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Here’s a fun drink to make for the holiday season when you want to kill the end of your bottle of bitters: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/10/tradewinds-angostura-negroni-sweet-vermouth-cinnamon-cocktail.html
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Dec 9, 2019 04:31
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Anyone have recommendations for rum or bourbon based cocktails that include a salty element, or classics that are improved with added salt/saline? My partner takes her martinis as dirty as can be, and I recently made her an old fashioned that was sweetened with bacon orange marmalade and she was real fond of it. I’ve made the Benton’s old fashioned, but to be honest I wasn’t amazed by it and, especially given the time and planning involved in making it, I prefer the old fashioned with bacon marmalade (I just wish it didn’t leave scraps of bacon in the drink.)
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Dec 10, 2019 18:52
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I’ve been working my way through recipes trying to find a pleasing holiday cocktail, and I’ve been mostly unimpressed so far. They’re either classic staples I drink throughout the year anyways, seasonal drinks I’ve found unpalatable like the hot buttered rum and the hot toddy, or just obviously trash recipes. The one I’ve come upon that I did like was the Tradewinds Negroni, which is a nicely spiced, bracing winter tincture. That being said, I’m trying to formulate something loosely based on an old fashioned that approximates gingerbread, particularly the Latvian style which prominently features black pepper in the spice blend. Here’s my thinking at present: 2 oz Rittenhouse Rye .5 oz Licor 43 (a vanilla citrus liqueur) .5 oz ginger syrup rim with sugar, lemon zest, and ground black pepper Stir over ice, serve neat and garnish with a cinnamon stick There are too many elements here, I’m sure. I may nix the cinnamon stick garnish (I’m also interested in a candied orange peel, maybe). I’m going back and forth on using white or demerrara sugar for the rim. Demerrara would fit the profile better, but the clean taste of white sugar may serve the rim better. I’m also debating if the vanilla flavor of Licor 43 is an appropriate addition, and whether it will over-sweeten the drink. It certainly bears reformulating and experimenting with a bit.
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Dec 16, 2019 18:58
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prayer group posted:
Leaving out bitters felt like an odd omission, but there’s already so much going on that I was hesitant to add any more. I do think that dropping either the ginger syrup or the 43 is a must, but I hadn’t thought about infusing fresh ginger into bitters (in fact, making a batch of ginger syrup is what initially set me down this track, so I was biased in that direction.) Is that as simple as immersing some fresh cut ginger slivers into bitters? For how long would it take, overnight? I had considered garnishing with candied ginger but I was already getting pretty overboard. If I drop the ginger syrup and the cinnamon stick, it would serve a better role in the recipe for sure. Regarding the rim, it is an unusual choice for this sort of drink (I thought about switching over to a martini glass to make it feel more natural,) but what I’m really looking for here is the incorporation of the black pepper, which I couldn’t think of another vector for. I’m not aware of how to make something that I could put in an atomizer (maybe using a food-grade essential oil, but ordering an ingredient like that online is a bridge too far for me at this moment.)
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Dec 16, 2019 19:45
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I do have an immersion circulator available to me, actually. Would it be possible to kill two birds with one stone and infuse both the ginger and pepper into the bitters? Failing that, I imagine I’d want to use vodka or some other neutral spirit as the base? I wouldn’t want to buy genever for this purpose, would Plymouth gin a suitable substitution if I went that route?
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Dec 16, 2019 20:10
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prayer group posted:Oh, hell yeah. Ginger-black pepper Ango sounds like a great idea. Do that. Rad. For a ballpark measurement, let’s say I’m shooting for a quarter cup of bitters tincture. .25 cup of Angosturra, .25 cup of slivered ginger, 2 tsp of ground ginger sound like an appropriate ballpark?
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Dec 16, 2019 20:19
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Gingergeddon: 1.5 oz Rittenhouse rye .5 oz Licor 43 1 tsp Gingerbread Bitters (Angosturra bitters cooked in immersion circulator for 2 hours with black pepper and sliced ginger) Garnish with orange peel and candied ginger This was a good drink because an old fashioned sweetened with Licor 43 is a winning recipe, but unfortunately, it didn’t scream “gingerbread.” When I tasted them on their own, the bitters had a fair bit of heat and spice, but it just didn’t stand up in the drink, even with such a heavy amount. Very drinkable, but not a holiday cocktail.  .5 oz ginger syrup .75 oz lemon juice Spoonful of macerated raspberries 2 oz Elijah Craig bourbon Top with ginger beer Muddle raspberries in ginger syrup and lemon juice. Add bourbon and shake. Double strain over ice, top with ginger beer and garnish with candied ginger and fresh raspberry. This is one I’ve made before with strawberry, but it’s just as good with raspberry. Lovely. A great choice for someone that doesn’t enjoy a spirit-forward cocktail.
