in the 2k10 i am learning to make cocktails. this is my mixology thread

You can, you can have a 4-pack of Warka Strong, Okocim Mocne or Zubr!

I used to often see groups of Polish workers coming off the nightshift at the britvic factory and supping something looking quite strong at 6am. respect!

Xmas presents included Amy Stewart's great The Drunken Botanist and the Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual, and now all I want to do is make tinctures, cordials, liqueurs and such. I barely drink and the bar shelf in my pantry keeps crowding out actual food.

i've made several of the dead rabbit tinctures. the mace one is pretty cool.

I'm getting better at this! Still bad though, especially at stirring. Dilution is hard.

Last night I made a white negroni with 1.5oz gin, 1oz Dolin Blanc, 1oz Suze - promising for a first attempt, I'll keep tinkering with the proportions.

what kind of vessel and ice do u use for stirred?

my basic outline for stirring is: mixing glass chilled in freezer, cracked ice topped off with full cubes, stir for longer than you think.

i'm loving this dead rabbit sazerac variation using a split base of good brandy from spain and france (they name specific brands but i'll genericize the ingredients where i can):

1 oz. premium cognac
1 oz. long-aged spanish brandy
1 tsp pot-still or blackstrap rum
1 tsp simple syrup
1 tsp creme de cacao
1 dash aromatic bitters
4 dashes peychaud's bitters
oil and peel from two lemon coins

stir all that with ice and strain into an absinthe-rinsed glass

A trip to Manhattan in January inspired this marvelous purchase last Friday:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41nl8vrpreL._SY445_.jpg

i just got a bottle of that stuff! i haven't figured out its full implications but as a big fan of floral/herbal modifiers it's really compelling.

At Dante the bartender added it to a Negroni. Yesterday it substituted for vermouth (a splash) in my martini -- marvelous.

it's definitely a natural partner for gin

What a coincidence, I was just messing with fresh bergamot tonight. Dehydrated the peel of 2 fruit and started a tincture on Everclear, and had a drink of 2 parts gin to 1 part fresh bergamot juice, with a bit of Aperol for sweetness. I have about 4 oz. of juice left to play with.

while this is bumped, anyone got some good recipes for pisco that isn't a pisco sour? I have a bottle of the Peruvian stuff (aged in glass, not oak like the Chilean version) and I am just not a sour fan.

Ha, Alfred, I love that you're into Italicus. I have a bottle myself. Great mixed with prosecco.

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.

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 rum
0.25 oz Benedictine
0.25 oz PX sherry
0.25 oz allspice dram
3 dashes Orinoco bitters (used Angostura)
3 dashes mole bitters (used 2 dashes Aphrodite bitters + 1 dash chocolate bitters)

That sazerac variation sounds good, tho. CAD, what kind of Spanish brandy do you use? Torres? I'm totally unfamiliar with the style.

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.

Ha, Alfred, I love that you're into Italicus. I have a bottle myself. Great mixed with prosecco.

― jaymc, Monday, February 25, 2019 11:52 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

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, 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.

italicus experiment:

1.5 oz. plymouth gin
1.5 oz. dolin dry vermouth
.25 oz. italicus
dash bittermens burlesque
lemon 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.

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.

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.

italicus experiment:

1.5 oz. plymouth gin
1.5 oz. dolin dry vermouth
.25 oz. italicus
dash bittermens burlesque
lemon twist

what I mixed on Sunday without the lemon -- I figured it was too much?

Cocchi Americano is a great sub for Lillet Blanc in a Corpse Reviver No. 2.

i know some would disagree with this but cocchi renders lillet irrelevant, it's the exact same thing with significantly better depth of flavor.

That italiccus bottle is so beautiful.

Tried out a manhattan last night that subbed in Cynar 70 for vermouth. Not bad.

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!

awesome! glad to hear it.

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.

just tried this out, my kind of cocktail:

the messenger
1 1/2 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Calvados
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

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

Bonal is great. Also, Fred Yarm's blog is a godsend.

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.

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.

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.

ugh, not saying though that america doesn't have requirements on spirits or wine before they can use certain terms/categories.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Ah, I see that i see Lemorton and Camut everywhere because they have the same distributor (skurnik).

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.

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?

Like, the pics of them growing the pears in the bottles is so trippy.

I have loved every Clear Creek production I've tried, also home state pride

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.)

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 :(

Cocktail Codex recommends Busnel VSOP and Dupont Reserve. Latter looks more like a $50 bottle.