Drinks! 2014 (Part 2)

[Moto]

Has anyone tried mixing with Hennessey Black. I'm not sure if it is adulterated with Boise or not but it is 90 proof and I think it has better depth than 1840. I've sipped it a few times. I'm not sure if I like it but I do find it interesting.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

One reviewer reported Hennessy Black is good with coke.  But I thought it was 80 proof?

[tanstaafl2]

I've seen the 9th Century and 1605 for sale in the U.S. The MOFS is a bit more scarce...my first bottle did come from the distillery in Voiron, but more recently I found it at CDG Duty Free. The Whisky Exchange in London sells all of them...and, samples are certainly available at Pouring Ribbons in NYC.

 

New York and London aren't much easier than traveling to the Chartreuse mountains of France in terms of availability compared to here in the hinterlands of Atlanta! Have to fight and scrape to find what little interesting oddities I can amongst the limited selection, the near limitless lack of knowledge amongst distributors (not all, but many!), the labyrinthine limitations on bringing in new products and the lack of desire among distributors to be bothered if it can't sell as many cases as the latest bubblegum vodka and the puritanical restrictions on getting alcohol shipped here from just about anywhere. The few places that still do are doing so while dancing around the edges of legality but I bless them for it!

[tanstaafl2]

Pierre Ferrand 1840 is 90 proof cognac.  I don't know of a lot of others from which to choose.

 

 

About the only other one that readily comes to mind is the Louis Royer "Force 53" VSOP Cognac which is 106 proof as the name suggests. But I have never tried it. I find the Ferrand 1840 works fine for me and isn't bad as an occasional sipper to boot.

 

In fact it was part of a recent Wednesday tasting that included a couple of oddities I brought back from a recent trip to Central Asia. One was a "cognac" (their typical term for local brandy) from Kyrgyzstan which was 6-7 years old, 84 proof and not bad with some nice young raisin-y fruit and the other was a bottom shelf cognac from Turkmenistan that was young thin and unremarkable. We also tried a 5yo Armenian brandy, Asbach from Germany along with the Ferrand 1840 (which was totally different, not to mention better, than everything else).

 

[Hassouni]

What took you to Central Asia? I had a bottle of Kyrgyz brandy about this time last year - not bad at all!

[bostonapothecary]

About the only other one that readily comes to mind is the Louis Royer "Force 53" VSOP Cognac which is 106 proof as the name suggests. But I have never tried it. I find the Ferrand 1840 works fine for me and isn't bad as an occasional sipper to boot.

 

In fact it was part of a recent Wednesday tasting that included a couple of oddities I brought back from a recent trip to Central Asia. One was a "cognac" (their typical term for local brandy) from Kyrgyzstan which was 6-7 years old, 84 proof and not bad with some nice young raisin-y fruit and the other was a bottom shelf cognac from Turkmenistan that was young thin and unremarkable. We also tried a 5yo Armenian brandy, Asbach from Germany along with the Ferrand 1840 (which was totally different, not to mention better, than everything else).

 

I've had a lot of fun with the Force 53 when friends have brought it back from NYC. I used to make a sort of inverse Sidecar where the overproof cognac was averaged into an lower than usual proof orange liqueur to give a drink with more cognac aroma but a typical Sidecar alcohol level.

 

the best fringe cognac options really seem to vary market to market. my favorite in MA is gaston lagrange.

 

raisin brandies are weird and pretty common when you go further east. they often use grand age statements to make them seem attractive but I think in some cases it might refer to solera style aging. I used to buy one from the country of Georgia but I've slowly found its worth paying extra to go unraisined.

[tanstaafl2]

What took you to Central Asia? I had a bottle of Kyrgyz brandy about this time last year - not bad at all!

Just part of my annual meanderings. A 3 week tour of the five Stans that included a brief visit in Almaty, Kazakstan as the starting point and then down through Kyrgyzstan and across the Fergana Valley to Uzbekistan and a brief trip through the northern edge of Tajikistan and finally into the somewhat bizarre world that is Turkmenistan and the Land of Oz (and I don't mean Australia!) that is the marble covered city of Ashgabat before returning home. Lots of uninteresting (to me) vodka, mostly imported from Russia I think, but not much in the way of locally made spirits except for generally young brandy (which as I noted they typically call cognac).

Some better pics of the "cognac".

Edited November 2, 2014 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[Hassouni]

That's exactly the Kyrgyz stuff I had..The brand name appears to be "Kyrgyzstan"

[tanstaafl2]

That's exactly the Kyrgyz stuff I had..The brand name appears to be "Kyrgyzstan"

 

Just so! The top label says Kyrgyz cognac"y" in Cyrillic and the full name of Kyrgyzstan is on the main label. I have forgotten what the guide says is written after where it says 6-7 but basically it was referring to the age as best I recall.

