"The PDT Cocktail Book"

[jnash85]

Does anyone else have this? I am absolutely loving it. I made a modified version of the Eclipse cocktail with tequila, Campari, cherry heering, and lemon juice.

I am going to try some of the infusions used in a number of the cocktails. I only hope that the results are good with scaled down versions, since all the infusions require you to sacrifice a 750 ml bottle of spirits.

Edited November 24, 2011 by jnash85 (log)

[Dexter]

Ordered it on Amazon, but they are saying that it's now out of stock and won't be back in until the new year... Glad to hear you are enjoying it though. I've heard good things about it from people I trust on the beverage front.

[vice]

Cocktail Kingdom has it in stock, just placed my order.

[ThatNateGuy]

The book is amazing. Jim, Don, and their entire staff really knew what they were doing when they came up with these recipes. One thing i enjoyed most about the book is that its one of the first to touch on bar layout and design. Then there are the recipes and illustrations that truly make it a value at the $12.50 i paid for my copy.

[Steamtrain]

Illustrations are a amazing!

We made rattlesnakes the other night and they were fantastic !!!

Now I just need to order some black cardamom to make the "Mariner".

[johnder]

You can scale them down without much issue with the exception of the fat washing ones, specifically the Bentons. The fat is so strong that you have to watch it very carefully.

In terms of the others, you should have no issue with the scaling, just keep an eye on the time and taste every now and than and adjust the infusion time. I have done the Bethula with as little as 6 oz without any problems.

[jnash85]

You can scale them down without much issue with the exception of the fat washing ones, specifically the Bentons. The fat is so strong that you have to watch it very carefully.

In terms of the others, you should have no issue with the scaling, just keep an eye on the time and taste every now and than and adjust the infusion time. I have done the Bethula with as little as 6 oz without any problems.

Any idea how long the fat washed bourbon will last?

[johnder]

The fat will start giving off flavors probably after 3 weeks. We typically didn't have the bottles around longer than a few days at the bar.

[Tsiologist]

Any other cocktails you guys have tried from the book you'd like to point out?

I've been slowly pouring over it, picking out some goodies I can make at home or at work, and whipping up some special ingredients for others.

Went to Book Club night at the Whistler in Chicago where Mr. McGee was mixing PDT cocktails. All were delicious! White Birch Fizz (subbing Wormwood bitts for Suze) and the Girl From Jerez.

Among the many I've tried at home: the Cranberry Cobbler was nice. Picked up some fresh cranberries from my expensive local hippie co-op. Can't say the syrup turned out especially flavorful. I'd like to retry it by actually juicing the berries fresh and adding sugar. Major adjustments for swt/sour to be taken into account, of course.

The Lion's Tooth: Dandelion Root-infused Rittenhouse, Palo Cortado Sherry, Yellow Chartreuse, St. Germain. This one was freaking stellar! So delicious, even though I had to sub for the Palo Cortado. Would love to try it without the infusion to see if it makes just as fine a drink, but the Dandelion Root is delicious for sure.

I'll keep posting more as I think of them.

Your turn...

[kathryn]

My husband and I have gone through periods of making the same PDT cocktail over and over for a few weeks at a time.

Some favorites:

Benton's Old Fashioned

Mezcal Mule

Shiso Delicious

Staggerac

Vieux Mot

[Steamtrain]

Left Hand

Perfect Pear

Rattlesnake

Paddington

Falling Leaves

These have been repeated many times already.

[Tsiologist]

same PDT cocktail over and over for a few weeks at a time.

Staggerac

Envious.

[evo-lution]

The Lion's Tooth: Dandelion Root-infused Rittenhouse, Palo Cortado Sherry, Yellow Chartreuse, St. Germain. This one was freaking stellar! So delicious, even though I had to sub for the Palo Cortado. Would love to try it without the infusion to see if it makes just as fine a drink, but the Dandelion Root is delicious for sure.

If you have them, I recommend this drink without the infused rye and adding my Dandelion & Burdock Bitters. Really enjoyed this...

Edited December 29, 2011 by evo-lution (log)

[kathryn]

same PDT cocktail over and over for a few weeks at a time.

Staggerac

Envious.

All thanks to my husband who found a bottle of Stagg in a random liquor store in suburban Wisconsin, and carefully got it back home without the TSA confiscating it from his checked luggage.

[Sohoskiracer]

Just received a copy as a Christmas present, away from my home bar, but cannot wait to try some of these recipes when I get back (and go to PDT when I come home to NYC this summer - that and Ssam).

[jnash85]

I'm enjoying a Little Bit Country tonight. Bourbon, lemon juice, maple syrup, maraschino, jalapeno, and bitters. The maple syrup / jalapeno combo is great. I'm halfway though and its leaving me with a very nice burn...

[FrogPrincesse]

A Water Lily. Gin, violette, Cointreau, and lemon juice. The books calls for equal parts of each ingredient; I used double the amount of gin in error. It was very good and reminded me of the Aviation with the gin/lemon/violette combo. I used Bombay Sapphire but I imagine that a more floral gin like Henrick's would work well too.

