Cocktail Porn

[JAZ]

If there's a place near you that sells stained glass (or maybe even offers lessons in making stained glass), chances are pretty good that they can blow glass too, so they could probably make you a stopper to order.

[Ida]

Tobin, I was afraid of that. I never have time for flea markets and such. I was hoping there was someplace that had pretty stoppers in different sizes. Ah well, there really isn't any big hurry to get one. Maybe I will find the time now and then. Thanks

[Ida]

JAZ, that is a good idea, thank you. I will check that out.

[KatieLoeb]

I know some of you have nice looking barware so I have a question for you.  In a second hand shop I found a really pretty glass bottle.  I brought it home and it cleaned up very nicely but it has no stopper.  I've looked and looked for a stopper but can't find anything that would look nice on it.  Problem is that the neck is just a wee bit bigger than the average wine bottle.  It is clear glass with sort of a pineapple design.  Would look great with a pretty infusion in it.  Anyone know where I could find a pretty glass stopper that would be larger than the average wine bottle?

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eBay is a great source for silly things like that. There are a couple of sets of them at auction right now for less than $10 HERE and HERE

If you really want to go nuts then do a Search on eBay for "bottle +stopper +glass". It'll give you several thousand choices to weed through, but there are categories on the left of the results so you can narrow down to "Barware" and have an easier time of it.

That ought to keep you busy for a while!

[Ida]

Thanks Katie, I'l have to keep checking ebay. When I looked there a couple of weeks ago I didn't see anything that I thought would look nice with my bottle that wasn't plain glass that just sits on the bottle. I want something that will kind of cork it. ebay is a really good idea though. You never know what they are gonna have.

[Chef Shogun]

eBay is a great source for silly things like that.

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What's the protocol for cleaning stuff you buy on eBay that you intend to drink out of? I'm no neat-freak or germaphobe, but the thought of a container sitting god-knows-where for half a century or more is kind of off-putting without some serious cleaning, even if it looks basically ok! So, what...dishwasher? Dilute bleach solution? Rinse in some sort of lesser alcohol?? I'm looking at you, Extreme Vodka!

Edited September 15, 2004 by Chef Shogun (log)

[arielle]

IDA - Perhaps you could cut a champagne cork down to size? It may not be as pretty as a cut or blown glass stopper, but it would at least be functional until you found a more aesthetic replacement!

[Ida]

I never worry about using old glass. I do, however, get a little crazy about cleaning it. I wash the glass container with hot soapy water and a brush and rinse in hot water. Then I put water and bleach in it and let it set on my counter while I go do other things. After that I rinse it and wash it again with hot soapy water and rinse with hot water and let air dry. I have also used oxi clean and let soak but I always end with a good wash with hot soapy water and a very good hot rinse. I never use a dishwasher because I'm not sure how well it will clean the inside of a bottle.

I just went through my momma's things and found an old clear glass bottle that looks like it will hold about a fifth. Our wine corks are a little too big but the cork stopper from a bottle of Rain vodka fits perfectly. I'm seeing an orange infusion in it.

[Ida]

As for the bottle that I am looking for a stopper to fit: my husband makes wine and when he went to get supplies he got a cork that fits it. It looked so big when he handed it to me that I didn't think it would fit but it is exactly the right size. It is just a plain cork though but at least I can use the pretty bottle until I run across just the right pretty glass stopper for it. I will keep watching ebay. Sooner or later they are bound to have one that will go with it.

[KatieLoeb]

*bump*

I was wondering what had happened to this thread. I went and searched for it so I could show off my latest prize:

I nabbed this on eBay for $10.50. With shipping, just under $20. I really like the very Deco-esque Empire State Building skyscraper lines of it.

Anybody else find anything cool lately??

[eje]

How about books?

Johnder suggested the Stan Jones "Jones Complete Barguide", which I recently picked up. I haven't had a chance to read through it yet. Some great 70s era pictures of the author with noted celebreties and liquor distributors on the back flap, though.

The "Larousse Cocktails" by Fernando Castellon is full of nice pictures, questionable history, classic and modern European cocktails.

But, mostly, my bedtime reading has been Charles Baker's "South American Gentleman's Companion". My, he is in fine form in this one. I found myself especially amused in the section about Alcohol consumption and its potential problems, where he states, and I'm paraphrasing here, that the reason he has never gotten sick in tropical countries is he is always sure to have drunk at least half of a fifth of liquor before sundown. Woo!

Edited October 16, 2006 by eje (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Books are definitely worthy. In fact, thanks for reminding me that I also want to find a Jones Bar Guide for myself!

[donbert]

This is certainly not cool but check out this oddity I found at an A&P in NJ.

On the back it says:

Professional Cocktail Foam For: Sours, Daiquiris, Collins, Margaritas, Gimlets, Pina Colada, and all other shaken cocktails.

Directions: Add 3 dashes of FROTHEE before shaking.

Ingredients: Water, Propylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate.

If I put this a cocktail with this does it count as molecular mixology?

[weinoo]

Ingredients: Water, Propylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate.

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Great find Don - but that is some scary sounding shit!

[Snowy is dead]

I just bought a shaker on ebay. Looked like a tea pot, kind of. thought maybe it would hold about 2 or 3 drinks, tops. Turns out it's huge. Are all vintage shakers large like this? It's almost a foot tall...

