It's my belief this is most properly consumed while riding round and round on the rotating Carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans.
Can't really go wrong with a boozy Andes mint in a glass. :)
Dave, have you tried the Mackinnon, from Wondrich's Esquire Drinks? That's a fine use for that excess Drambuie. It's been an enormous hit at our parties.
Rhubarb is also a word used in theater, film, and radio to simulate background crowd conversation. Walla is another, hence my Walla Cocktail of a few years back:
http://www.bibulo.us/2009/05/walla-cocktail.html
Hooray for rhubarb!
Great ingredient choices here. Absolutely agree on your "if not the Rittenhouse, then what?" list and I'd add Sazerac 6 year rye as your step up to heavenly.
If folks like the Manhattan and are somewhere that has a Vieux Carre on their menu, give that a try too.
Enjoying this series very much—but I am a bit baffled why you're torturing home bartenders with professional jiggers instead of using a nice, friendly marked measure like the 2oz OXOs.
Lovely sponsor, and Thank You, Kegworks!, but what keeps me coming back to or recommending a show is what's best for the audience, not what's best for moving product short-term. It's a tough balancing act, definitely.
(Kegworks team: how about showing your support for beginners here? Even http://www.kegworks.com/e-z-step-cocktail-jigger-278-p173071?_s_icmp=nextopia would be a big help. That 'eyeballing in a cone' measuring is killin' me!)
A very enjoyable cocktail. Beautifully balanced. We stumbled on it serendipitously while using for a party invite an old travel poster with the USS Manhattan and USS Washington featured on it and thus asking ourselves "Huh, we know the Manhattan, but is there a Washington cocktail?"
This holds up extremely well as a bottled cocktail. You'll be a big hit bringing a bottle of this to a gathering of friends.
Nice! I particularly like how you're now doing more commentary on aroma and taste.
By the way, tried the Caprice with the new St. George Dry Rye gin and while it was more drinkable than some of our previous attempts* with that tricky tipple, we're still questing for a cocktail that it really sings in.
*http://bibulo.us/2011/10/st-george-gins.html
I find Peychaud's a little sweet with an aftertaste that to me seems artificial somehow. I vastly prefer TBT Creole Bitters.
Another couple reasons for having a great variety of bitters is so that you can use them to add complexity to non-alcoholic drinks (for those laden with cars or unborn children) and to make your soda water taste so nice you don't waste calories on soda that you could be spending on cocktails later. ;)
Interesting stirring setup there. Fun to play with! The gold in the caviar is a lovely effect, but the shaker and the very small beakers don't create caviar of the consistent beautiful roundness you achieved by hand.
Well, a quick Google Books search https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1&q=cloister+chartreuse+grapefruit&aq=f&aqi;=&aql=f&oq;= suggests it was probably Mario Thomas' New Bar Guide from 1983 or is it Mario Thomas and the 1986 Playboy's New Host & Bar Book?
As a librarian, I liked that search challenge. As a writer, I bristle at the skipped credit to the author.
Simply lovely choice of glass here, Robert. This kind of mood-matching is one of the big payoffs to an eclectic glassware collection. Most of ours have cost less than $2 each and have come from Goodwill and other thrift stores.
Google Books is such a boon for these kind of origin questions!
San Francisco Public Library appears to have the earliest one:
http://sflib1.sfpl.org/search~S1?/XNew+Bar+Guide&searchscope=1&SORT=D/XNew+Bar+Guide&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SUBKEY=New Bar Guide/1,19,19,B/frameset&FF=XNew+Bar+Guide&searchscope=1&SORT=D&1,1,
Cataloging there suggests a 1982 date and the correctness of the Thomas Mario name.
A search on Google Books for Playboy's new host & bar book, referenced in the SFPL notes on the 1982 edition, shows only the 1986 edition has been indexed by them. Thus, it may be that first appearance of the Cloister is pre-1982.
DM me or email me @Bibulo.us if you aren't able to confirm or push back pre-82 and I'll pay that copy at SFPL a visit for you.
Well, technically yes it is, but once you try it I think you'll group it with the Old Fashioned. It's got just a bit less intense mood than a Manhattan. Sort of thing a judge would have after work, don't you know? ;)
More about the science of taste & how it impacts cocktails from Darcy O'Neil here:
http://www.artofdrink.com/2008/03/sensory-perception-and-mixology.php
http://www.artofdrink.com/2008/08/sensory-perception-presentation.php
And Rick's notes here
http://www.kaiserpenguin.com/totc-friday-live-blogging-sensory-perception-and-mixology/
Robert, it would be really fun if you'd suggest an "upgrade" for some ingredients, either in the video or in the notes.
