Quadriga

My first purchase in a long time

But why? You do want to have some dilution. It (=water) is basically an as crucial ingredient as spirits, juices etc. in order to get a balanced drink..

My answer would be, too: Sours. They work with any base spirit, require, in their simplest form, only four ingredients (ice is the fourth one in case you're wondering) and are easily modifiable (add some Crème de Mûre to your Gin Sour and you have a delicious Bramble; the Mai Tai is basically an enhanced Rum Sour, too). Plus, they're not too boozy although the base spirit is cleary the prominent ingredient.

Once more plenty of rum, more than I actually need... but a) it was a bargain and b) it's Caroni rum: grab some while you can.

I'm already one step ahead of you

I fear you won't find Maison Meneau in the US. I assumed FrogPrincesse, who is French, might have tried/heard of French company Meneau, and so I asked her. Sorry, I should have been more precise in the first place.

Have you ever tried Meneau Orgeat? I like it very much. So, I've never felt the urge to make homemade orgeat (and probably never will).

I'm having some friends over tonight and hopefully, we'll be having a great time combining different gins with these tonics. Truth is, however, I never really was that much of a G&T fan, but it has grown on me.

Some new alcoholic as well as non-alcoholic toys:

Sounds too crazy (and looks too good) not to try. I needed a reason to spend some money on quality Aceto di Balsamico anyway. At this time of the year, getting strawberries that taste like strawberries might be a challenge, though.

[Host's note: this topic forms part of a longer discussion that grew too big for our servers to handle efficiently. The discussion continues from here.] Christmas present to myself: A 17yo cask-strength rum from Hampden by German independent bottler TheRumCask. I wished I had a sample of the famous 17yo Wray&Nephew Trader Vic used in his Mai Tai for comparison.

please delete

Actually, there is a Manhattan variation with rum: the Guyana Manhattan And it's pretty tasty, too.

Absolutey. The Rutte Paradyswyn is excellent.

Thanks for your replies. I have been browsing quite some online portals and have found the Woodford Bitters at Crush Wine and Spirits. That will do. They don't list the Abbott's Bitters, but LS Navy Style Rum, Sazerac and Woodford Rye instead. So, plenty of stuff to choose from. In terms of feasibility, Astor and Crush is a good combination.

Hi to all of you, I'm from Germany and I've been enjoying (quality) spirits and cocktails for a couple of years now. I was wondering if you would be so kind to give me some advice on where to buy quality spirits in NYC, preferably Manhattan. Relatives of mine are going to be visiting NYC and it would be a great opportunity to get my hands on some spirits that are not available here. It would certainly be a big help if they knew where to look for, as you can imagine, I can't ask them to spend most of their time hunting for liquor. On top of my priority list is some Lost Spirits rum (Polynesian Inspired > Navy Style). Thanks to Bryan Davies of Lost Spirits, I know that Astor Wine & Spirits in NYC is definitely a place worth visiting as they not only retail these coveted rums but also list some other interesting stuff (Solerno, Van Oosten Batavia Arrak,...). Plus, it's in Manhattan, so my folks shouldn't have too much trouble dropping by. But I'm still in need of a store where I can get Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters and (I fear this could be a tough one) Tempus Fugit Abbott's Bitters. Any help would be appreciated.