper", usually called pul biber in Turkish, but is roasted (I think), much darker, and has a deeper taste. See here: http://www.lezzetspi...ts/isot-pepper. You can also get some nice pul biber Also get something called salça, which is a paste made of sundried tomatoes or peppers (domates salçası or biber salçası, respectively). The latter especially is AWESOME stuff to cook with, and comes in two varieties, mild (tatlı - "sweet") or hot (acı). The hot isn't that hot and makes a great addition to any tomato-based sauce or stew. As far as I can think, most other Turkish spices and seasonings can be found in the west rather easily. See if you can get pure ground salep, which is a flour made from orchid roots and the basis for a very thick, creamy winter drink. You probably CAN get all the above overseas, but they won't be as fresh or good, especially the salça. It's sold in jars in Turkish supermarkets, but the Mısır Çarşısı has it in bulk in big tubs. It's much better. What is MUCH harder to find is called in Turkish ceviz sucuğu, or walnut sausage (like the Georgian churchkhela, if that's familiar). It's a string of nuts dipped in boiled down grape juice concentrate and left to firm up. Looks gross, tastes delicious. VERY hard to get outside the region. Buy lots of it. As for pistachios, yes, they're very good. A lot are probably grown in Turkey, but Iran produces by far the most in the world, and some of the best, so there's a good chance you're actually buying Iranian pistachios. Just FYI If you're a caffeine addict, Çaykur, the Turkish state tea monopoly, has a product called Tiryaki Çayı, which means "addict's tea" (literally opium addict's tea, but the word has come to mean any addict). I don't know if they add caffeine to it, but it has way more of a caffeine buzz than regular Turkish tea. I haven't seen it for sale outside Turkey.

I second the Eagle Rare. It's decent, and usually on sale at $20, so that's OK, but it's nothing special. Then again, not a huge bourbon guy anyway. Give me my scotch! (or rye, or indeed, rum!)

Not much, frankly....Use the tequila with some grapefruit soda and make palomas. What is Dooley's?

Oh dear god. The deliciousness. The sheer, sheer deliciousness of this....I don't think I can take it! (the chocolate version anyway )

I imagine a lot of cooks of Middle Eastern background probably aren't making precise measurements for water - I know nobody in my family does, including myself (though obviously, when using a rice cooker, I have to)

Cool, got it

Jasmine rice is no substitute for basmati in Persian applications, I'm afraid.

Huh??? Who's failing at basic measurements in their marketing? It's either a 12 fl. oz serving or a 16 fl. oz serving - period. Hanger 24 in Redlands, CA still knows what a real pint is. 20 Imperial damn ounces

I find that 2:1 for basmati yields rice that is far too soft and mushy. I don't know what my ratio is, but it's a lot less than that. I suppose if it's simmered uncovered, it might be ok. Iraqis make rice either identically to Persian chelo, or otherwise slightly similar to kateh, but still different: fry the washed, drained rice in whatever oil or butter you want to use, then when each grain is coated and hot, add water to cover (by less than you'd think), and salt. When it reaches a boil, turn it down low and put the paper towel under the lid. Cook as long as desired. In the last 10 minutes, the heat can be raised to medium to get a better crust. This turns out rice that is VERY similar to the chelo (parboiling then steaming) method. Maybe not quite as good, but nearly so, and very similar in appearance and much easier. I've found that kateh comes out very differently to the chelo method. Chelo is more predictably consistent though, and yields an overall superior result, so I always make that for guests. PS for all those wondering, the towel under the lid is to absorb water as it steams - this rice is NOT supposed to be very moist, and you don't want water dripping back down on it! PPS, let it be said that no other Arabs take rice as seriously as Iraqis...most other Arabs consider the crust a flaw!