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Help for a Couple of Cocktail Novices (Part 2)

Kerry Beal

By Kerry Beal
in Spirits & Cocktails

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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

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Posted

This is a work in progress - my liquor collection has been taking up a large chunk of the floor in the dining room. It is now a work in progress to get it organized on some metro shelving that will live in the dining room until the basement reno gets finished (hell hasn't frozen over quite yet).

I hoping to find some bins to hold collections of bottles on the shelving - there are a couple already, but none are quite what I'm after.

attachicon.gifDSCN2024.jpg

The metro system has basket style shelves for this system (I have posted pictures of it before but enclosed a couple of better ones). That way you don't really need separate bins. I find these shelves far more reassuring when I pile my booze in them. To be honest I am not sure why more people don't use something like this! Flat open shelves make me very nervous. One bump and I have committed alcohol abuse in a massive fashion! Unfortunately I am getting beyond capacity again, (my bourbon shelf is overflowing and I have resort to stacking bottles on bottles with more boxes starting to pile up on the floor) so I may have to buy another shelf system soon.

Shelves 1.jpegShelves 2.JPG

I cut thin sheets of particle board to make the shelf bottom smooth and help the bottles stand up evenly.

Don't know if it goes with your decor but plastic milk crates might make another option for use as bins (downside is that they don't show off the bottles well). These days they come in a variety of colors (I have several black one that I use) and I find them handy for moving multiple bottles up from the basement to main floor.

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If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

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Tonight's libation - a couple of rums, grenadine, lime, pineapple, guava and some angostura. The Cruzan Blackstrap really makes itself known.

the Chocolate Doctor
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lesliec

lesliec

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I agree something to restrain the precious cargo is a good idea (especially if you're in an earthquake-prone area, as I am). The baskets look great, but something like clothesline strung tightly about one third of a bottle height up from the bottom of each shelf is a cheap option. And particle board/plywood shelf bottoms also seems like a good idea, to help prevent the domino effect.

Leslie Craven, aka "lesliec"
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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

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I'm happy to see that some one has the addiction worse than I do!

I prefer to think of it as a "hobby"...

And I happily share with friends because there isn't much chance I will ever drink it all!

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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judiu

judiu

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Tanstafaal2, what is the Jim Bean Ghost? I'm a Bourbon fan, but I've never heard of it!

By the way, that's one HELL of a hobby!

ETA the hobby.

Edited by judiu (log)

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

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Tanstafaal2, what is the Jim Bean Ghost? I'm a Bourbon fan, but I've never heard of it!

By the way, that's one HELL of a hobby!

ETA the hobby.

Jim Beam's "Jacob's Ghost" is a quasi white dog bourbon (they call it "white whiskey" which in this case is a reasonably fair designation) from Beam that gets about one year in the barrel and is filtered to make it very light. Unlike a true white dog it does have a little residual barrel color. And it is surprisingly decent tasting all things considered. Thought it might work as a cocktail ingredient but haven't really done much with it so far.

Came out around the same time as the JD white dog rye which was also surprisingly decent tasting to me but grossly overpriced at $50 a bottle. The Ghost is half that or less as I recall.

I can't seem to resisit new and unusual things! That is one reason my "hobby" is drifting past excessive and well on it's way to absurd...

:cool:

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If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

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White Whiskey often acts like tequila in the glass. Try a margarita with that Jacob's Ghost and tell me if it was any good. I've used this formula before and it worked pretty well, though I haven't tried it with that particular product. If you have something to flavor it with, like a splash of fruit nectar or juice that should be grand.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Alex

Alex

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I'm definitely a cocktail novice. I virtually never order one when dining out (although I'm permitted a few sips of Ms. Alex's) and have made exactly four varieties at home: gin & tonic (David Rosengarten's recipe); sidecar x 2 (cognac and bourbon versions); and margarita (non-frozen). I usually prefer my non-wine, non-beer consumption to be an occasional after-dinner good Cognac or single-barrel bourbon.

However, the other day I was looking at our half-full bottle of BLiS Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup and for some odd reason started wondering about using it in a cocktail. Of course, bourbon itself entered my mind as a possible top note (Is that the right term?), so I plugged the two into the search engine at The Internet Cocktail Database, et voila, the Maple Leaf. I wound up making it with slightly more than the 1.5 of bourbon (Maker's Mark) and slightly less than the 0.5 of maple syrup and lemon juice. I liked it a lot. It seemed to mellow after about 5 minutes in the glass. I also wondered how it would be if I made it with some muddled mint, but I haven't tried that yet. I also intend to see how it works when paired with a schmear of pb and bacon on a baguette slice. (I know; I'm weird.)

Any thoughts about this cocktail? Have you made it with different proportions or additional ingredients?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

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Couple of Manhattan's tonight - used the Candy Cap bitters that I finished making a couple of days ago. They are totally amazing!

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the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

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used the Candy Cap bitters that I finished making a couple of days ago. They are totally amazing!

Mushroom bitters... interesting. And making them yourself just to add that final touch of awesome.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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Interesting choice of glass style for your Sidecar, Kerry! With Sidecars on my mind I had just been looking at a thread on vintage cocktail glasses when I saw your post.

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

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Followed the directions that FrogPrincesse mentioned in the Sidecar thread - 2 ounces Cognac, 3/4 ounce dry curacao, 3/4 ounce lemon, dash each of Regan's and Angostura orange, 1 tsp syrup (used cane syrup).

My favourite glass by the way!

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

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I'm keeping one eye on the LCBO site just in case the Pierre Ferrand makes it to this end of the province.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

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Found it in Vintages.

The closest Vintages store is 5 hours away so not convenient but doable if I or someone I know goes there for any reason. I'll keep a watch for it but it's really not a huge deal if it doesn't get this far. There are a few things still on my list that I really want but, in general, I've slowed down significantly on the booze buying.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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