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Parfait Amour is impossible to obtain from Bols in the States. (I tried too -- I chatted with the lovely folks at William Grant & Sons, the sole importer of Bols products, to do my very best to get it in time for the eGCI). Marie Brizzard makes it too. However with Parfait Amour there are distinct orange notes to the liqueur's flavour. It certainly is not for everyone. I ended up using a healthy shot provided by my friends at The Harbor Inn. Their owner travels Europe quite often and returns with several bottles of this and that. I snagged what I needed from him with his bottle of Parfait Amour and all went fairly well. He does have an unopened bottle of Creme de Violette on his shelf too.... Got a friend in the UK? (hee hee, mailing/shipping alcohol has a bizillion laws, regulations, rules generally prohibiting same) Frustrating I know. I reside in one the most draconian of all states with ultra conservative lists of liquors and wines legally allowable to be distributed and sold. Grrrrr.

Ah, see Doc, I'm all over the new stuff. I have to. It is my job. Besides I have a thing for the florals and last January took some johnny jump ups (in the same family as the violet) and infused them into a less than desirable holiday gift bottle of vodka I got from the very pleasant folks at Paramount Distillers. I took pictures to post on the Vodka Recommendations thread, but never got around to downloading the pictures from the camera, uploading to the web and then linking them to eG. The Violet Monin product can be found here ("Trendy") and here ("Exotic") without any additional information. All that being said, I'm not a big fan of Monin and tend to prefer Joseph Cartron products. I wish they would start on some of the florals.

I'm not sure how obtainable that is in the States. Last year we were sampling their syrups and one of the florals were Violet (which are NA). edit: photo fix

Steven, Staying with gin, have you tried Tanqueray 10? I really loath the juniper-iness of the spirit and drinking my Christmas tree comes to mind every time I sniff most gins. Tanqueray 10's botanicals are different and I find it rather enjoyable.

Let's.

Okay, that's what I thought. We stock a bottle of Bols for one of our regulars. He likes to sip it, up/neat.

I know, it's fun! Plus, it's a little like watching a toddler take his first steps. Hmmm... pictures, Steven? Aw, give the fella a break! I'm sure his mouth really hurts. Better make that a double Steven.

Gary- Is that made with cherry brandy or with kirsch (made from sour cherries)? Are they the same? oHIo doesn't permit the sale of Kirsch, for whatever reason, but I have a bottle from the last time I travelled out of state, and use it solely for my cheese fondues!

There is much grace in it as well. Sure open up this can of worms! This professional bartender would be thrilled.

I have a rather large collection as well. All stems too. I particularly enjoy the yearly gift offerings from Bombay Sapphire (the older ones that are signed from prominent designers -- Patricia Heller, Ulla Darni, Richard Jolley). My absolute favs are cocktail glasses I got from an antique store that were once fun, disposable partyware from the nifty fifties. Black plastic bases with a corkscrew shaped, anodized aluminum stem and a clear "cup." I have both red and blue coloured stems and are on display, not for use. They are really cool. On a sad note, Claus Riedel died, March 17.

Oooooh! I have tingles this is so awesome!

I roger that. Worse than the "I'll get back to you on pricing." is the "Sure, I'll send you the information" (say the various chocolate lines they do carry) and it never arrives. I still cannot get the information on Guittard from my "local" purveyor/wholesaler which has now lapsed nearly two weeks. Geesz, I only want to spend money and purchase product from him! (Yes, for the restaurant). Since I have to obtain it through mail ordered anyway, I may as well seek out some one else outside of the Cleveland area, in the midwest. A tremendous thank you to those who have contributed to this thread with their opinions and thoughts. It really helps me when I try various chocolate brands and then taste them side by side -- either for home or at work. I appreciate all I have learned from reading the pastry forum.

Ah, another article that stirs my cocktail passion and the trend I have had so much fun with in both sampling and creating. Today's Boston Globe article here. Stir up some inspiration -- you'll be pleasantly surprised and glad you did. Cheers!

Umm, errrr -- Who was it that started that "Supersize Me!" craze of the fast food world???? (Yes, I've had guests say that to me as I poured out the contents of the cocktail shaker into our new large cocktail glasses ).

Lucky fella!! I've got friends doing fun things with gin or rum, but mostly with vodka because it is so painlessly easy to approach the neutrality/versitality of the spirit. Tequila! Thank you Gary and drcocktail for sharing those! I can see both infusions being tried within the very near future.

Gordon (a charming, former barkeep), have I told you lately that I think you are the cat's pajamas?

