cdh

yeah. The ouzo I've met is much closer to pastis than it is to sambuca... the sambuca is syrupy sweet, none of the rest are. I'd say that sambuca is the outsider in this comparision.

OK... I'll quiz the relatives about their favorites. I've never gone out eating in York, so this will be second hand... but I trust the palates of these folks.

TB- Think for a second. What's weird about this drink is not that it has whisky and fruit juice. What's weird is that it has Scotch and fruit juice. Not spicy rye. (goes in a Manhattan) Not sweet Canadian. (goes in an Algonquin) Not even rich and woody Bourbon. (makes a fine whisky sour) This drink calls for mixing smoky iodine-y kinda-briney somewhat bitter and sorta-floral Scotch with sweet fruity stuff. That's weird. All whisky ain't the same, and sub-ing one for another just wouldn't work. Would you want a Sazerac made with scotch? Didn't think so.

I just recalled a true story of mixed up mixology-- In London the Institute of Contemporary Art has a bar... a very well stocked bar. Walked in and spotted the Peychaud's Bitters right on the bar and decided I wanted a Sazerac, so ordered one. What came back was not recognizable as a Sazerac, as it had significant quantities of lemon juice in it, and was nothing like the herbal whisky concoction that a Sazerac was meant to be. So I tasted it, said "no, no fruit in a Sazerac, what's this?" which amused my companions to no end. The tender claimed his mixing book called for lemon in the Sazerac... so I told him to ignore his book and make my drink to my specifications... which he did.

Well... are we just 3? And are we still shooting for Sept 1? Hit my local Trader Joe's and found found their mesquite honey in 3lb cans for $6... which makes me lean toward using it. Also have some truly local honey from back when my parents kept bees... pitch black stuff, but interestingly flavored, so a bit might go into the batch.

Cinnamon. I get headaches and nausea from overindulgence in cinnamon. It just gives me a hangover a few hours after I ingest too much of it. Once, in elementary school, I came into contact with pure cinnamon oil, and it turned me bright red and made me hot and sweaty and gave me a headache just from a small amount of it... so I'm guessing there's some sort of allergy going on.

Is York a commutable distance to the greater Harrisburg area? I've got family in York who rave about a couple of restaurants out there... Will ask them for details if it is close enough to be of use to you.

Alright, what is a bloodbath, and where did the recipe come from. Stump the bartender is not fair if you're making up drink names, or asking for non-standard recipes. Webtender doesn't have anything called a bloodbath in its recipes... nor does hotwired's virtual blender... which isn't saying much since neither has the Blood and Sand listed either... I'm somewhat responsible for a bunch of stumped bartenders and chagrined customers... Years ago I was called in to design the drinks menu for a very large party some friends living in the East Village of NYC were throwing... I went whole hog and presented a whole bunch of options, most canonical but unusual like Algonquins and Aviations and Buckeye Martinis, though I threw in my own signature cocktail that I call the Homeskillet. For years afterward stories have been coming back to me of people who were at that party subsequently asking their bartenders for Homeskillets and getting blank expressions in return. So any barkeeps I flummoxed, I'm sorry. Totally not fair asking complete strangers to read my mind. (and since it contains maraschino, there's no way you could have made it anyway.)

Jackal10's said it quite well... imposing one person's foibles on a whole gathering seems problematic. As a goy with a thoroughly unkosher kitchen, no strictly observant Jew could eat anything I cook... and I've thoughtlessly invited some of the observant over for my summer weekend gastronomic adventures... fortunately they've had the good sense and common decency to decline my invitations rather than turning up and pointing out that they can't eat a thing. If people who are really your friends have these sorts of issues, they should display the social grace to suggest a neutral destination where they can consume, and another time to get together. How about the other side of this coin-- What are the best meals you've had that were the product of religious restrictions? I've never done a Seven Fishes dinner, but have had some really tasty matzoh ball soup at seders and a good meatless borcht in an Eastern Orthodox tradition. What ritually pure foods are really really good eating for all concerned, regardless?

