FlaSoxxJim Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 9, 2011 -> 09:59 PM) What's your opinion on an alcoholic root beer float? I have never had one but it sounds tasty. There is an d Don the Beachcomber tiki drink I like that uses sarasparilla but it isn't frozen or served with ice cream. Edited July 10, 2011 by FlaSoxxJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 My pet peeve is when I get a bottle of delicious beer and it's not cold. The colder the better. Lukewarm beer is a downer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 9, 2011 -> 10:47 PM) My pet peeve is when I get a bottle of delicious beer and it's not cold. The colder the better. Lukewarm beer is a downer. Warm beer is unappealing, but good beer served so ice-cold that you can't taste everything that is going on is a crime as well. 54 F for ales (traditional British cellar temperatur) and low 40s for lagars has been my rule of thumb for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 QUOTE (Disco72 @ Jul 2, 2011 -> 08:53 AM) I don't know how I missed this, but nearby Alcoa appears to be the #1 choice for Sierra Nevada's east coast HQ and a full scale brewery and distribution operation! A nice side benefit is that it has forced TN to deal with it's outdated beer laws, including one requirement that any brewery making beer over 5% have to get a distillery license in addition to the brewery license. I missed this post when it first went up. I was unaware Sierra was pursuing an eastward expansion. I hope you guys get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 (edited) So here's the Flemish 75 as mixed up this evening and submitted for July Mixology Monday: Beer Cocktails Uploaded with ImageShack.us I really like the way this one turned out. Hopefully some of the real cocktail nerds give this one a try and hopefully one or two of them actually like it. Edited July 12, 2011 by FlaSoxxJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) Do they still make these cheap beers they had when I was in chicago? Hamms Schlitz Old Milwaukee Drewrys Strohs. Edited July 15, 2011 by greg775 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:54 AM) Do they still make these cheap beers they had when I was in chicago? Hamms Schlitz Old Milwaukee Drewrys Strohs. Every one of those except for Drewry's is in at least limited production, in some cases under contract by a brewery for hire. The Drewry's brand is currently owned by the company that owns Iron City, but as far as I can tell it has not been in production in several years. I can honestly say that I never tasted Drewery's. I cannot say that about any of the others on the list, but I'm sure we all did things in our youth we are not proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Back off the wagon after 2 weeks sober. Whipped up a Spindrift subbing in Mount Gay for a Puerto Rican. I like how it turn out actually. I have done it with a light jamaican in place of the Puerto Rican before and it was a touch sweet. This is nicely balanced though a touch spicy. Of course, I'd basically drink turpentine at this point...I have a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 QUOTE (G&T @ Jul 28, 2011 -> 08:59 PM) Back off the wagon after 2 weeks sober. Whipped up a Spindrift subbing in Mount Gay for a Puerto Rican. I like how it turn out actually. I have done it with a light jamaican in place of the Puerto Rican before and it was a touch sweet. This is nicely balanced though a touch spicy. Of course, I'd basically drink turpentine at this point...I have a problem. The Wagon was way too full with you on it. 'Bout time you jumped off. Outstanding PR rums to use whenever one is called for include Ron Del Barrilito (2 Star for general mixing and 3 star for añejo mixing) and (believe it or not ) Bacardi 8. As far as your ability to "drink turpentine". . . I'm guessing it is more a new-found appreciation for high hogo funky rums — some of which taste like turpentine in the best possible way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Actually I meant that after 2 weeks without a drink I would have about anything to get a buzz going. But sure let's call it funk which segues nicely into... BELGIUM COMES TO COOPERSTOWN which I attended yesterday. Ithaca's Le Bleue stole the show with the most sour American beer I ever tasted. Lip puckering sour. The blueberry was essentially hidden by the mound of lemon and grass. Ommegangs offerings were also outstanding. Particulary the 11 by Volume (Fruit, orange, fresh cherry, chocolate and a touch of heat at 11%) and the Belgian Independence Day Ale which was brewed with white pepper. That would have been a great food beer. Very spicy but not blowing you pallette out. their Aphrodite was also a solid Brett beer. Unfortunately many beers were destroyed by the heat. Allagash and South Hampton in particular did not travel well. Brooklyn's Local 1 was a honey forward mess. Overall though, a pretty cool day and it was gorgeous out in central New York. