Craig E

Cocchi Americano is at the center of my first original of 2017, which I'm calling the Fragola Rock by Craig Eliason, St. Paul, Minnesota (USA) 1 1/2 oz Aromatized wine, Cocchi Americano 1 oz Gin 3/4 oz Strawberry shrub 10 dr Salt Solution 1 oz Soda water (to top) 1 twst Grapefruit peel (as garnish) 1 Strawberry (as garnish) Stir all but soda, strain onto big rock in a DOF (or onto cracked ice in a wine glass), top with soda, briefly stir, express grapefruit twist and garnish with it and/or a strawberry. -- Kindred Cocktails | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community Citrus juice (lemon and grapefruit) comes through though it's not present! This is accessible and tasty. The strawberry flavors are very subtle; the vinegar comes through more strongly, though there's enough sweetness (and a little bitter from the americano) to hold it in check. I made the shrub a while ago from the Serious Eats cold-process recipe. Can't recall if I used cider vinegar or red wine vinegar or a combination of the two.

Took my new (first) bottle of bianco vermouth out for a spin tonight. First up, Death & Co's One, One, One, which is equal parts Krogstad aquavit (Tattersall), Beefeater, and Dolin Blanc, plus a dash of Regan's. Nose reminded my wife of nice cosmetic toner, and I could see what she meant, a clean rubbing alcohol aroma. The aquavit was very pronounced in the taste. I very much like my Tattersall aquavit so that wasn't a problem. I saw on Kindred that @Rafa had come up with almost the same drink on his own, at .75 : 1.25 : .75 proportions, with an expressed orange peel, and on paper that seems like it might have better balance. Next, another equal-parts drink, the San Francisco Treat which is Fernet Branca, Averna, bianco vermouth, with a flamed orange peel (I used grapefruit). Learned of this from a Reddit thread which reported that it struck a surprising balance, but I found the fernet predictably bullyish and it consequently wasn't an especially successful drink for me. Last, the Gringo, which is 1 oz Aperol 1⁄2 oz Beefeater 1⁄2 oz Siembra Azul Blanco (Hornitos blanco) 1⁄2 oz Dolin Blanc 1 dash Angostura This was interesting: the gin, which seemed like an outlier in the ingredients list, contributed a subtle but useful sharpness. Even still, this was probably too sweet, especially up front, and could use some revising. Perhaps less Aperol, or a less-sweet bitter aperitif alternative, would work. But the finish had a nice zip to it. This blanc vermouth is a lovely ingredient and strikes me as terrifically underrated.

On a Reddit post I saw mention of a "Rusty Cross," which subbed Smith & Cross for Scotch, so I tried it out: 2 oz. Smith & Cross rum fat 1/2 oz. Drambuie dash Angostura lemon twist This worked well. It's obviously high-octane, so benefits from a long stir and slow sips. If you're looking for something strong and sweet, you could do worse.

I think what he's saying is tasting it is the only trustworthy way to judge how the extraction is going, so you can mix up a little microbatch with what you have (a very small amount of your vodka mixture and proportional bits of sugar and water to get your taster to target sweetness and proof) and decide from there if it needs more time or not.

Yes, this was terrific. Manhattan-ey, but brings out a nice sweet peanut and spice out of the rye. Needs a name!

The Final Voyage is equal parts Smith & Cross, apricot liqueur, lime, and green Chartreuse, and it's good! It's not surprisingly pretty sweet, since only the lime isn't contributing some sweetness, but these are all flavorful ingredients that each has its turn coming to the fore with each sip. Deceptively strong too!

@Rafa's Pericolo: 1.75 Cocchi Americano, .75 gin, .75 pear eau-de-vie, grapefruit twist. Struck me as maybe too sweet at first. It was intensely pear-y, and maybe that led to me perceiving it sweeter than it actually was (I think we associate some flavors like pear or vanilla with sweetness even when they aren't in such a sweet setting). I say that because as the drink went on and warmed up, it didn't turn south like really oversweet drinks tend to do.

If you can find Maison Rouge VSOP it's quite good and excellent value.

After seeing a post on Reddit, tried out a Friûl Libar. Amaro Nonino base, gin (called for navy strength but I didn't have), demerara syrup, lemon, Peychaud's. This was an interesting drink: each sip started very bright with sweet and sour citrus, but in the finish there was a palpable turn towards dark and bitter flavors. This bright-and-dark I experienced as an intriguing dynamic, not a irreconcilable clash. Reminiscent of a Last Word in some ways.

