Rafa

Glad to hear it went well. I don't think you'll lack for options when it comes to rum. It's arguably the largest and most varied category of spirits there is. (Well, unless we count all fruit distillates as 'brandy.')

I don't mean to speak for Adam, who may have indeed used vodka for all I know, but Ketel One also makes genevers for European markets.

Gorgeous shots. I need to get a camera. I recently rediscovered this drink, and think it's great, and deserves a spot in my (and perhaps others') regular rotation: The Doe's Pathby muse of doom, feu-de-vie1 oz Rye, Dad's Hat1 oz Dry vermouth, Vya3/4 oz Cynar1/4 oz Bénédictine1 spg Rosemary (as garnish) Stir, strain, coupe, garnish. Roll the sprig between your fingers to wake it up. Delicious. Made with ri(1) and Vya. --Kindred Cocktails | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community Subtle, complex, spicy, and dark, the flavors perfectly integrated and congruent. Structurally, I suppose it's a forest-y take on bostonapothecary's Alto Cucina.

I'm having Dan Chadwick problems lately where almost everything is too sweet for my palate, but somehow dark flavors like sherry and amari get an exemption.

I used Broker's, simply because it's what I have around at the moment. I imagine the drink could work better with a more herbal gin like St. George Terroir or Edinburgh. I was inspired by a sparkling, unsweetened version of the same drink called Bitter Herb. I'm very curious to try the dry rye gin, as well as its aged version, which St. George charmingly calls "reposado." Unfortunately my preferred local liquor store isn't taking any special orders until the holiday season's through.

I made a gin version of the Toronto discussed above. Pretty good. Very woodsy. I'm also playing around combining Cynar and Pedro Ximénez sherry with different spirits. Those two are made for each other.

I tried Adam's take on the Norman Conquest with a dash of Bénédictine rather than the barspoon of Drambuie (I'm out) and I enjoyed it. The Peychaud's is a nice touch with the apple spirit. I'll have to try it the right way sometime.

Bien sûr.

Especially bonkers given what a stickler he is for traditional recipes and obscurantist deference to first sources. He calls a Negroni a Camparinette, for example.

I like the Bijou variant, mentioned earlier in this thread, that calls for dry vermouth rather than sweet and yellow Chartreuse rather than green. It makes for an herbal, lightly sweet Martini variation, or a dryer Alaska.

I didn't purchase it, but I did sample Combier's Kummel liqueur, and I've got to say that not only is it the only palatable commercially made kummel I've tried, it's downright delicious, with a complex cumin flavor and a subtle fennel-y aftertaste. Pricey, but probably worth it if you don't want to go through the trouble of making your own.

The tone of this topic amuses me. "'Gentleman' Jack Daniel's is no true whiskey! PROVE ME WRONG GOOD SIRS! And fie upon you if you propagate the chicanery that such swill is bourbon!" Jack Daniel's is okay. If I'm going to drink a bourbon with most of its luscious congeners stripped off by maple charcoal, I'll choose George Dickel nine times out of ten.

I think a Bamboo would be a nice, low alcohol aperitif, with a slight savoriness and a faint saltiness that would complement the caviar well. It's also very easy to make: an ounce and a half each of dry sherry and dry vermouth with a dash each of orange and aromatic bitters and a lemon (or orange) twist. You could add an optional bar spoon of rich simple or demerara syrup to offset the dryness. If sherry is a tough sell, a fifty-fifty Martini with Dolin Dry would do superbly.

Try one with rye. Not that there's anything wrong with a bourbon Manhattan when the mood's right.

I can rest easy now.

Well?

That might be worth braving the frightening wilderness that exists (I assume) beyond these fair boroughs.

Showoff.

I tend to just add a dash of absinthe directly to the mixing tin, unless I'm putting on a show for a crowd, and then I, erm, attempt the whole tossing-glass-while-shouting-"Sazerac!" thing.

If I could easily acquire demerara sugar cubes I'd probably go with that.

I'm a fan of that version as well, though I tend to prefer a touch of demerara syrup to a sugar cube if I have some handy. I need to try the St. George absinthe in a Sazerac.

Now I'm craving chicken wings.

What specs do you use in your Sazerac?

As far as I know those are primarily, if not exclusively, Willett's terms. I think you got the general idea.

Great suggestion. Hit the spot. Thanks. I followed it up with a Philabuster via Kindred Cocktails; enjoyable, though the flavors didn't quite meld for me.