plattetude

Tonight, realizing I had some egg white in the fridge and an open bottle of red wine... a New York Sour.

Yeah, I had a couple of not-too-fantastic experiences in the dining room, but the few times I sat at the bar were superb. But really, I was drawn to the cocktail book on the strength of some amazing Leo Robitschek creations I've stumbled on over the past couple years.

Courtesy of my new cocktail tome, THE NOMAD COCKTAIL BOOK, a sublime manhattan riff 1903 1 oz Ferrand 1840 Cognac 1 oz Laird's Bonded Applejack 3/4 oz Cocchi Americano 3/4 oz Cocchi Torino 2 dashes Scrappy's Grapefruit bitters

Some unused egg white in the fridge, so thoughts turned to... Pisco Sour 2 oz pisco 1 oz lemon (I went with a lemon/lime split) 1 oz simple egg white Dry shake; shake with ice; strain into coupe. Dot foam with Angostura. When I shared a pic of it with my Peruvian colleague, she insisted she'd get me some *good* pisco next time she goes home. This is me arguing.

Busting out some autumnal options these days. Warday's 1 oz gin (Beefeater) 3/4 oz applejack (Lairds Bonded) 1 oz sweet vermouth (Cocchi Torino) 1/4 oz green Chartreuse Stir, strain into chilled coupe. Lemon peel garnish. So so good.

I know, "really, another Negroni variation?" Yes, really. Kingston Negroni, Joaquim Simo's brainchild Equal parts Smith+Cross, Campari, and sweet vermouth. This stuff all just marries together beautifully. Good grief. (I subbed Forthave Red, which is an exceptional Campari substitute, a little softer and fruitier and really freaking delicious, with Cocchi Torino, my standard sweet vermouth.)

Continuing the Negroni theme... The Jitney by Leo Robitschek 3/4 oz mezcal 3/4 oz Campari 1/2 oz coffee-infused dry vermouth 1/2 oz blanc vermouth 2 dashes absinthe Grapefruit twist Can a cocktail be both subtle and assertive? Delicate and in your face? Why yes, yes it can. N.B. For the infused vermouth, crack a handful of coffee beans and steep in whatever volume of dry vermouth you want to devote to this. (I did 4 beans in about 3 oz.) Let sit for an hour or so, strain, and refrigerate. The original specs call for Cinzano vermouths, but I used Dolin. Based

Continuing the Negroni theme through the week (it's good to have a guiding hand for a change in what to mix): Negroni Tredici (Toby Maloney) 2 oz gin (original spec calls for Tanq) 1 oz Punt e Mes 1/4 oz Campari 1/4 oz Cynar orange bitters You'd think given how little Campari is here that this would skew less bitter than it does. But yeah, It's got plenty of bitter going on.

Because both inspire one to drink? And used to be colored by beetles?

Negroni Week!

When I heard this last week, I cued up a bunch of Keith Jarrett Trio albums. Indispensible stuff.

Ah, *BUT*... equal parts applejack, dry vermouth, and sweet vermouth (and a couple dashes of Peychauds) gives you a Perfect Parallel. And that’s most definitely recommended.

You are correct. The typical bitter component for a White Negroni is Suze. You could do Salers if you can find that. But I’m guessing if you can find Salers, you can find Suze. I’ve seen recipes that call for Cocchi Americano, but that’s way dialed back on the bitterness front, so not so much for my tastes

I haven't had it in my home bar for a while, but a few ways I've enjoyed it: Ephemeral -- 2 oz Old Tom, 1 oz Dolin blanc, barspoon St. Germain, celery bitters, grapefruit peel garnish Elder Fashioned - 2 oz gin (I like better with genever), 1/2 oz St Germain, orange bitters Elder Pal (my own thing that I cooked up when St. Germain was EVERYWHERE) - 1 1/2 oz rye, 3/4 oz Campari, 1/2 oz St Germain

Tough to... source? To drink? To mix? To comprehend?