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The Finer Things In Life


knightni

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QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Aug 9, 2011 -> 02:02 AM)
Don't know if I posted this, but I spent nearly my entire vacation in Naples, FL drinking Yuengling.

 

I can't stand Yuengling. Not because of the taste, but the massive hangover it gives me.

 

Meanwhile, I was bored at work and started cruising the webs and found this drink I had to make.

It's nothing special yet hits the spot. Not exactly a thinking man's drink, but good is good. I upped the Wray to 1.5oz so I could get a bit more of the funk against the sweet. Could have gone to 2 oz probably.

Notice their measures are odd so I rounded up.

 

Anyway, that's a simple totally tropical crowd pleaser.

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QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Aug 9, 2011 -> 07:49 PM)
Just tried Woodchuck last night. Not sure if it's considered a "beer", but if so, it's the only beer I like. And 7% alcohol? Yes please.

 

Isn't it cider? I didn't know it was 7%.

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QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Aug 9, 2011 -> 06:49 PM)
Just tried Woodchuck last night. Not sure if it's considered a "beer", but if so, it's the only beer I like. And 7% alcohol? Yes please.

 

It's actually about 5%.

Edited by gatnom
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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.).

 

Money is always a problem for us normal people so there are trade offs. The biggest is that I don't do any drinking at bars (very rarely anyway). Interestingly, my switch from beer to spirits is essentially chronicaled in this thread.

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QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 10, 2011 -> 08:18 AM)
Money is always a problem for us normal people so there are trade offs. The biggest is that I don't do any drinking at bars (very rarely anyway). Interestingly, my switch from beer to spirits is essentially chronicaled in this thread.

 

In the same boat, the fact that I don't do a lot of bar drinking means have a little more discretionary spending that can be directed toward the home bar.

 

On the rare occasions any more wen I do find myself at a bar (maybe once a week after work, sometimes on a weekend with the wife), it is almost always a craft beer bar because craft cocktail bars just don't exist here.

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QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Aug 10, 2011 -> 08:32 AM)
In the same boat, the fact that I don't do a lot of bar drinking means have a little more discretionary spending that can be directed toward the home bar.

 

On the rare occasions any more wen I do find myself at a bar (maybe once a week after work, sometimes on a weekend with the wife), it is almost always a craft beer bar because craft cocktail bars just don't exist here.

 

What's sad is there is a place close to my work with some decent cocktails. But why spend $8 for a caipirinha?

 

Actually there is a margarita bar close to my house that only serves real margaritas with a large tequila selection. Still haven't been there. And it's next door to my favorite brew pub...so yeah, there are trade offs.

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I just downloaded my Kindle copy of gaz Regan's new Annual Manual 2011 (with 101 of the best new cocktails by the world's best craft bartenders). In the Forward to the book, gaz stresses to young bartenders that people don't go to bars to have a drink. The go for the social aspects of bar life, and to be taken care of, and, very simply, to feel a little better on leaving than they did when they walked in.

 

There may be one bar within a hundred miles of me that can mix me a drink better than I can for myself. But that doesn't mean I don't make a point of getting out to a bar at least once in a while to socialize with friends or make a couple of new friends. And it costs me more than drinking at home, and it makes me wish the bars around me cared more about quality ingredients and quality cocktail programs, but the conviviality is an important ingredient. Plus, persistence dies pay off, and most of the bars I go to at least knowhow to make a proper Negroni because I told them how to do it (friggin' Italian restaurants with bartenders that din't know what Camoari is. . . Sheesh).

 

This drink geek forum thread, and the other online cocktail forums and blogs do bring a fair bit of that conviviality into the home. It's crazy, but the Mixoloseum Thursday Drink Night online meet up gets about as rowdy as a good night out at the bar, but with folks who know their drinks way better than your average bar hound. Similarly, I just started posting in the eGullet cocktails forum and someone there just started a thread where several of us are going to dig into sone of this new winning cocktails in the gaz Regan book. Then there is always Tiare Olsen's ongoing online attempt to mix her way through the Grog Log if I get to missing the classic Tiki stuff you and I have both come to love.

 

Cone to think of it. . . Why aren't you on all these booze nerd forums??

Edited by FlaSoxxJim
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QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 11, 2011 -> 08:29 AM)
I don't have an answer for that, but it is a situation that will be remedied shortly.

 

That's the spirit(s)!

