Joe Riley

As interesting as it is as a cocktail component, the Cocchi is really just wonderful on it's own, served chilled. It's completely delicious served with some club soda on the rocks with your choice of citrus garnish. Very refreshing! It also has the virtue of being relatively inexpensive (i.e., under $20/bottle) In fact, it's less expensive than Lillet. I think that I'll have to keep a bottle in my fridge all spring and summer, so it's ready to go at all times

Probably more than you ever wanted to know, but..... The Vesper 3 measures of Gordon's gin 1 measure of vodka ½ measure of Kina Lillet Shake until ice cold and serve in a deep champagne goblet with a large thin slice of lemon peel This cocktail was supposedly concocted by Bond in Casino Royale and named after the heroine. In fact it was a cocktail invented by Fleming and his friend Ivar Bryce. Kingsley Amis, in The Book of Bond, claimed that Fleming had made an error in his recipe because the quinine in Kina Lillet would make the drink too bitter and it should be made with “Lillet vermouth” instead. Probably Amis was referring to Lillet Dry, but what is certainly true is that Bond was a little out of touch – by the time Casino Royale was written the original drink was known simply as Lillet. Unfortunately it is impossible to test Amis’ theory today; in 1986 the recipe was changed and the quinine content decreased to reduce bitterness. The result is a fruitier drink with a pronounced orange flavor.

Just picked these up: Urban Moonshine bitters They certainly look intriguing to me

Our long national nightmare is over - the Cocchi is here!

Better try Virginia. The wholesaler for Maryland and D.C. isn't carrying the Kosher version, I called them. Too bad.

I know I'm guilty of mispronouncing some of these, that's for sure: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2010/02/43_most_mispron.php

Excerpted from the Brasserie Beck press release: I've had this on draught at Brasserie Beck and I loved it. Definitely made the decision to carry it in the store a no-brainer. Kudos to Robert Wiedmaier and to Thor for bringing this beer to market. Label here:

Funny you should say that. Not to take this thread off into a macabre direction, but I wouldn't mind checking out at a baseball game on a pleasant summer night. Goodness knows, my beloved Nationals have nearly given me heart-attacks on enough occasions.

Bell's 9000 is now available. Über-limited, too. Slightly less-expensive than the Hop-Slam. Brewed with Molasses and brewers licorice.

True. I hear that their rent got jacked through the ceiling, necessitating them bugging-out of there. Not so easy to move a liquor license in D.C. though, especially a class "A" (spirits) license. I wouldn't expect them to re-open in new digs anytime really soon. They will have beaucoup des hoops to jump through to make that happen.

LMGDAO. Dave, you only give me a 40% chance of expiring at The Passenger? Heck, I'm COUNTING on it! The real question is, would anybody actually notice?

D.C. did, however, completely trounce Boston, which came in at #100: America's 100 drunkest cities Heck, I know that I'm doing MY part. I blame the economy. With a little bit of work, we could crack the top 10 easily.

Zounds and gadzooks! Even better!

If there's a more elegant cocktail that works especially well in warm weather than the French 75, then I'd like to try it: 2 oz. London dry gin 1 teaspoon superfine sugar 1/2 ounce lemon juice 5 oz. Brut Champagne Shake well with cracked ice in a chilled cocktail shaker, then strain into a Collins glass half-full of cracked ice and top off with champagne. Try it on your Mimosa-bored friends, I'm sure that they'd enjoy it. Alternately, you can pay homage to our local heritage by making a Rickey cocktail. The rules for the Rickey are extremely loose, so that makes it applicable to more situations. You basically need three ingredients: 1) a base of Bourbon, Rye, or Gin. 2) A lime component. 3) A sparkling component. The Passenger's Tom Brown once made me a Rickey using Boodles Gin, lime juice, and Prosecco. It was outstanding. Owen Thomson created a Key Lime Rickey using Rye, fresh key lime juice, and coconut water passed through his CO2 charger for the sparkling component. (He also had coriander tincture and Peychaud Bitters in it as well, but you get the idea)

That's the best bargain in D.C., then. Hooray for Proof! I've had it on draught in two bars in town. One charged $10/glass, another $8/glass. By contrast, the Cowboy Cafe on Lee Highway in Arlington charges $6/glass (I'm assuming that these are all similar servings, i.e., pint glasses) Our price at Ace is $19.99/6-pack. Considering that some customers actually bought an entire case of it, and it is highly allocated, I don't think that our price is out of line. If stores in Atlanta were charging $13.99, then they either A) are selling it at a loss, or B ) Their wholesaler took a smaller margin than ours has.

How about the snow bar that Owen Thomson and Gina did at PS7?

Shoemakers. (No, I'm not THAT old, but I sure as hell miss the idea behind Shoemakers. Who knows how long it would have lasted had the Volstead Act not killed all of the joy.) I miss the OLD Old Ebbitt.

Oui, oui, Ma'amselle As much as you like.

A woman in the leasing office of my apartment building told me this week that her husband has been out of work for a while, and he was employed as a dishwasher at a large hotel restaurant (she didn't tell me which one). If anyone is looking for a dishwasher, please feel free to PM me the details, and I'll pass it along to her. It might help if the details are written in Spanish, but she can certainly translate english for him if necessary (I'm not 100% certain that it IS necessary, though).

I remember that article about Allen's so well that I had a customer who summers in Maine obtain some for me, in the 1.75L size, naturally That was such a lurid story, and I've shown it to people who couldn't believe that what I was telling them about it was true. The "Champagne of Maine!" Nothing else I can think of that is a regional favorite, though I do hear that brandy, such as Christian Brothers Brandy in particular, is immensely popular in Minnesota.

