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From Serious Eats

Eggs (Whites and Yolks) in Cocktails

Counts as what, exactly?

Just because the fizz originated as a morning eye-opener around 150 years ago doesn't mean it's constrained to play that role for all time, does it? Historical applications aside, a fizz is flavorful, fizzy, and refreshing -- properties that are valuable even (or especially) after the sun goes down.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Benedictine Turns 500

@jason_wilson: What, conflicting or inaccurate information sent out in press materials? But that never happens!

Then again, I recall receiving a press release from a PR firm representing a prominent brand of vermouth, in which it was stated that vermouth was virtually identical to absinthe but had been legally available during the long absinthe ban. That one required an intense "WTF?" string of calls and e-mails. Turns out to have started as a translation error that led to a junior PR rep going freewheeling with the facts -- not that it was caught before the release was blasted to journalists across the country.

Thanks for pointing out your info, and for everybody else: this is how the editorial sausage is made.

@sidecar: it's been too long since I had a Voyager -- I agree, very tasty. Hmm, maybe we're due for a Drinkboy cocktail in the Time for a Drink column....

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Benedictine Turns 500

Hmm, I took that tidbit of info from the Washington Post story -- thanks for clearing up that detail.

From Recipes

Serious Cocktails: Holiday Eggnog

@chrisfurniss - the whiskey is not banished; as I mention, you can simply swap it for the rum or brandy (or both) in the recipe, if that's the way your tastes go. But really, try it some time with rum and brandy -- you'll see why so many recipes call for the combination.

@2ndstage - fantastic! Glad she liked it -- and nice improv with the dark brown sugar.

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Time for a Drink: Anejo Highball

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Maker's Mark Announces a New Bourbon

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Dinner Tonight: Palak Aalu, Palak Paneer's Cousin

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Eat for Eight Bucks: Shrimp Rolls with Homemade Chive Mayo

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Recent Comments

From Serious Eats

Eggs (Whites and Yolks) in Cocktails

Counts as what, exactly?

Just because the fizz originated as a morning eye-opener around 150 years ago doesn't mean it's constrained to play that role for all time, does it? Historical applications aside, a fizz is flavorful, fizzy, and refreshing -- properties that are valuable even (or especially) after the sun goes down.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Benedictine Turns 500

@jason_wilson: What, conflicting or inaccurate information sent out in press materials? But that never happens!

Then again, I recall receiving a press release from a PR firm representing a prominent brand of vermouth, in which it was stated that vermouth was virtually identical to absinthe but had been legally available during the long absinthe ban. That one required an intense "WTF?" string of calls and e-mails. Turns out to have started as a translation error that led to a junior PR rep going freewheeling with the facts -- not that it was caught before the release was blasted to journalists across the country.

Thanks for pointing out your info, and for everybody else: this is how the editorial sausage is made.

@sidecar: it's been too long since I had a Voyager -- I agree, very tasty. Hmm, maybe we're due for a Drinkboy cocktail in the Time for a Drink column....

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Benedictine Turns 500

Hmm, I took that tidbit of info from the Washington Post story -- thanks for clearing up that detail.

From Recipes

Serious Cocktails: Holiday Eggnog

@chrisfurniss - the whiskey is not banished; as I mention, you can simply swap it for the rum or brandy (or both) in the recipe, if that's the way your tastes go. But really, try it some time with rum and brandy -- you'll see why so many recipes call for the combination.

@2ndstage - fantastic! Glad she liked it -- and nice improv with the dark brown sugar.

From Serious Eats

Gift Guide: For the Cocktail Enthusiast

@KinOfCain I second your recommendations on anything Black Maple Hill (my favorite rye out there) and Highland Park, and I need to check out the Lagavulin DE PX. Thanks for the suggestions!

From Recipes

Time for a Drink: San Martin

If you add the ice first, the clock is ticking, and every second it takes you to mix that drink means there's more dilution going on. While the ice is usually added first in the fast-paced environment of a bar, when mixing at home (or in a more leisurely bar, for that matter) you can better control dilution by adding the spirits and other ingredients to the glass first, then adding the ice just before you stir or shake.