Thanks for the idea. I tried this with grapefruit as the citrus (so maybe more in the Balsa Airplane or Esprit d'Escalier model). I also liked the rye idea especially an overproof to punch through the citrus addition, so I split the base with Rittenhouse. 3/4 oz. Rittenhouse rye 3/4 oz. Spanish brandy 3/4 oz. grapefruit juice 1/2 oz. Vecchio Amaro del Capo 1/2 oz. CioCiaro grapefruit twist This was tasty, the grapefruit and spices melding well in a Donn's Mix kind of way, leaving a cinnamon tingle. Sweet but not overly so, and very smooth. I served it up, but I can imagine on the rocks it could also be a nice autumn cooler, or even scaled up into a punch. I think lemon would be worth trying too.

This Gaelic Flip (with Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, simple syrup, and a whole egg) comes to mind.

Ooh, yes, maybe with grapefruit as the citrus.

The Mixology Monday theme this month is Digestifs. Without trying that hard, I seem to have amassed a decent collection of Italian amari, so my first thought was could several of them be put together to be the feature flavor of a new drink. After a couple of experiments (including rejecting Sfumato in the mix for being too outspoken and Nonino for being too shy), I settled on an even blend of CioCiaro (orange and spices) and del Capo (licorice and herbs). For the base, I turned to a bottle of Spanish brandy I had. With its sherry notes, it seemed particularly fitting for the theme. This acid-free concoction is sweet--fittingly so as an after-dinner drink, but the brightening of an expressed lemon peel or two keeps things balanced. I couldn't resist including a brandied cherry which becomes the dessert at the end of the dessert. NOTTE BENE 2 oz. Spanish brandy 1/2 oz. Amaro CioCiaro 1/2 oz. Vecchio Amaro del Capo generous lemon twist (expressed and discarded) brandied cherry garnish

At @haresfur's suggestion, a Knickerbocker riff using my Polish raspberry liqueur. 2 oz Plantation 3 Star rum 1 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz PF dry curacao 1/4 oz raspberry nalewki 1/4 oz simple syrup Shake, strain, up, garnish with raspberries. Yum!

Gravitating towards cheaper spirits sounds to me like a blessing rather than something to fix!

Along those lines the Dickens Flip (with 1/2 an ounce of Angostura bitters) is nice, too. The bitters reinforce the cherry flavor to my palate. Beta Cocktails' Heering Flip is also similar, that one with a fat 1/2 ounce of Xocolatl Mole bitters! I haven't gotten to that one yet.

The one time I tried to make a Pink Gin I used five "goodly" dashes, and found the result not to my liking in the least. So I'm wondering if I would like a more modest dashing (or even dropping--Wondrich suggests three drops!), or maybe the Pink Gin is just not for me. (For the record I quite like Angostura-heavy drinks in the sour & tiki & flip directions.)

Thanks, I've added them to my list!

I've had both and I also prefer the metal, because my plastic one got a little "etched" over time (not sure if it was due to acid of citrus, or the dishwasher).

(To respond to a seven year old post,) it seems at least one source calls the rhum agricole version a "Dernier Mot." Wow, it's terrific!

How much bitters do you use in your Pink Gin?

I think Old Time Aromatic could go in recipes calling for Angostura, and Creole in recipes calling for Peychaud's.

...and if you wanted to raise the bar with ice, you could get the Neat Ice Kit. Makes a good gift (I received mine as one) because it's a bit splurgy and not essential, but it works well and there's considerable aesthetic satisfaction in a homemade huge and clear ice cube. Includes a Lewis bag. For homemade ingredients, brandying some cherries might be best. I've made other ingredients (falernum, pimento dram, grenadine, orgeat, syrups) but they are probably less versatile.

Still on the lookout for an Old Fashioned I'd fall in love with (beyond the Oaxacan), but tonight's go was pretty good: 1 sugarcube, 3 dashes Bar Keep Chinese bitters, 3 oz. Bulleit rye, orange twist. Sugarcubes have a distinct retro appeal for me, though I usually regret not using simple syrup when I'm trying to get the damn things to dissolve.

...and more gifts from friends, one just back from China and the other just back from Poland. Not finding much online about how to use these in mixed drinks, so I'll have to be inventive. Suggestions welcome!