plattetude

It's a bit soundscape-y, but it also has a meditative and, for me, compelling vibe. Not quite 3rd stream but leans hard in that direction. Definitely worth a listen.

(Maybe it was a Trockenbeerenauslese and he thought it would be cool to truncate it to "Auslese". Because, you know, those are just silly made up words anyway and wouldn't possibly describe the wine, right?)

In ‘97-98, yeah, it was hard to find Luxardo or Maraska.

My favorite use of black strap (after a Jungle Bird) is an Imperial Buck -- 2 oz Cruzan Black Strap 1/2 oz lime 3/4 oz sweetened ginger juice* 1 oz pineapple juice seltzer Shake all but seltzer with ice, strain onto fresh ice, top with seltzer. Alternative to the ginger juice, a nice spicy ginger beer, and omit the seltzer. May need a little simple syrup to balance. * Combine equal parts (by volume) rough chopped ginger, sugar, and water; puree in blender and strain through cheesecloth/chinois

Ha. Well I suppose I should say “gateway to serious cocktails”.

Aviation was my gateway cocktail, first sipped in the late 90s at Grange Hall courtesy of Del Pedro. I spent the better part of six months trying to find maraschino liqueur. And wound up with Stock for all that effort. Ahh, the early days.

Visited Philly a couple weeks ago with wife and kids -- Good King Tavern just off South St is a charming, low key bistro that's better than you'd expect. Worth a detour if you're in Center City, I'd say. And as good as the food was, the bar was admirably (and quirkily) stocked. Would've been fun to hang at the bar and play with options. The best find, though, was Okee Dokey Donuts, which does fresh GF donuts daily. (Both my boys have Celiac, so having that kind of treat is aMAZing. Because while we've made donuts at home from time to time, it's such a freaking pain.)

I would do a spirit-forward Jungle Bird, a la The Jungle Bird's Jungle Bird. Punch.com has a handful of suggestions too.

But sure, if you make 47 of them, you'd have 47 Monkey 47 Monkey Glands. Which could be the house drink of the Department of Redundancy Department.

Yes. I did get that part of it. But it also has the benefit of being particularly well-suited for this cocktail. BUT SO IS TEQUILA!

Because it's really good with tequila! Phil Ward told me so! And I don't always have a bottle of Monkey 47 handy (but yeah, it's amazing stuff).

Have you tried a Monkey Gland with tequila (which I know isn't technically a Monkey Gland at that point, but it doesn't have its own name)? I think it feels way more integrated than a Monkey Gland, which I feel is super sensitive to what gin you use.

Yeah, curacao is all over the map, even within the purported style. For me, Pierre Ferrand Curacao has become my standard for everything calling for curacao/triple sec. Feels more balanced and integrates well into all directions of cocktails, from Pegu Club to Margarita to Mai Tai to Fancy Free. Grand Marnier feels too heavy for cocktails, and Cointreau, well, I dunno, I've come to feel like PF Curacao just feels *right.* I will say outright that Gran Gala is far sweeter than every other premium orange liqueur I've ever had. All that said, definitely feels like it's worthy of a side

Bad news/good news: on trying to score a reservation for Franklin Mortgage for this weekend, got an email response that they've closed their current location. But they intend to reopen in a larger space in the fall. Meanwhile though, I'm wondering what's the best bet to have some decent drinks this weekend. Hop Sing hasn't reopened, and I'm at a loss otherwise. Anyone have any sense of the scene these days? *Is* there a decent cocktail scene there these days?

Not surprising, but, yes, to echo a theme... sigh.