Paul Harrington cocktail recipes online

[nightscotsman]

Trillium, 

The rumormongers who indicate that the Torani clone is a good replacement are to be found over at http://groups.msn.com/DrinkBoy  ... they're a reasonably astute bunch, so if you're on the left coast, I'd see about getting my hands on some of the stuff and taste-testing it against the real thing.  The DrinkBoys seem to like it pretty well. I wish they distributed it on the East Coast.

I'm afraid I'm unable to find the discussion on the DrinkBoy group that you're referring to. Looking on the Torani site, could you tell me which flavor one would use as a replacement for Amer Picon? Thanks!

[trillium]

here's a better link. You have to go to spirits, then look for the thread labeled Amer Picon. There are two sites listed in that thread that sell Torani Amer (it isn't listed on the website), which contains alcohol.

www.bevmo.com/

or

www.wineglobe.com/liqueurs.html

Wine globe can ship to WA and OR without restrictions, it looks like bevmo can only ship wine. If you find it in Seattle, please let us know!

regards,

trillium

[trillium]

I just got an email from Coit Liquor that they have it in stock at 10.25/bottle. That's less then the price at the other two websites I listed, for them that cares. And I like the folks at Coit. I've never mail-ordered from them, though.

regards,

trillium

Edited March 31, 2003 by trillium (log)

[birder53]

My favorite cocktail book by far. Auspicious discoveries for me include the Aviation and the Jasmine.

The Aviation is my favorite cocktail since I discovered it in the book. Though I have yet to find a bar or restaurant that stocks maraschino, so I've given up trying to order it out.

I tried the Aviation after hearing such good things about it here. We had an old, unopened bottle of maraschino from Yugoslavia. I always wondered what to do with it, so this recipe seemed perfect.

The Aviation was pretty awful. I don't know if the maraschino was just too old (we had it at least 20 years!) or I just made a mess of the recipe. I used NSM's recipe from the cocktail party.

I tried the maraschino alone and it had virtually no taste at all. What is it supposed to taste like? Maybe I just have a bad bottle.

[Wilfrid]

I only wish I could replicate your experience to see. I've just picked up a boom about the glory days of the cocktail bar in the Waldorf Astoria. Some weird recipes. Should be worth a thread when I'm a little more into it.

[Vanessa]

Amer Picon is equally unavailable in the UK. I spent many years looking for it, then discovered it in Lille, in Northern France, where it is as common as muck. They drink it with beer. I love AP, and also quite a similar Italian product - Ramazotti.

A good maraschino like Luxardo is definitely worth the search. The flavour is difficult to explain, it is so perfumed and multi-layered. Just a teaspoonful will do wonders for a cocktail - I wouldn't want to drink it on its own. A really good slivovica will have similar flavours, without the sweetness. Not surprising really as maraschino has Dalmatian origins.

I've also never seen DeGroff or Harrington's books in the UK . Alright, I could buy them on the Internet but would like to see them first.

v

[trillium]

I tried the maraschino alone and it had virtually no taste at all.  What is it supposed to taste like?  Maybe I just have a bad bottle.

I think you do. Maraschino has a really strong taste, the closest thing I can think of is kirsch but that's not quite it.

The Aviation isn't for everyone, some people don't like it because they find it too astringent. For them, I make Delilah's.

regards,

trillium

[Wilfrid]

Vanessa, the pictures and content on the Harrington web-site are the same as in the book (I don't know if the web-site has every recipe). It's really very attractive.

Edited April 2, 2003 by Wilfrid (log)

[nightscotsman]

I tried the maraschino alone and it had virtually no taste at all.  What is it supposed to taste like?  Maybe I just have a bad bottle.

I think you do. Maraschino has a really strong taste, the closest thing I can think of is kirsch but that's not quite it.

The Aviation isn't for everyone, some people don't like it because they find it too astringent. For them, I make Delilah's.

regards,

trillium

I agree - just took a taste of the Maraska brand from Croatia (the original version) and I would have to say the primary flavor is "spicy" with some star anise and almond layers and a little bit of an herbal edge. Much smoother and not nearly and strong tasting as other liquors like Chartreuse or Benedictine, but still not wimpy. I think if you gave it to someone to taste without telling them what it was there is no way they would come up with cherries as the main ingredient.

[birder53]

The Aviation isn't for everyone, some people don't like it because they find it too astringent.  For them, I make Delilah's.

I looked up the Delilah. Sounds good! It's going on the list of drinks we must try at least once!

We've been drinking Bella Donnas recently and they are soooo good we haven't tried anything new for awhile.

[Wilfrid]

I bought some Chartreuse and tried the "Drink Without a Name" from Harrington's book. The recipe doesn't specify green or yellow chartreuse, but the picture looks a bit green-ish, so that's what I used. Just a splash. This is a grown up drink, and would appeal to those who find a lot of cocktails too sweet. The Cointreau scarcely sweetens it at all, just mellows out the vodka a little. Serious vodka martini drinkers might find this a welcome variant.

