DrinkBoy

Scratch is definately best.... but... if the time comes when you need a "shortcut", then I too recommend Demitri's. You can adjust the strength of flavor to your own tastes, plus of course add some of your own ingredients if you might have some on hand. I always like to add a healthy dose of chili powder as well. -Robert www.Drinkboy.com

I usually use a Boston Shaker, or one of my favorite "pre-fab" ones is the WMF Duo shaker. It is a "Boston Style" shaker (ie. two part, no strainer). I don't seem to really care for the three part (aka. "Cobbler Shaker") style of shaker with the built-in strainer. The strainers always seem to do more at holding the liquid back, then letting it strain through. You've got to shake and twirl the shaker to get all of the drink out. Using a boston shaker and a hawthorn or julep strainer gets you from mixing to drinking in far less time. -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

Ahhhhh.... Bitters. One of my favorite cocktail topics. A -very- important thing to understand about bitters, is that prior until about 1900, -every- cocktail included bitters of one form or another. This was by definition. In fact, if you have a copy of the 2nd edition of "The Savoy Cocktail Book", (pub 1933), Harry Craddock includes some information sent to him from a reader of his first edition. He was objecting the recipe that was listed for the "Lone Tree" cocktail, because it included 2 dashes of Orange Bitters. As this correspondant relates, this specific cocktail was created "Round about the year 1900" in order to attempt to prove that it would actually be possible to create a cocktail that did -not- include bittes as an ingredient. The "Lone Tree", was the result, consisting simply of 3 parts gin, to 1 part of Italian vermouth. Myself, I enjoy concocting various bitters at home. I make not only my own Orange Bitters, but I have created my own recipe for what I refer to as "House Bitters" http://drinkboy.editthispage.com/stories/s...yReader$34 , which started out as an attempt to duplicate the long defunct "Abbott's Bitters", and which with additional modifications I am hoping to one day actually perfect. http://drinkboy.editthispage.com/2003/05/05 With further information available here: http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/TheBitterTruth.html -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com

Where it America are you coming to visit? -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

Not sure if there is anything that fits the bill, but here is a site that offers a pretty wild selection of cocktail glassware.

Huh? And exactly how long are you intending a "decent bit" to be? Yes, Alcohol will evaporate (slightly) quicker then the water that is in the bourbon, but I expect you would need to wait quite a while for the alcoholic content to be noticeably lower. If you want to "lower the proof" of your bourbon, you would be far better advised to simply add a splash of water or an ice cube. Just as an example, take some everclear sometime and let it "sit for a decent bit", and notice how long it takes a noticeable amount of it to evaporate. And the alcohol within bourbon (or any other 80-100 proof spirit) will take even longer to evaporate because the alcohol and water aren't "separate" components in the product, but in fact are interacting with one another and so the "alcohol" will evaporate slower. It is also a common myth that "cooking" something with alcohol will cause all of the alcohol to evaporate. Many feel that even in a "flambe" that when the flames disappear, all of the alcohol is gone. (I've heard professional chef's even make this claim). Tests have been done that prove that this is not the case. Even a long slow cooking of a stew that uses wine will not cook out all of the alcohol. -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com

On my trip back from Barcelona, I ended up picking up 4 different brands of Absinthe from the duty free shops. In Spain I picked up: "Chateau Saint Ferran" http://www.absinthebuyersguide.com/saintferran.html "Mari Mayans" http://www.absinthebuyersguide.com/marimayans.html and "Pere Kermann's" http://www.liquors.me.uk/en-gb/dept_151.html and in London I picked up three bottles of "Sabor" http://www.absinthebuyersguide.com/sebor.html (for gifts, I've still got several bottles at home) Of these four, I would specifically -not- recommend the Pere Kermann's. It was head and shoulders the worst of the lot. The others all fall within the same general level of quality. The Sabor at 55% abv was the gentlest of the lot, but both the Ferran (60% abv) and Mari (70% abv) had more anis flavor, which I preferred. -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com

The Mai Tai was not just pioneered by Trader Vic, but it was invented by him as well. It is important to remember that back on those days, many of the various "Tiki" restaurants were quite secretive about some of their primary drink recipes. The "Zombie" for instance, by Don the Beachcomber, is one that nobody really is sure what the "real" recipe is. Don's bartenders didn't even know. They mixed it up from pre-mix bottles that Don would prepare, and they just knew "2 shots of Bottle A, 1 shot of Bottle B, 3 shots of Bottle C" (or somesuch). Regarding the Mai Tai... There were lots of folks claiming to have invented this drink, and Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) finally located the folks he first made this drink for and had them sign an affidavid attesting to when, where, and how he happened to mix this drink up for them the first time, and how they provided the name "Mai Tai". But due to the "secrecy" that Trader Vic kept on this recipe (which meant he didn't list it in his recipe books), if somebody had a real Mai Tai at T.V., then went to another bar and asked for one, the bartender wouldn't know the recipe, and so they would just make something up based on what the customer said the drink tasted like. This is why so many random Mai Tai recipes exist, and why most bartenders treat this drink as "rum and a bunch of juices". You can see the story of the real Mai Tai at: http://www.tradervics.com/mai-tai-1.html And you can see the recipe that I use for making Mai Tais at: http://www.drinkboy.com/cocktails/recipes/maitai.html The drinks that use pineapple juice, orange juice, papaya juice, etc. might be fine drinks, but they are not Mai Tai's. -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com

