Ha, Alfred, I love that you're into Italicus. I have a bottle myself. Great mixed with prosecco.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 04:52 (five years ago) link
Actually, the main reason I have it is that as soon as it was introduced, my wife fell in love with the Art Deco bottle, and so that was an easy birthday present. To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how best to use it, too.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 04:55 (five years ago) link
Also, the super-crazy thing about this thread revive is that I was just about to post here about how *I'm* enjoying a Dead Rabbit cocktail tonight:
1.25 oz Smith & Cross rum (used Doctor Bird)0.5 oz Zapaca 23 rum (used Plantation 5 Year)0.25 Cruzan blackstrap rum0.25 oz Benedictine0.25 oz PX sherry0.25 oz allspice dram3 dashes Orinoco bitters (used Angostura)3 dashes mole bitters (used 2 dashes Aphrodite bitters + 1 dash chocolate bitters)
― jaymc, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 04:58 (five years ago) link
That sazerac variation sounds good, tho. CAD, what kind of Spanish brandy do you use? Torres? I'm totally unfamiliar with the style.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 05:00 (five years ago) link
they use torres 15 year old but i can’t find that in mass. i’m using cardenal mendoza gran reserva which is really tasty stuff. nothing at all like cognac so it’s a nice blend of flavors.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 11:45 (five years ago) link
― jaymc, Monday, February 25, 2019 11:52 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― jaymc, Monday, February 25, 2019
Yes! I bought Italicus because the bottle was a beautiful blue, then I figured out what I'm supposed to do with it.
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 12:37 (five years ago) link
italicus experiment:
1.5 oz. plymouth gin1.5 oz. dolin dry vermouth.25 oz. italicusdash bittermens burlesquelemon twist
decent start, i wanted the italicus to be an undertone but still prominent if that makes any sense. needs a little more body, prob a different gin and different proportions.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 02:26 (five years ago) link
btw sleeve i'm sorry i can't think of a pisco recipe that isn't on some kind of sour template. i scanned the death & co. book index and it seems like your best bet would be to pair it with stuff like blanc vermouth, cocchi americano, and st germain--basically light-colored, herbal, sweet things. i can repost a couple specific recipes but don't want to assume what the rest of your liquor cabinet looks like.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 02:35 (five years ago) link
thank you! good excuse to get some cocchi americano, I only have dry + sweet vermouth. I could see using a splash of St. Germain and maybe mint? I'll experiment.
― sold out in presale (sleeve), Wednesday, 27 February 2019 02:41 (five years ago) link
what I mixed on Sunday without the lemon -- I figured it was too much?
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2019 02:42 (five years ago) link
Cocchi Americano is a great sub for Lillet Blanc in a Corpse Reviver No. 2.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 02:43 (five years ago) link
i know some would disagree with this but cocchi renders lillet irrelevant, it's the exact same thing with significantly better depth of flavor.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 02:57 (five years ago) link
That italiccus bottle is so beautiful.
― Yerac, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 14:27 (five years ago) link
Tried out a manhattan last night that subbed in Cynar 70 for vermouth. Not bad.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Wednesday, 27 February 2019 14:29 (five years ago) link
happy to report that 2 oz Peruvian pisco, 3/4 oz cocchi americano, 1/2 oz St. Germain, and an orange garnish is an excellent combo, thanks cad!
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Thursday, 7 March 2019 02:52 (five years ago) link
awesome! glad to hear it.
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 7 March 2019 03:04 (five years ago) link
Sounds good! I've actually never had Lillet Blanc because I like Cocchi Americano well enough and don't get the impression I'm missing much.
― jaymc, Thursday, 7 March 2019 04:04 (five years ago) link
just tried this out, my kind of cocktail:
the messenger1 1/2 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth1/2 oz Calvados1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
― seandalai, Sunday, 10 March 2019 21:34 (five years ago) link
also one of my favourite labels:
https://alpenz-download-product-bottle.s3.amazonaws.com/bonal.bottle.jpg
"BONAL...Inventé par BONAL" kills me every time for some reason
― seandalai, Sunday, 10 March 2019 21:35 (five years ago) link
Bonal is great. Also, Fred Yarm's blog is a godsend.
