so we have this trader joe's spiced cranberry cider that no one really likes in the fridge. i took a cup of it and made a 1:1 syrup and i think it has some potential. didn't love it in an applejack old fashioned but tonight i made a sour with gin, lemon juice, and orange bitters and i'm enjoying it tbh.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 February 2012 02:53 (twelve years ago) link
FINALLY got my mitts on laird's bonded and cointreau! whole new worlds
― Prince Rebus (donna rouge), Thursday, 16 February 2012 02:36 (twelve years ago) link
oh youre gonna love laird's bonded
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 16 February 2012 02:38 (twelve years ago) link
you were OTM upthread about the shitty confusing label
― Prince Rebus (donna rouge), Thursday, 16 February 2012 02:51 (twelve years ago) link
yeah it's so shitty. i've grown to love it.
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 16 February 2012 03:10 (twelve years ago) link
first order of business: jack rose. this is good! may cut back a bit on the lime next time tho.
― Prince Rebus (donna rouge), Thursday, 16 February 2012 04:37 (twelve years ago) link
finally bought pisco today. so delicious! pisco sours for everyone imo.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 21 February 2012 03:55 (twelve years ago) link
otm
― tehresa, Tuesday, 21 February 2012 18:05 (twelve years ago) link
the Pisco Sour is a perfect cocktail
― I DIED, Tuesday, 21 February 2012 18:06 (twelve years ago) link
so warm weather means it's time to buy a fresh bottle of cocchi americano, imo. i wanted to share this really smart cocktail from the pdt cocktail book that doesn't call for anything weirder than fresh cocchi.
nouveau carre
1.5 oz. anejo tequila.75 oz. cocchi americano.25 oz. benedictine3 dashes peychauds
stir, strain, lemon twist
the original recipe uses lillet but i always sub cocchi for lillet these days. i also used reposado tequila and creole bitters (which i almost always sub for peychauds) and it's just a great drink, very harmonious and a bit refreshing while still being somewhat complex.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 01:57 (twelve years ago) link
So how different is cocchi from lillet? I have lillet, but no cocchi.
Got to admit I'm usually a tad suspicious of cocktail that call for anejo tequila, tbh, but I'll give this one a shot (so to speak).
We made whiskey smashes tonight, fwiw. Sort of a prettier mint julep.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 02:22 (twelve years ago) link
Love a good smash.
― tehresa, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 02:37 (twelve years ago) link
josh--re: the tequila, use reposado instead if you're unconvinced (tho i'm not sure why anejo is weird in a cocktail). blanco would prob be too overpowering.
cocchi has a pleasant bitter kick in its finish that is absent in current lillet. apparently cocchi matches very well with how lillet was formulated back in the 50s and 60s.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 02:46 (twelve years ago) link
I like anejo in cocktails! It just depends flavors you're looking for in a beverage.
― tehresa, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 02:52 (twelve years ago) link
I like a good anejo, but it's kind of a pricey spirit to mix. Relatively speaking, of course. I usually like to mix tequila cocktail with reposado, too, unless it's a color concern and silver is the way to go. Or big jugs of margaritas.
I recently made a Morning Glory #2, which was tasty:
1oz rye1 oz. brandy1/4 oz. orange liqueur1/4 oz. dememaradash peychaud'sdash angostura mix over ice for 20 seconds, strain into absinthe rinsed glass
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 12:03 (twelve years ago) link
CAD, I'm just seeing this thread now after all this time, but I know what you did wrong with your homemade grenadine from, um, two years ago. So, in the off chance you never figured it out, the trick is to reduce the pomegranate juice by half first, and then make the grenadine with a further 50% reduced 1:1 syrup:sugar mix. That is, boil the juice down by half to a syrup, double the volume with sugar, then boil down by half again. I made the same mistake you did the first time I did it, which tended to add color to drinks but little in the way of enough sweetness.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 16:11 (twelve years ago) link
i'm going to try that! i don't remember how many batches of grenadine i've made since then but i'm never really happy with it. thanks dude.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 17:13 (twelve years ago) link
what have yall been making?
i've been vibing on beers and wines a lot recently so less time for mixing but the game never ends. tonight, from a local restaurant, this is called fire in the orchard.
1.25 oz. bonded apple brandy.75 oz. cocchi americano.5 oz. pear liqueur.5 oz. lemon juice.25 oz. mezcal.25 oz. agave nectar (cut 1:1 with water, you can safely improvise on the sweetener)
shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 01:56 (eleven years ago) link
i haven't been making anything :(
― radical ferry (donna rouge), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 01:56 (eleven years ago) link
we just made a basil gimlet with fresh basil from our garden.
