G&T

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 18, 2011 -> 11:11 PM) Because natural fruit juice is not sweet enough by itself for syrup. No I mean why would citrus be added? Generally it is a preservative for fruit but if it is being frozen it shouldn't be needed, right?

The interwebs steered me wrong. I did 1 cup syrup to 2 cups pulp based on a NYT article that said it was adapted from Remixed. So I will just dilute with syrup. Unfortunately I don't have coruba here, so I used VX but in those ratios. The drink wasn't that bad and was actually refreshing, but it's not the drink I'm looking for.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 18, 2011 -> 10:22 PM) Natural fruit and fruit pulp tends to be preserved with sour-tasting things like lemon juice or citric acid. You might want to make a small amount of sugar syrup to add to it. Like 1/3 cup. It's frozen so would would another preservative be needed?

I mixed up a hurricane and my impression is that it is far more tart than the only other Hurricane I've ever had (at Bryant's in Milwaukee). However, this is more lemon forward than anything else. That doesn't make it bad, but I understand why so many recipes call for grenadine. I would consider adding .5 oz of turbinado syrup to this next time. Of course, it could be that my passion fruit syrup is too tart to begin with.

So after a week long search, I have tracked down Goya passion fruit pulp and whipped up some syrup. I think I went too heavy on the passion fruit. I didn't know for sure the recipe so I made 1:1 syrup and added 2 cups pulp. It certainly tastes good but it might be a bit tart for a drink. I can always cut it with some extra syrup. I will let y'all know the results.

Ahhhh....Hawk is on the Score and mentioned Catfish within 45 seconds. It's that time of year and it feels good.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Feb 16, 2011 -> 08:51 PM) Just noticed that my coffee creamer expired January 5. I can no longer respect expiration dates, as I've suffered no ill effects. This is a big deal in my home. My wife freaks about expirations and I dont care. If it doesn't smell or look funky it's fine.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 14, 2011 -> 07:03 PM) VERY NICE drink selection. We'll be having a bottle of Rosa Regale for dessert along with our tiramisu, so that will be a 180 from the nicely bitter Negroni. That's the way to class it up. Casablanca is on TCM tonight. Is it bad that I'm the one excited about that?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 14, 2011 -> 06:40 PM) With the kids, we invariably have our Valentine's dinner at home. Waiting on Carabba's takeout and enjoying a decent negroni, even though they insist on serving it on the rocks rather than strained up. I'm watching just how badly they butcher the Mai tai the guy next to me just ordered. I always have Valentines at home. Just cooked up some strips with blue cheese. For beverage, champagne cocktails. 1 sugar cube, 2 dashes of bitters and fill with champagne. These things are awesome.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 09:41 PM) My wife knows about it but manages to forget it without consequence. But if I did that for Valentine's Day there would be hell to pay. Totally unfair. I will celebrate on your behalf. I hope.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 09:02 PM) If you haven't had Dogfish Head's Burton Baton yet, make sure to seek that out. A blend of old ale and double IPA, will give you the old ale character with more tan a little hop hit. Great, great dang beer. An up side to having bought a fresh coconut to macerate the pulp for the rum infusion is that I now have fresh coconut water to mix with. I've waxed on here before about the simple beauty of Ron del Barrilito 2 star PR rum and coconut water, but usually I just make due with the canned stuff. Tonight it is Bacardi 8 (the ONLY Bacardi product that I really think is exceptional) and fresh coconut water, with just a touch of simple syrup to sweeten. What a wonderful, simple, purist rum drink. The rum flavors shine through nicely but the coconut water balances so well and makes for a nice long drink. I have read that gold PR rum and coconut water is a traditional drink enjoyed by wizened old men playing dominoes in the hot Puerto Rican sun. man, those guys know a good drink when they taste one. My guess is those old men could drink my ass under several tables. I might have to give it a shot even if coconut isn't my favorite flavor...unless there is a pile of sugar involved. Capping off the night with a Dark Horse Too milk stout. Not as good as Left Hand milk stout, but it's good nevertheless.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 08:11 PM) Is Arctic Panzer Wolf a one-off or a annual brew? I wish we got Three Floyds here. Having taken my beer break yesterday, I'm back in Rumland, trying my hand at infusing my own fresh coconut rum for the first time. Tired of the artificial taste of every single commercial coconut rum out there. I'll let you know how it turns out in two weeks when it's ready. That's a cool experiment I never thought about. Panzer Wolf is annual to the best of my knowledge. Chicago is the only major city that gets 3 Floyds which is really a shame. Of course, I think they over hop everything, but they have driven me to the hop side over the last month. I had a Founders Old Curmudgeon a couple nights ago and didn't like it. I used to love Old Ales but now I find them one note without that hop hit. I will be craving Belgians soon.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 08:29 PM) I'm pretty sure that the second link is all passion fruit. At the very least those are new resources I never thought about and can probably order it. So Thank you for that.