― jaymc, Monday, 11 March 2019 00:28 (five years ago) link
i've seen fred around town many times over the years. never figured out how to say "thanks for the blog," he's a pretty quiet and businesslike dude. i give him so much credit for sticking with the project.
love the look of that bonal cocktail. my bottle of calvados is not a brand i've seen recommended and i actually don't like it at all though i enjoy plenty of other apple brandies. maybe i need to just suck it up and buy the brand that death & co. or dead rabbit uses.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 March 2019 01:12 (five years ago) link
I've had American apple brandies (Laird's, Rhine Hall) but not a true calvados, and I've never been totally sure about how it differs.
― jaymc, Monday, 11 March 2019 01:45 (five years ago) link
Like with other wines and spirits from France and other old world countries these things are produced in delimited regions and are more regulated before they can use certain terms on their labels. There are probably some apple brandies in the US produced in a more French calvados style.
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 02:42 (five years ago) link
ugh, not saying though that america doesn't have requirements on spirits or wine before they can use certain terms/categories.
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 02:54 (five years ago) link
laird's bonded is def my basic taste memory of apple brandy. i've recently had the copper & kings unaged which is a great complement to laird's. i think i just need to broaden my calvados sample. the french are fine at distilling grapes so there should be nothing blocking them from distilling apples.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 March 2019 03:00 (five years ago) link
I was just reading up on the AOCs, Calvados Pays d'Auge can also use up to 30% pear and Calvados Domfrontais must use a minimum of 30% pear.
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 03:15 (five years ago) link
There are probably some apple brandies in the US produced in a more French calvados style.
Yeah, I think Rhine Hall says their oak-aged apple brandy is similar to calvados. What's a good affordable French calvados for mixing?
― jaymc, Monday, 11 March 2019 04:04 (five years ago) link
dead rabbit uses montreuil calvados selection, which is classified as a pays d'auge. i believe death & co. uses busnel vsop. looks like they're around $35-$40.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 March 2019 13:08 (five years ago) link
I've only ever had Lemorton and Camut (probably because I see them everywhere). They are fine.
Has anyone ever had the Clear Creek (oregon) eau de vies? I've bene meaning to try them for a long time, but I kind of just want the ones that have a whole pear in the bottle. I've heard very good things about them though.
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 13:46 (five years ago) link
Ah, I see that i see Lemorton and Camut everywhere because they have the same distributor (skurnik).
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 13:53 (five years ago) link
best of both worlds! http://www.clearcreekdistillery.com/products/clear-brandies/#pear-in-bottle
the clear creek products i have used have all been great. i have always wanted to try the douglas fir one but i don't see it around much anymore.
― call all destroyer, Monday, 11 March 2019 14:37 (five years ago) link
I was obsessed about how they got that pear in the bottle. I have never seen it in any store ever. I think it has to be ordered?
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 14:40 (five years ago) link
Like, the pics of them growing the pears in the bottles is so trippy.
― Yerac, Monday, 11 March 2019 14:41 (five years ago) link
I have loved every Clear Creek production I've tried, also home state pride
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Tuesday, 12 March 2019 02:19 (five years ago) link
Thx, CAD. Now that you mention it, I do remember Busnel from the Death & Co. book.
Whoa @ the Pear-in-the-Bottle. I have seen Clear Creek in various recipes, but I don't think I have ever noticed it in stores around here. Rhine Hall is a local eau-de-vie distiller, and I like to support them whenever I can. (Recently used the Rhine Hall Plum Brandy in a Pouring Ribbons recipe that calls for Clear Creek.)