And what a high quality evening it was. Rich took lots of pictures, so photographic documentation will certainly follow. Highlights amongst the offerings were: Otto's Black Mo Stout, which struck me by its resemblance to the Italian burnt licorice candies. A really interestingly flavored stout. Flying Fish Coffee Porter, which was a beautifully balanced coffee flavored treat. Nodding Head 700 Level, which was rich and creamy and smooth. General Lafayette's Sunset Red, which had great citrusy hop aromas and that wonderful candied grapefruit flavor. I'm sure others will chime in as well. Excellent event, and well attended, though less claustrophobic with the additional outdoor space that wasn't there in February.

yeah, that counts. Now that I know about it.

Dunno about this-- neither of your brands are familiar to me up here in Pennsylvania... I'm really not sure who the locally available spring waters are, but I don't think these ones are.

Bob- Can you talk some more about the varietal meads? My local homebrew store has a wide selection of honeys... alfalfa, buckwheat, orange blossom, tupelo, blueberry, and others I can't recall. It sounds like making a base batch and then spiking it with a few pounds of a varietal at the secondary ferment would get the varietal message acrosss loud and clear. Any favorite varietals?

Might now be the time to break out all the tales of cocktail capers indulged in with erstwhile LDS friends?

Go Bleachboy! Can't wait for a high quality cocktail blog! I can't think of a cocktail I think I'd really hate... hopefully you'll not find any you really do.

Well... the cocktail porn is about the equipment, not the drinks. If I had some really pretty glassware, I could put water or iced tea in it and it would look really pretty... and you might believe it is whatever I tell you it is... There are very few cocktails that you can be sure what's in them by what they look like. But pretty cocktail equipment is worth a thread of its own, so I'm glad this one is here.

My idea is inspired by Okbrewer's mention in the other thread about making a base batch with a primary fermentation, and then adding the distinctive flavor goodies to the secondary fermentation. Since I've only got one 5 gallon fermentation vessel (aka a big food grade bucket), making a big base batch and then portioning it out into 1 gallon jugs for the long slow secondary ferment strikes me as the most reasonable use of my resources. Doing it like this also gives the opportunity to throw different spicings and fruits and whatever else into the secondary fermentors. All that needs doing is finding a few gallon jugs and stoppers that will seal up the gallon jugs and accept an airlock, which I'm sure my local homebrew shop can do for me. I'd imagine I have a few months to get all of that together while the primary fermentation is happening. Since the base brewing ingredient list is just honey, water, yeast and yeast nutrients, the big questions to decide are: what honey, how much of it per gallon, and what yeast? Trader Joe's has "Desert Mesquite" honey for a pretty cheap price, and it is a neutral flavored honey, so would work well as a base for subsequent flavoring, no? I know nothing about mead yeasts, however. Is it standard to use sulfites to kill off the yeast mid-ferment to retain sweetness, or do you choose a yeast that can only tolerate so much alcohol and let the yeast go until it kills itself off? Are yeast flavors a big part of mead flavor, like in belgian beers, or is a neutral yeast the standard?

The mead thread makes it sound as though there is both interest and experience in mead brewing to be found here on eGullet. Why don't we try to get together a communal meadmaking project sort of like the Chef's Beer thread from last winter? Mead is a lot easier to make than beer, though takes a long time to be ready to consume. I've brewed lots of beer, but have not even tried mead. I'm curious, and I know that I can get honey at reasonable prices around me. My inexperience, however leads me to want to try a sampler batch of a number of different styles, rather than a five gallon vat of one thing I might not even like. Anybody else up for taking part in this sort of experiment? The Chef's Beer thread worked out pretty well, I think, despite the fact that we never got around to swapping tastes of each others' brews.

With regard to mead clarity-- how many rackings are typically required in a mead aging? I'd imagine that if it must sit around for a year, then it is going to require some attention to get it off of its lees and prevent autolysis. Anything that ages for months and months and then gets racked is going to be pretty clear as a result, no?

mmmm... can't wait.

Agreed. The quiz is dumb, demeaning and obnoxious. And missing a "none of the above" answer to each question.

What about crockery? Cheap, abundant, and easy to make.

Sounds like an experiement to be tried in the upcoming project, eh? I call Irish Moss.

Next time I find myself anywhere near the Carlyle, I'll have to stop in and taste the drink as it was intended... What I'm making at home is delicious, though I go a little light on the scotch compared to what Sam suggests... Can't wait to try the original inspiration.

Sam and Audrey- Thanks for bringing the Smoking Martini into my world... What a lovely beverage. Good vodka + Laphroaig 10 + HB Pastis = yummy and smoky and herbal. Highly recommended.