I've worked on a teeny little island that was entirely a private club. We solely used the small bottles of various sodas or fruit juices which is not always of benefit to the customer/guest (or in this case the member). Their expense and cost was huge and often like the open house bottle of cabernet, may too go stale, flat or worse, is warm. It did require some getting used to handling with both hands mixing a drink/cocktail, but it wasn't impossible to adjust. The high price of using them was fixed into the outrageous drink prices (beers were $8.50 to $10.00; most cocktails were $9.00 to $12.00 each). These were millionaires that were members! Who cares right? Ha! Trust me, the club president has since invested in a soda gun dispensing system to cut down on operational costs of their little wild island paradise. Soda guns: so many factors to consider and none in any particular order. Unfortunately, the soda systems are not flushed in the same manner as beer lines. We even asked our local rep about this and he said not to worry. Right. However much can be done to clean what is able to be cleaned by the bartender! The soda guns should be soaked nightly, the rubber rest cup is most often removable to also go through a diswasher wash and/or soaking. CO2 can be adjusted or the bartender needs to learn to hold the desired soda button down firmly. With many systems, if it is held only half way down, that will often create more syrup to carbonation ratio (hence sweet! Yuk!) And consider the price of the syrups. Many a bar, unless they utilise a system installed and maintained by Pepsi or Coke, will often purchase generic "cola" or "lemon-lime" instead of a name brand. Yes, you can taste huge difference. Also to consider, a part of the taste will be due to your local municipality's tap water. Oh! Sometimes the syrup runs out and sometimes the only way to tell is when someone tastes it (usually the guest - doh!) and notifies someon on the staff about it so that the syrup box can be changed out. This happens with our tonic or Sprite (colourless) from time to time. With regard to carbonation: The bartender should be able to notice the general lack thereof. This may be because they simply don't care or that someone forgot to order a new CO2 tank, and you'd be surprised how often that happens, if only by silly managerial mistake. This is usually why my fail safe, go to drink will always be a wonderful bottled beer/microbrew or whatever flavour of the moment I'm intrigued with -- as in "__________ on the rocks, please!" I hope this helps. edit for clarity

This is sort of an off shoot to the Odd and New Ingredients thread. Infusions are fun to make at home and we've had a spirited thread (sorry for the pun) enthusiastically sharing our triumphs and a few fixes for something that may not be going as planned. Many of the infusions were pleasantly surprising with fantastic results! Gary and/or Mardee -- have you dabbled in this? What are some of your favourite combinations? Thanks!

CheNiPenso, Be sure to check out this thread in the Cocktail forum where a bunch of us sort of made herbacidal's thread into an Infusion Club of sorts where we give suggestions, solutions and generally discuss the infusions we made. Some pictures, I think, are in there too! Enjoy! It is a bit long, but I hope some of it helps.

Anyone ever try Mangia Mangia? Last time I was there one of my old Cleveland restauranteur friends was running the place, but has since returned to live and work in Ft. Lauderdale. We had fun there, ran into other oHIo vacationers that oddly were my neighbours and also in the biz (family run mostly produce purveyors) and were invited to dine with them. Much fresh seafood tossed with a lemony, herbed garlic oil over pasta seems to come to mind as my entree. Too many sunsets, Sloppy Joe visits and margaritas make it a bit hazy so I'd have to dig up my vacation journal... somewhere in my bookshelving!

Gary: Although called many other things, that sums it up best -- Shooter's is quite a joint. Mardee: Wooo Hoooooooo! SOMEONE else on eG that knows of that little rock island paradise! Late in the season, when any of us exhausted bartenders needed time off the rock, Sunday nights we'd grab the last ferry off and hit somewhere on the mainland for a day or two in Lakeside, Sandusky or Port Clinton. Somehow cocktail enjoyment and employment always seems to be near water for me -- Alaska, Cleveland Flats, the Islands or even the fun around Portage Lakes. Small world. Now I really look forward to an opportunity to meeting both you and Gary and attend one of your weekends of thoughtful instruction!

Perhaps I best elaborate to clarify and dispell the "its about me" perspective. Cleveburg is small enough that bartenders nearly know every other bartender in the biz, or at least where they work. And we generally, as a group of friends out for cocktails, tend to visit other bartender friends in their place of employ -- hence more of the hook up whether we are at the homey comforts of the beer pubHarbor Inn or the cocktail serious and beautiful crowds at Liquid/Fusion. Regarding the two places that 1 ounce was the standard pour, the standard Libbey Gibralter tumblers were prevalent, but I understand the visual effect of glassware. Knowing both owners of those once employing establishments sham was not the goal, but cheapness for one ( ), and that's what he grew up accustomed to as a pour in the bars he once frequented as a young fella. I can see both sides of this 1.7 ounce being viewed as either large or small.

Having a few oddities served up that didn't nearly resemble what I requested, I usually go the route of explicit specification as in "I'll have a Cosmo made with Citron and Cointreau, up with a twist, please?" all while wearing a warm smile. If that fails, then I'll go to Glacier on the rocks or my fav beer/microbrew.

Hi Mardee! Welcome to eG! I have tried using basil. Yum. I've been fiddling with the combination of strawberries and black pepper with rum. I've also been tinkering with the combination of jalapeno pepper, cinnamon and chocolate for a Mexican Mole inspired cocktail. Quite surprising, and flavourfully good.