Czequershuus

I had a minor stroke of Genius tonight. I recently bought a bottle of cream sherry on impulse. Despite its maiden aunt image, it is quite nice stuff - fairly sweet but nice. Certainly more approachable than dry sherry (which I also enjoy). The problem becomes that once the bottle is open, I feel the need to use it up fairly quickly. I know with the extra sugar it will last longer than fragile fino sherries, but I still don't want to waist the money. While I have been happy having a small glass occasionally, I had the feeling that it should work in cocktails. However, I found very few decent cocktails calling for cream sherry. I had a notion it might work in place of sweet vermouth, so I tried it in a Manhattan. Wow was that BAD! I mean truly horrid. I tired adding lemon juice - nope. Down the sink. That was last week. Tonight I stuck on two solutions. The first was a Old-Fashioned style thing, with healthy dahses of Angostura, which worked well. But the second was the true inspiration. What cream sherry is missing is acidity. I happen to have a nice blueberry shrub in the fridge that I made just a bit ago. Free pour a little shrub in with the sherry (no measuring unfortunately), and bang - fantastic. This is a combo that is sensational.

55 on the new list, 72 on the old. Though admittedly, some of them in my early days with less ideal brand choices.

For me it is impossible to choose between the triumvirate of incomparable classics - The Negroni, Martini, and Manhattan. Each one is transcendently good, the perfect interplay of simplicity and subtlety. Each one is the kind of cocktail where cocktail geeks have a favorite recipe that specifies rations and brands, more so than other recipes for me. I know my preferance is for an equal parts Negroni, and Martinis and Manhattans at 2-to-1. I like my Negronis and Manhattans on the rocks, my Martinis sparkling in a tiny little glass. Garnish? None for a Negroni, Orange Twist for a Manhattan, and though it may not be the cocktail geekiest, a single olive for a Martini. Vermouth? NP for a Martini, M&R for a Negroni, Antica for a Manhattan. Beefeater Gin in both gin instances. Two thick dashes of Angostura in the Manhattan. When else do I get this specific. Only with this holy trinity of cocktailianism.

It is interesting that I remember reading through the earlier posts in this thread three years ago when I was starting to build my bar and was looking for advice. Today, looking at this question, I see a new distinction - a ten bottle start up bar, and the ten bottles I would have now. Making the lists I found them slightly different. For a start-up bar I would have Gin Rye White Rum Blanco Tequila Cointreau Campari Maraschino Green Chartreuse Dry Vermouth Sweet Vermouth (Bitters, which don't count according to the above, so I am going with that.) I think this list allows the broadest exploration of different cocktails. If I could only have ten bottles now, however, I would skip the white rum and exchange it for an Aged one (Appleton V/X). I would also probably get rid of Maraschino and exchange it for Benedictine, or for Cognac. I can't decide which. Getting rid of Maraschino would be tough, no Last Words or many other excellent cocktails, but I have been without it for quite a time now, so I know I can.

As the discussion points out, it s very tough to find reasonably priced Cognac. In addition to what had been mentioned I have had good luck with Camus VS for a Cognac, as well as Raynal, which is another non-Cognac French brandy. I must admit I have tried Remy VSOP and did not find it any better than the cheaper products. Actually, I preferred the Camus by quite a bit.

That's what I thought from the bottle as well as the price, but I thought I would ask. Sometimes price is deceptive. I guess it stay on the only from the internet list.

A brand question my local liquor store just started stocking a mezcal (other than Monte Alban). Up until now I had been resolved to wait until I could afford to order a good mezcal online to start exploring the wonderful world of it's smoky cocktails. Has anyone tried or heard of the brad Cusano Rojo? I am inclined to believe it will not be worth purchasing, but if someone has had a positive experience I would love to hear.