 

TDN has gone to an every other week format and this Thursday is an off night. No theme has been announced yet, but it will be announced on the Mixoloseum blog roundup next week prior to the event. If the theme sounds like it's up your alley, jump into the Mixo Bar chat forum, register and sign in starting around 8pm EST and lasting usually until 11pm or midnight or so. It's mostly booze bloggers belonging to the CSOWG group, with a few cocktail nerd civilians as well. The Beach Bum has made occasional visits if the theme is Tiki-related, and most of my favorite online cocktail geeks (Fred from cocktailvirgin, Rick from Kaiser Penguin, Dr. Bamboo, etc.), are regulars. Nobody over there knows what the heck a Flaxx is so, over there I'm Sunny&Rummy. They should probably be able to figure out what a G&T is. :)

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So I mixed up one of these for the first time. I don't have herb saint but I don't care for anise anyway. I'll be honest, I'm not fresh brewing 3/4 oz of coffee to chill so I left some over from this morning (I have no idea if this impacts the flavor) so yeah I planned this drink at 6:30am. I used Tully's breakfast blend.

I think it turned out quite well. The pineapple really plays off the coffee in a way I've never tasted before. The bitters, however, are essential. I tasted it sans bitters and it was a mess. Too much of everything, especially pineapple. The bitters quell the sweetness of the pineapple so it melds into the coffee. The nutmeg is nice addition.

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That looks seriously good, and I think I will be mixing it up as soon as I finish this post!

 

Like you, I am not a huge anise fan, but I will include a scant dash (@ 1/8 tsp.) of Pernod ala' Don the Beachcomber to get just a slight anise bite into the mix.

 

Interesting you made yur coffee this morning and set some aside for a drink, as I did much the same thing. I made a espresso brown sugar syrup this morning in order to enjoy a Batavia Arrack Flip this evening, and enjoy it I most certainly did. I went to the grog shop yesterday to buy a bottle of Cynar and to my amazement I found that the shop had finally caved to my pestering and started stocking Batavia Arrack. Man, is this stuff good. Full of so much pot still funk I can't believe I have gone this long without getting my hands on the stuff before.

 

Two other Batavia Arrack and/or Cynar cocktails that I have tried and loved the last two nights are the Elderthorn from Robert Hess, and the Dutch East India Daisy that I am sipping now. Had to make a trip to the store to buy fennel to make that one. Yum!

Edited by FlaSoxxJim
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That Glisan Grog is quite good. Lots of ways to play around with this one. It would make an awesome swizzle, and I think I might put a small splash of Falernum in that one the next time around.

 

Rather than make coffee I cheated and used coffee liqueur instead to very nice effect. The pineapple and coffee interplay puts the flavor profile of this drink squarely in the camp of the better Bahama Mama incarnations — minus the coconut rum, which I think I might also throw in the Gilsan mix the next time 'round since I still have a half-bottle of my homemade stuff on hand. Honestly, if I ordered a Bahama Mama at a restaurant or bar and they made me this I would be very content. Sadly, even something as approachable as this seems out of reach for the lazy ass bartenders around here.

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QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 13, 2011 -> 02:17 AM)
I'm starting to get into craft brews more, but I'm only just starting to build up my tolerance for anything remotely hoppy (i.e. anything hoppier than a wheat ale...which is everything). It's a long process, but I'm enjoying it.

 

You will become a seasoned hophead in no time, I'm sure. The more familiar you get with all the flavors in a beer's profile, the more the hops are going to want to show themselves off for you.

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QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 13, 2011 -> 02:17 AM)
I'm starting to get into craft brews more, but I'm only just starting to build up my tolerance for anything remotely hoppy (i.e. anything hoppier than a wheat ale...which is everything). It's a long process, but I'm enjoying it.

 

Try a Fuller's ESB or other English milds. Balance is key to these beers and they aren't off putting.

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QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 09:45 PM)
So I decided that the faster alternative to making my own pimento dram was to ask my liquor store to find the St. Elizabeth's. They did. Bottle is ordered.

 

Faster indeed, and you won't be disappointed. It is pretty overpowering stuff, though, and I think it might be moreso than its historic counterparts. For most Grog Log type recipes calling for dram, I ted to cut the amount in half and I find it still comes through loud and clear.

 

The St. Elizabeth is a Haus Alpenz import, so if your grog shop can get that for you, they can also get all sorts of wonderful things for you like Smith & Cross and Scarlet Ibis rums, Hayman's Old Tom Gin, Dolin vermouth, and the unbelievable I-think-I'm-in-love Batavia Arrack.

 

There about a dozen other Alpenz things I want to try, but haven't been able to yet.

 

Somebody this evening on the eGullet Spirits & Cocktails mentioned mixing up Robert Hess' Voyager, which I think was the second Benedictine drink I made after the Vieux Carre when I first procured a bottle of the stuff. I'm a slave to the power of suggestion so I mixed one up this evening and it still really satisfies. I used Bacardi 8 even though I think the drink practically screams for a Demerara which I am unfortunately out of.

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