Adam George

I hope so too, and you're right. It probably takes nothing away. I just can't say I agree with the method. I don't think a lime wedge brings enough to a drink if it isn't in the drink itself. I've given up on the traditional Daiquiri garnish of a lime wedge because it's not doing anything. Not until it has been squeezed in, in which case it has just spoilt the balance. It hasn't brought any aromatic to the drink, either. Now, as we all agree, the Pegu is a pretty hard drink to "find" - not to say the club by the same name haven't done so. My personal approach to a garnish is it needs to accent some some element of the drink, bring a new and contrasting element - or you let the drink do the talking. For my Martini, I like the former, my Daiquiri, the latter. I don't wish to sound overly negative, or like I'm slagging anyone off - just offering an opinion. Cheers.

Considering the source of the "a thing of beauty" description, I'm going to assume the lime wedge hurts it not at all. The photo does not do it justice, but this was a nicely scored lime wedge, not just a random garnish. I just think wedge garnishes are brash and with a cocktail that the balance is clearly so critical....

Not impressed with a lime wedge garnish like that. A Pegu shouldn't need any more acid and it doesn't exactly look beautiful.

STOP TRYING TO MAKE MONEY!

I think I'd prefer a Pegu with lemon...

I'm a plopper, too.

I drink PX whenever I can. It keeps forever. Possibly longer under vacu vin and in the fridge.

I wonder if we will get these in England. We don't even get M&R in 375.

I quite like the beer drink. I might make that up one day.

Yeah, the first time I did it I used a blend of Lustau Pedro and Lustau Oloroso: Far too sweet. Also, interesting that there is Maraschino in that Sazerac. Good too; I spotted the mist and presumed absinthe, but thought the two pours of white liquid were just continuity errors. Odd they don't even mention the absinthe, this being "Maison Premiere" and all.

fuck... That's amazing.

Awesome bottle and label. Shame about the price. Seems that JD know what they're doing though: the plebs get Honey Whiskey and the geeks get White Whiskey. Cynical, but funny.

My nightcap was a wee dram of the Twenty Year Old. I'd love to try more in the range, but unfortunately even that is on at least a one month back order. Well done.

I made Meehan's Negroni in this very beautifully shot video. I used Pampero Blanco, Campari and Blandy's Madeira. It was alright, but not rum-y enough. I imagine Meehan has this spec'd with Bank's, which I do not have access to.

Sounds diabetic. Try starting with gin as a base and slowly building up with hazlenut and/or lemoncello with lemon juice to balance. Keep trying little tastes on a spoon before adding egg white and ice and shaking very hard. Don't even tell her you're putting egg in as girls get all funny about this. I'm glad you like the Negroni, though. They are incredibly morish. I don't mind mine built as I'm a gin and Campari fiend, however, for my guests I throw the ingredients from tin to tin to add some dilution and aeration.

I did Tanqueray, Strega, Aperol, lemon yesterday

Martini Rosso, or dry? If Rosso, put an ounce each of gin, Campari and Rosso in a glass full of ice and garnish with an orange slice.

I the resting. Odd. Cool. Anyway, we should not be discussing this here, but thinking about newbie cocktails for Yuri.

I'm going to be buying a 3 Litre cask from a chap in Mexico on eBay. I think it's about $75. Not cheap, but it will look fun.

Is that "Creme de 'Prune'"?

I'm not sure I will reply over there on "golden ratios" as I don't want to bump an old thread needlessly, but I do think tried and true ratios are a great starting point when developing your own drinks. As long as you're not going out of your way to find flavours that might clash and you tweak the drink objectively when experimenting you can make some fun drinks. Not to start writing my memoirs, but when I was experimenting for our winter menu, I wanted to do something with cherry and chocolate, I approached Boudreaus's ratio and did 50 ml Builleit 25ml Dubbonet 5ml Cherry Marnier 2 dashes of Mozart Chocolate Bitters. Twas a good start, but it was far too chocolatey bitter and the whisky was bit much, so I shaved 10ml off the whisky and made sure only to do one solid dash of bitters. It needs more of a stir than I even give my Old Fashioneds, but when it's right, the flavours pop from the glass. The result, garnished with an orange twist and some Amarena cherries on a pick has been pretty popular amongst the whisky cocktail drinking guests - of which there are precious few. Overlapping from the "Creating" Thread - I will note that it might not be a modern classic in the making, but it serves its purpose at my bar: It's a medium-complex, yet approachable, whisky drink that is inspired by a bitter chocolate tart. My punters are not hardened, bitters crazy hipsters so a load of drinks with Amaros and Fernet are not going to cut it at my bar and if I tried forcing those drinks on everyone, I'd be out of a job. Sorry to meander, off. The moral of the story is that these ratios that we experiment with are a great starting when creating your own drinks.In more of a direct answer to the original question, I would recomend watching lots of videos online from reliable sources. Small Screen Network Liquor.com Diffordsguide are all great places to learn some great recipes and techniques that will hopefully inspire. There are probably more that escape me right now. The internet is amazing, in that now I can see the staff that work at bars around the world and pick up on techniques and recipes they are using without even leaving my desk! Onto drinks,I would personally leave the Long Island Iced Tea and its variations well alone. It's a pretty silly disco drink in which three out of five spirits serve no real purpose besides proof. If you're hankering for a coke drink to start you off, this version of the Cuba Libre is pretty decent and balanced enough. And I don't even like coke. You could start with half a teaspoon of your Amaro in here, but really, getting yourself a big bottle of Angostura Bitters is about the first thing any budding home cocktologist should do. It will last you years - even longer if and when you start buying even more varieties of bitters! You'll have to excuse the waffle and rubbish. I can't say I'm a fan this particular show and format, but it's a free resource and I got this recipe from it, so I got my money's worth.

Well, I was incredibly bored at work during lunch today and couldn't resist trying the above formula with both Pikesville Rye and Plymouth Gin, Aperol and St Germain. I must say, the Rye was pretty good. Nice summery Whisky sour. I might try a stronger liqueur if I go back to gin, or try Tanqueray or something more juniper. I think I will be returning to this formula again! In semi related news, Bacardi just bought St Germain. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bacardi+st+germain&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

One would hope. I think the problem is there just aren't really that many good bartenders that know what the hell they're doing. This is one thing that separates the hacks from the decent bar keep: Knowing when something you have made isn't good enough and taking criticism gracefully.

Merci. Now regarding Bacardi in daiquiris (or Bacardi in general) - not much flavor to begin with! Oh no, you're right. But a 10:3:2 Daiquiri with Bacardi works. just. I can't tell you the pain I went through trying to make a drink for Bacardi Legacy.

Oui. It's also the only ratio that I can stand Bacardi Daiquiris in. Anymore lime and the rum gets killed. It's a shame Bacardi promote a 2:1:1 formula; at least in the UK.