From Recipes

Quince Brandy

It's going to depend on your taste -- don't break the bank on an expensive bottle, but also avoid the bottom shelf. I use a basic, no-frills Chalfonte VSOP, as I tend to mix it in cocktails rather than drink it neat. If purchasing one of the big brands -- Hennessey, Remy, Courvoisier, etc. -- a VS should do the trick without hurting your wallet too much, or if you want something a little more plush the Pierre Ferrand Ambre is a lovely cognac that is also quite reasonably priced.

From Serious Eats

How to Make Quince Brandy

Just closing the jar firmly is fine -- make sure all the solids are covered by liquid when you start off to ensure that no spoilage occurs.

From Recipes

Time for a Drink: Japanese Cocktail

Torani and Monin both make orgeat, so any place that sells syrups for coffee should have some. There are better brands on the market but they are a bit harder to find; some folks make their own, so there's also that option.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Craft Bartenders Pay More Attention to Chocolate

Bobby,

After having good luck with a Fernet Flip and a Cynar Flip, I would absolutely try a Campari Alexander. I assume you're using a standard Alexander ratio, subbing Campari for the brandy? Damn, that sounds good--

Take care & hope to see you soon--

From Recipes

Time for a Drink: San Martin

Green Chartreuse would work -- some versions call for that, but yellow is a bit gentler and doesn't take over the drink as much. But if all you have is green, then go for it.

From Serious Eats

Vintage Cocktails in 'Gourmet' Archives

@franko - allspice liqueur is typically used as a flavoring in cocktails, in particular complex "tiki" drinks. It lends a touch of spice and depth, and in some drinks can bring a wonderful holiday kind of flavor.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: The Cocktail Bucket List Meme

C'mon, people, you don't have to try all of these over a three-day weekend. I've been exploring classic cocktails for more than six years, so that averages out to one "list" drink every few weeks -- probably not as "interesting" as @pookguy imagined (sorry to let you down, but thanks for the -- um, concern, I guess). Enjoy a couple of drinks every week -- less than what many people put away on a Friday night while waiting for the appetizers to arrive -- and as long as you don't keep making or ordering the same 15 drinks over and over, you can knock off every drink on this list in less than a year.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: 'The Bartender's Gin Compendium' by Gaz Regan

Gary's always (or at least, for a long, long time) been known as 'Gaz' but I'm not sure why he decided to use the nickname for this book.

From Recipes

Time for a Drink: Queen's Park Swizzle

@likeswords -- Oops, sorry, thought I'd included that. Rich simple syrup is simply two parts sugar dissolved in one part water over medium heat and then cooled. In this drink (and many others), using Demerara sugar will give it a nice little flavor boost.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Future Flavors

Haus Alpenz is handling the Smith & Cross; not sure of the distributor for the Chairmen's Reserve.

And yes, the Smith & Cross is a big-J "Jamaica" rum -- can't wait to dash some atop a julep.

From Serious Eats

Serious Cocktails: Best Bars in America

@rasellers0 -- You bring up a good point; many of these lists are limited to major cities such as NYC or SF. But the Esquire list reaches a bit farther beyond the "hip city" limits (unless places like Decatur, Georgia, Sarasota, Florida and Wellfleet, Mass. are way more hip than I realized). And, as noted, the bars on the list range from the $15 cocktail places you mention, all the way to places that pay their rent by selling $2 cans of PBR. Many lists may be guilty of the same sin, but some are more guilty than others.

From Serious Eats

Cocktails: Starting from Scratch with Scotch

Thing is, when I do get a hankering for a single malt, it's often for those big smoky monsters from Islay. The only single malt I keep in the house is Laphroaig, because when I'm in the mood for something big and flavorful, that's usually what I have in mind.

@Rhetor -- you're on.

From Serious Eats

The Absinthe Backlash Begins

I should also note that in the above comments, Steveraye discloses that he's related to a company that has an absinthe product on the market. I hope other spirits marketers would follow his example and reveal their affiliation, rather than utilize cheap, deceptive tricks. Thanks for your comment, Steve--you have a great perspective on the industry.