Ahhhhh.... Production. That probably explains a lot. I can't get Tito's vodka here in WA... I'll have to see if I can find a internet store I can order from. I've heard good things about it. -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com

Re: Orange Bitters : And there will be another brand on the market soon, I don't think they've announced it yet, so I don't think I can say much more then that about it... But look for it around September. -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

Ok... now we have an "official" vodka thread :-> As a point of full disclosure let me make two statements about my position regarding vodka: 1. Of all the spirits, vodka is not only my least favorite, but I also don't have much respect for it. 2. I'm always willing to change my viewpoint. :-> For me, drinking vodka is about as exciting as drinking bottled water. This is not to say (as Mickey inferred I was saying in another thread) that vodka is "tasteless". Try different types of bottled water, and you will clearly notice a different flavor between them. Some are distinctly sweet, some mineral, some are simply "crisp". As I have pointed out in another thread, US Law states that vodka must be distilled at or above 190 proof, and when bottled diluted to not less then 80 proof. Mickey has stated that "Most premium vodkas are not distilled above 190 proof" and that there are "no less than 50 vodkas on the market bottled less than 80 proof". I apparently have not done as much research into the numerous vodka brands available as Mickey has (ok... I haven't really done -any- "brand research" into vodka :-), so I'm simply quoting the "law" here, while he apparently knows of some brands that are able to fly below that law. Mickey, I'd love it if you could drop a few names of the brands you are refering to above. I'd like to get in touch with those companies and get the scoop on how their products are getting this through the system, as well as try some of these (especially the ones that are distilled below 190 proof). My "current" attitude about vodka is based on simple extrapolation. Distilling a spirit to 190 proof (ie. 95% alcohol) results in removing almost, but not quite, anything that might produce distinctive characteristics that would remain from the initial fermentable product. Most of the remaining 5% (or less) are basically considered contaminants which do not provide a desireable flavor component. Many distillers will further filter this distillate in order to remove as many of the undesireable contaminants as possible. (If I were a vodka distiller, I would probably try to distill my "neutral spirit" to exactly 190 proof in an attempt to keep as many flavors in the product as possible... it should be also pointed out that distilling neutral spirit to much above 190 proof takes a lot more work, and getting beyond 194 proof is a pointless, and expensive, exercise.) In order to bottle this as "vodka", it is necessary to reduce the proof to the more appropriate level of between 80 and 100 proof. This is done by adding water. Thus making vodka (according to my calculations based on what is required by law) nearly 60% water. As stated earlier, bottled water has taste. And one bottled water tastes different then another. Therefore if three different companies were to use the exact same base distillate, and then use different waters (and perhaps additional filtering) to make their vodkas, the end products between these three companies would taste different. In fact, it is my understanding, that many vodka manufacturers actually -do- use the same base product. Some company will create the 190 proof "neutral spirit", and then sell it to various vodka companies, and those companies will do various things to then turn this product into "their" product. So... I find products like Whisk(e)y, Rum, Brandy, Tequila, and Gin to be far more interesting. (point of note... the process of making gin is almost identical to that of vodka, but additional flavoring botonicals are added to produce it's distinctive flavor... gin -is- flavored vodka, just one with a far more "complex" flavor then what a flavored vodka would normally have). ...Mikey, you clearly have done quite a lot of research on vodka, far more then I have. The above represents a distillation (pun intended :-) of what my thoughts are about vodka. I would love to hear abuot anywhere in the above where you think I have come to the wrong conclusion. I've talked with a few vodka reps and distillers, who after I lay out my thoughts, have basically said... "yeah, that's about right...". -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

http://www.ardentspirits.com/Links/Hpnotiq.html http://www.hpnotiq.com/ Gary Regan had told me about this product a while back, and suggested that I not dismiss it out of hand for having a "blue gimick". Here in Washington State, it wasn't on "the list", but it could be special ordered by restaurants (or folks willing to pick up a case or two). "Occassionally" a few cases would pop up in two or three stores in the Seattle area, word would get out, and they would be scarfed up almost instantly. It "just" got placed on to the regular list, and so now is making a more standard appearance at some stores. I just picked up a bottle, and while I haven't had time to take more then a sip out of it, it is.... uh.... interesting. I haven't decided if I like it yet or not, or if it really can be a useful cocktail ingredient or not, but it does have some interesting flavors going on. Folks here in WA can check the online database (http://www.liq.wa.gov/services/brandsearch.asp) to find out if it is in a store near them. -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com

I too have been using the Chalfonte as a good general purpose cognac. I arrived at this after experimenting with several of the other brandy/cognac's of that general price range, and the Chalfonte is most definately the best of the bunch (of what we get in Washington). For my premium brand, I've lately been drinking Kelt.

