I have over a dozen bitters, commercial and a few home made. I like using 2 types in cocktails i am using bitters in. Even my martinis have peychauds and orange bitters.
Bittermans makes an orange citrate bitter that i use in most brown cocktails i make. Not a lot of orange flavor but the citrate rounds and smooths bourbons and ryes.
They also make a chocolate bitters that is great as a second bitters as well
Thanks. Bulleit is 95% rye as well.
If you don’t have this book, you should get a copy: Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas: Parsons, Brad Thomas, Anderson, Ed: 9781580083591: Amazon.com: Books. My wife got a copy because she likes to do home distilling, fermenting, brewing, etc.,
Not a fan of Bulleit for non-product reasons. But I am a big fan of the redemption, the Bulleit less so.
what are your favorite simple snacks with cocktails beer and wine ?
i like home microwave roasted nuts. usually start w raw cashews.
had a chicken skin crostini (i’m going with that)
olives for sure. i like the big green ones with pits. and plenty of stuffed olives.
apple slices
blue cheese
little bits of meat like leftover steak slices
ruffles, cape cod, zapps, cheetos
what about u
A Boulevardier–essentially, a Negroni but with bourbon instead of gin.
Barrel aged bourbon Manhattans. Recently refilled my 5L barrel with Old Grand Dad 114 and Antica vermouth. Manhattans on tap are a wonderful thing, yet dangerous
what kind of barrel do you use ?
i’ve had mixed results drinking these - one spot i like does a barrel aged old fashioned and it’s so smooth and nice. I’ve also had stuff like that where it is way way too woody for my taste.
sounds like a fun project and yes danger zone
A 5L barrel that I’ve had for near 8 yrs or so. If you get a barrel hydrate the barrel with water and do many water changes. The barrels are prone to leak until the wood hydrates and swells. It took longer than I anticipated to seal but it did seal.
Then fill with some cheap spirit of your choice. I was using Old Grand Dad 114 as my first spirit fill along with Antica vermouth. Which it is currently filled with. The OGD is a bit more expensive today but the Antica is quite a bit more expensive than the whiskey but is one of my favorite vermouths
cool, thanks!
so, keep changing water and let it sit a few daye until it comes out clear?
Just be patient
Got this recipe from the Punch website. I made it half strength.
Al Sotack’s Brainstorm
2 oz. Irish whiskey
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. Benedictine
Combine all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass, then stir to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Express a lemon twist over the drink, then discard the peel.
After reading about the growing popularity of “ranch water”, I decided to try it using one of the umpteen recipes out there. It’s basically a margarita highball. The key ingredient is Topo Chico mineral water, which fortunately for me is easily obtainable at my local Grocery Outlet. All of the other ingredients can be tinkered with.
Ranch Water
1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila
1 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
Topo Chico water
Mix the tequila, lime juice, and orange liqueur together in a Collins or highball glass. Add ice, then top up with Topo Chico.
With martinis I love jalapeño potato chips, peppered hard salami, or crostini. With whiskey I go for smoked goat cheese Gouda called Chevre Lait, seriously. Lately we have also enjoyed both fermented garlic hummus and fermented beet hummus.
delish. crostini are great.
how can you afford chevre lait?
im with you on the jalapeno chips!
never tried fermented hummus…interesting!
Parche, a new upscale Colombian restaurant in Oakland, offers 3 variations on the G&T: a gin G&T made with grape gin, vermut and tonic, and pisco and tonic. I had the 3rd one last night. Not too strong, with pomegranate seeds, a lemon slice, an orange wedge, and what I think was a kumquat in the cocktail, along with a huge ice cube that had the restaurant’s logo etched into it.
It’s safe here, right? I can confess? Well, I’ve had a strange craving for… grape soda. As God is my witness, I haven’t had one since I was a kid. In summer camp. We used to pull the cork seals out of the caps and the rearrange the cork and cap so they’d stay on our camp shirts like a campaign button. The brand of soda was local, and sadly no longer exists, so I was in uncharted territory. But I knew I wanted a glass bottle, and I wanted sugar, not HFCS.
So, there I was, in a little local grocery/caterer, and in the cold case was an assortment of singles. I searched, and found a Boylan’s grape. Took it home, put it in the fridge along with a wine glass, and tested my patience.
So, I popped the cap and poured. No guzzling from the bottle! And I was transported back in time lol. It was a fun sip. I restoppered the bottle with one of those lever stoppers for my anticipated nightcap.
Which now brings me to my next experiment - how to carbonate Manischewitz 
Yes, I know not to use my Sodastream - I’ve seen the pictures.