3–4 big leaves of fresh basil1.5 oz ginjuice of 1/2 lime3/4 oz sugar+water mixtureapprox 1 oz club soda
crush basil leaves at bottom of glass. add gin, lime juice. stir awhile. add sugar+water, club soda. shake vigorously. pour strained (somehow this works better). you can garnish with a little basil leaf and/or wedge of lime.
it's really important to crush the basil good, so the basil taste escapes into the drink.
yum.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 04:35 (eleven years ago) link
i'm a basil fan so the 2nd time around i added another 2 basil leaves. but that's just me.
good stuff.
― funny-skrillex-bee_132455836669.gif (s1ocki), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 04:36 (eleven years ago) link
call all destroyer where do you stand on the question of rye vs bourbon in an old fashioned. to put cards on the table I ask because this week I started making 'em with rye and I feel it is superior in this drink
― tallarico dreams (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 26 July 2012 23:35 (eleven years ago) link
types of old fashioneds I have fashioned:
bourbonryerummezcaltequilabrandyarmagnac
ALL with delicious results
― I DIED, Thursday, 26 July 2012 23:55 (eleven years ago) link
aerosmith,
it's an excellent question. if i am mixing with american whiskey, it is going to be rye 90% of the time. bourbon manhattans, for example, are just not done around here.
that said, i probably make an even number of bourbon and rye old fashioneds. part of the reason is that an old fashioned is a great way to learn something about a new bottle of whiskey. other part is that a very austere old fashioned recipe can cooperate with even a very complex bourbon.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 27 July 2012 23:56 (eleven years ago) link
i happened upon some good-quality commercial raspberry syrup in the store last week and i've been hooked on this stupid little drink from the savoy cocktail book:
leave it to me (no. 2)
1.5 oz. gin1 tsp raspberry syrup1 tsp lemon juice1/3 tsp maraschino
stir and strain.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 August 2012 02:21 (eleven years ago) link
Hi, long time thread fan here but I think I only posted once abt rum. I have finally started to stock a home bar, and I am super excited to try some of these recipes. Having experimented a bit now, I am confused by the drinks I've made with fresh squeezed lemon juice - it seems to overshadow everything else. Do I just have exceptionally strong lemons? Am I missing something? Mostly I've tried Manhassets:
1 1/2 oz whiskey1 1/2 tsp sweet vermouth1 1/2 tsp dry vermouth1 tbsp lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
But they are sooo lemony/tart that on my pro bartender friend's advice I have been adding some Harlequin to mellow it out. Are the proportions different when you use fresh?
Anyway, this thread is a great resource, thanks everybody. My tastes seem to run a lot sweeter than most people here, so maybe I will contribute some good dessert drinks soon.
― sleeve, Thursday, 13 December 2012 23:14 (eleven years ago) link
oh, here is another one that people have liked:
INCOME TAX:2 oz gin1/4 oz sweet vermouth1/4 oz dry vermouth1 oz orange juiceAngostura bitters to taste
Pour the ingredients into a shaker with ice cubes.Shake well.Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.Garnish with the orange twist.
― sleeve, Thursday, 13 December 2012 23:16 (eleven years ago) link
was just thinking about this thread the other day. i've mostly been too broke to buy new bottles of anything so my liquor cabinet is kind of languishing right now
― curly moe shempsen (donna rouge), Thursday, 13 December 2012 23:47 (eleven years ago) link
i've been drinking more beer and doing more cooking, both of which kind of impede my desire to make cocktails. but i've been doing a bunch of recipes from ted haigh's book as a way of keeping in shape, so to speak. the algonquin is kind of amazing:
1.5 oz. rye.75 oz. dry vermouth.75 oz. pineapple juice
it comes out much different than you'd expect.
hi sleeve! glad you enjoy the thread. the proportions in that manhasset receipe are...interesting, and eyeballing it i'm not shocked that it tastes too tart. basically all drink recipes are calibrated for fresh juice, so i'm thinking what you're experiencing is a combination of your personal taste (which might skew a little to the sweet side) and some drinks that are not quite in balance.
have you ever made a really simple sour--like a daiquiri or a whiskey sour--and figured out what proportions you like?
― call all destroyer, Friday, 14 December 2012 05:10 (eleven years ago) link
I've done whiskey and pineapple juice, but not with vermouth! Sounds interesting.
― mh, Friday, 14 December 2012 15:25 (eleven years ago) link
Lemon-phobes should learn how to make the Corpse Reviver #2, the best anytime cocktail, ever.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 14 December 2012 15:32 (eleven years ago) link
― mh, Friday, December 14, 2012 10:25 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
the sweetness of the pineapple juice magically disappears, it's weird
― call all destroyer, Friday, 14 December 2012 15:34 (eleven years ago) link
Hi cad! Yeah, I think the problem is in the Manhasset recipe proportions - I made a Jack Rose last night with the fresh lemon and it was perfect. That's what I get for using some random Mr. Boston's recipe.
I can't make Corpse Revivers yet b/c I don't have Lillet Blanc or absinthe, they are next on the list. Tried to fake it w/anisette and vermouth but it was not that good.
