Vintage Liqueurs?

[Andrew]

I strongly recommend this article:

The cocktail is a lovely simple thing: a mixture of spirits and flavorings that whets the appetite, pleases the eye, and stimulates the mind. It is one of our conspicuous contributions to cultured living, up there with the Great American Songbook and the tuxedo. Yet, like almost everything else to do with culture in this country, the cocktail fell on hard times in the 1960s. A generation preferred other intoxicants and, when they drank, took their alcohol in sickly sweet concoctions that defied any idea of sophistication. As time passed, the places one could order a decent cocktail grew farther in between. By the 1990s, few establishments outside of the fustiest hotels could produce a passable Martini or Manhattan. Fewer still a Negroni, a Jack Rose, or a Sazerac.

Some of it is the ignorance of the folks behind the bar, who not only have a limited mastery of the ratios that make such cocktails refreshing but also fail to measure--every drink should be meted out accurately with jiggers and spoons. It is a profession after all dominated by disabused actors and women comfortable in brief attire. But it is just as much the lack of audience. For a Negroni, your sweet vermouth and your Campari must be fresh, used and replaced regularly. For a Jack Rose, you not only need bottled-in-bond applejack or high-grade Calvados, but also real grenadine, which at this point you must make yourself as the product sold domestically has no pomegranates in it. And a Sazerac?

To make the signature drink of New Orleans, you need not only good rye and an absinthe substitute, but a bottle of Antoine Amedie Peychaud's anise-dominated bitters. You need, in other words, fresh ingredients, a fair amount of knowledge, and practiced skills.

H/T @Maddow

[bewitched]

Ebay

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by bewitched

Ebay

Thanks Whitney!

I saw these, but am I really going to pop one of these open and drink it? Besides, $20+ for a mini bottle?

I'm convinced I can find it, just going to take some patience!

[lashbear]

Originally Posted by Andrew

I strongly recommend this article:


H/T @Maddow

Thank you for that article, Andrew !!

I remember the Two Fat Ladies adhering strictly to the:
One of Sour
Two of Sweet
Three of Strong and
Four of weak

formula when concocting their Rum Punch for Christmas.

You've also inspired me to run out and buy the ingredients to make:
Whiskey sour
Rusty Nail
Sidecar

All of which Stoat and I love.

Once I've finished making dinner I will allow us to have an indulgence.

Oh, and to make sure I'm still on topic, I didn't see any Fiore D'Alpe or similar when up at our Dan Murphys (the booze chain with the largest choice in Australia)

[Snowflake]

Well, so far I've come up empty handed. As NA pointed out, and several liquor stores have confirmed, this appears not to be exported to America any longer. That said, a friend of a friend of mine does, in fact, have a bottle of the stuff (they acquired it in the Virgin Islands) and declare it to be delightful.

I've sent out feelers to a couple of people I know who do travel to Italy with some regularity. Not losing hope, yet.

Who knows, perhaps BtD comes through in a pinch!

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

Who knows, perhaps BtD comes through in a pinch!

My mom said she'd stop by the Liquor Commission and see if they have it and how much it is. She is there until the end of August so I'm not sure exactly when she'll go, but she'll go.