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Dec 17, 2019 05:33
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I had decided to bring it down from 2 to 1.5 because I wasn’t certain how much alcohol I’d be adding to the drink by incorporating a teaspoon of bitters.
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Dec 17, 2019 13:55
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field balm posted:I got some dark spiced rum, its nice on the rocks and in a cuba libre but any other cool ideas? Float it on top of some ginger beer with lime. If you’re open to buying some more stuff, a mai tai is one of my favorite drinks. Edit: I guess you wouldn’t really want a spiced rum for that, though.
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Dec 18, 2019 15:42
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I’ve never really messed with cognac because the ones I have tried have tasted quite similar to bourbon, but reading the brandy chapter in Cocktail Codex (and having a delicious vieux carre in a restaurant recently) has me taking a second look at cognac and apple brandy.
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Dec 19, 2019 15:48
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I just picked up a bottle of Christian Drouin Select because of this thread so I’m also in the market for calvados cocktails.
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Dec 20, 2019 03:50
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Tried the Christian Drouin Calvados in an old fashioned today with maple syrup and some Strongwater lemon ginger bitters (I picked up a sampler of Strongwater bitters at the store and they are really, really nice) and it was just lovely. A little caramel taste on the opening, with a sweet, crisp apple finish.
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Dec 20, 2019 04:57
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Honestly, I’ve had homemade grenadine and Small Hands grenadine, and it tastes...tomato-ey to me? Rose’s is where it’s at for me.
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Dec 20, 2019 05:03
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prayer group posted:I mean if your vision of what grenadine should be is corn syrup and food dye then yes Rose's is the gold standard for sure but those of us possessed of taste and sophistication prefer something that actually tastes like pomegranate like it's supposed to. Sorry to lay it on a little thick there but this is like saying a White Castle slider is the pinnacle of cheeseburgers. For what it’s worth, the White Castle slider is the pinnacle of cheeseburgers.
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Dec 20, 2019 14:02
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I am aware that Rose’s is just corn syrup. It’s a nostalgic ingredient for me that I only use when I want to sweeten a drink that I also want to be pink. However, it’s true that I have found real grenadine to have an offputting flavor, and if nothing else, the owners of Death and Company agree; their section on grenadine in Cocktail Codex notes that most homemade and small-batch grenadines taste skunky, and recommend adding citric and malic acid to their recipe as a remedy for this (they also describe it as taking it closer to their memories of Rose’s in profile!). I’ve not bothered with that yet myself.
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Dec 20, 2019 19:37
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Admiral Joeslop posted:Premixed cocktails to bring to a party or gathering; seems easy enough? Get one of those pop top bottles used for fermenting (a real one, not decorative) and measure out enough to fill it, keep chilled if applicable? Bring some garnishes if needed. Anything I'm missing, and also any drink recommendations for this, or recommendations to not do? Old fashioned and manhattans are really easy to do this way. Pre-dilute them and then all you have to do is pour them over ice (or not, if you’re keeping them refrigerated and that’s your preference.)
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Dec 27, 2019 18:42
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I was gifted a bottle of Kura for Christmas. Funny enough, it’s apparently a Japanese whisky only insofar as the bottler imported a bunch of scotch and aged it for a few years. It tastes alright straight- I’m not a big scotch fan but it’s very light on smoke- but there’s a slight acrid note to it that’s become more pronounced in any cocktails I’ve tried it in thusfar. Sad that my gift-giver got pretty hoodwinked on the price of this.
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Dec 28, 2019 17:11
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Cherry Heering is like the fluid that luxardo cherries are jarred in, but formulated as a beverage. Luxardo maraschino is Robotussin, but formulated as a beverage. Both rule.
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Jan 2, 2020 18:00
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I’ve recently discovered that digestifs actually seem to work, which is really surprising to me. I’m highly suspicious of any “natural remedies,” particularly folksy stuff like digestifs, but both myself and my partner have found that they work at least as well as over-the-counter medicine for an upset stomach.
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Jan 2, 2020 19:03
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Dr Cheeto posted:is orgeat the kind of thing I should be making at home or is store bought fine? It’s apparently not that hard to make, but I’m quite fond of the Small Hands Foods product. It’s got a nice marzipan sort of flavor.
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Jan 7, 2020 00:18
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It’s a shame that Smith and Cross doesn’t seem to be available in Massachusetts at all.
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Jan 9, 2020 16:45
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silvergoose posted:Wait since when, I was able to get some a few years ago. Idk, if it isn’t stocked at Marty’s, Kappy’s, or Total Wine then I have no way of discovering it.
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Jan 9, 2020 17:52
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Horn posted:I've had luck at the total wine in Everett a few times. Gordon's in Waltham also tends to have a really good selection. Marty’s in Newton is really nice if you haven’t been. Price skews a little high, but they’re the only people I’ve found that carry things like Luxardo amaretto.
