Iheartnegronis

Kerry you have one of my favorite Gins! I love that stuff! I can't tell what the center one is? I don't recognize it.

That sounds awesome! I'm curious where you got it? I live in Portland but frequent the coast often and I'd love to try and make sloe Gin. I've only ever bought Plymouth and don't know of any other good Sloe Gin available in my area. I have a few good recipes though that call for it.

I actually used Vodka for that infusion and I can't find my notes for it but I think I used about 1/8 cup? I just bought an ounce or two so I didn't use a lot. Pretty sure I made a half gallon as well. That's a good idea, I never thought of vacuum sealing! I knew there had to be one, thank you and I apologize for cluttering the forum.

I make one about once a month and have had great success until my latest one. I've made everything from Orange, lemon, falernum, cherry, blackberry and coffee liqueurs but I just tried making an apple brandy and it is NOT very good. I don't get it. I tried two different VS Brandys and basically stuck a few slices worth of nice apples in there...waited about a month and it turned into a very odd and bitter flavor. It's the first one of the infusions that have failed. Usually it's pretty fool proof! I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with creating apple or pear brandy spirits? To try and contribute to the forum, the most simple approach to fun homemade infusions was to venture to your local tea/spice store and purchase herbal teas. I've done lemongrass vodka, hibiscus, rooibose and several other herbal teas and they work quite well. Just try a cold infusion for 24 hours and there ya go! The rooibose and blackberry vodka experiments made outstanding alterations to a boring lemon drop.

Well if you don't want to buy any new spirit you could make a house margarita? This is my favorite recipe I've come up with for one. 2 oz tequila 1 oz orange juice 1 oz lime juice 1/2 oz lemon juice 1 oz simple syrup 1/2 triple sec (if it's cheap triple sec...use it sparingly since it can ruin a good margarita)

Here in Portland it's not so cut and dry. There are hundreds of bartenders who create a cocktail menu where the drinks are 80% vodka and have blue Curacao in them....I've learned my lesson by ordering Old fashioneds, Negronis, Manhattans because bartenders who have that 80% vodka menu usually can't make a simple Negroni if their life depended on it. This is just in my experience. We then have the second tier bartenders who claim to know the "classics" and their whole menu is filled with disguised classic drinks. They rename them and put a twist on the originals but the problem I've found is...most of the time the drink isn't as good as the original. Then there's the great Barternders who have mastered the classics and have branched out into their own experiments. I remember one of the first bars I went into when I was 21, Jeffery Morganthaler was tending and I ordered a simple Sazerac . He gave me a "really? well alright!" expression and made one of the best I've had to this day. (6 years ago). I've since tried every homemade cocktail on his menu and they're absolutely incredible. I guess my point is, my test of a great bartender is if they can nail the classics. Too many bartenders skip even learning the older obscure cocktails. I got a DEATH GLARE from a bartender who didn't know what a Corpse Reviver #2 was and he worked at a bar claiming to serve vintage cocktails....

HA yes, my house is filled with Gin fans so that was dented rather quickly. So I have not yet come up with something I really like for the white dog but it reminded me of a Pisco or Grappa in an odd way. So I tried making a Sour with it. White Dog, Lemon Juice, simple syrup and a little Harlequin then used an egg white to froth it up a bit. It was pretty good but I think I can do better...just not sure what to do with it yet.

Nice choice of Rye...one of my favorites right now... Here are two of my favorite Cyner Recipes: 1.5 oz rye whiskey ½ oz maple syrup ½ oz cynar ½ orange juice 2 oz tequila (blanco usually) 1/2 oz cynar 1/2 oz lime juice 1/4 simple syrup 3 dashes rhubarb bitters a few drops of orange flower water

Hey guys, new member her. Long time cocktail experimenter/drinker but I'm new... Here's what I've recently picked up. Two great local products. Whiskey and Gin and a very tasty Swedish Punch!