I don't know if any if those will work. I I think I need 100% passion fruit. Meanwhile I took a night away from the cocktails opting for an Arctic Panzer Wolf from 3 Floyds. Palate blasting hops. I'm starting to run low on my Christmas supply. I need to gather a list for a trip to Table and Vine.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 12:48 PM) http://productlocator.infores.com/productl...searchradius=40 Try those places. What is that wonderful website?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 08:45 AM) People who have tried To reduce sweetened passionfruit nectar to syrup usually report poor results. Better to make it fro frozen Goya passionfruit pulp with added sugar, or to just use the nectar but dibble the amount every time syrup is called for. What is the Japanese recipe you are using? So far, that is the one cocktail where a thinner and less flavorful commercial orgeat works better than homemade for me. the Trinidad sour is another where commercial orgeat works well, but lately i have been using homemade but at half the recipe amount. My attempt to find passion fruit anything failed. The closest are Goya cocktail which has the decency to contain passion fruit. Welches is actually pineapple and orange juice. So I will have to try a specialty store. The Japanese cocktail recipe I think is: 2 tbls of orgeat to 2 oz of brandy. I would look it up but that would require getting off the couch.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 07:01 PM) Thanks! He just had it stuffed! Uh....I dont know if it's stuffed, but it's definitely wet.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 11, 2011 -> 10:47 PM) watching The Big Lebowski and knocking back a couple of White Russians is the battle plan fior the evening. I used to drink Blind Russians (Baileys instead of milk) and White Russians in college. Lots of blank spots. I love White Russians.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 11, 2011 -> 10:40 PM) when did you get a copy of Grog Log?! red tide sings with homemade grenadine, thigh i think it's a little more balanced with an extra ounce of Appletons. At soonest convenience. Mix up the QB Cooler one par back from the Red Tide. then try the brilliant Port of Call Rum Barrel on p. 71. My favorite tiki drink for a log time after I first tried it, but I cut the passionfruit liqueur back a bit and use Passoa instead of Alize. I also prefer Cruzan 151 kver Bacardi for that one. I got it for my bday along with tiki mugs, swizzles, and a copy of Vintage Cocktails Revisited. Pretty awesome. I definitely used a homemade grenadine with Pom and turbinado. Really good stuff. I even put it on waffles once. Thanks for the suggestions! I assume I can just make a passion fruit syrup from the Goya passion fruit nectar? I would follow the recipe on tiki central. Looks like a fun time for nerds...like me. I whipped up a Waikikean using my homemade orgeat over the Trader Tiki (let's face it, mine is better). Super delicious. I might even up the orgeat. I love orgeat in the mai tai and the waikikean, but I can't stand the Japanese Cocktail. Maybe it's a brandy problem...

My dad rarely ate meat because he is Hindu so I grew up loving Indian food. If Americans knew that spices can make food taste good they would eat more vegetables. Indian food in yum tastic. At the very least, it would help cut down the amount of meat we consume. I love meat, but seriously meat should not be cheaper than vegetables.

Red Tide from the Grog Log. Oh yeah...

My wife's company laid off a bunch of people yesterday. Thankfully she wasn't among them, but it looks like we might be searching for new digs soon. I want to move south but taking another bar exam sounds awful.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 10, 2011 -> 08:02 PM) If you were going trying to make a point on a relatively small matter, would it be about the "principal of the matter," or the "principle of the matter"? I'm thinking the first makes the most sense, but then I think about it again and it doesn't. I feel like a dog chasing my tail, finally catch it, and then realize it's my tail and that it wasn't what I thought it was. Principal is a person Principle is a thing So principle of the matter.

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 10, 2011 -> 07:41 PM) Last Thursday, I went to the gas station to fill up and got a cheap car wash just to get the salt off. Car Wash was an addition $5. After filling up, I drove around to the wash and it was closed down temporarily. No biggie, my recipt said I had a week to use it. So every day I drove by it and it was still blocked off. Today was my last chance to use it so when I went it was still blocked off. I took my receipt inside and was calm and just asked if I could put the $5 towards gas or some soda or whatever and I was told I could not do that. I explained that I bought the wash a week ago and it expires today and the guy said I purchased the car wash at my own risk and there was nothing I could do. I even said there was no sign saying that but he didn't budge. I didn't make a big deal out of it, it is only $5 but still. WTF That's bulls***. Closing down the car wash is a great business move for them.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Feb 10, 2011 -> 04:09 PM) Yeah Jaime you and your husband are genuine hypocrites. Vick SHOULD HAVE walked away after being ambushed by that "reporter" with the pics. What is he supposed to do, stand there and argue with him? Okay I understand that he and his wife has a problem with what Vick did. But to wish that Vick gets hurt on the field? Buehrle and his wife should know better. They are very fortunate that Mark has never suffered a severe injury. Damn I really hate that this came out. I like Mark Buehrle a LOT less after today. I'm almost at the point where I wish he would f*** off and take the next thing smoking to St. Louis and the Cardinals. Hopefully this will die down, but as of right now - f*** Mark Buehrle. Wow. That's a drastic over-reaction.