I made a Rob Roy with Dalwhinnie Doublewood (and Luxardo Cherries), and now am sipping on some Jura that some friends gave me as a birthday present. Happy Burns Night!
Cheers!
Do folks here crack and separate an egg for sours? I’m making a bunch of bourbon sours this weekend and it would be much simpler to buy some liquid egg whites (or powdered if I can find them) and I assume they’ll work just the same.
Thoughts or alternatives?
Cracking the eggs and separating the whites in front of your guests is great theatre. And that theatre adds to the experience and therefore the taste, which we know is hugely influenced by psychological factors. It does of course mean extra work for you, which you may or may not see as a chore.
I love the texture created using an egg white. Using pasteurized egg whites is a “safer” way (we have hens and I use raw eggs without a second thought).
You’ll get a lot of great responses (many already). I’m not an expert, but I’m surprised how many educated, fairly together men come to my house for poker, a party etc., and when I ask them what they want, they say “What are you having?” A lot of guys just aren’t all that plugged in.
So, I’d start stocking the bar with the basics, and more importantly, with that you like to drink. I think there is a likelihood that you’ve have a lot of alcohol that you’ll never use if you’re not careful.
We had friends over a few months back and I asked I asked them what they’d like to drink. The woman said she’d like the wine my gf was drinking. The guy, thinking he’d be smart, asked for a Manhattan.
So, I brought his wife her wine, then I went back into the kitchen. One of my gf’s aunties drank Manhattans, and my gf would have one occasionally to toast her aunt. The guy thought I was stumped, but a few minutes later I came back with a perfect Manhattan. As I handed it over I asked him if a Luxardo cherry was okay. He was impressed.
I’ve ordered some Nick & Nora glasses.
I’ve been adding more liqueurs. The latest addition was Blue Curacao; we’re headed towards tropical drink season.
I replenished the Benedictine liqueur recently (haven’t used any yet), and picked up a bottle of Luxardo cherry liqueur at the same time. My wife wants Hemingway daiquiris: Double the rum, grapefruit juice, and maraschino cherry liqueur. The Benedictine is for Vieux Carrés. 
Years ago an old girlfriend introduced me to Bloody Marys made with Clamato Juice. They have a much better flavor than just tomato juice. The only way to make them now. Southern Comfort with a dash of Angostura bitters makes a great Manhattan. For vodka I really like Chopin. it’s expensive but being made with potatoes makes it sooo smooth.
Isn’t that a Caesar?
It’s a war crime is what it is.
I just looked up a Caesars and yes you are correct. Guess she fooled me by calling it a Bloody Mary. Wasn’t the only way.
Was she Canadian? They’re very sneaky.
The glasses arrived today. I was confused by the listing because it showed two glasses, but it said ‘Number of Items: 1’. (I didn’t notice higher up where it said ‘Included Components: 2 glasses’.) So I bought two. Good thing, too. I received two boxes containing two glasses each. One glass was loose in one of the boxes, and it hit the other glass during shipping and cracked. Very fragile glasses! Amazon is supposedly giving me a refund by way of a gift card, but I haven’t received an email stating such (even though the said it had been sent), and they said I don’t need to return the damaged item. So we’ll have a spare glass. I hate to think we’ll need a spare.
I had a Paper Plane at dinner last night, so now I want to get a bottle of Amaro. That was a Nonino, I believe. I doubt I’ll have more than one, so any recommendations for a general purpose Amaro?
Nonino is great and to my mind kind of its own thing. But that said, a good substitute would be Averna, which if I recall correctly is also significantly cheaper. I use Averna in a Black Manhattan, where it replaces the vermouth.
I think I made something paper plane-like with Amaro Montenegro. They’re all different, but Nonino, Montenegro, and Averna will usually still give you something tasty if swapped.
I may just go with the one that has the coolest looking bottle. 