Sean

[KatieLoeb]

A lot of vintage shakers are oversized by today's standards. Don't forget, a lot of us are used to those little "individual" sized shakers that the bartender leaves with you.

I think those vintage ones were for a time when you'd be making a round of martinis for like 6 or 8 people at a time, since no one would ever think to drink anything else.

[Danne]

This is certainly not cool but check out this oddity I found at an A&P in NJ.

On the back it says:

Professional Cocktail Foam For: Sours, Daiquiris, Collins, Margaritas, Gimlets, Pina Colada, and all other shaken cocktails.

Directions: Add 3 dashes of FROTHEE before shaking.

Ingredients: Water, Propylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate.

If I put this a cocktail with this does it count as molecular mixology?

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they are not that unusual in sweden, it's used as egg white, it helps you build up the foam of the drink.

dosn't taste any thing.

[Snowy is dead]

That metal shaker is larger than the ones I use at work. As a side note, what do I need to do to be able to use this thing without getting silver plate floaters?

Sean

Edited October 21, 2006 by Snowy is dead (log)

[ThinkingBartender]

That metal shaker is larger than the ones I use at work.  As a side note, what do I need to do to be able to use this thing without getting silver plate floaters? 

Sean

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How is it possible to comment on the largeness of something and use such a tiny picture to go with it?

[eje]

Sean,

If the silver plating is coming off, I think the only thing to fix it would be to get it replated.

BTW, is it silver (it may say EPNS on the bottom) or chrome plated? Silver plate will tarnish and has a less bright sheen than chrome. If it's chrome plated, you definitely don't want to ingest much of that stuff.

re: size. Going through early 20th century cocktail books like The Savoy and Duffy, you often find cocktail recipes "for 6". I would assume this is the sort of shaker/pitcher you would want for those "party" type cocktails.

Edited October 20, 2006 by eje (log)

[ThinkingBartender]

Sean,

If the silver plating is coming off, I think the only thing to fix it would be to get it replated.

BTW, is it silver (it may say EPNS on the bottom) or chrome plated?  Silver plate will tarnish and has a less bright sheen than chrome.  If it's chrome plated, you definitely don't want to ingest much of that stuff.

re: size.  Going through early 20th century cocktail books like The Savoy and Duffy, you often find cocktails recipes "for 6".  I would assume this is the sort of shaker/pitcher you would want for those "party" type cocktails.

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It is strange when recipes say "for 6", as when I have bartended large groups have tended to order completely different drinks, so they can all sample the different drinks. Kinda like what people do at restaurants. Is this an un-tapped market?

6 friends, 6 drinks, split the 6 drinks between 36 smaller glasses, so that each person has 6 sipper sized cocktails. All the taste, none of the germs.

[Snowy is dead]

It's silver plated. I'll have to give it a try this weekend. I'm thinking of rinsing it with very hot water, and then some vodka to kill whatever else lives in there.

Some more stuff

Edited October 21, 2006 by Snowy is dead (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Sean,

If the silver plating is coming off, I think the only thing to fix it would be to get it replated.

BTW, is it silver (it may say EPNS on the bottom) or chrome plated?  Silver plate will tarnish and has a less bright sheen than chrome.  If it's chrome plated, you definitely don't want to ingest much of that stuff.

re: size.  Going through early 20th century cocktail books like The Savoy and Duffy, you often find cocktails recipes "for 6".  I would assume this is the sort of shaker/pitcher you would want for those "party" type cocktails.

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It is strange when recipes say "for 6", as when I have bartended large groups have tended to order completely different drinks, so they can all sample the different drinks. Kinda like what people do at restaurants. Is this an un-tapped market?

6 friends, 6 drinks, split the 6 drinks between 36 smaller glasses, so that each person has 6 sipper sized cocktails. All the taste, none of the germs.

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36 glasses on the table?? Not on my watch. I'd have to kill you myself. Not to mention the danger of having all those glasses around with folks mixing different drinks and liquors as their mission for the evening.

Bad idea all around for a lot of reasons. I'd rather give you a pile of straws to taste hygenically out of each others glasses.

[eje]

The family holiday in Arizona was a bit bleak this year. I consoled myself by picking up these three unusual items.

The first is the Mozart Black chocolate liqueur. For some reason no one stocks this in California. I've wanted a dark chocolate liqueur that didn't involve cream for a while, and this is allegedly the best (only?).

Second is Cocchi Barolo Chinato. I've wanted to try the Bob Tailed Nag since I read about it in the linked Gary Regan column. Darn those Absinthe bartenders and their use of obscure cocktail ingredients!

Third is Chouffe Coffee Liqueur. No idea if this is any good; but, I've been on something of a Chouffe jag lately, drinking many of their beers. This is made from distillate of Chouffe beer, alcohol, and coffee extracts. Plus, it has a gnome on the label. Also never seen it in California.

[Gifted Gourmet]

The first is the Mozart Black chocolate liqueur.  For some reason no one stocks this in California.  I've wanted a dark chocolate liqueur that didn't involve cream for a while, and this is allegedly the best (only?).

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Perhaps this is a source? Mozart Black