Last night I went to prepare my monthly batch of orgeat.  Till I discovered I was out of Marcona almonds and organic Turkish apricot kernels.  How could this have happened?   Tonight's libation was a Knickerbocker:  @Splificator's recipe.  Raspberry gum from @feste's Small Hand Foods.  And for the rum @Ed Hamilton's Zombie Blend.  Not a mai tai by any means, but tasty and the job gets done.   ..read more

I'm thinking I may buy a bottle of this (yes, I can source it in China) to have with my Irish Coffee over the upcoming holiday and as a farewell tribute to the late Shane MacGowan.   Anyone tried it? Have any comments?         ..read more

Id appreciate some input on the Lagavulin ' progression ' :   Im not a Whisky connoisseur .   but Ive come to enjoy two versions , over the last few years :     and      Ive found for my taste these two are very complementary .   once a few years ago in a rush , I grabbed this one :     probably semi-seduced by the price , thinking this was a Sale    the packaging was very similar    Ill add in my defense.   I found it significantly less interesting than the Rum cask .   Ive also found that in my area ( why ..read more

I've used garnished rim salts but not necessary that brand. although the ones I used where from a cocktail garnish company that mainly did dehydrated fruit as garnish but they had a specialty section where on occasions would come out with rim salts. the ones I bought was jalapeño lime and blueberry sugar rim. both were good but I was impressed more by the lime one. I think I might just go to my local spice store and look for that dried lime bag of yours ..read more

I can't believe I couldn't find a Drinks thread since 2018.  It's now well into 2023!  Anyhow it had been at least a couple years since I'd had a proper zombie.  Last week Amazon/Whole Foods proffered white grapefruit and I knew the time had come.  Sadly what were sent were ruby grapefruit, as the PLU code clearly indicated.  Of course amazon being amazon I didn't have to pay.  But I still had grapefruit to use up.   I pressed* ahead.  I made up a batch of Don's mix, refreshed my supply of Small Hand Foods grenadine and purchased a new bottle of falernum ..read more

I do now have two bottles of Whisky   base on    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2701582/   and @Duvel 's assistance.   Watching    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1489428/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1   and that'd bourbon country.  it all tastes like bubble gum to me   there was a bottle of Pappy something or other    a season or two back.  got some Oooo's etc on th show.   now this :     crafty casting.  I bet the bottle here   is somehow important    anyone recognize it ?   don't know how to search b ..read more

My sons birthday is next month and he has invited his lowrider car club.  I came across this Spanish wine cocktail/cooler/punch.  I think it sounds good for an August BBQ party. Has anyone tried it or have opinions?  Ingredients: 750 ml bottle young & fruity red wine 750 ml lemon flavored soda or orange soda or lemonade and club soda 1 slice lemon 1 slice orange 200 ml sweet vermouth, optional Stir just to combine.  Serve over ice.   It says a Spanish garnacha or pinot noir are good choices.  I couldn't find that Spanish wine.  I wonder if a Spanish tempr ..read more

I have three small measuring glasses that I found in antique stores.  The smallest one may be little smaller than a shot glass and the other two are not a lot bigger. Each measures have 4 teaspoons equal 1 Tablespoon.  Does anyone know if a teaspoon size at some time in the past changed from  4 to 3  or are/do these measurements have some other application?   ..read more

I want to learn about shrubs. I am drinking a lovely beverage made from the following: 2 oz Appleton V/X 1 oz pineapple shrub* 1 oz lime Shake; strain over fresh rocks in a highball glass while adding a bit (2 oz?) of soda. It's tart, refreshing, and I want to make many, many more of them. The pineapple shrub consists of a combination of piloncillo and banana vinegar from Rancho Gordo, some crushed pineapple and pineapple juice, and the leftovers from a session making noodles from a pineapple core. I had to adjust it so I don't have an exact recipe yet, but this is a very promising addition to ..read more

I've been playing around with black limes for a while and I'm curious if anyone else has used this ingredient in cocktails. I'm talking about this stuff: Available whole in various sizes and colors, ground or powdered, they're all very aromatic, tart, a little bitter and a bit funky.  I believe they are most commonly used to flavor Middle Eastern stews and other long cooking dishes although cookbook authors like Ottolenghi and Nik Sharma have been incorporating it in everything from compound butters to focaccia to ice cream.  It was Nik Sharma's blueberry and black lime ice cream fr ..read more