We faced a similar challenge in our building your home bar series of posts on bibulo.us and ended up with the same solution: a decent, not-too-pricy recommendation as a starting point.
Oo, oo, bitters show, bitters show!
We love having lots of different ones. They're great for making mocktails (e.g. the delightful lavender/orange concoction Morgan at Nopa just served me).
Dinah from Bibulo.us
We had the pleasure of these two fine gentlemen's company at a gin pairing dinner at Absinthe Brasserie in San Francisco earlier this year, as well as at the SF Beefeater 24 launch. For more quotes from Mr. Payne, see these posts on bibulo.us:
http://www.metagrrrl.com/bibulous/2009/07/bibulous-special-report-plymouth-beefeater-spirited-dinner-at-absinthe.html
http://www.metagrrrl.com/bibulous/2009/06/bibulous-special-report-beefeater-24-san-francisco-launch-party.html
Hear, hear!
And thanks for bringing us in to smell your hands - memory served nicely to fill in the missing scent. Spanking herbs* and zesting citrus over the glass are two things that really make sitting at the bar pleasant; everyone else's drink gets to enhance your evening too.
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4
One upside of going back to the original is the textural change provided by using pineapple gum (or "gomme") syrup.
Jennifer Colliau of Small Hand Foods has you covered:
http://smallhandfoods.com/products.cfm
http://smallhandfoods.com/find-us.cfm
We have some of her grenadine and it is sublime!
(And, by the way, Heaven's Dog in San Francisco not only uses her quality ingredients, their menu is heavily inspired by Charles H. Baker, Jr.)
Latest
Comments
"Like any vermouth, you want to keep it refrigerated." Amen! Thank you for spreading the gospel, Kathy. Happy holidays!
Great example drink for how big a difference the garnish can make. Those orange oils and the change in nose transform this.
It's my belief this is most properly consumed while riding round and round on the rotating Carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. Can't really go wrong with a boozy Andes mint in a glass. :)
See you next May, Tony!
Dave, have you tried the Mackinnon, from Wondrich's Esquire Drinks? That's a fine use for that excess Drambuie. It's been an enormous hit at our parties.
Probably my favorite under-closing-credits murmur yet. :D
Very pleased to be able to get a dose of Morgenthaler on SmallScreen! Looking forward to future shows.
Rhubarb is also a word used in theater, film, and radio to simulate background crowd conversation. Walla is another, hence my Walla Cocktail of a few years back: http://www.bibulo.us/2009/05/walla-cocktail.html Hooray for rhubarb!
(And, Jamie, I'd give you a word nerd high five, but of course nerds don't high five.)
Great ingredient choices here. Absolutely agree on your "if not the Rittenhouse, then what?" list and I'd add Sazerac 6 year rye as your step up to heavenly. If folks like the Manhattan and are somewhere that has a Vieux Carre on their menu, give that a try too.
Enjoying this series very much—but I am a bit baffled why you're torturing home bartenders with professional jiggers instead of using a nice, friendly marked measure like the 2oz OXOs.
Lovely sponsor, and Thank You, Kegworks!, but what keeps me coming back to or recommending a show is what's best for the audience, not what's best for moving product short-term. It's a tough balancing act, definitely. (Kegworks team: how about showing your support for beginners here? Even http://www.kegworks.com/e-z-step-cocktail-jigger-278-p173071?_s_icmp=nextopia would be a big help. That 'eyeballing in a cone' measuring is killin' me!)
This sounds so refreshing! Thanks, Charlotte!
It's wonderful to see someone finally documenting how to do this PROPERLY.
A very enjoyable cocktail. Beautifully balanced. We stumbled on it serendipitously while using for a party invite an old travel poster with the USS Manhattan and USS Washington featured on it and thus asking ourselves "Huh, we know the Manhattan, but is there a Washington cocktail?" This holds up extremely well as a bottled cocktail. You'll be a big hit bringing a bottle of this to a gathering of friends.