I always avoid denoting specific "brands" on any of the recipes on my site. The only exceptions are if the drink was specifically created "by" or "for" a particular brand (such as the "Dark'N Stormy", or "Bacardi Cocktail") or when I feel like there really is a difference between the use of a particular brand versus the general category (such as "Cointreau" instead of just "Triple Sec") Doing a "whois" on Bar.tv shows that it apparently is a endevor by Bacardi :-> -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

The way I "stumbled" over here, was doing a google search of "Paul Harrington". I was checking to see if "http://www.Bar.tv" came up on the search, since this is a semi-new website that he's been (or used to?) be providing some content for. It is an "interesting" site, perhaps a little over-designed, and definately isn't getting any buzz at all. -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

Wow... lots of replies already... Re: Dale DeGroff... Sorry I missed this little Q&A Exchange. Dale is a friend of mine, and definately is a great resource. He was in Seattle a few months back as part of his book tour, and I took him out to a sampling of some of Seattle's bars. The Zig Zag wasn't quite opened for business yet, but we did stop in and chat with the owners for a while before starting out. We went to Il Bistro to chat with Murray (who now works at the Zig Zag), then off to Oliver's, Vivanda, and Mona's. It was a great evening. If you get Food Arts magazine (or can find the June issue at the newstands) you can read about a recent "Jerry Thomas Tribute" event that was held in New York with Dale, Gary Regan, myself, and a few others serving drinks to the attendees. Dale did the "Blue Blazer" and put on a wonderful show. Re: Martini's... 3 parts gin, 1 part dry vermouth, dash orange bitters, stirred, garnished with a twist... thank-you-very-much :-> Re: Captiol Club... I've gotten several recommendations to try them out... I need to. Re: Gimlet... yes, the only cocktail in which it is appropriate to use Rose's lime juice. I -hate- it when I show a bartender a recipe for some drink that calls for "Lime Juice" and they immediately reach for the big bottle of Rose's that they have. Re: The Manhattan & Bitters... bitters are not optional for a Manhattan, they are a required and necessary ingredient. It is only in the recent cocktail history that bartenders have started to omit them. I expect that some of this might come from a customer who tasted bitters "straight", and quickly decided that this was clearly not somethign they wanted in their cocktail. Bitters play the same sort of role in a cocktail as salt does in a soup... ok, not the "same" role, but a similar role. Your soup shouldn't taste "salty", but if you left the salt out it would taste wrong. It is very important to note that prior to prohibition, virtually ALL cocktails included the use of bitters. The first "cocktail" that didn't use bitters was the "Lone Tree" (~1900), which was specifically invented as a "challenge" to create a cocktail that didn't need to use bitters. Re: Rye/Bourbon Manhattan... Part of the reason that Bourbon is more common than Rye for Manhattan's (and Old Fashioneds, and Sazeracs, and...) is that Rye has unfortunately been the "forgotten child" ever since prohibition was over. Prior to prohibition Rye was the "common" whiskey, but the American distillers switched to Bourbon for the majority of their product since people were pretending that Canadian Whisky was rye... (which it isn't)... When I go to a bar, and ask for a Manhattan, my eye's light up if the bartender asks me if I want it with Bourbon or Rye... but 9 times out of 10, I then get a rude awakening when they reach for a bottle of Canadian Whisky... :-< Re: Gimlet... yes, the use of fresn lime juice and simple syrup does result in a very good Gimlet, but you do need to use enough sweetener to balance out the sour. Equal parts is what I normally use. Since I don't even have any Rose's at home, that is the way I have to make a Gimlet. ...ok, I think that covers all of the issues that I wanted to be sure to reply to! -Robert www.DrinkBoy.com

Just stumbled onto this site/forum yesterday, and after browsing through many of the posts, I must say that I am impressed and encouraged by the level of cocktail knowledge and enthusiasm shown here. So I thought I'd quickly dive in, introduce myself, and start participating. I view cocktails as a cuisine, with all of the artistry of flavors that this implies. Far too many bartenders, and their customers, are clueless about what a real cocktail is, and what it takes to make one properly. Sidecars and Margaritas made with Sour mix... Old Fashioneds topped off with Soda... Manhattans made without bitters... each of these are examples of the sad state of cocktails that I run across on a regular basis. Here in Seattle, I do notice that things are slowly starting to change. I am running into more bartenders who at least show an "interest" in trying to understand cocktails better, even if they don't currently have the proper background knowledge to be able to execute on it. One of my favorite joints is the Zig Zag Cafe (www.ZigZagCafe.net) down by the Pike Place Market, and I know I can always get a good cocktail down there regardless of which bartender is working. -Robert Hess www.DrinkBoy.com