Rafa

I believe HC filters most of the color out of its white(ish) añejo after aging, similar to what El Dorado does with its 3 year offering. I don't think it's possible for a spirit to see three years of wood and not take on a lot more color in a climate like Cuba's, unless it's aged in huge Calvados-style barrels with minimum wood contact (which I don't think is the case). I second everything Hassouni says about Brugal and the other Cuban-style whites, which incidentally is how the government listed my ethnicity on the most recent census.

You're too kind—did everyone know of my love for meditation aids?

You might want to try the Violet's Party: Violet's Partyby from The Best Craft Cocktails & Bartending with Flair, modified by Elana Lepkowski, Stir & Strain.3 oz Añejo tequila, Partida1 1/4 oz Crème de Violette, Bitter Truth3/4 oz Lime juice2 wdg Lime (as garnish) Stir, strain, one large rock, garnish. A huge amount of violet liqueur, but balanced by other very strong ingredients, so that you get a good sense of what the violette does to cocktails without feeling like you're dying of poison gas released by a perfume-themed supervillain.

I braved a trip to the post office and was rewarded with my no-longer-secret Santa's gift—a lovely and functional meditation fountain. Not potable, per se, or boozy, but a thoughtful present that will be of much use in my continuing quest for enlightenment. Unrelatedly, I've found my new favorite Daiquiri rum.

Though a lot of bartenders / bar books still say "bonded applejack" for the Laird's 100 proof, or take "applejack" to mean American apple brandy—as far as I know applejack didn't come to mean Laird's blend of NGS and apple spirit until long after prohibition. And at least one contemporary producer refers to its apple brandy as applejack.

You amaze. I must say, that sentence almost doesn't qualify for the contest—as hilariously tonally off as it is, it's beautifully constructed.

Sorry it didn't work out—I've found that cassis + lemon can be tart in an unpleasantly sharp way if I'm not careful, and I have trouble controlling for it, so on a subsequent revision I decided to replace the lemon with lime in that drink, cut back the cassis significantly, and add some ginger syrup to make up the difference and help tie together the flavors a bit better.

I missed the deadline for this last MxMo (theme: highballs), despite having had my drinks ready far in advance. I made the Bulwer-Lytton, a mix of ginger beer and London Dry gin infused with Earl Grey for maximum Britishosity, aromatized with lavender bitters and tarted up with lime. You can sort of see that I floated the infused gin for a further Dark 'n' Stormy reference. I also made a mix of Fernet and chocolate-infused coffee stout, which I called Rabbit Fernet Coat because I was on a Jenny Lewis kick at the time. No picture, so here's one of one of the girlier-looking drinks I've ever made, garnished with a strawberry. Not my hand.

I just replaced my bottle of Bank Note 5 (an excellent high-malt blend with light sherry and a bit of smoke from Bowmore) with a bottle of Speyburn 10 Single Malt, and that does a fair job in cocktails wherever Scotch is called for generically.

Were I stuck there with you I might have to fight you for the same bottle.

Nowhere near you, by the sound of it. :-)

That's done when sampling perfumes as well, and does seem to work (though that may just be my own suggestibility).

Scent is complicated. Something you smelled or ate earlier in the day could be discombobulating you. Take a break (hard to pull away from the Lagavulin, I know) and try again later. Or is it a new bottle? You may have just gotten an off-profile one. Though I've never gotten peaches from Lag; apples, maybe, and tire fire, but that's it. Or make a Georgita with it.

Following the news that (non-distiller) Hood River Distillers just acquired Clear Creek Distillery, I worry about the future of a niche, labor-intensive product like the Doug Fir eau de vie. It sounds like Clear Creek's Steve McCarthy decided to cash out, and from what I've read the new GM at CC is a marketing type with no distilling experience.

Yes, I just saw that Weller 12 had gone up from under $20 to ~$25 at my favorite local store. Of course this is theoretical, as no one can find Weller 12 at the moment… Time to find out if I like Evan Williams Single Barrel, I guess.

When made with lemon and more raspberry syrup, that's a Vic's Columbia, a nice drink.

I imagine things get trickier, and more expensive, with transatlantic booze shipping, unfortunately for Ms. Vertes.

How'd you like the McCarthy the Handy?

A guy asked me if I wanted a frozen banana daiquiri now and I said no, but I want a regular banana daiquiri later, so, yeah.

More assertive bitterness than Angostura, but milder flavors at similar volumes; a more floral and herbal flavor profile, with the components easier to distinguish than Ango, among them chamomile, coffee, gentian, and tons more.

Tapatio blanco and overproof are excellent. I'm a big fan of the Calle 23 blanco and repo too; the repo uses a different yeast strain, which gives it a floral aspect to round out the blanco's earthy pepper.

Mine has not arrived, nor does my gift appear to have reached its intended. I fear it's lost in the mail... time to make a phone call.

Rum. Works exceptionally well in this spirit.

Thanks for the notes. I'm excited for the Ransom whiskey, especially given your description of its mouthfeel and apparent maturity. I'll try it at a bar before I invest in a full bottle though.

That's a great one. Another good Mai Tai variation by Grier is his Mai Ta-IPA: Mai Ta-IPAby Jacob Grier, Metrovino, Portland, OR.1 oz Demerara Rum, El Dorado White1 oz Demerara Rum, El Dorado 81 1/2 oz India Pale Ale1 oz Lime juice3/4 oz Orgeat, B.G. Reynolds1/2 oz Triple sec, Combier L'Original Liqueur D'Orange1 Cherry (as garnish) Shake, strain into a Collins over rocks, garnish with a paper parasol through a cherry. --Kindred Cocktails | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community The IPA adds another layer of flavor with a mild bitterness and a grapefruit-y aroma, along with length and effervescence. I imagine you could mash up the IPA version and the Transatlantic one and end up with something malty and delicious. Grier has a book on beer cocktails forthcoming, should be full of interesting recipes.