[nightscotsman]

I bought some Chartreuse and tried the "Drink Without a Name" from Harrington's book.  The recipe doesn't specify green or yellow chartreuse, but the picture looks a bit green-ish, so that's what I used.  Just a splash.  This is a grown up drink, and would appeal to those who find a lot of cocktails too sweet.  The Cointreau scarcely sweetens it at all, just mellows out the vodka a little.  Serious vodka martini drinkers might find this a welcome variant.

Now that you've got your Chartreuse you can also make the wonderful Champs Elysees. It's in the back under the brandy drink section. Go ahead, I'll wait... [tap, tap, tap]

[birder53]

I tried the maraschino alone and it had virtually no taste at all.  What is it supposed to taste like?  Maybe I just have a bad bottle.

I think you do. Maraschino has a really strong taste, the closest thing I can think of is kirsch but that's not quite it.

The Aviation isn't for everyone, some people don't like it because they find it too astringent. For them, I make Delilah's.

regards,

trillium

I agree - just took a taste of the Maraska brand from Croatia (the original version) and I would have to say the primary flavor is "spicy" with some star anise and almond layers and a little bit of an herbal edge. Much smoother and not nearly and strong tasting as other liquors like Chartreuse or Benedictine, but still not wimpy. I think if you gave it to someone to taste without telling them what it was there is no way they would come up with cherries as the main ingredient.

Finally got a bottle of Stock Maraschino and made Aviations last night. Scrumptious! What a difference a good bottle of the stuff made. Hubby finally agreed the old bottle is bad and dumped it down the sink. Quite a potent drink, but very delicious.

[birder53]

The Aviation cocktail just got even better! Our local Wegmans had Myer lemons last week. Having read great things about them on this site, I had to buy them even though I had no idea what I planned to do with them.

Well, we made Aviation cocktails with them and they were the best version we have ever made. The Myer lemons seem to be sweeter than the "common" lemon. We've been making them since last Sunday (just three times!) and I just picked up four more Myer lemons today.

Thanks to NSM who is responsible for the huge amount of liquor in my house these days!

[trillium]

Now try garnishing those Aviations with the Italian black sour cherries in syrup (Amerena Fabbi is the most common brand). They're the same cherry that flavors maraschino liqueur. They're very pricey but go a long way.

regards,

trillium

[birder53]

Now try garnishing those Aviations with the Italian black sour cherries in syrup (Amerena Fabbi is the most common brand).

That sounds wonderful! I'll start looking for them right away!

[Sazerac]

I joined this thread rather late, and I'm trying to remember everything I wanted to reply to ... forgive me if any of this repeats what may have already been said in other threads (boy, have I got some catching up to do!)

For whomever was worried about copyright issues regarding recipes, don't -- recipes, as in a list of ingredients, cannot be copyrighted, although the text that surrounds them can. If you just want to post a recipe or recipes for comparison, knock yourself out and rest easy.

With regards to Torani Amer, I think it's terrific stuff, and I've been using it not only in original recipes but as a substitute for Amer Picon in old cocktails that call for it, including Picon Punch (the recipe for which is actually printed on the Torani Amer front label). I still haven't tasted original Amer Picon, but I shall soon.

There has been a bit of disagreement over on the DrinkBoy forum: the eminent Dr. Cocktail finds the Torani product to be superior to the current version of true Amer Picon, which has changed its original formula and dropped its proof by half. However, "DrinkBoy" Robert (*wave*) has done side-by-side tastings and evaluations of both (the original full-proof Picon, that is) and has found that while they're both good products they were actually different enough such that he didn't consider Torani to be an acceptable substitute.

That said, I have been using Torani in old recipes that call for Amer Picon, and different as though the cocktail may be I've been happy with the results. I'm really looking forward to doing by own taste tests (and I can't wait to see what a Hoskins Cocktail tastes like with real Amer Picon).

Regarding maraschino, as much as I was in love with the Luxardo product I'm really liking Maraska better, primarily because it's drier (and not to mention the fact that it's a lot cheaper!)

Regarding cherries for garnish, if you can't find that fabuloso-sounding Italian product, we've been enjoying the "Maraska Cocktail Cherries" sold at Williams-Sonoma. Expensive (as is everything there), but with a good cherry flavor and real cherry color (i.e., not neon red). I got a neat tip from Daniel, a local cocktailian bartender who has a website and business called Vintage Cocktails -- pour out the "juice" from your supermarket maraschino cherries and dump them into a colander; rinse the living crap out of them, then put them back in the jar and cover with Maraschino liqueur. This works amazingly well, and the cherries get better day by day.

Um. I think that's it.

Chuck