opinionated alchemist

Eggnog by the New York Times - 1958 recipe Eggnogg is another winter favorite - besides of mulled wine . However it is more an American favorite. This said, Europeans usually now advocaat a traditional Belgium/Dutch liqueur made from eggs, which is also pretty popular in all other European countries, especially in the winter. But lets face it: a properly made eggnog is so much better than advocaat. There are a myriad of recipes floating around the world wide web - and if it comes to traditional eggnog, I would emphasize on Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe of a foolproof, super-easy and delicious nog. When I researched a bit after a recipe [for Skylite ] I came across a recipe in the New York Times from 1997. They revived a recipe which was published in 1958 - of a rather edible eggnog. I think this is pretty cool. Boozy dessert - is better than a dessert drink [for me at least]. This post is just to give you the heads up... I will try this - however incorporate modern me...

There is an interesting article   [follow the link] I found in the New York Times. An top-class panel of bar-personalities discussed, bad historic drinks. So far, so good. I never believed, that all heirloom drinks are great. However what let me dig deeper, was the choices the panelist did. Dale deGroff chose to doubt the Aviation - he thought, that it taste like soap - even if it is including violet liqueur, it even taste more like soap. Now - I made quite a lot of Aviations; it is a finicky cocktail. But prepared appropriately it is a very interesting drink. However it has to be cold enough - hence you have to shake it really well. Mr Frizell further talked down the Brooklyn. And well - I am more or less on the same wagon- it combines straight rye whiskey with amaro [amer picon to be precise], dry vermouth and maraschino. It seems to me, that it was a substitute for an occasion, when a bartender ran out of sweet vermouth [for a Manhattan]. While there is no need to m...

There are few mixed drinks, which I really appreciate as top notch - and even fewer in the category of highballs and long drinks. The El Diablo might be invented in the 1940's but the exact history remains unclear. There was actually a panel who discussed this drink for the New York Times . There the El Diablo didn't fared well with the taste of the panelists. Personally I have came across this drink more than a decade ago. And as soon as I tasted it, it became one of my favorite tequila drinks. Maybe poor products and poor measures can put this drink off - but produced properly, there is a lot of magic, which is created, when the sum is greater than the parts. El Diablo [the devil] 5 cl   100% agave tequila [blanco or reposado] 1.5 cl fresh lime 1.5 cl Crème de Cassis 12 cl  Ginger Ale Squeeze the lime juice into the ice cube filled highball glass. Add tequila and ginger ale. Float with crème de cassis and stir briefly. This is a very simple recipe. But fo...