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Meeting up with friends, listening to live local bands, and drinking draft Anti-Hero IPA's from Revolution Brewery was a blast at the Milwaukee Avenue Art Festival last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 QUOTE (G&T @ Jul 31, 2011 -> 09:10 AM) Actually I meant that after 2 weeks without a drink I would have about anything to get a buzz going. But sure let's call it funk which segues nicely into... BELGIUM COMES TO COOPERSTOWN which I attended yesterday. Ithaca's Le Bleue stole the show with the most sour American beer I ever tasted. Lip puckering sour. The blueberry was essentially hidden by the mound of lemon and grass. Ommegangs offerings were also outstanding. Particulary the 11 by Volume (Fruit, orange, fresh cherry, chocolate and a touch of heat at 11%) and the Belgian Independence Day Ale which was brewed with white pepper. That would have been a great food beer. Very spicy but not blowing you pallette out. their Aphrodite was also a solid Brett beer. Unfortunately many beers were destroyed by the heat. Allagash and South Hampton in particular did not travel well. Brooklyn's Local 1 was a honey forward mess. Overall though, a pretty cool day and it was gorgeous out in central New York. That would have been a great event! Too bad some of the beers on offer were not at their best. I'm tweaking a new batch of orgeat that I made largely following Darcy O'Neil's recipe. I regret using heat for the final two almond oil extractions because I think I overheated and curdled the almond milk a bit. I tried stirring those fat solids back into solution when I added the sugar but on cooling they reemerged to make the orgeat a bit grainy even with serious shaking. I resorted to straining out the solids and I now have a very good tasting almond flavor, but with most of the oils stripped away it just doesn't have the viscosity and mouthfeel I was looking for. I may have to call this a batch of very sweet almond milk and redo this one sooner than later. I added orange flower water and rose water sparingly (1 tsp. and 1/2 tsp., respectively), and also added 1/2 tsp. of almond extract to get some bitter almond zip to go with the soft sweet almond from the blanched fresh almonds. I like the flavor profile a lot, and just wish it had the body I was shooting for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I follow the very simple Kaiser Penguin recipe (here). If the Penguin is right, then I'm just not sure why you would blanch the almonds then do 3 extractions. Leave the skins on and you will likely get the same flavor. But now, of course, I am thinking of trying the blanching and extracting just to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Speaking of orgeat, I just mixed up a mai tai using Appleton 12 and Wray overproof. Stellar. I know Jim mentioned using Wray before with VX, but I feel the fruit complexity of the mai tai is captured in the 12 year and, well, if you have it, drink it! This baby is smooth as hell. The fruit and almond come forward here in a very clean drink. The Wray provides a nice viscosity. This is all sorts of dangerous. I haven't made a lot of variations of the mai tai, but I plan on one with demerara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 QUOTE (G&T @ Jul 31, 2011 -> 03:58 PM) I follow the very simple Kaiser Penguin recipe (here). If the Penguin is right, then I'm just not sure why you would blanch the almonds then do 3 extractions. Leave the skins on and you will likely get the same flavor. But now, of course, I am thinking of trying the blanching and extracting just to find out. The last batch I did was based on the KP toasted orgeat recipe. Great flavor but too dark for some of the cocktails that I wanted to keep on the lighter side visually like the Japanese Cocktail. The triple extraction in Darcy's recipe is a bit of overkill I think, especially with the very fine grind I got with the Vitamix. I will likely forgo those steps nest time. The blanching and skinning was not nearly as arduous as I thought it would be. The skins pretty much came right off in one piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 QUOTE (G&T @ Jul 31, 2011 -> 05:24 PM) Speaking of orgeat, I just mixed up a mai tai using Appleton 12 and Wray overproof. Stellar. I know Jim mentioned using Wray before with VX, but I feel the fruit complexity of the mai tai is captured in the 12 year and, well, if you have it, drink it! This baby is smooth as hell. The fruit and almond come forward here in a very clean drink. The Wray provides a nice viscosity. This is all sorts of dangerous. I haven't made a lot of variations of the mai tai, but I plan on one with demerara. Yeah, I'm sure that is a really good combo. In trying to not completely take over the kitchen cabinets and face the wife's wrath, I have not been keeping Appleton 12 on hand in order to free up a spot for a bottle of Smith & Cross. I dearly miss it, though, especially the way it works so well in so many Mai Tai combinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I understand. The top shelf in our pantry is all booze...then there's the fridge with syrups and beer. It's not like we weren't stretched for space as it was before I got all this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Tried out a mai tai with Appleton 12 and ED12. This one is definitely sweet. Nice brown sugar flavor with the fruitiness of the Appleton. To me, however, this lacks the depth and intrigue of a contrasting rum. I find the ED to be complementary. That's not to say that this is bad. It is certainly delicious. But it isn't as complex as other