Ha! That's a cute story, Barbara "Fooses" - I love it. Yeah, Seagram's owned them in the 70's, and the only product you could readily buy was the blended whiskey, which was probably very similar to Seagram's "7 Crown" (i.e. a grain neutral spirit with a little whiskey added for color and flavor). Kirin quite literally "saved" Four Roses, and really put them on their feet. Now they stand tall with their Bourbon bretheren - Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Sazerac, Wild Turkey, Brown-Forman, et. al. I've been to Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky but, alas, I've not yet taken the tour (there wasn't time when I visited). I hope to get back there this year and correct this oversight, and perhaps visit their Cox's Creek facility (an hour away from the distillery) as well.

Best primer I've ever read on the Hurricane is from Chuck Taggart's site The Gumbo Pages. He says that the Pat O'Brien's Hurricane mix packets are like Kool-Aid powder, though. I do like your recipe, NolaCaine, because you include 151 rum, and I'm all about mixing rums these days . Your recipe is also a nice, big drink, which saves time in having to make more Laissez les bon-temps roulez, y'all

It must be noted that bartender Alex is a whirling dervish of drink mixing when the hoards descent upon the place around 9:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. She's a wonder. Alex also made a cocktail from an idea that I had and she realized it's full potential, and I will go so far as to say it just may rival my namesake cocktail for sheer deliciousness. I call it the "Navy Cross", and it consists of: Cruzan Blackstrap Navy Tradition Rum Smith & Cross Navy Strength Rum John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram Lime juice Pineapple juice. shaken and served on the rocks. After two of these, you will have the courage to take on Somali pirates singlehandedly. I named it Navy Cross because it is a "cross" of two Navy rums, plus it has the Smith and CROSS (get it?). The famous bartender, Don the Beachcomber, used to blend rums, which was my inspiration, and I added lime juice, but my imagination ended there. Alex added the Velvet Falernum, the Allspice Dram and the pineapple juice. Bingo! My father won the Navy Cross in World War II, so he was my inspiration behind it. I'd like to think that he would approve. It is REALLY good! A fantastic tiki drink. Ask Alex to make it for you

I'm not touching that particular turd, but I would like to say this. If anyone declines to go to PS7 for personal reasons based upon hearsay which has nothing to do with the food, then they are doing themselves a disservice. The food at PS7 is outstanding, and Gina's cocktails alone are worth a visit. Blend the two together and you have every reason to go and go often Yes, I consider chef/owner Peter Smith a friend, as I do bar manager Gina Chersevani, but their professional abilities have earned my trust and patronage. Their friendship is a happy bonus for me. Peter's fried chicken is the ONLY fried chicken that I have ever dreamt about, lusted over, and had perverse cravings for. I cannot explain it, I simply and gratefully accept it. Oh, and there will be a kickoff reception for the Washington International Wine and Food Festival this Thursday, February 11th at PS7, with Chef/owner Peter Smith AND Equinox restaurant's Chef/owner Todd Gray: Festival Kick-Off Reception Location: PS7's Restaurant Date: Thursday, February 11th Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Tickets: $50 Co-Hosted by two of DC's favorite chefs Todd Gray (Equinox) & Peter Smith (PS7s), this Festival opener offers guests the chance to enjoy delicious bites and sip some regional Festival wines. Both chefs will be on hand to share their expertise on food and wine pairings. For $50, this may be THE culinary bargain of the new year thus far.

Four Roses Bourbons have never "officially" been available in the Washington, D.C. market until this past week, and finally EVERY significant Bourbon producer is now represented here in the nation's capital. Ever since the Kirin Brewing Company bought Four Roses from Seagram's approximately 20 years ago, the national expansion of Four Roses has been glacially-slow. Seagram's sold the Four Roses Bourbons overseas and in Kentucky. It has long been the best-selling Bourbon in Japan, hence the interest by Kirin, the company which essentially "saved" Four Roses and has been slowly restoring it's reputation here in the U.S.A. ever since. Fans nationwide give credit to longtime Master Distiller Jim Rutledge, who convinced the Kirin folks to allow the Bourbons to be sold in the U.S.A. again (as they once had been) and to discontinue the "not very good" Four Roses Blended Whiskey, a Seagram's "7 Crown"-like product. There are three bottlings which are available all the time (in the U.S.A. market): 80-proof "yellow label" - their flagship product, around $17.49/bottle 90-proof "small batch", around $28.99 100-pf "single barrel", around $37.49 a bottling which has been called the "best Bourbon under $50/bottle" In addition, Four Roses can release two specialty bottlings, one in the summer and one in the fall. The fall bottling is "Mariage", a higher-proof blend of Bourbons. The single adjective which most accurately describes Four Roses is: Mellow. They have no sharp edges, very easy drinking, and they work perfectly well in any cocktail which calls for Bourbon. Unique among Bourbon distillers, Four Roses uses five different mashbills and two different proprietary yeasts, which creates ten different recipes and they distill each one and then do some judicious and interesting blending. If you consider yourself a Bourbon drinker and you haven't tried Four Roses, then your frame of reference for great Bourbon is incomplete and I urge you to try at least one, if not all three. Both Bourbon bars in D.C. have them, so you can certainly go by there and give them a try if you prefer not to buy a bottle first. Everything that you need to know about Four Roses may be found here: Four Roses (Jake Parrott: Please feel free to correct me if I've mis-spoken ) In some of their old magazine ads, their slogan was, "Wouldn't you rather be drinking Four Roses?" My answer is, "Why, yes. Yes I would." 1955 Four Roses ad: "It's Four Roses time in Washington"