slkinsey

Hi Brigit. I think it depends on the place. Demanding literally fresh-out-of-the-citrus-squeezed juice seems a bit extreme. Most places I patronize squeeze their fresh juices daily and keep them in cold glass bottles. This is, needless to say, not the same thing as bottled faux-fresh citrus juice. Personally, I don't think there is a hugely significant difference between, say, a Daiquiri made using juice from a bottle of lime that was squeezed 4 hours ago and a Daiquiri made using limes squeezed to-order. Now... if the bar has nothing but sour mix and preserved bottled faux-fresh citrus juice, I can see why you'd ask for your juice squeezed to order. Myself, I ask if the bar uses fresh real citrus juices, and if they don't I'll just order a different kind of drink.

This is an interesting and strange one, Rob. If you're interested in trying this one again, I'd suggest trying it with a blended Scotch (I like Famous Grouse) and a regular vermouth. They were certainly not mixing with single malt scotch at that time, as indeed hardly anyone does today, and I find Carpano's Antiqua Formula to have quite a bit more herbal and especially bitter component than most "standard" red vermouths. Try Cinzano or M&R.

Interesting. If you look upthread, it seems that the conventional wisdom on the Mojito is that the limes should not be muddled (which is actually contrary to my practices the last time I was making this drink with some frequency a few years ago). To my tastes, both mojitos and caipirinas need that zest-i-ness in the drink. It's too much a part of the basic flavor profile of the cocktail. But maybe that's just me. It's been a few years since I've made a Mojito, but I used to muddle the limes when I was making them. Just seems like most of the Mojitos I've seen made -- and I spend most of my time in bars where they've not afraid to muddle if it's called for -- haven't muddled the limes. To a certain extent, I suppose this depends on one's mint muddling technique and also on the degree to which one would like for the rum flavor to come through. Assuming a "light bruising" of the mint and a desire for a rum-focused drink, this might influence the choice away from muddling the limes so they don't overwhelm. A heavier muddle on the mint and a preference for a really limey drink would, of course, tip the balance in the other direction. . . . Problem with anything like this is that it requires a lot of forethought and time to infuse and is really not quite the same thing as the muddling achieves with the juice of the fresh fruit a la minute. Well, this is where the whole "compromise of doing it in batch" comes in. I'm not suggesting that a freshly muddled and assembled Mojito isn't better than a batched bottled Mojito. But tommy seemed to be asking about a bottled cocktail rather than a "DIY cocktail bar." Experience tells me that a batched bottled Mojito can still be delicious and works very well at a large backyard barbecue, whereas making drinks to order adds a great deal of work and logistical hassle.

It would taste different and nontraditional with kaffir lime, but it could be really good. Only one way to find out, right? I'd think of adding a dash of Angostura bitters to complement the spiciness.

Interesting. If you look upthread, it seems that the conventional wisdom on the Mojito is that the limes should not be muddled (which is actually contrary to my practices the last time I was making this drink with some frequency a few years ago). Making drinks in batch of course involves some compromises. If one wants to extract significant oils from the limes, I would think something reasonable could be accomplished by peeling off the zest with a vegetable peeler and putting it in the bottle with the rum mixture.

Sean, most of these places are open until around 2 AM on weeknights and 4 AM on weekends. Keep in mind that some of them (Milk & Honey, for example) are cash only.

You know... I don't think I've ever had a flavored rum I didn't hate. Maybe that's for another thread: what are the good ones. Could be I just don't like the largely artificial tastes, though. I've done this before. The easiest thing to do is to make up the whole works minus the soda water (i.e., rum, sugar, mint and lime) and pour it back into the (1.75 liter) rum bottles. The narrow spout of the bottle, as well as the ability to close the bottle with the cap, minimizes the fly problem. Then people can pour out of the bottle into glasses, top with soda water and garnish with mint (and/or sugar cane, if you like). This isn't quite as good as it would be with the mint freshly muddled, but as you suggest muddling the mint to order really decreases the utility of doing it in batch.

Admin: Discussion on making Mojitos has been moved to this excellent thread in the Cocktails forum.

No. Employees Only has different ownership.

I guess I'll echo what others have said: Shiner is a step up from Budweiser and Miller, but not a particularly big one. It's the kind of beer I'd be likely to have in Texas while I was having a plate of brisket at a local barbecue joint. I might say the same thing of Lone Star or Pearl. And that's part of the point... these aren't spectacular beers, but they are local/regional beers and it makes some sense to have these relatively unsophisticated beers with the Texas regional foods. Similarly, I'm likely to reach for a Tsingtao when I'm eating Chinese. But these aren't beers I'm likely to seek out otherwise, like the aforementioned Celis products which were much more interesting and higher in quality. I actually think it's kind of sad and wrong for a beer like Shiner to become available in New Jersey. It's not so special in and of itself that it warrants such wide distribution, and by making it widely available outside Texas it kind of takes away some of what was special about it.

Apple Blackberry Blueberry Buttermilk Chess Chicago Style "Pizza" (which I consider more of a pie than a pizza) Chocolate Coconut Cream Frangipane Key Lime Lemon Meringue Molasses Peach Pear Pecan Quiche (what is this if not a pie?) Raspberry Rhubarb Ritz Cracker Shoe Sly Strawberry Sugar Tarte Tatin Vinegar Various combinations of the above What could it be, if not pie?