combinations. I don't know why I never tried mai tai combos before. This is fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 4, 2011 -> 08:33 PM) Tried out a mai tai with Appleton 12 and ED12. This one is definitely sweet. Nice brown sugar flavor with the fruitiness of the Appleton. To me, however, this lacks the depth and intrigue of a contrasting rum. I find the ED to be complementary. That's not to say that this is bad. It is certainly delicious. But it isn't as complex as other combinations. I don't know why I never tried mai tai combos before. This is fun. Yes, it is very fun, and it makes for near limitless drink options. I have done the Appleton 12/ED 12 mai tai combo, and iirc, I didn't like it as well as a combo with either ED 5 or my all-time fave ED 15. In general, if I don't include Martinique rhum in the combo I will at least get some of that agricole funk in play by using Clement Creole Shrubb instead of curacao. All this mai tai talk makes me very sad, because my last orgeat batch never fully recovered from my mishaps. Tasty but no viscosity to it and it just doesn't pull a mai tai together. I am resisting the call of the bottle of Fee's commercial orgeat gathering dust on the shelf because I know it will just let me down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 This thread makes me wish Flaxx was my crazy neighbor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 QUOTE (Heads22 @ Aug 6, 2011 -> 11:57 PM) This thread makes me wish Flaxx was my crazy neighbor. I have to be somebody's crazy neighbor, so it might as well be you. Friends, family and neighbors do get used as guinea pigs for a lot of my boozy adventures. My poor wife gets the brunt of it. Her cocktail wheelhouse is quite narrow though, and when she takes a sip of something new and recoils in horror, that's when I figure I'm on to something good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&T Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) Suggestions on making pimento dram? Specifically what sugar and rum? I considered Wray but the blogs seem to side with Lemon Hart (I haven't seen that around here though I haven't looked that hard). I am thinking of mixing Wray and ED12 and using demerara sugar. Edited August 9, 2011 by G&T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 8, 2011 -> 10:06 PM) Suggestions on making pimento dram? Specifically what sugar and rum? I considered Wray but the blogs seem to side with Lemon Hart (I haven't seen that around here though I haven't looked that hard). I am thinking of mixing Wray and ED12 and using demerara sugar. The recipe I have used with very good results is Paul Clarke's, and that may well be the recipe you are starting out with as well. You really do have to wait around a month before the stuff is palatable, but it is worth the wait. Now that I have finally talked one local shop to stock St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram I don't have to go the homebrew route. The St. Elizabeth is the better andf more complex of the two drams when tasted side-by-side, but the homemade version works well on everything I have tried it in. As for the rum choice, I didn't have access to LH 151 either, so I just did a straight substitution with Cruzan 151. If I was to do this again without LH, I would probably use Goslings 151 which is more richly flavored than Cruzan. I actually think your Plan of using J Wray and ED 12 is perfectly fine, and I think the fruity funky high end flavors of j Wray will work very well in the dram. Good luck, and have patience while it matures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmteam Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I'm bookmarking this thread for a few years from now, when I (hopefully) actually have many to buy a variety of liquors. It's so hard to experiment when I can only buy one standard bottle (i.e. 1 fifth of Bacardi, 1 of Smirnoff, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 8, 2011 -> 11:41 PM) I'm bookmarking this thread for a few years from now, when I (hopefully) actually have many to buy a variety of liquors. It's so hard to experiment when I can only buy one standard bottle (i.e. 1 fifth of Bacardi, 1 of Smirnoff, etc.). I was so near-exclusively a craft beer beer person in my earlier adult years that I honestly was probably 29 years old before I ever had more than 1 or 2 bottles of any booze around at one time. And those bottles would sit on a shelf for a couple of years before they'd get emptied. Funny thing is, drinking wasn't necessarily much cheaper for me back then because you still shelled out for decent beer. The last few days I have been playing with gin. This evening, a Bramble made with Plymouth Gin came together very nicely and went down just as easily. Now the nightcap is a Basil Smash which is just lovely. I made it with Martin Miller's Gin (a very good Hendrick's substitute with some of the same cucumber nuances). The mini gin kick started last Thursday with a drink I cobbled together for TND: Sparkiling that I called the London Calling that came out quite well. 2oz Pimms, 1oz Martin Miller's, 3oz R.White's Lemonade (fizzy),1 dash Ango. On ice in a Collins glass. Edited August 9, 2011 by FlaSoxxJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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