― jaymc, Tuesday, 12 March 2019 02:35 (five years ago) link
i wish i could personally vouch for those calvados brands... just as a rule i trust DR and D&C when it comes to products.
i checked my disliked bottle of calvados tonight when making the lovely bonal cocktail seandalai posted and it's still like 2/3 full :(
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 12 March 2019 02:42 (five years ago) link
Cocktail Codex recommends Busnel VSOP and Dupont Reserve. Latter looks more like a $50 bottle.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 12 March 2019 02:49 (five years ago) link
This was also really good, one of those drinks where mixing 6 different things together makes total sense:
Bitter End1.5oz Dry Gin0.75oz White vermouth0.75oz Orange juice0.5oz Campari0.25oz Amaro Nonino0.25oz Green Chartreuse
(Shake)
― seandalai, Friday, 15 March 2019 23:38 (five years ago) link
I hadn't really thought about it before, but there are very few non-tiki cocktails that use orange juice. Other ones I rate are the Blood and Sand (apparently this one gets mixed reviews?) and the Adriatique. Gonna try this next: http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2016/12/union-club.html
― seandalai, Friday, 15 March 2019 23:42 (five years ago) link
xp mmm time to buy some Amaro Nonino!
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Saturday, 16 March 2019 00:09 (five years ago) link
the bitter end and union club look good! here's a post i did about the blood and sand and having too many unjuiced oranges:
i have a bunch of oranges that have been peeled for garnish and a bottle of famous grouse that i don't really want so i'm amusing myself trying to fix the blood and sand, which famously consists of 4 sweetish ingredients without contrast. neutral cocktail acids (i have lactart) were pretty much invented for doing this, so now it's about fixndng proportions and moving the result from pleasant to interesting. tonight:1.5 oz. famous grouse.75 oz. oj.5 oz. cherry heering.5 oz. dolin rouge1/2 tsp lactartthis is fine! doesn't suck at all. i think a vermouth with more character, or added bitters, plus a smidge more acid could really work well.― call all destroyer, Wednesday, December 6, 2017 11:43 PM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
1.5 oz. famous grouse.75 oz. oj.5 oz. cherry heering.5 oz. dolin rouge1/2 tsp lactart
this is fine! doesn't suck at all. i think a vermouth with more character, or added bitters, plus a smidge more acid could really work well.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, December 6, 2017 11:43 PM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― call all destroyer, Saturday, 16 March 2019 00:19 (five years ago) link
Someday I will buy Cherry Heering, if only so I can make the Blood and Sand-ish Cunningham cocktail.
― jaymc, Saturday, 16 March 2019 00:21 (five years ago) link
i bought cherry heering really early on in my booze-collecting tenure and in retrospect i could have allocated that money more effectively
― call all destroyer, Saturday, 16 March 2019 00:24 (five years ago) link
I have a tiny bottle that will last me a while.
― seandalai, Saturday, 16 March 2019 01:25 (five years ago) link
My wife was having a book club and wanted me to batch up some mojitos. I'm not usually a fan of making big batches of cocktails, since it's tough (for me) to get the right amount of ice/water in there, especially if you're making them it advance, but I figured, sure, I've batched mojitos before, that's pretty straightforward (and looks pretty in a nice pitcher). I did a quick search and came across a couple of recipes that called for both lime *and* lemon, which, being a traditionalist, I thought was kind of weird. What's more, I looked in the fridge and only found a couple of limes, and a bunch of lemons, so realized, huh, whatever I make is going to have more lemon than lime, even if this recipe called for juice from four of each. So I make this batch of mojitos with only two limes and four lemons, worried that it's going to turn out funky, but you know what? It worked out ok! Maybe there was just enough lime to impart enough of a lime flavor to complement the lemon?
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 March 2019 03:21 (five years ago) link
The best drink I've ever had or made with Cherry Heering, btw, is the Vanilla Sky, which also uses vanilla-bean infused bourbon.
Oh, and Singapore Slings!
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 March 2019 03:31 (five years ago) link
I'm sure there's a better name for this than "beer negroni" but: 2oz red vermouth, 2oz Campari, 500ml pilsner. Recommended!
― seandalai, Monday, 6 May 2019 21:06 (five years ago) link
a beerevardier
― deus ex majima (Will M.), Monday, 6 May 2019 21:59 (five years ago) link
or a pilsnericano
― deus ex majima (Will M.), Monday, 6 May 2019 22:00 (five years ago) link
pilsnegroni rolls off the tongue pretty well
― WmC, Monday, 6 May 2019 23:04 (five years ago) link