Tales of the Cocktail: 2007

[KatieLoeb]

I think I have a copy of the magazine in my box that has arrived, but hasn't been opened yet. Are all of the recipes in there? I seem to recall seeing Pimento dram but not falernum. Anyway, I am sure others would be most interested in seeing the instructions if they weren't lucky enough to attend TotC or get a copy of Imbibe.

A pleasure to meet you and hubby as well! And I'll most certainly let you know if I'm a-visitin' up your way...

[BrooksNYC]

I can't believe you and Dayne went for it and bought the absinthe loucher.  What a fabulous and unique souvenir!

To my mind, an absinthe fountain — filled, frosty, and dripping ice-water — is just about the prettiest thing you can put on a bar. Congrats, Ms. Foodie!

Anyone thinking of buying a fountain will want to check out the goods at La Maison d'Absinthe. In addition to fountains, the shop carries imported, hand-blown absinthe glasses, spoons, saucers, sugar dishes.......the works. René, who runs the shop, is a great guy, and by purchasing from his French Quarter store, you'll be helping the New Orleans economy.

I loved this year's "Tales of the Cocktail." Already looking forward to 2008!

P.S. to Ms. Foodie: If you need to rinse out the lantern, be very careful, as sudden changes of temperature can cause the glass to crack. If you've had the lantern filled with ice water, empty it completely and allow the glass to warm to room temperature before rinsing it in barely tepid water.

Also, you'll be less likely to get mineral deposits in the spigots if you empty the fountain between uses. Allow the spigots to dry completely by leaving the handles in the "open" position until next use.

Edited July 30, 2007 by BrooksNYC (log)

[eas]

I posted the recipe for the Swedish Punsch served at the Lost Ingredients seminar under the topic "Swedish Punsch".

Edited July 30, 2007 by eas (log)

[limewine]

The recipe for the falernum I meant to serve at the session (before the box of bottles was misplaced in the Monteleone storage room) is in the current issue of Imbibe; it's a slight variation on a recipe I posted last year. Please note that this is modeled on the Stansfeld-Sazerac family of falernum (used primarily in mid-century tiki drinks, and the model for Fee Brothers falernum), so it is much tarter and more citrusy than the John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum most people are accustomed to. Though, with the recipe, you could easily tweak it to the Velvet style, by reducing or eliminating the lime juice and very slightly increasing the amount of cloves.

The recipe for Chuck Taggart's pimento dram is on his site, The Gumbo Pages; we didn't have room for it in the Imbibe story, but the recipe is also listed on my site and on Imbibe's blog, so the bases are covered.

An item I mentioned at the Lost Ingredients panel but we didn't serve was a classic Amer Picon replica crafted by Jamie Boudreau (recipe for which is also in the current Imbibe). In my presentation, I said I hadn't had a chance to taste the replica side-by-side with the classic Picon from pre-reformulation, only the current version, which the replica dwarfed in vibrance and flavor; immediately after the panel, though, Lenell Smothers approached with a flask of the original, and since Jamie was in the crowd, we were able to taste the classic and the replica next to each other. The matchup was almost perfect -- Ted Haigh remarked the replica is just ever-so-slightly sweeter than the classic. From what I understand, Jamie is addressing this with his next batch.

[KatieLoeb]

Thanks Paul!!! You're awesome! I shall have to commit these recipes to a separate file and save them for all eternity. Very excited to get started on these...

Now if we could just convince Jacquin's to restart production on Creme de Yvette...

[limewine]

Now if we could just convince Jacquin's to restart production on Creme de Yvette...

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Oh, you shoulda been at the Lost Ingredients session--

Not only are they restarting, they had samples.

(And not only of the current remake using the vintage recipe -- Rob Cooper gave out samples from a 1940's bottle that he'd meant to bring just for visual presentation, but the cork cracked in transit, and, well ... it was enjoyed by a happy audience. For a brief moment I had three different types of creme de violette in front of me -- two Yvettes and a recent one from Haus Alpenz. Oh, the beauty of it all.......)

And Katie, I'm so sorry I didn't have a chance to meet you at Tales -- I'd been looking forward to that. I hope you make it back next year.

[Forest]

Our absinthe loucher arrived yesterday- it's like the one in the picture!

very cool!

This article actually covers a lot of what he talked with us about.

thanks for the info!

I'm going to map it so that we we are in Gadagne next year maybe we can visit it!

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good thinkin'!

[KatieLoeb]

Now if we could just convince Jacquin's to restart production on Creme de Yvette...

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Oh, you shoulda been at the Lost Ingredients session--

Not only are they restarting, they had samples.

(And not only of the current remake using the vintage recipe -- Rob Cooper gave out samples from a 1940's bottle that he'd meant to bring just for visual presentation, but the cork cracked in transit, and, well ... it was enjoyed by a happy audience. For a brief moment I had three different types of creme de violette in front of me -- two Yvettes and a recent one from Haus Alpenz. Oh, the beauty of it all.......)

And Katie, I'm so sorry I didn't have a chance to meet you at Tales -- I'd been looking forward to that. I hope you make it back next year.

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Sorry I missed you too. I'll most certainly try to be there next year!

I heard about the broken cork and the unexpected treat. I remain pea green with envy. Definitely want to try my hand at recreating Creme de Violette. I think I'd have a lot of fun playing with that.