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Jan 9, 2020 18:42
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prayer group posted:I got a vacuum sealer and an immersion circulator for Christmas and rather than make steak like your average culinary goon, my Anova's maiden voyage is peanut butter cognac! This wouldn’t be the old Teddie factory, would it?
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Jan 9, 2020 20:27
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prayer group posted:Had to look this up but no. It's currently Georgia Beer Garden, in Atlanta. Ah, ok. There happens to be a peanut butter factory here that also shares property with a distillery and bar, go figure. Their amaro actually isn’t bad.
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Jan 9, 2020 21:13
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Horn posted:Bully boy? Yep.
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Jan 12, 2020 04:51
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Comb Your Beard posted:What's a whiskey based cocktail that works well with smoke? Think splash of very peated scotch but bourbon as the backbone. If you like a sweet drink, a godfather would probably stand up. I bet you could split half and half or even 1.5 and 5 on a Pop Quiz: 2 oz bourbon 1/2 oz Ramazzotti (or Averna) 1 tsp simple syrup Xolacatl mole bitters to taste Garnish with orange If you’re using scotch, you could probably also get away with using a different chocolate bitters you happen to have. Flaming the orange could be nice, too.
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Jan 22, 2020 17:59
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Yeah, fee’s orange bitters in soda water is as good as any flavored seltzer, probably better tbh.
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Feb 8, 2020 23:30
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Is there any reason to seek out absinthe over pastis, provided that you can find good pastis and don’t care about sweetening it yourself? I’ve had and enjoy both, and it just seems like buying pastis just saves you a step. I guess if you’re using absinth as a rinse or cocktail ingredient it may be nice to have unsweetened?
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Feb 20, 2020 17:25
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e; beaten
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Feb 28, 2020 19:28
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Definitely good. I like carbonation in my Negroni but I would prefer to avoid the extra dilution.
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Mar 29, 2020 20:15
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Going to make a batch of lavender vanilla syrup for making London fogs. Any recommendations for a cocktail application? Something with gin, probably? I saw that there was a bergamot liqueur out there, maybe I’ll pick that up someday. Balancing a drink with a syrup and liqueur might be tough tho.
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Mar 30, 2020 18:43
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Sandwich Anarchist posted:I picked up Sorghum & Sassafras bitters and they are very cool. Made a variation on a Manhattan Transfer with them and bourbon and black tea tincture. 
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Apr 9, 2020 21:17
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The Chad Jihad posted:This is a stupid-rear end question, but whats a good drink to get to-go? Or I guess, are there drinks that are BAD to get to go, I feel like drinking an old-fashioned ten minutes later out of a styrofoam cup is not ideal If you’re making it yourself, it’s easy to make a couple of old fashioneds or manhattans and keep them in a flask. You can look up the appropriate ratio to substitute water for dilution from ice.
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Apr 10, 2020 15:25
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I can never get a solid foam when I’m making sours. I use an egg white and dry shake but it just never stiffens up enough or gets much volume. I’m inclined to believe that it’s because I don’t currently have a double shaker and am using a julep shaker, so I just don’t have enough space to really get a proper whip going. Also, though, I’m just not a big fan of whiskey sours, I find! They used to be a favorite of mine but there’s something a little acrid about them that puts me off now. I’ll take a bourbon sidecar, or even better, D&C’s why not, which is basically a bourbon sidecar sweetened with maple syrup, any day.
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Apr 15, 2020 19:31
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What’s the deal with Hine (or is their $35ish brandy “H by Hine?”) That’s supposed to be pretty good, yeah?
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Apr 21, 2020 14:05
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It’s good! It tastes sort of like licorice and dr pepper. I’ve never bought a bottle and I’ve never seen it used in any cocktails, but I wouldn’t turn down a shot.
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Apr 23, 2020 18:08
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Carillon posted:Following up on that, now that I'm gonna rebuy more vermouth what's your favorites? I generally get either Dolin or Noilly Prat, but have enjoyed Carpano Antica, just not at the 35 bucks a bottle I would usually have to pay. Are blanc vermouths worth while? What do you do with them outside of a white negroni? For sweet vermouth, for my money there’s no beating Cocchi. Carpano Antica seems to be more popuar, but Cocchi is half the price and I prefer the taste. It has a cola flavor to it that I’m quite fond of. I recently picked up a bottle of Ransom sweet vermouth. It’s expensive for vermouth, but oddly enough, the sweet, raisiny flavor profile means it would probably work as a substitution for pedro ximenez sherry in any recipe, and it’s not a bad price for that.
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May 5, 2020 22:42
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Does John Taylor’s Velvet Falernum need to be refrigerated?
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May 9, 2020 18:18
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I gotta start exploring more of Sasha Petraske’s recipes. I quite enjoyed the Left Hand, and I just made this tonight and it is absolutely going to be a summertime staple going forward: Just killer. Crisp and savory and lightly sweet, and beautiful to boot.
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May 11, 2020 04:43
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