Out of curiosity, can you recall any examples of restaurants that offer this service in Manhattan? My guess? Because it seems very expensive on its face before other Manhttan valet or regular parking prices are taken into consideration, most critics are highly focused on the high prices at Del Posto and they're following the pack like lemmings (just like almost all the early ADNY reviews tended to make much of the "pen selection" bit).

Some valet parking prices in Manhattan: Crowne Plaza Hotel Times Square: $39 Edison Hotel: $29 for standard cars, $45 for "oversize" Holiday Inn Downtown: $30 for standard cars, $35 for SUVs and 4x4s, $40 for minivans I understand that both Craftsteak and Morimoto have valet parking. Any idea on the prices?

Happy birthday! Do the rats get anything special to eat during birthday week? I think we need more pictures of the rats.

It all really has to do with how the spirits are distilled and processed. In making a vodka, the spirit is distilled out to something north of 95% abv, and then it is rectified and filtered to remove non-ethyl alcohols and other such things. This has the effect of stripping away virtually all of the characteristic flavor and presence of the primary material. Many people feel that vodkas owe more of their character to the water used to dilute it to bottle proof than to the primary material used to produce the alcohol (it is an open secret that vodka makers add back in things like glycerine and citrus oils, etc. to provide a "distinctive" hint of flavor). An eau de vie, on the other hand, is distilled to a much lower proof and as such preserves much more of the distinctive characteristics of the primary material. Good vodka threads may be found here: Vodka Suggestions NYT Vodka Tasting Article Vodka Infusions at Home: The Thread

Vodka became popular in the United States primarily due to the changes wrought by Prohibition, in particular the scarcity of aged spirits after repeal, and also due to Smirnoff's innovative marketing campaigns. Rudolph Kunett bought the rights to Smirnoff in 1934 and moved the company to the US. I don't think that Smirnoff, or indeed vodka at all, was sold in the US prior to that time in any quantity. Since the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933, I don't see how they could possibly have had any ten year aged spirits available for sale in 1934. In any event, vodka's popularity didn't begin to grow until after Smirnoff was bought by Heublein in 1939 and they began their "Smirnoff Leaves You Breathless" campaign, which alluded to the fact that, as an odorless spirit, it couldn't be smelled on the breath. Clearly, at this point, we are talking about an American-produced, unaged, colorless-tasteless-odorless product. This work culminated in increased popularity for vodka sometime in the 1950s, and it wasn't until sometime in the 1970s that vodka became the top seller. I am not aware of any historical Smirnoff product called "Smirnoff Gold" that was aged in oak barrels. Regardless, this was not what Smirnoff was selling in the US that led to the popularity of vodka in the US. That product was more or less the same flagship product they are selling today.

They may call it "vodka" -- but any vodka aged in wood doesn't conform with the sense that we are using the word "vodka." For example, if one makes a "vodka" out of rye and corn, and then ages that vodka in wood, someone would have to explain to me why the result would be "aged vodka" and not "rye whiskey." Starka "Aged Vodka" which is the most common google result for "aged vodka" isn't actually aged in wood. There are some chemical reactions that happen even while a spirit is sitting in a nonreactive vessel (e.g., stainless steel tank). But that's not generally though of as "aging the spirit." By the way, Starka's color and flavor comes from the addition of things like port, brandy and fruit juices. Hardly something I'd call a "vodka."

1. Yes. 2. Yes, depending on how well stocked the market is. Certainly it can be found in many NYC markets, but it might be more difficult to find in, say, Nacogdoches, Texas.

Once you aged it, it wouldn't be "vodka" in my book. A vodka that was distilled from grain and then aged in wood would thereafter be "grain whiskey," one distilled from grapes and aged in wood would be "brandy" and so on. Not sure there is any precedent for an aged distillate of potatoes, so I don't know what that would be called. I should point out that all these wood-aged formerly-vodkas would be very uninteresting compared to regular aged spirits, because they would have had all the character distilled/rectified out of them when they were made into vodka.

Katie was talking about vinegar made from PX. Just like there is red vine vinegar and "regular" sherry vinegar, there is PV vinegar. I'd say this depends on the price and quality of the PX.

Mussina, look no further than our thread on Press Pot/French Press Coffee & post any further questions you might have on French Press coffee in that thread.

Welcome to eGullet on your first post, Paul. Although this is going a little off the main topic of this thread, I both agree and disagree with what you're saying here. I do agree that there is little more to an espresso than a quick few swallows of coffee. But, that's just the point. Coffee is unlikely to be the last thing you have in an Italian or Spanish dinner. It is likely to be followed by something like grappa or orujo, and that is the drink to linger over.

Okay... so far, so good on my project to make fabada in NYC. Was able to procure Asturian fabes, the right kind of chorizo and house-made Asturian-style morcilla at Despana in downtown Manhattan. Not sure what I'll be able to do for lacón. Any ideas?

The ironic thing about this is that some people feel that one way to impress their dining companion (date, prospective employer, whatever) is to be a jerk to the waitstaff. I've seen it happen any number of times, with the usual scenario being a young man who thinks that scolding the waiter will impress his date.

How much room do you have in terms of how many bottles you can accomodate? That will make a big difference in the range of cocktails. The most common base spirits for quality old-school cocktails are gin, rye whiskey, bourbon, cognac and rum. Add to that some Cointreau and other liqueurs, a few different fortified herbal wines and several kinds of bitters and you're good to go.