Does anyone know where I might be able to obtain fresh sardines outside of the city? Western 'burbs specifically.

Thanks!

Great to know. Thanks! Which location did you go to? Does it matter?

How is their selection of bitters?

Thanks for responding. Have you found the Fine Wine and Good Spirits site to have high shipping costs? I need to take a look see over there. I'm nervous about having anything confiscated.

I was recently in the Bay Area and went to this place after seeing it online:
http://caskstore.com/
They have a phenomenal selection of artisanal/craft liquor and I was able to walk out of there with an amaro I can't find anywhere around Philly. I talked to them about shipping here and they won't do it. But they said they might consider shipping to Jersey, which can be problematic but not as much as here.

I'd love to find a local place to buy interesting spirits. Too bad this area isn't more agreeable to selling a more varied selection of stuff.
I just realized why you might have taken a 9 month hiatus from drinking. If I'm right, congrats on the birth of your baby!

Holy mother! Just saw that the Fine Wine and Good Spirits place is taking on $14 for shipping for 1-3 bottles. Yikes.

Where do you buy your gins? I'm in the western burbs of Philly and it's slim pickins around these parts. I mean, we have Bluecoat (also adore) and Hendricks and the typical old-school British gins, but that's it. Help ME out. ;)

Cask

Store run by women in I guess what is Union Square (I don't live there now -- just a visitor) in San Francisco and has a fantastic selection of booze, bitters, and hard to find amari. If I could slap a futon down and live in this store, I would.

http://caskstore.com/

You know, aside from the obvious ginger, vanilla, thyme, basil sphere. Seasonal would be nice, too. And let's talk about spirits to mix them with.
Ready.
Go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2aVz...

Thought it would be. :)
They have a giant 2 ft bottle of Campari on display in front of their mirrored bar. Although that estimate might be distorted due to my well being at the time.

It was mad crowded, though. I wouldn't want to dine there on a weekend unless I was FAR from the bar.
Please report back if you go there -- or even if you go to other bars. I live vicariously through anyone who likes to drink and has a few days to kill in SF.

This was me. A few nights so I wanted to hit the best places in the city. Aside from the bars, you should also stop at Cask if you want to bring a few bottles home.

http://www.thewilsonbar.com/?caseid=main
(this is a "speakeasy" type of deal -- overlook the cheese factor with the secret code word because they make wonderful cocktails; better than those of the other bars in the same location -- Bourbon and Branch and "the library"

Hideout is supposed to be great -- inside Dalva
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dalva-san-francisco

http://www.yelp.com/biz/beretta-san-francisco
(insanely crowded but the cocktails were some of the best I've ever had -- focus on bitters

http://wohinggeneralstore.com/
(nice cocktails here...we ended our night at this place)

Awesome site, although I wish it updated more often.

Thanks! Yes, we're definitely looking for tips for the NY end. Keep 'em coming!

Hi all,
Looking for interesting lodging, good places to eat, and restaurants/bars that have a good beer list and a bartender who knows how to shake a cocktail. Any suggestions much obliged. :)

Now that sounds like my kind of Manhattan. Same ratio of the Ramazotti as you'd normally do the vermouth?

I stink at conjuring up names but I'm a Negroni lover (my absolute favorite drink and I was just in Negroni heaven in San Francisco last week at a bar that has DRAUGHT negronis) and I have to say that I'm enjoying mine with a lot less sweet vermouth than I had been doing before (1:1:1). It beefs up the gin and campari and gets rid of the vermouth-y aftertaste, IMO.

That's a terrific idea. I might play around with other citrus bitters, too.

I'm doing something similar. 2:1 Beefeater and Lillet with several good dashes of Fee Bros. grapefruit bitters. Very yummy, although it's making me pine for summer.

Korean place definitely looked amazing. What was that drink she served them last?

I also enjoyed the banter with Bourdain and Danny Bowein.
Anyone want to take bets on when Bowein gets his own show?

Same....it's been a while for me, too, which is why it's fertile ground.

The Tiki Bar he went to looked awesome, but I'd probably wind up having the hangover from hell if I spent an hour or three there.

I know you and I have similar interests so I'm glad you responded to this.

I had been thinking Absinthe or Bar Agricole -- not sure Smuggler's Cove would be ideal since I'm not a huge rum fan. I like it, ok, but not love.
Have you been to any of these?

I'm heading there in umpteen days but won't be there for long. Trying to figure out what's a must do. I'll be with friends who live there so I'm sure they'll help guide, too.

Saw it.
Surprised AB didn't spend much time at Cosentino's establishments...just a gloss-over.

Is Comstock's worth it or are there much better classic cocktail bars to consider?

What about mixing it with Ramazzotti? Ramazzotti has a similar birchy/rooty vibe to me.

People around these parts have been known to use it for adult milkshakes/root beer floats.

"like" for saving purposes

Heading to a party with drinkers on NYE and rather than standing behind the bar all night, I thought I'd make a punch and let everyone have at it. Applejack first came to mind because it's affordable and seems like the perfect base spirit that most anyone would find enjoyable.

I was thinking some sort of riff on a Jack Rose would be nice, but what other ideas might there be? Here's what I currently have in terms of mixers/additions:

variety of juices
homemade grenadine
homemade cranberry star anise cordial
homemade candied ginger syrup
Angosturas
Fee's (the regular)
Bittermen's Xocolatl Mole
Regan's No. 6

Just so I don't get ideas using Drams and fancy orange shrubbs, I'm in the land of a Liquor Control Board so we're up against store shelves with slim pickins'.

I've been wanting to go, but it's tricky -- it would require taking a train since I'd undoubtedly be unable to drive home safely.

Are you close by?

This from the book The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook by James Green

Grand Marnier Domestique
250 ml primo-quality brandy
1 sumptuous organic orange
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 wide mouth 1/2 gallon clear glass jar with a metal lid (make four holes in the lid so that string can pass through them)
Some string
4 wooden toothpicks

Basically, he suspends the orange with the toothpicks and string from the lid of the jar over the sugars/brandy mixture. The sugar/brandy mixture is not to be jostled too much or mixed together before closing the lid. This is to be undisturbed for 10 days, except for a careful rotation of the jar once a day (marnier magic, he calls it). The vaporous menstruum will rise and condense the orange peel. As it clings to the peel, it will extract the orange's volatile oils and drip back into the pool of sweet brandy below, being one of the most subtly dramatic herbal extractions you will ever witness.

On day 11, remove the orange and stir any undissolved sugar.
Sip.
Sip some more.

He also suggests trying modifications, like plugging some cloves into the orange before suspending the orange.

I plan on trying this method and will report back. :)

$55 here. ;)
The problem I have is finding a local bar that has it so I can taste and see if a bottle would be something I'd go back to frequently or if it would gather dust in the cabinet.

Thanks for the tip about Fante's. I've been wondering where I could locally source swing top bottles!
Off to google coquito...

OT, but can you share some of your kids drink recipes?