[Hassouni]

Yep that's exactly it

[haresfur]

I'm sure I or someone else has done something similar but a sort of Mexican Sazerac with anejo tequila, agave syrup, and a mezcal rinse for the glass.  Oh, and I used a dash of Chris Taylor coffee, cinnamon, and cocoa-nib bitters. Much like a Brave Bull with a background smokiness and less sweet.

[Adam George]

The drink I had at ECC Chinatown was similar to the above.

[FrogPrincesse]

That sounds very much like Phil Ward's Oaxaca Old Fashioned.

[lesliec]

That sounds very much like Phil Ward's Oaxaca Old Fashioned.

 

Which is an entirely tasty thing.  Decent mezcal is hard to find here, but I've had a couple of these recently with some (brand unknown) very, very good stuff some nice customer brought back from a trip and gave to my favourite bar.  The drink is great with 'ordinary' mezcal and phenomenal with a particularly good one.

[FrogPrincesse]

I noticed that the version in Imbibe magazine specifies mole bitters, but the one in the Death & Co book just regular Angostura (an earlier version of the recipe). I hope it's not another typo... 

[lesliec]

I noticed that the version in Imbibe magazine specifies mole bitters, but the one in the Death & Co book just regular Angostura (an earlier version of the recipe). I hope it's not another typo... 

 

There's some discussion of this in the notes on Kindred.  Looks like the recipe may have varied over time - possibly to do with mole bitters becoming available - but the D&C book is using the original.

[haresfur]

That sounds very much like Phil Ward's Oaxaca Old Fashioned.

 

I'm not sure I'd dare use a full half oz of my rotgut Mezcal but I might have to do the research.  I like the just-a-hint effect of the rinse and am pretty sure I've done it with Pechauld's bitters which worked out, too.

 

BTW I my favourite tequila/mole bitters drink is (corrected from an old post):

 

 

Posted 24 July 2012 - 08:59 PM

I think I like this

Not sure

1 oz silver tequila (Sauza) (reposado works, too)

1+ tsp nocello nocino (homemade gift)

3 drops Bittermans xocolatl bitters

This is the prototype size. The three ingredients each have taste profiles that I find rather strange and don't balance but seem to complement each other. 

[ChrisTaylor]

I'm not sure I'd dare use a full half oz of my rotgut Mezcal but I might have to do the research.  I like the just-a-hint effect of the rinse and am pretty sure I've done it with Pechauld's bitters which worked out, too.

 

BTW I my favourite tequila/mole bitters drink is (corrected from an old post):

 

I made the drink when my only mezcal was some cheap shitty stuff with a dead worm in it. From memory I went for 1.75 tequila to .25 mezcal. 

[EvergreenDan]

... some cheap shitty stuff with a dead worm in it. 

The bottles with the live worm are REALLY scary.

[Czequershuus]

I recently made some quince syrup following this recipe from serious eats. The result was lovely and light, and while I love the lower sugar content compared to my usual syrups, I also know it will not keep as long. So, that's a good excuse to play. Last night I was in the mood for  a tequila drink, so I improvise this - 

 

2 Oz Lunazul Blanco

1 Oz Lemon juice

0.75 Oz Quince syrup

0.25 Oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot

1 ds Fee's Rhubard Bitters

Shake, pour into a rocks glass, becasue your lazy and dinner is ready.

 

I was really quite happy with how this turned out. My previosu experiment with the syrup had been a simple gin sour, which was good but not great, but this had a lot of character. 

[EvergreenDan]

Maybe freeze the syrup? If it is too thick, add some vodka. If it freezes solid, freeze into pre-measured 1/2 oz cubes. I bet they would melt instantly in the shaker/mixing glass.

 

I make a drink with frozen Aperol/Campari and lime cubes. The juice adds just enough water so that they freeze just beyond slushy.

[lesliec]

I wish to report that Rafa's The Man Comes Around is still bloody marvellous.

 

I know this because I had two of them last night ...

[Hassouni]

I wish to report that Rafa's The Man Comes Around is still bloody marvellous.

 

I know this because I had two of them last night ...

 

Careful, you're encroaching on someone else's bailiwick!

Edited November 6, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

That time of year.  Autumn in Jersey...while assembling tonight's tarte tatin.  Though I do hope the tarte tatin doesn't suffer too much for it:

 

3 oz Laird's bonded

3 good dashes Angostura

1 oz fresh squeezed lemon nectar

3/4 oz orgeat

 

 

Garnished with spent half lemon, lovely bouquet of mint, green straw.  Must be green straw.

[Czequershuus]

Maybe freeze the syrup? If it is too thick, add some vodka. If it freezes solid, freeze into pre-measured 1/2 oz cubes. I bet they would melt instantly in the shaker/mixing glass.

 

I make a drink with frozen Aperol/Campari and lime cubes. The juice adds just enough water so that they freeze just beyond slushy.

I had not thought of freezing, that makes so much sense.