Since I tried the Trinidad Sour I have been very interested in this bitters-heavy class of drink. Three not previously mentioned here that I have in my files are: The Aromatic Collins 1 Oz Angostura Bitters 1 Oz Lemon Juice 1 Oz Simple Syrup Soda Water Shake juice and syrup with ice. Strain into an ice filled collins glass. Float bitters on top. Top with soda water. Garnish with a lemon twist. Stir and enjoy. I think this recipe comes from a Jeffrey Morganthaler video. But I am not sure. Pretty tasty though. Bittah Walshie 2 Oz Plymouth Gin 0.75 Oz Angostura Bitters 0.5 Oz Lime Juice 0.5 Oz Orgeat 0.25 Oz Orange Liqueur Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I know this one is courtesy of Cocktail Virgin Slut. A great way to really get the taste for Angostura. Shadyside 1 Oz Tequila 1 Oz Angostura Bitters 0.75 Oz Lime Juice 0.75 Oz Simple Syrup 1 Egg White Sprite Dry shake egg white and lime juice. Add Tequila, Ice, Angostura, and Simple. Shake. Strain into a tall glass containing 2 Oz of Sprite. Top off with a dash more sprite. Garnish with three drops of Angosture Bitters. Very fun and strange drink. A lot more going on here, as I remember. A wonderful world, bitters heavy drinks.

Ok, seriously laughing my head off at this. I think it was squirrel infused that got me.

I agree with all the Bronx haters. To me it is a cocktail that should work on paper, but I have never had one I particularly enjoyed. It can't just be the orange juice, because I love a good Blood and Sand and have even been known to enjoy a Monkey Gland, but the combination of ingredients in a Bronx just does nothing for me.

Which town? Fargo-Moorhead. A smallish area between North Dakota and Minnesota. We have one bar with a smattering of craft cocktails, but it is really more oriented as a restaurant. Other than that, my nearest option for true craft cocktails is Minneapolis, which is 3.5 hours away.

Just a new perspective here, but I long for a snobby bartender. I would love just one bar in my area that did not stock vodka or would not serve ridiculous drink ending in tini. Though there are a few places that are finally embracing good cocktails, even the good bars still have vodka drink taking up half the menu. My town need a good kick in the pants from some snobbs if you ask me.

Sun Chips are bad one for me. Most other bags of chips I have no trouble putting away after a single serving, but I'll be damned if Sun Chips last more than a day in my house. Also Fig Newton - a sleeve of those can disappear quick.

I have, and I don't like them. Just something about tomato liquified. When I was little I could not stand any tomato, now I love it in many different applications, but not in these ways,

I had to think quite hard about this one - I will east almost anything. Most of the foods I dislike it is because of bad preparation, not the dish itself, i.e. spaghetti with sauce that tastes like hamburger, a sloppy joe in place of decent pulled pork, etc. But one think I truly hate in all forms is liquid preparations of just Tomatoes. I can't stand tomato soup, or tomato juice. It's to bad because the idea of a savory beverage really appeals to me.

I think the Pegu Club is a really difficult cocktail to balance. More than other cocktail, I think the specific sourness level of the limes used can result in a very different cocktail. With the exact same ratios I've had cocktail that I liked, and ones that just did not work.

That sounds wonderful... Added to my to-do cocktail list. Templeton is rye from what used to be the LDI and is now MGPI distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana who makes a ton of different distilled spirits that they sell to others for use in their own brand. Essentially the same stuff is also found in Bulleit and Redemption rye and quite possible several others. High West uses LDI rye in some of their blends. Templeton, Bulleit and Redemption don't make any of it themselves, despite what they may claim in their marketing. It is not a bad rye mind you but between the three I would be inclined to buy the one that has the best price. My experience is that it is usually not Templeton. The cream of the LDI crop, in my opinion, is Willett. Not only do they seem to pick the best barrels (for my taste), but they also bottle at barrel proof. I just don't see any sense in paying for the water that's in Templeton. Willett has finally laid down some of their own output, and based on what I've experienced of their palate, I'm looking forward to tasting it in a few years. Also, the new George Dickel Rye is also LDI juice, which is charcoal filtered. I have to agree about the Willett. Absolutely fantastic whiskey.

