I also got a bottle of Bruichladdich Botanist gin tonight. I'm not a gin expert but it sounded interesting when I was browsing for new stuff to buy. It has 31 botanicals, out of which 22 are from Islay. I had it side by side with Hendricks to compare. The bottle is nice looking:



You can tell the difference right away with Hendricks. The Botanist has a stronger aroma, and at first taste is a little harsher too. Someone ITT said before that Hendricks is a gin for people who are not used to the gin taste, and after doing this side-by-side comparison I'd tend to agree.

I then made two martinis with a 3:1 ratio, a few drops of orange bitters, and a lemon peel.



Here you can really tell the difference, as the Hendricks martini was very smooth, almost too much. The Botanist martini had a little burn in the throat which made me aware that I was actually drinking a strong cocktail. I'm going to buy a bottle of Plymouth or Beefeater soon to further compare how the Botanist compares.

Ready for the sidecar taste now. I hope these tastings don't affect my skiing tomorrow!

Thanks for the description, El D. I'm a big fan of Campari, so I think Gran Classico will be my next buy.

I got into the poker frenzy after the Party Poker years, I missed out on the free monies!

ET,

I was gonna go out tonight, but now I might stay in and make some cocktails at home.

I hear you, I would have liked to go out tonight but I gotta wake up really early for a ski trip so cocktails at home it is.

Sidecar test: 1840 >> Ambre. The ambre has like a little too much fruitiness, too much grape. As I said before, the 1840 balances it nicely with the extra proof.

ET,

I also have to wake up early for bottomless mimosa and Bloody Mary brunch.

Sounds like you're set up for hangover brunch, so drink away!

ET and other cocktail lovers,

Mezcal negroni

Classic negroni is 1 part gin, 1 part Campari, 1 part sweet vermouth

I went with 1.5oz Mezcal, 1oz gran Classico, 1oz cocchi

Delicious!

Dammit, now you guys have me wanting to really drink tonight. But I guess it's not cocktails - It's 30 below out, and I'm sitting in my living room with a bottle of Basil Hayden next to me, a cat on my lap, and the wood stove roaring away. So I'm not moving until I have to.

Basil Hayden is my favorite sipping bourbon, and I'm not sure why. It's smooth - almost too smooth. Barely know you're drinking hard alcohol - and I love my booze, usually the bite is part of the fun. Not to mention that it can't stand up to any cocktail. A BH Manhattan tastes like watered down s***. But I do love it straight...

BH comes with a copper band around the bottle, and for some reason I've always popped those off and saved them. Which is a bit embarrassing, because now I have this HUGE pile of copper bands. Really? I've finished that many bottles?

Anyway, if I get up I might make a sidecar or Manhattan or Old Fashioned, but right now it doesn't look like I need to move from my recliner for the next couple of hours...

Diablo, two things:

1) Nice mixing glass! I've been thinking about buying one, but I don't see myself paying >$30 for a mixing glass now.

2) Mezcal is one of the things I'm missing in my collection (along with a good tequila). However, and this my seem like sacrilege, but regular tequila + a few drops of smokey scotch (e.g., Lagavulin 16), are a decent replacement for Mezcal in cocktails imo.

Fitz,

I really like Basil Hayden, a very good bourbon. In solidarity with you, I am finishing my evening's drinking sipping some Black Maple Hill 16 neat.

I'll answer this since it seems like it was passed over.

You asked about "house made fruit infused liquors/local ingredients". To me this could be a very wide range of things. A lavender infused gin, for example, isn't overly girly at all. A hot pepper infused tequila is also not girly at all. Ingredients like these can add fantastic elements and depth to cocktails.

Other house infusions, things like fruit flavored vodkas, I do tend to consider a bit girly. That doesn't mean the cocktails they're used to create aren't delicious but rather that you wouldn't catch me ordering them.

To give some examples the establishment I currently work at is in the Lehigh Valley of PA and is called "Blue". We consider ourselves a steakhouse and a wine bar but also with an extensive "martini" menu. Many of the things on the "martini" menu I wouldn't enjoy. With titles like "Midnight in Paris", "Pom Punch", and "Creamsicle" you can generally discern that most are rather fruity (or girly as we are saying).

Other martinis can be deceptive. We have one called the "Blue Martini" which, not considering the name, sounds like some sweety concoction using Blue Curacao as flavoring and color. In reality it is simply 4 ozs of Belvedere and some blue cheese stuffed olives. Not very girly at all. Another example is the "Hendricks Gin Martini". This is simply 4 ozs of Hendricks gin, a bit of muddled cucumber, and a cucumber slicer garnish. Again, not very girly.

To my dismay we don't use many infused ingredients so it isn't a direct parallel but may give you an example of what I mean. I'd have no problem ordering from the latter category but would stay away from the first.

Granted, this is as much because I prefer very spirit heavy cocktails to a bunch of mixers. If I enjoyed the fruity girly drinks I would hope I would say screw everyone else and I'd order what I like.

