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

Someday I will buy Cherry Heering, if only so I can make the Blood and Sand-ish Cunningham cocktail.

i bought cherry heering really early on in my booze-collecting tenure and in retrospect i could have allocated that money more effectively

I have a tiny bottle that will last me a while.

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?

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!

I'm sure there's a better name for this than "beer negroni" but: 2oz red vermouth, 2oz Campari, 500ml pilsner. Recommended!

a beerevardier

or a pilsnericano

pilsnegroni rolls off the tongue pretty well

A farrago.

a baloney

I made a creole Manhattan subbing chicory liqueur for sweet vermouth and using Peychaud's bitters. Pretty good, but I was surprised how overpowered the Hoodoo was. The chicory is strong when drunk neat but the rye steamrolled it.

finally figured out something good with the Amaro Ciociaro

2 oz Evan Williams 100 proof bond
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Amaro Ciociaro
lemon peel garnish, stir well w/rocks

sounds good to me.

i had been on a bit of a cocktail break but midsummer always inspires me to break out the classic rum drinks. my beloved waring pro professional ice crusher mysteriously stopped working so i needed to spring for a replacement from ebay, but since then it's been plenty of navy grogs and planter's punches.

sleeve, that sounds like the bourbon version of the Negroni variant I have been interested in recently - which has gin instead of bourbon, with choice of amaro (suze/gran classico/amaro ciociaro), and apertif (kina l'aero d'or/lillet/cocchi americano)

The store was having a big sale on spirits so I got a bottle of white rum today to make Hemingways. But I don't have Luxardo so me trying out substitutes might be a bad idea.

tough to find a sub for luxardo. could just make regular daiquris?

ugh, no that would make too much sense.

I added some blueberry juice and honey.

https://punchdrink.com/articles/goodbye-fat-washing-hello-switching-spirit-infusion-cocktail-technique/

Brilliant concept, great potential for silliness.

whoa

wow, that is really something.

i could totally sneak a chest freezer into the basement, my wife hates it down there.

Preview of a new game where you have to out-drink the Devil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ8qcIVmr1M

This is good. A bunch of vintage cocktail books archived by Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux, a museum on the island of Bendor (FR) (and most are readable) here:

https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/

There's so many amazing book covers. I have a poster/print of L'Art de Boire le Vin (from a 1920s book) that I still need to get framed.

I've discovered the Toronto.

A long standing favorite

I got a bottle of genever last month in Atlanta (Boomsma Oude) and erstwhile ILXor Bill/Tep hipped me to the Shaddock -- equal parts genever, Aperol, elderflower liqueur and lemon juice. So many dancing flavors -- I'm sure this will be one of my alltime faves.

Nice. I've been curious about genever for a while. I imagine it being somewhat like Old Tom gin?

I haven't had Old Tom (only came around to gin recently after a long aversion) but from brief research that seems to be so.

it's considerably more malty than old tom....very different animal. more like an unaged whiskey with a hint of gin's botanicals.

here's an absolutely killer cocktail from the first death & co. book:

1 oz. appleton estate signature rum (fka v/x)
1 oz. bols genever
1 tsp galliano ristrettoo
1/2 tsp absinthe
.25 oz. simple syrup
1 dash aromatic bitters
orange twist

stir and strain over 1 large ice cube, garnish with orange twist

Okay, the Ristretto in that recipe reminds me: Does anyone have a favorite coffee liqueur? It seems like it would be a nice thing to add to the collection. I'm leaning toward the St. George NOLA.

i haven't had the st george but dude the ristretto is amazing

Yeah? Maybe I'll try it.

Interestingly we've sold $5,600 worth of Margarita kits from Alinea. We've been doing this all wrong for years...

— nick kokonas (@nickkokonas) March 19, 2020

i forget if i've ever talked about it in this thread but one of the products i've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out is italicus, the bergamot liqueur. it tastes amazing but i've been having a hard time finding things that work well with it. having tried about a million variations on gin/vermouth/italicus, it hit me today that the botanicals in most gins are just going to clash and that i should go in a different direction--a mild rye or even an irish whiskey.

so tonight i tried 2 oz. old overholt, half an ounce each of dry vermouth and italicus, and a couple dashes of orange bitters. i think this is the aperitif i've been looking for.

didn't alfred buy a bottle of that recently (last year)? I remember because I thought the bottle was beautiful.

yeah i think you're right! it's a nice bottle, very art deco.

Yup, I have it, too -- and have barely used it! I will try that concoction.

drinking a Little Italy, thankful for this thread

Made a Campari Americano yesterday, and an Old Fashioned today

Made my wife a Martinez tonight (I've been cycling through recipes).

The great Chicago tiki bar Lost Lake is doing a twice-weekly newsletter for donors to its (COVID-related) GoFundMe, and each installment has a couple of cocktail recipes. Tonight I made the bar's Something from Nothing, a delightful mix of bourbon, aged rum, lemon juice, coffee *and* coffee syrup, cinnamon syrup, and coconut cream.

re Italicus, I just mix it with Prosecco and squeeze half a lemon into it. 3:1 Prosecco, not 1:1 as the recipe on the bottle suggests.

Great warm weather drink:

Take 3
2 oz Cynar
3⁄4 oz Elderflower liqueur, St. Germain
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
2 oz Seltzer water
1 wdg Orange (as garnish)
Instructions
Shake all but seltzer and orange wedge, strain over fresh ice into a highball, top with seltzer, garnish with orange wedge.

It ends up tasting like the coldest, most refreshing Coca Cola on the hottest day of the year (and I don't really like Coke).

would tonic water work as a seltzer substitute?

ooh I love Cynar-based drinks, I'd probably cut the lemon to 1/2 like I usually do

Just got some Cynar last week. No elderflower liqueur though, which is a shame as that sounds good.

I often put a drop or two of St. Germain in my martinis.

Gonna try this now! It's Friday, last day of the semestser, 72 degrees, etc.