I'm not much a cocktail maker myself, but I do enjoy going to cocktail bars on dates or with friends. Some of my favourites, in no particular order:

69 Colebrooke Row (London)
UnderDog (London)
Death & Co (NYC)
Eau de Vie (Sydney)

Haven't managed to get into PDT, even though I've tried many, many times. Is there a trick I don't know about?

Anyone have other recommendations for cocktails bar anywhere in Europe, Australia or NYC?

I think I'll like this thread.

Going to try and master 1 creation and a time to reduce my inventory on hand and figure out what I like. No idea what this is going to yield, but here's the plan for a smoked old fashioned:

-orange-clove infused Bourbon made at home. Going to use Bulleit, and I'll make 2 batches with different infusion periods.

-got 3 pounds of hickory and 3 pounds of maple chips coming in the mail. Amazon prime is great, may just have to renew it if I keep buying so much online. Should arrive before the smoke gun gets here.


Don't think I need a fancy decanter with a stopper just yet, should be able to mix this up in a mason jar. I'll report back when it's done.

This thread rocks! I'm a bit biased towards gin based cocktails. In fact, I'm drinking one right now: a Vesper. I made it with barrel-aged gin and my mix is slightly different than the Savoy book:
3 parts barrel aged gin
1 part vodka
1 part Cocchi Americano

BTW, don't use any 80 proof shyte when you make this. Think quality man!



This gin rocks! It's small batch, barrel-aged and super smooth. You can actually drink it straight! K&L Wines & Liquors carries it. A funny note, my beer league hockey team is called The Rusty Blades and our team colors are orange and black like the label (lol!)



I can't tell the difference between vodkas so I just use a strong one. I'm mixing it with Absolute 100

I'm using Cocchi Americano as is suppose to be a close substitute for Kina Lillet (Lillet Blanc ain't the same thing)

Bottoms Up!

SH,

Rusty Blade is great!

Got my smoke gun a few weeks ago, sorry haven't had time to post how it's gone. This weekend I'll try and take some pictures. But it's really a lot of fun, and guests love the cocktails made with it. So far, no smoke detecter issues. But I'm sure I'll have one soon, these things make a decent amount of smoke and you have to capture it all quickly!

absolut (not absolut level, which costs way more and is ok. never tried elyx) pure and at room temperature = ugly, puke inducing
grey goose pure and at room temperature = nice

i cannot imagine that this is only in my head -.-

the same is true for me with the "hangover":
1 dl absolut, next day = horror
1/3 bootle grey goose, next day no problems at all

Well boys it's Friday night and we know what that means! Just like any other night during the week, it's time for a cocktail. Tonight I'm having a Corpse Reviver #2 (I like the classics!) but with a twist:

1. I'm using Rusty Blade instead of the London Dry.
2. I've substituted dry curaçao for Cointreau to give it more of an umph.

Here's my mix:
1 oz Rusty Blade
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1 oz fresh lemon juice
a few drops of Absinthe
Shake over ice, served up.


Here's the good stuff. The Mixins:


The Mix:

Corpse reviver is a pretty awesome cocktail

Totally forgot to mention that last night I had the best cocktail of my life. Bourbon bar here in town, and this is one they came up with.

fino sherry, grand marnier, five spice syrup, black walnut bitters, lactart

There was so much going on there flavor wise, it's hard to describe. It changed flavors at least 3 times before ending with a really nice boozie note.

From what I can tell the "five spice syrup" is homemade, and this is one of the few recipes I could find:

http://imbibemagazine.com/five-spice-syrup-recipe/

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. star anise
1 Tbsp. fennel seed
1 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns
1/2 Tbsp. whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

Add spices to a small, dry saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat and steep for an hour. Strain in a bottle, cover and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Try subbing fino for amontillado and grand marnier for whiskey. I bet it will be great....I have never used lactart before though.

SH: I like your style

Rafiki: for five spice syrup you can prob use some allspice dram

Shiver me timbers, its time for a cocktail! Tonight it's something simple, but strong enough for a sailor. That's right, I'm having a Gin and Tonic made with naval strength gin.

1. A healthy pour of naval strength gin
2. a bottle of tonic water
3. a lemon wedge

The finished product, Land Ho!

For those in the Bay Area, Los Gatos has two good cocktail bars that are worth a visit: Jack Rose Libation House and The Lexington House. Jack Rose is almost exclusively cocktails and but they have a few menu items. My favorite is the Jack Rose. They also have a beer garden that is nice during the summer. The Lexington House has more food options (which are excellent), but the space is kind of small.

Nice! I'll have to give those a try. In the south bay, my go-to has always been Single Barrel.

I have very little to add to this thread other than my love of Sidecars (hate the fact that a lot of bartenders think they should be served with sugar on the rim), but def subscribing and can't wait to see what some of the experimenters come up with ITT. Good work so far everyone.

Speaking of sidecars(also not a fan of them with sugar around the rim)... Really enjoy the sidecar my local bartender makes.
My local uses:
2 ounces cognac (he uses Hennessey)
1 ounce Grand Marnier
Splash of lemon juice
Orange wedge or peel and a cherry.

I just started mixing and have a noob question: Rob Roy is a Manhattan with scotch, but why is there no scotch Sidecar alternative?

I would guess that the Scotch + Grand Marnier/Cointreau will not be too appetizing, but that's just a wild guess.

A close alternative would be a Scotch smash which is a nice summer cocktail. See this video for preparation (Smash starts around the 5-minute mark).

Another scotch based cocktail is the Blood and Sand. For me this is a seasonal drink as I like to use freshly squeezed blood orange juice which is only available in February and March. The mix is:
1 oz blended Scotch
1oz Blood Orange juice
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Cherry Herring

Enjoy

I enjoy many Sidecars made with different brandies. I really like Calvados sidecars. I also enjoy ones made with the brandy portion a mix of William pear brandy and cognac or Armagnac, cut back on the grand marnier / Cointreau to have the pear flavor shine through a bit more and to reduce sweetness.

I made a Cosmo for the gf yesterday using Tito's, I used proportions from wiki and the vodka overpowered everything in the drink. Granted I'm still a week into this hobby, but I'm not convinced vodka quality doesn't matter at all.

What's everyone's favorite low-sugar cocktail that's a bit more interesting than a single liquor?

Generally prefer whiskey, bourbon, or gin. Vodka gets boring.

Around DC I'll generally order an old fashioned, but that can even be a bit sweet. I recently had a Boulevardier cocktail that a bartender recommended:

1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet vermouth
1.25 oz Rye Whiskey

Not bad, but felt it was a bit lacking and needed stronger bitters or something. The campari just tasted kind of flat/sweet/unintestesting to me.

I sometimes enjoy really simple drinks like a gimlet.

Trinidad Sour.

1 1/2 oz Angostura Bitters
1 1/2 oz Orgeat
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Rye

If you want a bit more rye flavor, can be adjusted. E.g., http://imbibemagazine.com/trinidad-sour-recipe/ uses:
1 oz. Angostura bitters
1 oz. orgeat
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. rye whiskey


Since you like an Old Fashioned, you may want to try one of those with Rye instead of Bourbon, or go for a Sazerac.