the bartender did something interesting: measured the citrus and the syrup, but free poured the brandy. i’m not a fan of the free pour, but this hybrid technique makes more sense. still inferior to a measured pour, of course.

…

inspired me to make a sidecar of my own with the leftover five-spiced syrup. it decants nicely.

1 1/2 oz rum
1/2 oz mandarin-tangerine infused vodka
1/2 oz meyer lemon
1/4 oz lime
3/4 oz chinese five spice + kaffir makrut lime leaf syrup
muddled kumquat (seeds removed)
muddled tangerine slice
dash orange bitters
lemon twist

five-spice-makrut-leaf syrup

1 T five-spice
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
10 lime leaves, chopped

toast the spices over medium-low heat. add remaining ingredients, bring to a low boil. turn down to a simmer for five minutes. take off heat, let cool for a few minutes, strain out solids.

this drink is really excellent. flavors are well represented and balanced.

the five spice syrup would make a nice alternative to falernum.

rickhouse:

blue and red smash – bourbon, lemon, red and blue berries. excellent.
kentucky buck – bourbon and ginger/ginger beer, other stuff. also excellent.
favela – cachaca, lemon, coffee. not very good.
some kind of sling – gin, cherry heering, other stuff. also not very good

then went to boot and shoe service:

fata morgana – bourbon, amaro nonino, dry vermouth, blood orange, cardamom. really excellent.

…

some experiments:

1 oz bourbon
1 oz rye
1/4 oz lime
3/4 oz grapefruit-honey-maraschino mix
grapefruit bitters
grapefruit ribbon

grapefruit-honey-maraschino mix

6 parts red grapefruit juice
3 parts honey
1 part maraschino liqueur

cross between a manhattan and a hemingway. excellent. but i once again forgot: do not muddle seeds. never, ever.

also:

1 1/4 oz bourbon
3/4 oz vermouth
3/8 oz cherry liqueur
1/4 oz lime

basically a manhattan with citrus. very good.

i lost my bottle of angostura bitters. not sure if it can be replaced any time soon, as there is a shortage.

…i started these experiments using some cheap bourbon and rye, figuring that i didn’t care and couldn’t tell the difference. but i found that i did care, and could tell the difference. i upgraded to bulleit bourbon and old overholt rye (according to the bevmo lady, rittenhouse isn’t making rye anymore). life is better.

il gitano (amaro, lime, pineapple gomme, grapefruit, bitters). excellent. interesting use of amaro as a base spirit.

the acadian (rye, sloe gin, lemon, honey, absinthe, rosemary). also great. delicate hand with the absinthe which can easily overpower a drink. i didn’t detect any rosemary. i need to find out more about sloe gin, taste it neat.

…

a draft of randomcocktails.com is up. please check it out and provide feedback.

…

jp asked for a light cocktail the other day. i put some pear liqueur, apple cider, and lime in a glass and that made her happy. here is a non-light adaptation, similar to previous pear liqueur experiments:

1 oz pear liqueur (J Pear, 60 proof)
3/4 oz cachaca
1/2 oz lime
1/2 oz apple cider

1/2 oz gin
1/4 oz lime
1/4 oz ikea elderflower syrup
1/2 kumquat
2 oz champagne

seed and muddle the kumquat. add gin, lime, syrup. dry shake* and strain. top with 2 oz champagne. drop in a candied kumquat.

*i made and chilled a batch of the base mixture ahead of time.

the flavors were good but intense; maybe a 3:1 champagne:base ratio next time. where next time is tomorrow, since i have so much left over.

version 1 made with 1/2 oz lemon. the above version is much better, and is quite delicious. i wanted to add muddled ginger, but there was none usable on hand. and turns out was probably not necessary.

i might add a little grated cinnamon tho.

this is for the family xmas eve party. the poirier’s have a tradition of reubens for xmas eve (?!). and so i am making the above cocktail and am also planning a french 75 variant of gin, lime, elderflower, kumquat, topped with champagne.

…

coming soon to this blog: a page of cocktail basics. basically some of my early posts, updated, and made into a page that can be reached via sidebar link.

and if i can get my shit together, an automated, randomized cocktail creator web page.

hoping posting that im gonna do it, will motivate me to actually do it.

incredible menu, and a fun, cozy space. i will definitely be back.

…

boot and shoe service: the sequel to pizzaiolo. tried a new cocktail, ‘kushiel’s dart’ (rum, carpano antica, lime, grenadine). really excellent. the vermouth used as an accent/herbal notes. nice.

and the room is beautiful.

…

what jen wanted was egg nog. but we had no eggs in the house, and she is off dairy right now. so i made a version of the japanese cocktail i got at p the other day.

yarou (japanese for ‘bastard’)

1.5 oz brandy
0.5 oz dark rum
1.5 oz almond milk (unsweetened)
1 T organic sugar

dry shaken first, then shaken with ice. top with grated nutmeg.

this could be a little sweeter, and jp would have preferred less boozy. so maybe something like 2 oz almond milk and 1.5 T sugar.

the japanese cocktail seems to be part of the family of:

2 oz spirit
1/4-1/2 oz syrup
bitters/other flavors

…which includes sazerac, mint julep, corn and oil, and old fashioned…

nocino manhattan – as advertised, made with housemade nocino. tastes like a manhattan up front with walnuts on the finish. awesome.