[Alcuin]

same PDT cocktail over and over for a few weeks at a time.

Staggerac

Envious.

All thanks to my husband who found a bottle of Stagg in a random liquor store in suburban Wisconsin, and carefully got it back home without the TSA confiscating it from his checked luggage.

The Staggerac is truly monumental. Haven't had one in a while: thanks for the reminder; it's now on the top of my to-do list.

I'm thinking I might have to pony up for this book too...

[FrogPrincesse]

Here are a few other cocktails from the PDT Cocktail Book that I made in the past couple of weeks.

Left Hand cocktail: bourbon, sweet vermouth, Campari, mole bitters. An excellent Manhattan variation.

Talbott Leaf. That one had an intriguing ingredient list: bourbon, lemon, Chartreuse, Cynar, mint, strawberry preserves (!). It was actually delicious. There is only a touch of the preserves so you can't really tell that they are there. But they blend nicely with the other ingredients, especially the mint and Chartreuse.

Harvest Moon: rye, Lillet, Chartreuse, apple brandy, bitters. It was very good and smooth. I am not a big fan of the apple brandy, but there was only enough to add some interesting background notes without dominating the drink.

Applejack Rabbit: bonded apple brandy, orange & lemon juices, maple syrup. Very nicely balanced and the apple brandy paired well with the maple syrup. I liked it (despite the apple brandy!).

Hanky Panky (based on Harry Craddock): Tanqueray, Carpano Antica, Fernet I was not completely sold on that one. Despite loving all things bitter (Campari, Cynar, etc), I have a hard time with the intense herbal notes in Fernet. I much prefer a classic Negroni.

The last one I did not care for at all. South Slope : gin, Aperol, Lillet blanc, curacao, lemon. The combination of Lillet and Aperol which works in the Unusual Negroni, for example, didn't work here for me at all. It was very sweet and strange, almost like a bad piece of candy. And the color didn't help for sure!

[FrogPrincesse]

I also made a classic Bijou using the exact recommendations from PDT: Tanqueray, Dolin rouge, Chartreuse, orange bitters. I really enjoyed it. I had tried the Bijou before with a different gin/sweet vermouth combo (same ratios) and thought that it was too heavy on the Charteuse. With these ingredients, this cocktail really came to life for me.

[Alcuin]

Ok I'm getting this book. This looks like it will really refresh my stagnant cocktail regimen (Old Fashioned/Improved cocktail, rinse, repeat...).

[FrogPrincesse]

Ok I'm getting this book. This looks like it will really refresh my stagnant cocktail regimen (Old Fashioned/Improved cocktail, rinse, repeat...).

It's a nice book; I don't think that you will regret your purchase. Some recipes use esoteric ingredients but there are a lot of cocktails that are accessible too.

This is what I made last night: May Daisy cocktail with Cognac, Chartreuse, lemon, and simple. I was almost tempted to grate some nutmeg on top. It tasted like a very fancy punch. There is a good amount of Chartreuse in it, but it was really toned down by the Cognac. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not (I love Chartreuse so I would rather taste it!).

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable cocktail.

[Alcuin]

Ok I'm getting this book. This looks like it will really refresh my stagnant cocktail regimen (Old Fashioned/Improved cocktail, rinse, repeat...).

It's a nice book; I don't think that you will regret your purchase. Some recipes use esoteric ingredients but there are a lot of cocktails that are accessible too.

I like esoteric ingredients, but what I'm not as keen on is having to make a syrup or an infusion that only works for a very limited number of drinks. I assumed there would be a prohibitive number of those going on in this book, but from what you've posted it seems like there are plenty of drinks I could peruse the cabinet and citrus holdings and make right away. I'll make the occasional infusion (I love the Riviera) or a small batch of syrup I won't use for much else, but I generally like drinks I don't have to start days or hours ahead. Thanks for showing me that this books got more solid straightforward drinks than I thought. I'm not sure why I thought it wouldn't, but I've never been to PDT so I surely have a skewed view of what the place has to offer.

[mkayahara]

I like esoteric ingredients, but what I'm not as keen on is having to make a syrup or an infusion that only works for a very limited number of drinks. I assumed there would be a prohibitive number of those going on in this book, but from what you've posted it seems like there are plenty of drinks I could peruse the cabinet and citrus holdings and make right away. I'll make the occasional infusion (I love the Riviera) or a small batch of syrup I won't use for much else, but I generally like drinks I don't have to start days or hours ahead. Thanks for showing me that this books got more solid straightforward drinks than I thought. I'm not sure why I thought it wouldn't, but I've never been to PDT so I surely have a skewed view of what the place has to offer.

+1 on this. I have the same problem with so many current cocktail recipes, and had the same reservations about this book. Of course, I need another cocktail book like I need a hole in the head - I'm never going to drink my way through the ones I already own - but if I feel the urge, this is one I'll very likely pick up.

[mukki]

Pink Lady (Hendrick's gin, Laird's apple brandy, lemon, simple, grenadine + egg white).