Nice! I particularly like how you're now doing more commentary on aroma and taste. By the way, tried the Caprice with the new St. George Dry Rye gin and while it was more drinkable than some of our previous attempts* with that tricky tipple, we're still questing for a cocktail that it really sings in. *http://bibulo.us/2011/10/st-george-gins.html
I find Peychaud's a little sweet with an aftertaste that to me seems artificial somehow. I vastly prefer TBT Creole Bitters. Another couple reasons for having a great variety of bitters is so that you can use them to add complexity to non-alcoholic drinks (for those laden with cars or unborn children) and to make your soda water taste so nice you don't waste calories on soda that you could be spending on cocktails later. ;)
Way to bring it, Chuck!
Interesting stirring setup there. Fun to play with! The gold in the caviar is a lovely effect, but the shaker and the very small beakers don't create caviar of the consistent beautiful roundness you achieved by hand.
Well, a quick Google Books search https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1&q=cloister+chartreuse+grapefruit&aq=f&aqi;=&aql=f&oq;= suggests it was probably Mario Thomas' New Bar Guide from 1983 or is it Mario Thomas and the 1986 Playboy's New Host & Bar Book? As a librarian, I liked that search challenge. As a writer, I bristle at the skipped credit to the author. Simply lovely choice of glass here, Robert. This kind of mood-matching is one of the big payoffs to an eclectic glassware collection. Most of ours have cost less than $2 each and have come from Goodwill and other thrift stores.
Google Books is such a boon for these kind of origin questions! San Francisco Public Library appears to have the earliest one: http://sflib1.sfpl.org/search~S1?/XNew+Bar+Guide&searchscope=1&SORT=D/XNew+Bar+Guide&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SUBKEY=New Bar Guide/1,19,19,B/frameset&FF=XNew+Bar+Guide&searchscope=1&SORT=D&1,1, Cataloging there suggests a 1982 date and the correctness of the Thomas Mario name. A search on Google Books for Playboy's new host & bar book, referenced in the SFPL notes on the 1982 edition, shows only the 1986 edition has been indexed by them. Thus, it may be that first appearance of the Cloister is pre-1982. DM me or email me @Bibulo.us if you aren't able to confirm or push back pre-82 and I'll pay that copy at SFPL a visit for you.
Okay, and I thought I was getting fancy with my Old Fashioned variant, the Judge Walker... (http://bibulo.us/2010/08/judge-walker.html)
Well, technically yes it is, but once you try it I think you'll group it with the Old Fashioned. It's got just a bit less intense mood than a Manhattan. Sort of thing a judge would have after work, don't you know? ;)
Meanwhile, I add chocolate bitters to the shopping list...
More about the science of taste & how it impacts cocktails from Darcy O'Neil here: http://www.artofdrink.com/2008/03/sensory-perception-and-mixology.php http://www.artofdrink.com/2008/08/sensory-perception-presentation.php And Rick's notes here http://www.kaiserpenguin.com/totc-friday-live-blogging-sensory-perception-and-mixology/
Robert, it would be really fun if you'd suggest an "upgrade" for some ingredients, either in the video or in the notes. We faced a similar challenge in our building your home bar series of posts on bibulo.us and ended up with the same solution: a decent, not-too-pricy recommendation as a starting point.
Oo, oo, bitters show, bitters show! We love having lots of different ones. They're great for making mocktails (e.g. the delightful lavender/orange concoction Morgan at Nopa just served me). Dinah from Bibulo.us
We had the pleasure of these two fine gentlemen's company at a gin pairing dinner at Absinthe Brasserie in San Francisco earlier this year, as well as at the SF Beefeater 24 launch. For more quotes from Mr. Payne, see these posts on bibulo.us: http://www.metagrrrl.com/bibulous/2009/07/bibulous-special-report-plymouth-beefeater-spirited-dinner-at-absinthe.html http://www.metagrrrl.com/bibulous/2009/06/bibulous-special-report-beefeater-24-san-francisco-launch-party.html
Hear, hear! And thanks for bringing us in to smell your hands - memory served nicely to fill in the missing scent. Spanking herbs* and zesting citrus over the glass are two things that really make sitting at the bar pleasant; everyone else's drink gets to enhance your evening too. *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4
One upside of going back to the original is the textural change provided by using pineapple gum (or "gomme") syrup. Jennifer Colliau of Small Hand Foods has you covered: http://smallhandfoods.com/products.cfm http://smallhandfoods.com/find-us.cfm We have some of her grenadine and it is sublime! (And, by the way, Heaven's Dog in San Francisco not only uses her quality ingredients, their menu is heavily inspired by Charles H. Baker, Jr.)