Cocktail Recipes Tonight

[joethefoodie]

9 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

But to expect people to have that range of stuff at home is asinine.

Yet, some of us...

Finding some of those bottles  (ahem, creme de cacao) in the stash would be the difficult part.

[Sneakeater]

[Delete] [misread]

[joethefoodie]

17 minutes ago, Sneakeater said:

I’m not talking about having Créme de Cocoa.  I’m talking about having 20 brands each of dark, white, amber, and aged rum, from all the different producing countries.  

I can't find those either! (Which is okay, cuz I'm not a big rum drinker).

[Sneakeater]

Yeah I misread your post.  

[plattetude]

On 1/8/2023 at 7:02 AM, joethefoodie said:

Yet, some of us...

Finding some of those bottles  (ahem, creme de cacao) in the stash would be the difficult part.

I don't see it as requirements so much as information. Obviously, use what you've got that's in the ballpark, and different home bars are gonna have different levels of options. But I'd prefer to know that, as an example, Antica was used rather than Dolin Rouge.

The recipe Stephanie posted didn't call for a specific creme de cacao, so while it listed the rye and the vermouth and the orange bitters (and the Benedictine which, you know, is the only Benedictine), I've found that different creme de cacaos can be wildly divergent. 

All of which is to say, I'd rather know more than less. But I'll always adapt to my own tastes (and available bottles) anyway.

[StephanieL]

It actually did call for a specific creme de cacao, but I couldn't remember its name.  (I copied the recipe down from a book in a museum gift shop.)

[voyager]

1 minute ago, StephanieL said:

 (I copied the recipe down from a book in a museum gift shop.)

A girl after my own heart.    Now with iphone, a snap is even easier than pencil and paper.

[Sneakeater]

5 hours ago, plattetude said:

I don't see it as requirements so much as information. Obviously, use what you've got that's in the ballpark, and different home bars are gonna have different levels of options. But I'd prefer to know that, as an example, Antica was used rather than Dolin Rouge.

The recipe Stephanie posted didn't call for a specific creme de cacao, so while it listed the rye and the vermouth and the orange bitters (and the Benedictine which, you know, is the only Benedictine), I've found that different creme de cacaos can be wildly divergent. 

All of which is to say, I'd rather know more than less. But I'll always adapt to my own tastes (and available bottles) anyway.

I just feel that in the outreach department, it gives people the way wrong idea.

Most people (unlike you and me) (and @joethefoodie) have like ONE Gin, ONE Bourbon, MAYBE ONE Rye, ONE light Rum, ONE dark RUM (or maybe just ONE Rum), ONE Tequila (not even ONE Plata, ONE Reposado, and ONE Ańejo), and . . . you get the point.

I think that kind of specificity just gives them the impression that they CAN'T make decent cocktails at home, and that decent cocktails aren't something they should bother to try making.

[Sneakeater]

I'd also add that people like you and me know what a particular label is like, so when we see it specified it conveys information to us as you say.

But if a recipe-writer were really concerned about conveying that information to non-specialists, they would describe the desired characteristics rather than assuming a reader will be able to infer them from the label specified.

[plattetude]

34 minutes ago, Sneakeater said:

I just feel that in the outreach department, it gives people the way wrong idea.

Most people (unlike you and me) have like ONE Gin, ONE Bourbon, MAYBE ONE Rye, ONE light Rum, ONE dark RUM (or maybe just ONE Rum), ONE Tequila (not even ONE Plata, Reposado, and Ańejo), and . . . you get the point.

I think that kind of specificity just gives them the impression that they CAN'T make decent cocktails at home, and that decent cocktails aren't something they should bother to try making.

I guess. Though, you know, if you care enough to find the recipe and try it, try it with whatever. If you have a limited home bar, maybe you wouldn't necessarily read between the lines that it has to be the specified bottle of a given spirit. Maybe you make what you make, you like it or not, you move on.

Or you make it and start to wonder, "hey, I didn't like that, but I used Stock vermouth and not Antica, so maybe I should try that other vermouth..." Maybe it can be a door and not a wall? 

Not that I don't see your point. Totally do. But it seems like it can go both ways, no?

 

[Sneakeater]

But see my follow-up post.

[plattetude]

17 minutes ago, Sneakeater said:

But see my follow-up post.

Yup. Don't disagree that the best recipe would try to elucidate and not obscure. We take what we can get.

[small h]

I would be very happy to see suggested substitutions, as most food recipes include.

[Sneakeater]

Right right right.  And there (almost) never are.

[voyager]

IMHO, a lot of the "your gotta use xyz" is a bunch of hype.    Sure, you can't make a silk purse out of a gunny sack, but there's a lot leeway in between.   Again, in my world, you spend the time, money and cupboard space on product that really has an imprint.