― sleeve, Friday, 14 December 2012 15:47 (eleven years ago) link
You can do it without the absinthe, I think. Usually only calls for a couple of drops. And Lillet Blanc is great for a couple of reasons:
1) cheap2) you can drink it on its own, too
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 14 December 2012 15:58 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i don't think 4 drops of anisette vs. 4 drops of absinthe would materially harm the drink, you can also omit completely.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 14 December 2012 16:01 (eleven years ago) link
OK, I gotta get to a wine store and find that stuff (Lillet). Oregon has really stupid & tightly controlled state liquor laws, so it's not in the liquor stores.
oh also I got some Noilly Prat sweet yesterday and my regular manhattan was a hell of a lot better, thread delivers the knowledge.
― sleeve, Friday, 14 December 2012 16:19 (eleven years ago) link
Sleeve: If you're in Portland, I've started to see Lillet Blanc showing up at a few liquor stores (along with various other aperitif wines, incl. Cocchi Americano which makes a great Corpse Reviver). I guess OLCC is loosening their restrictions? Have seen it at some Whole Foods too.
― Ari (whenuweremine), Friday, 14 December 2012 16:32 (eleven years ago) link
I'm in Eugene, but that is good news regardless, thanks.
― sleeve, Friday, 14 December 2012 16:41 (eleven years ago) link
hey c.a.d. this one is for you, I saw it at my fave restaurant last night and thought of you.
HIGH-LOW SPLIT1 oz Old Granddad bonded1 oz cynar3/4 oz lemon juice1/2 oz passion fruit syrup
I got the proportions, but forgot to ask about shake vs. stir and garnish. Only one web search result, which doesn't tell me. The search result uses grapefruit bitters instead of lemon juice.
― sleeve, Thursday, 3 January 2013 18:34 (eleven years ago) link
that's gotta be shaken imo.
cool-sounding drink, i think i am out of passion fruit syrup but i really want to get some more to try it.
― an eagle named "small government" (call all destroyer), Friday, 4 January 2013 04:12 (eleven years ago) link
ok I have come up with my own concoction just because we've been mixing drinks for a while now so I thought why not. It probably is already a drink by a different name but maybe not. at any rate we had one earlier, it was delightful, I made another round tonight to check and it's a winner imo. It's called the Red Ghost, red because I expected it to be reddish though it really isn't and ghost because I like ghosts. As you might guess the main inspiration was "I have this pomegranate liqueur that's been in the fridge for a while let me try to make up a drink with it," you could probably substitute any tart liqueur and still get the Red Ghost
1.5 oz rye1.5 oz red vermouth (I used Dolin's, I swear by that stuff)1 oz pomegranate liqueur (this stuff, however nb if you're feeling ridiculously resourceful the #2 hit on "pomegranate liqueur" is a recipe for making it yourself1 oz lemon juice2 dashes bitters
combine all in shaker with ice. shake and strain into very deeply chilled glass and enjoy!
― available for sporting events (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 12 March 2013 00:44 (eleven years ago) link
apologies for unclosed parenthesis above, I've been drinking red ghosts
― available for sporting events (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 12 March 2013 00:46 (eleven years ago) link
argh you're going to make me go buy pama tomorrow aren't you
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 12 March 2013 00:49 (eleven years ago) link
it will sit in your refrigerator for a long time between uses but this is a lovely little drink. like a whiskey sour with more depth. something about how super-cold the glasses were was a big plus too, the red ghost must be cold as the grave
― available for sporting events (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 12 March 2013 00:59 (eleven years ago) link
yeah, gotta freeze yr glasses imo
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 12 March 2013 02:21 (eleven years ago) link
I actually just discovered last night that PAMA works as an effective substitute for grenadine (for some reason I never knew that grenadine is traditionally made with pomegranate). Made a couple of Ward Eights, which is basically a spin on a whiskey sour:
2 oz. rye (I used Redemption)3/4 oz. lemon juice3/4 oz. orange juice1 tsp. PAMAcherry garnish (these)
― jaymc, Tuesday, 12 March 2013 02:36 (eleven years ago) link
like a whiskey sour with more depth
Ha, I didn't even read that bit.
Red Ghost sound good -- though I'll have to pick up that vermouth.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 12 March 2013 02:37 (eleven years ago) link
My girlfriend made us these tonight. It's not really tropical drink season yet, but we had some pineapple left over from making fruit salad. They was good.
The Pineapple Trainwreck
1 1/2 oz. aged rum1 1/2 oz. fresh pineapple juice3/4 oz. ginger syrup1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice1 dash each Angostura and Peychaud’s bittersShake and strain over fresh ice.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 12 March 2013 02:41 (eleven years ago) link
xp Oh, and it looks like jaxon posted about Ward Eights two years ago.
Hi, I have never read this thread before.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 12 March 2013 02:42 (eleven years ago) link