Like everyone else in this thread I am a huge Sriracha fan. Goes great on so many dishes, plus it is great for spicing up any non-spicy condiment. Sriracha and ketchup... bam, spicy ketchup. Work great with mustard, barbecue sauces, and of course the classic combo with mayo. My favorite dasher sauce is Yucatan Sunshine - enough heat to give it a kick, but not to overwhelm whatever the food is. Pizza, pasta, soup, chili, ect. I've had many others, including a few bottles of stuff only suitable for adding in drops to a pot of chili, or in a single dot on a Taco, Including Dave's Insanity, Black Widow, and one whose name is the marvelously juvenile Super Colon Blow. Mainly I accumulate these as gifts from people who know I like hot sauce. I also like to have Kick Ass Jalapeno sauce, not very spicy, but makes a great midnight snake with soda crackers. And Finally, there is my favorite and seemingly discontinued sauce, Baboon Ass hot sauce. Silly name, but one of the richest flavors I have ever encountered.

[Moderator note: This topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Drinks! (2012, part 2)] Screw the bubbly, I was enjoying a new years cocktail. To celebrate my new bottle of Aperol, I went with this one from Cocktail Virgin Slut Neighborhood Nine 2.5 Oz Rye (Said Rittenhouse, I used Willett) 0.5 Oz Dry Vermouth 0.5 Oz Aperol 0.25 Oz Drambuie 1 ds Orange Bitters (Ango Orange) Fantastic flavor explosion. Great way to ring in the new year.

Two quick stops Christmas shopping for myself an others. At the first I picked up some Lillet and Four Roses Bourbon. Then I went to a store I had found has much cheaper prices for certain things, and was finally able to restock my Campari, and pick up some Aperol and Hayman's Old Tom Gin for the first time. Man, my paychecks disappear quickly at liquor stores!

It is hard to narrow it down. For widely available beer, such as what I would order in a non craft bar, I do love me some Guinness or some Newcastle Brown Ale. Absolute favorite is harder, and there is so much more out their to try, but I really do enjoy Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, and the Lagunitas Maximus IPA.

While not an enhancement in the sense covered by most of this thread, I have finally set out to enhance my normal gin and tonic in the last available way - the tonic water. I have toyed with the ratio's, gin brand, and garnished, and even tried the splashes of liqueurs liked mentioned above. My current recipe is 1.5 Oz Beefeater to 3 Oz tonic, with a half of a lime squeezed and dropped in. After years of hoping that one of the premium brands of tonic water would show up in town, I finally broke down and got the premium tonic water sampler pack off of Amazon. So here we go Fever Tree - by itself I found it quite light and fizzy, but not significantly different than any of the mass market brands. In the G & T I thought it brought out the lime more than ones I've had in the past, but there is not major taste difference. I mean it is still a G & T. Q-Tonic - by itself I immediately detected a sort of musty quality - definitely a type of bitterness, but not what I expect from tonic. Confirmed in a G & T, has a slightly off taste. The kind of bitterness I associate with 100% cacao chocolate rather than citrus pith. Not horrible, but not my ideal in any sense. Fentimans - by itself rather sweeter than the other two, but not cloying. In the G & T it is less complex, but very pleasant. It could use some extra bitterness, but otherwise I quite like it. Smooth, blends with both the lime and gin. Honestly might be my favorite. Final decision While an interesting experiment I cannot honestly say any of these is miles ahead of Canada Dry, Seagrams, or Schwepps. If Fever tree or Fentimans were locally available, I would likely spring for them, but with exorbitant shipping costs, I can settle for mass market brands.

Long time lurker, first time poster. So I have been trying to find a way to use Zwack in a cocktail after finding it in mini's at a local liquor store. No Unicum, sadly, which I would love to try to satisfy my bitter tooth, but the Zwack is still quite nice. This night I tried a Martinez variant as follows: 1 1/2 Oz Gin(Brokers) 3/4 Oz Sweet Vermouth(Carpano Antica) 3/4 Oz Zwack 1/4 Oz Maraschino 1 dash Orange Bitters 1 dash Angostura I thought replacing half the sweet vermouth with the sweet, herbal liqueur might work out well. Certainly not a bad cocktail, but the Antica really dominated proceedings. I might try it again, or maybe move on to a manhattan variant.