So after my long rant, in summary, unless you care to impress or value the opinion of your drinking companions just order whatever the heck sounds good. Screw what everyone else thinks. (Unless you're on a date obviously).

One of my favorite cocktail books, "Speakeasy", is written by some of the owners of Employees Only, a very well regarded cocktail bar in NYC. Almost all (if not all) of their drinks employ some type of house infusion or ingredient. For reference their aren't a whole lot of drinks I would be ashamed to order. Check out their menu (or better yet their book).

http://www.employeesonlynyc.com/

ET,

Two things:

1) I used to use a pint glass for mixing, but I wanted a little more volume and room for stirring and a spout. The fancy cocktail bartenders around here have these sweet Yarai mixing glasses, but I didn't really feel like shelling out $50 to stir the occasional cocktail. So I got what you see there - a 600 ml Pyrex lab beaker. I think it was like $12 and it's fantastic.

2) nothing wrong at all w tequila plus a peaty scotch float in cocktails, that's an a+ combo.

Nomad: good answer

Guy nomad replied to: post if they have a drink list online and we can evaluate girliness

95 proof, nice. I'd add some to my next order from drinkupny, but it's apparently out of stock right now.

Another bourbon I really enjoy, which might not be on the radar for most of you is Breaking & Entering (aka B&E). It's produced by St. George artisan distillery out of Alameda, CA. They buy the bourbon from various Kentucky manufacturers, and blend it themselves. Sounds a bit hokey, but it has a really nice, very different profile. I feel like it has a lot of Woodford flavor, but a bit more spice.

Ha! I thought it was the yarai from the picture. I agree with wanting more volume for stirring, my mixing spoon gets stuck in the regular mixing glass, so more area at the base of the glass is better. I'll look for lab beakers on Amazon once I sober up, which will probably be on Sunday night.

Fitz,

I think BMH is great, but the last few years it has gotten super hyped up and prices have skyrocketed. There are a few others I prefer now if I'm spending that kind of money for bourbon. And being in sf I'm very familiar with b&e and other st George stuff.

But this thread is mainly for cocktails. Check out the EDF whiskey thread for way more bourbon talk!

ET,

These beakers are designed specifically for scientists to mix solutions together and sometimes cool them, so yeah they are amazing for making cocktails. The Yarai has two things going for it - it looks very pretty and it's very heavy so you can mix with it sitting on the counter without using a hand to hold it. But neither of those really matter much for home use.

Yeah, I'll echo that Nomad's answer is good too. One of my favorite summertime drinks is a raspberry gin-n-tonic. I infuse the gin with fresh picked raspberries, muddled to mush and then left to sit in a bottle with a nice fruity gin like Bombay Sapphire. A week or two, shaking whenever you pass by, then strain. If you want it to look pretty (and I do) then run it through a coffee filter a couple of times too.

You end up with a pale pink GNT, almost looks like a Cosmo in a tall glass. But damn, it's good. I like to make them fairly weak, two to three times as much tonic as I'd usually use, then slam them down so I end up finishing 3-4 in an hour anyway. Hard on the calories (tonic is basically soda-pop) but damn refreshing on a hot summer day.

Fitz,

BTW, 95 is v good, but if you check out that thread you'll see some 120-140 proof bourbons I enjoy sipping too!

Fitz,

I'm not a big fan of tonic, but I bet that would taste great replacing the tonic w soda and some lime. And that would save you all those tonic calories too!

Bookers @ > 120 proof ftw.

Diablo, amazon has 250, 400 and 600 ml beakers. Care to measure yours for reference?

El D,

I like where your head is at with the Pyrex mixing vessel. Whether you stole it from somewhere or it was original it's fantastic. I plan on stealing it. I often lamented how I can't stir more than 1-2 drinks (depending on glass/drink size) in a pint glass yet, like Timon, was having a hard time shelling out that kind of dough.

Thanks!

As a bit of an aside do you use the Julep strainer because it likens to a pint glass, because the Hawthorne doesn't span the gap, or both?

ET,

I could measure it or I could just point out to you that I referred to it as a 600ml Pyrex beaker.

Also:

El D,

I have never come across Cocchi vermouth. I apologize if it has been mentioned in this thread and I don't recall but how do you compare it to the common vermouths such as Martini, Dolin, and Noilly. For reference I'd consider Noilly>>Dolin>>>>>Martini.

Edit- According to this there are quite a few vermouths I have never had the chance of sampling. ****.

http://vermouth101.com/vermouths.html

ET: I have some Bookers that I love, and also have a couple of high proof willetts and some George t stagg. Also lots of cask strength scotch. I like stuff with some kick!

Nomad: I just use that strainer for most of my drinks because they are liquids only and I'm just catching ice and I just find it simpler. The other one I just use when I have fruit or other stuff to actually strain.