It’s incredible. Yes, still on the high side of what I think is generally reasonable to use in a cocktail (the $40 rule abides). But I will say that my first bottle was about $60, probably 5-6 years ago, and unlike a lot of other mid-premium whiskeys, it has only inched up in price since. (Annoyingly, with Drizly dead, it’s somewhat more difficult to do quick price comps for the DC area, but Astor currently lists it at $70.)
I have a bottle of mezcal but haven’t found a use case that gives me something I really enjoy (and that’s after trying a handful of different drinks), but I am intrigued by the idea of using it as a rinse.
I’m thinking 4:1 Famous Grouse:Vana Tallinn with the mezcal rinse.
The 4:1 Famous Grouse:Vana Tallinn with mezcal rinse turned out quite tasty. Maybe needs a bigger lemon twist than what I used, but I’ll make this again. And I think rinse is a good use case for mezcal for me; it gives the flavor without being overpowering.
Needed to replenish my Ardbeg and went with Laphroaig so I could make this cocktail to spec, and it didn't disappoint. A perfect choice for St Patrick's Day!!
Soooooo back to apple brandy, mezcal, and maraschino lol.
I played around with it as a last word variation with equal parts apple brandy, mezcal, maraschino, and lemon. Not bad, but was too acidic and the apple brandy got lost. So tinkered with that towards more of a traditional sour structure with 1.5 apple brandy, .5 mezcal, .5 maraschino, .25 simple, .5 lemon. That worked reasonably well enough, although a high # of ingredients. I'm using vida for the mezcal, a local distillery, Watershed, for the brandy (only downside is it's 80 proof).
Towards the drinks from the newsletter, a spec that worked was 1.5 apple brandy, .5 mezcal, heaping barpoon of maraschino, heaping barspoon of rich simple. Half an ounce of maraschino just seems like so much to me! I love the liqueur, but I find it takes drinks over more so than benedictine or st. germaine. Smoky apple brandy old fashioned with a touch of nutty, cherry sweetness.
I think I said this last time it came up, but Redbreast is imo one of those bottles that’s absolutely worth the splurge.
It’s incredible. Yes, still on the high side of what I think is generally reasonable to use in a cocktail (the $40 rule abides). But I will say that my first bottle was about $60, probably 5-6 years ago, and unlike a lot of other mid-premium whiskeys, it has only inched up in price since. (Annoyingly, with Drizly dead, it’s somewhat more difficult to do quick price comps for the DC area, but Astor currently lists it at $70.)
I have a bottle of mezcal but haven’t found a use case that gives me something I really enjoy (and that’s after trying a handful of different drinks), but I am intrigued by the idea of using it as a rinse.
I’m thinking 4:1 Famous Grouse:Vana Tallinn with the mezcal rinse.
Oh fun! It is surprisingly excellent as a rinse, and using it that way shows how it mimics some of the properties of peaty/smoky Scotch.
The 4:1 Famous Grouse:Vana Tallinn with mezcal rinse turned out quite tasty. Maybe needs a bigger lemon twist than what I used, but I’ll make this again. And I think rinse is a good use case for mezcal for me; it gives the flavor without being overpowering.
Needed to replenish my Ardbeg and went with Laphroaig so I could make this cocktail to spec, and it didn't disappoint. A perfect choice for St Patrick's Day!!
Thank you, Peter!!
I live to serve. Glad you enjoyed.
Ardbeg was my gateway to Scotch, around 2009-2011 or so. Probably my favorite solo sipper.
But Laphroaig is more versatile and more useful in cocktails. (Also, still quite delicious as a neat sip.)
Can't wait to try the Cooper Union!
That's nice.
Phil Ward rarely misses.
Soooooo back to apple brandy, mezcal, and maraschino lol.
I played around with it as a last word variation with equal parts apple brandy, mezcal, maraschino, and lemon. Not bad, but was too acidic and the apple brandy got lost. So tinkered with that towards more of a traditional sour structure with 1.5 apple brandy, .5 mezcal, .5 maraschino, .25 simple, .5 lemon. That worked reasonably well enough, although a high # of ingredients. I'm using vida for the mezcal, a local distillery, Watershed, for the brandy (only downside is it's 80 proof).
Towards the drinks from the newsletter, a spec that worked was 1.5 apple brandy, .5 mezcal, heaping barpoon of maraschino, heaping barspoon of rich simple. Half an ounce of maraschino just seems like so much to me! I love the liqueur, but I find it takes drinks over more so than benedictine or st. germaine. Smoky apple brandy old fashioned with a touch of nutty, cherry sweetness.