Rafa

My own Blood Simple, after a few sips have dissolved its halo of bitters... And some Spiders from Mars. RIP.

The food looks delicious.

This gentleman enjoyed his Gin Fix.

A cursory perusal of Instagram informs me that I am far below the average when it comes to photographing drinks at The Up & Up.

Dealer's choice, shaken, by Mr. Jimmy (or Jimbo) Palumbo. His Bleeding Heart: Rhum JM blanc, Macchu Pisco, St. George pear eau de vie, and St. Liz allspice dram shaken with lime juice, poured on the rock, and then drizzled with honey and dashed with Ango and Peychaud's. This does things with flavor my tongue has never known before.

Sometimes I'm fancy.

Tonight's: St. George Terroir, St. George pear eau de vie, Dimmi, Bénédictine, orange bitters, lemon oil. The crushed ice drink in the background is just soda and bitters.

Last night's shift drink, which I foolishly forgot to photograph before I started drinking. Dolin dry and blanc vermouths, Blume Marillen apricot eau de vie, orange flower syrup, orange bitters, big old orange twist. A friend said it tasted like tepache, the fermented pineapple rind beverage popular in parts of Mexico, and I kind of agree.

Bobby Heugel, who owns Anvil and The Pastry War in Houston, will no longer serve Flor de Caña at his bars. I expect others will follow. It's true that it's almost certain that other spirits producers treat their workers abominably, but we have direct proof in this case.

Another shiftie, a Rye Tai. Whistlepig, PF dry Curaçao, pistachio orgeat, lemon, Ango bitters.

I'm not sure whether that comment is directed at me but if so thank you! We do love our hand-carved ice at The Up & Up. /plug

For my shift drink, an Alaska. St. George Terroir, yellow Chartreuse, orange bitters, lemon twist. Pretend the forum software attached this image correctly.

I like this Tom Macy punch: Williams Brewster Punchby Tom Macy, Clover Club, Brooklyn, NY. 1.5 l Brut Champagne (= 2 bottles)2 c Pear eau de vie2 c Rosemary syrup6 oz Lemon juice1/2 c Soda water Combine the brandy, syrup, and lemon juice in a punch bowl over a large block of ice and stir in the Champagne and soda shortly before serving. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and grapefruit peels. And for something single serve and a little more spirituous, I like: 1 oz Calvados1 oz Aquavit3/4 oz Amontillado1/4 oz Cranberry liqueur2 dash bittersLemon twist.

Thank you for making me want to purchase this book.

Frog, you're better at citrus garnishes than many professional bartenders I know. (Namely me.)

GWAR Williams 1 oz Poire Williams 1/2 oz Ardbeg 1/2 oz Sorel liqueur 1/2 oz Lemon juice 1/2 oz Rosemary syrup 1 1/2 oz Pear cider 1 pinch Nutmeg (as garnish) Sometimes you come up with a name before the rest of the drink. Sometimes the drink even works.

1 oz Ango 1 oz rye 1 oz simple 1 dash absinthe Orange twist Awesome. I think this would work well as a flip with a nutmeg garnish—even with an equal part of simple, the ango is pretty astringent, though the twist and absinthe help a lot with that.

I've been reading Cienfuegos' book, the inaptly named but otherwise appealing Cuban Cocktails. Not, as the name implies, a historical overview or summary of Cuban drinks, it actually reminds me quite a bit of the Death & Co book--an informative, lively selection of house recipes spiced up with history, bar lore, and great photographs, with sections on technique and ingredients aimed at novices and old hands alike. If you're worried that you're just in for a book of Daiquiri variations, worry not: there are lengthy chapters on stirred drinks, hot drinks, and complex punches along with the Daq variations and other sours. I do have some nits to pick: for a drinks manual with "Cuban" in the title, the book does tend to default to St. Lucian and Guyanese rums for most of the recipes, with Spanish-style rum nearly excluded; some of the fine points of their history are either questionable or flat wrong; most egregiously, in what I can only assume is a typo, their recipe for the standard Daiquiri No. 1 specifies Maraschino liqueur rather than simple syrup or sugar, with no explanation accounting for the change (in a section venerating the "holy trinity" of rum, lime, and citrus, no less). Still, the drinks themselves are delicious and intriguing, the presentation presentable, the called-for ingredients accessible, as opposed to the obscurities you'll find in books by Death & Co, PDT, or Dead Rabbit. Recommended.

Agreed and I've told her, but Jimi Hendrix fandom will do that. Great drink though.

I don't think this gets mentioned in the book for some reason, but the DR infuses (or at least used to) their sweet vermouth with a wormwood tincture, making drinks like this one and their Tipperary even more absinthe-y than they look on paper.

With due respect to the good Colonel, it's a little bit more complicated than that--there's much more to barrel aging than just the rapid imparting of oak char flavors that happens early in the process. To get at the distinction in a somewhat roundabout way, here's Dave Pickerell : Obviously wood chips aren't the same as small barrels, and have their own set of differences from conventional barrel aging, but Pickerell's larger points about the differences, informed by his chemical engineering background and decades of whiskey-making, stands. I don't mean this as size-queenism--small barrels and wood chips have their place--but just in answer to Craig's question. Congratulations on your first batch of whiskey! I hope to try some of your hooch someday.

Fill it until it cannot possibly hold another drop, and then add another drop.

Couple of things about that video: 1) Very minor differences between the version McGarry makes there and the one in the book, specifically that the book specifies Redbreast 12 Cask Strength and calls for 3/4 oz, not 1 oz, of each ingredient (presumably to make a la minute blending of their equal parts rum mix easier). 2) Jack's fill line in his jigger is much lower than the "fill it up until it's overflowing" New York standard.

Pouring Ribbons does something similar, using an orange cordial with steeped peels and citric acid in place of OJ. As far as I know The Dead Rabbit does no such thing, but I'm intrigued enough by the strangeness of their Lion's Tail recipe togive it a shot, and every drink I've ever had there gives me confidence that it'll at least be, well, well-concieved. Of course, I'm currently in St. Thomas, where the Painkillers are plentiful and delicious, so I'm rethinking my bias against OJ. Chris: if you don't mind making raspberry syrup and/or purchasing some Port, I highly recommend the Banker's Punch (aka Bankers Are Wankers) as a good and accessiblly ingredient-ed example of the DR style at its best.

No. They claim inspiration from Kappeler, whose recipe for the Ford indeed contains Bénédictine, along with Old Tom (Dead Rabbit specifies Tanqueray Dry), dry vermouth, and orange bitters. Most of the Dead Rabbit's adaptations depart rather far from the original. For example, their Lion's Tail calls for the usual trio of bourbon, allspice, and citrus (lemon rather than the usual lime), but adds crème de cacao, crème de poire, bitters, nutmeg, and orange juice.