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Inspired me to make a MaiTai tonight. No access to a lot of the "standard" MT rums, but make due with what I have... .75 Doorlys .75 La Mauny Agricole .75 Sagatiba Cachaca .5 Myers's .5 Cointreau .5 orgeat 1 oz fresh lime This was tasty and on the dry side, could've drunk several

Picked up WT101 with 8 year age statement

"The book pairs 25 original cocktail recipes with the 12 erotic stories. Two standard syrup recipes are included." Lol, what? I guess one of them is a threesome.

Picked up another bottle of Willett, this one is 6yr / 115 proof.

Along these lines, I'll usually order something that has an ingredient/bottling that I've never tried, be it in a "twist" or otherwise. I don't usually want to order the same thing I could make at home anytime(usually better and always way cheaper).

Yeah the Willett does seem to be the best relative value, so Im gonna get a few bottles to stash away while I can. The Templeton story is interesting, Im sure I wouldn't have shelled out the 95 anyway. Will put the High West on my wishlist. From everything I read, that seems the case... I want to get a bottle. Good news for me is that I will have a local credit card next week that will allow me to shop on Taobao(aka Alibaba). I can get the Rittenhouse 10 bucks cheaper AND all booze across the board is around 20% cheaper AND there's a wider selection than at the nearby stores. Can't wait.

Myers's Midori Passoa Malibu (or Bailey's if you can't find a bottle of Malibu)

Found these two dusty bottles(in a local liqour store that mostly only sells Chinese Baijiu) of Wild Turkey 8 yr old 86.8 proof bottled in 1996. I have limited experience, but it tastes great. They also have two bottles of WT101 with an "imported" stamp showing 2005. Is there any point in buying these? WT101 is reasonably available and at the same price($28) as the two 2005 bottles.

Newish stuff Bummed out when I got home I realized the BT was only 80 proof, possible an "export" version? Will have to look around for the 90 proof when finished. Love the Camus, makes an amazing sidecar.

New/restock Bitter Truth chocolate, Bitter Truth Grapefruit, Bitter Truth lemon Campari Averna Gosling's HC7, HC3 Mt Gay Eclipse Hemdricks Hayman's London Dry Bommerlunder Aquavit Agavales blanco Loving the TBT and can't wait to try the Averna, first time to buy it.

What's a "manhattan barrel"?

Retried taking much better care of my dry vermouth ie. refrigerating it and the result is definitely better tasting martinis with dry vermouth. Before, i had been pretty lax about keeping the vermouth in the fridge and seems like it took on a more sour character pretty quickly. I do still quite enjoy the Cocchi Americano variation though, it doesn't seem THAT much sweeter, but more like "brighter".

Trying to decide if I should try a bottle of Rittenhouse(100 proof). Currently, I mostly mix with Sazerac 6 yr old or Jim Beam Rye. I also have a bottle Willet single barrel 110 proof(4 or 5yr) and a couple high rye bourbons(Fighting Cock, Bulleit) Thing is it seems the Rittenhouse is quite a budget bottle in the states, while here it aint cheap at $62 Comparitively:. Saz=$65, Beam=$20, Willet=$65 How different is the Rittenhouse from the others? Worth getting a bottle at that price, relative to the other bottles? Other ryes available are High West double rye=$82, High West Son of Bourye=$90, Town Branch=$62, Templeton Small Batch=$95 Mainly use for cocktails-Manhattans, Sazeracs, Old Pal, so on and so forth.

Oh, I also enjoy this variation of the 20th Century: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/57257-the-eighteenth-century-cocktail/?hl=%2Bmyers

I like it as a float in a Mai Tai or in a Jungle Bird: http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Jungle-Bird-Recipe A tropically inspired 1970s sipper from the Aviary bar in Kuala Lumpur, this adaptation combines a delicious mix of dark rum, Campari and fruit juices. 1 1/2 oz. blackstrap rum 3/4 oz. Campari 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup (1:1) 1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice Ice cubes and crushed ice Tools: Glass: Old Fashioned Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice cubes and strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled with crushed ice.

Finally had the opportunity to add to my standard bitters(ango, Regans orange, and Peychaud's) 3 new ones: Bitter Truth lemon, grapefruit and chocolate(all seem excellent imo). I've tried them out in some recipes that called for them and messed around with old fashioned variations etc. I also got to thinking...why not add some lemon bitters to a sidecar? Orange bitters to a margarita? Grapefriut bitters to a Hemingway daiquiri? Chocolate bitters to a 20th century? Do you think this enhances these classics or totally changes them? Just overkill? Came across an article that suggests replacing the cointreau in a margarita with simple syrup and orange bitters. That sounded a bit odd to me and not really what I'm getting at. Seems like you'd loose the alcohol content of the cointreau. http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/margarita-recipe/ Btw, would TBT orange bitters be a waste if I already have Regans?

The thing I find sightly annoying is when I buy something like fresh mint to make Julep and then feel obliged to make drinks using mint over the next couple days to use it up, even though I may not be in the mood for a drink with mint.

For whatever reason, Ive found that I much prefer Cocchi Americano in place of dry vermouth in almost every recipe Ive tried(Martini, 20th century, Ford cocktail, Scofflaw, etc). The other day, I made a martini for a friend, not telling him about the substitution(2.5 Beefeaters, .5 Cocchi, stirred). He said, unsolicited, it was the best Martini he'd ever had. Btw, the only dry vermouth avalable where I live is Cinzanno and M&R. Also, how does Bianco compare to Cocchi, is its 1/3 the price. How much of a crime is it to use Cocchi instead of dry vermouth?

Over the past year I've assembled a homebar in which I can make most drinks. I've tried almost all of the classics and gone on Mai Tai, Daiquri, Manhattan, Sidecar, Martini, etc kicks. But it's always tough to choose which drink(s) to make: a new one, an old favorite, my current fave, one with my newest purchase.... With so many amazing cocktails, just wondering how others decide?

Nakji, do they have Jenny Lou's in SH? Here in BJ they carry the honey rum 174 khuai for 700ml http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/motlybia/IMG_3771e.jpg

In fact an Alabama Slammer was the drink she wanted. She wasn't pushing it, just a drink she likes and it was an informal get together. I steered her towards something else, introducing her to a new drink that she liked. However, its also equally fun to me to make someone exactly what they want. Thanks Dan, Ive got Cherry Heering, I'll try your suggestion next time there's a need for Soco.

A friend asked me to make a drink that calls for southern comfort, which I dont have and dont really want to buy bottle of. Could I approximate it with some mix of bourbon and peach liqueur?

Waaahey! Found a source for both orange bitters and Peychauds.

Where I live I'm currently unable to find orange bitters. Can I substiute Campari?

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/motlybia/IMG_3006.jpg Hi, new here and have learned a lot browsing this forum! I'm in China, so I don't have the selection that I'd have in the US, and must go to many stores for different items. Found the best liqour store yet the other night though and picked up a few things: New: Monin Creme de Apricot liquer Agavales bianco tequila La Mauny rhum agricole Berneroy Calvados Cocchi Americano Corralejo reposado tequilla Monin grapefruit-rose syrup Essential Cocktails(from bookstore down the street actually:) Restock: Cointreau Havana Club silver *Creme de apricot is described as having a "brandy base", but it's only 40 proof. Am I correct that this can only be used when an Apricot liquer is called for, not when the drink needs an apricot brandy?