Craig E

First time purchases of Appleton 12 and Roku gin, but this was the biggest and longest-anticipated bottle that found its way into my cart:

Last night, a New York Sour. Many layered drinks are a bit gimmicky but this is a real banger tastewise too.

Strega might work as an interesting sub for yellow Chartreuse in that context.

Brought home from a vacation in Japan.

On a birthday outing with family, got treated to a preprandial cocktail including a fishy garnish, and after dinner a lovely flight of vermouths and amari. Later posted my entry into Reddit's September cocktail challenge, a pecan/bourbon/lemon/maple/sage/cardamom invention I'm calling One-Pedal Driving.

Invented something for a Reddit challenge earlier this week: Candy Says, starring coconut bourbon, lemon, maraschino, and amaretto. Yesterday, Basil Gimlets on the porch with a colleague/friend, inspired by the basil bonanza in my vegetable garden.

I had the same reaction, No. 10 is outstanding in a gin and tonic, best I've had too.

I'm heading to London for almost a month. In previous trips, some of my favorite drink spots have included White Lyan, Satan's Whiskers, Swift, and Oriole. What bars should I not miss this time around?

Gave this a run in a new concoction I just invented, the Sleepover, with Appleton rum, Gran Classico, rhubarb syrup, and chocolate bitters. Maraschino cherry garnish. Goes in a number of different directions, but I think it holds together, though it is quite sweet. The oat-geat contributed quite a creamy taste and mouthfeel; I got a bit of banana milkshake in this.

Trying out this "oat-geat": 200 g oat milk 200 g sugar 1 oz amaretto 1 oz Amaro Nonino Blend the oat milk and sugar until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the amaretto and Amaro Nonino and blend for an additional 30 seconds. Easier than authentic, more "green" than some other shortcut recipes. May not become my permanent replacement, but taste:effort ratio is very high.

Just brought a bottle of this back from Thessaloniki Duty Free: Skinos Mastiha. I found the nose interesting but not that appealing, the taste more yummy: cinnamon, resin, pine, sweet. I gather some of these have an ouzo-like anise aspect, but in this label that is very minimal. Pondering how to mix with it, I worried it'd be a rehash of my frustrations with Swedish punsch: that is, sweet enough on its own that additional sweet mixers would be too much, and subtle in flavor so that it might easily get lost when mixed with anything with a strong personality. But my first go turned out pretty good: equal parts pisco and mastiha, a little lemon juice, and some tiki bitters that drew out the clove and cinnamon. With a mint garnish. On the finish there's mint, pine, and even some bubblegum. I dubbed it the Contrapposto, named for the principle of asymmetrical balance credited as a breakthrough of ancient Classical Greek sculptors. For further experiments, I might think about successful drinks that use Yellow Chartreuse, since it has a similar herbal sweetness. Or perhaps some places it could complexify drinks that call for cinnamon syrup.

Sounds good, though I confess I found the recipe intimidating even before mention of staph infection!

Food for thought on the pricing.

Count me among those taken aback by the price points here.

Those are tasty flavors together. I'd think with the sweetness of the ginger ale, the simple syrup might not be needed.