From Serious Eats

The Absinthe Backlash Begins

In the above post, I wrote "2008 saw the release of several decent brands, along with a number of high-profile, incredibly crappy ones (likely the brands you’ll see spamming up the comments section, as is their habit)".

I noted this based on a number of sock-puppet comments I'd received on my own blog, remarking on an absinthe-related post and gratuitously name-dropping a particular brand of absinthe-style beverage. I doubt it was sheer coincidence that all of these comments originated with the same ISP, just as I doubt the coincidence that it's the same brand that's being touted in the comment directly above this one. Took them a while, but the marketers who employ deception in their bag of tricks finally got around to commenting here. I would have been disappointed with anything less.

From Serious Eats

The Absinthe Backlash Begins

@lamora - the most extensive online selection I know of is at DrinkupNY. Before you plunk down some change, you may want to check user reviews at The Wormwood Society to see which brands might fit what you're looking for.

From Serious Eats

The Absinthe Backlash Begins

@callmenaomi - sure, an absinthe rinse is used when making a Sazerac, and when absinthe or any other highly aromatic, potently flavored spirit (Chartreuse, Islay single malt, etc.) is used as a rinse, it can lend a nice touch to many drinks.

By coating the sides of the glass rather than simply adding the absinthe to the drink, you're making the ingredient perform more as an aromatic, so you get a nice whiff of the botanicals as you're taking a sip of the drink. Only use a little bit (a teaspoon should do), as you don't want the rinse to take over the flavor of the cocktail, but a light rinse can really flesh out a drink's character.

Another good rinse is to use a really smoky Islay single malt like Laphroaig to give a rinse to a cocktail glass before pouring a Manhattan. That smell of smoke and peat adds a nice touch.

From Serious Eats

The Absinthe Backlash Begins

Everybody has different tastes; I don't use sugar in my absinthe, others do. And except for brands such as Pastis 51 or Henri Bardouin, I find many pastis way too sweet, and much prefer a good absinthe. Different tastes, as I said.

From Serious Eats

The Absinthe Backlash Begins

Not to quibble, but the sugar-spoon thing isn't complete nonsense; unlike pastis, which typically comes pre-sweetened, most absinthes are bottled without sugar, and adding sugar to the spirit is not only traditional but completely appropriate.

Dripping the water through the sugar is an easy way to get the sugar to dissolve (sugar doesn't dissolve in alcohol nearly as easy as it does in water, though you can skip the step and just add simple syrup if you like your absinthe sweetened), and the water is a vital part of the equation: again unlike pastis, which is typically 40-45 percent alcohol, absinthe usually ranges closer to 60 or even 70 percent alcohol, so adding water is a must to make it palatable; it was never intended to be consumed straight.

While a number of improvised antics have been added to the preparation of absinthe to help drive sales, the sugar/spoon element is not only traditional, but actually serves a function.

From Recipes

Time for a Drink: Green Devil

The rinse of absinthe is the green component. True, the absinthe's color is easily changed / overwhelmed by the beer, but I think those who name drinks deserve a little poetic license.

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Eggs (Whites and Yolks) in Cocktails

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Should the Health Department Crack Down on Raw Eggs in Cocktails?

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Quince Brandy

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How to Make Quince Brandy

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About Paul Clarke

Website: http://www.cocktailchronicles.com

Location: Seattle

About: I'm a Seattle-based writer and editor who was bitten by the mixology bug a few years ago, and has spent every available hour since reading about, talking about, mixing (and occasionally drinking) fine spirits and cocktails.

Favorite foods: sushi, gumbo, crab enchiladas -- if it's fishy & spicy, I'm on it.

Last bite on earth: Who thinks about food at a moment like this? I'd wrap up the whole shebang with the ultimate Sazerac -- a big pour of Thomas Handy Sazerac rye with Peychaud's bitters, in a glass -- a BIG glass -- rinsed with Jade's Nouvelle Orleans absinthe.