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I just finished a first read-through of Kevin Liu’s self-published book, Craft Cocktails At Home . I’m favorably impressed. I don’t know Liu or anything about him, really, but I heard a little buzz about the book and picked it up from Amazon. He has a web site for the book here: http://craftcocktailsathome.com At least one person I’ve
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Intriguing, to be sure. (photo from http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-16577.aspx) ABV is 21%, which is higher than Biere and Club (both 18%), although well below the original 39% back in the day. Anyone know more?
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Funny you should mention it, but Yzaguirre is experimenting with selling their vermouth in a bag/box: http://vermutyzaguirre.com/vermouth6.aspx Not sexy, but interesting.
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In addition to Hayman’s Old Tom, look out for Hayman’s Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin . It’s also really good and likewise mixable.
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We’ve got 375ml bottles of Dolin around here. That helps.
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I still haven’t seen the Noilly Prat Extra Dry in the wild. The old one certainly had its devotees. Audrey Saunders’ Fitty-Fitty was originally built around half that and half Tanqueray. Since the vermouth was discontinued, she uses Dolin Dry and Plymouth, which is good, but inevitably different. Dolin Dry certainly works in Dry Martinis
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Perucchi is pleasant newish stuff from Spain. I recommend focusing on the Rojo and Blanco. The Extra Dry feels to me like an afterthought. Leftover square Perucchi bottles can be useful to store other things in, such as gomme syrup.
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I agree with a lot of Derek’s critique here: http://tablematters.com/2013/01/11/bartenders-stop-making-up-cocktails/ I also agree with Robert Simonson’s reply: http://twitter.com/RobertOSimonson/status/289796096761401344 To me, the fault ultimately lies with restaurant & bar ownership for not guiding their programs and filtering their
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Caña Brava is a really interesting and exciting product. I have it. It’s virtually indistinguishable in flavor from Havana Club 3 Year, making it the best bet in the US market for making a credible Daiquiri or Cuba Libre. (Neither are all that close to pre-revolution Bacardi Carta Blanca, but they’re easily the closest I’ve
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Jeffrey, for what it’s worth, I’ve taken to making a precise order. For example: May I have a 5:1 dry, Bombay Martini, stirred, up, with a twist? I vary my request after I intuit what kind of professional or clown is behind the bar. If I sense too much risk of disaster or risk of drama, I punt and order a little something on the rocks.