BillB656's Profile
Orange Sky at Talking Stick - Has anyone been?
Yes, the view is amazing and the food is decent. Only been there once for an overnighter. Had drinks in the lounge (also an amazing view) and then dinner. There was nothing wrong with our meal but nothing really memorable either.
best green chile in town?
Had a very good green chile stew recently at New Mexican Grill in Chandler (Queen Creek and Glibert Rd). This is a 2nd outpost with original at Lindsey and Pecos in Gilbert. Comes with fry bread (bonus!).
Can't find a website but here is the MXSW announcement.
http://mouthbysouthwest.com/2012/03/07/opening-today-new-mexican-grill-in-chandler/
Best 100 bottle wine cooler
When I was in an apartment this was in our dining room (now it's in a laundry room) and wasn't intrusive. It gives off the hum of a refrigerator with minimal heat.
Best 100 bottle wine cooler
I have this "75 bottle" cooler as my back up to a La Cache.
http://www.beveragefactory.com/refrigerators/wine/dwc612blp.shtml
Have had it for about 8 years with no issues. The shelving is adjustable which is very beneficial for odd sized bottles. I use it mostly to store 375s and bottles up in the drink-soon queue. Shelving is pretty deep too so I can usually push the bottles back and lay 2-3 bottles in front of each of the top to middle rows. Bottom two rows arent as deep as the compressor is in the back bottom.
Currently I have 99 bottles in it (according to CellarTracker) with 25 of those as 375s.
What are your favorite new gins?
sign,
So about 6 drops out of of a Peychaud or Angostura bottle is about a dash. So I'd assume with this recipe that the creater is slowly tipping the bitters bottle and slow counting drops instead of a hard shake dash.
With medicine droppers the number is typically higher. I measure 10-12 drops per dash for the droppers I use.
Sazerac Cocktail Recipe [moved from New Orleans]
Paul Gustings at Tujague's is quite a bartender. He made me the best Ramos Gin Fizz I've ever had.
Standardisation in bottle sizes and shapes?
Exactly. There were a good dozen bottles of riesling (mostly Wirshing and Juliusspital) with a couple of bottles of silvaner and scheurebe tossed in for those that wanted fruit. ;-)
Standardisation in bottle sizes and shapes?
Hard to believe the but the 02 Huet reserve petillant is a broader bottle than the thickest of Turley's.
The "Oodles of Bocksbeutels" Franken tasting we did might have caused the majority of my tooth enamel to be wiped clean.
Sweet Vermouth
Thanks! It's been about 6 months since I bought the Vya at Tempe Marketplace so they might have discontinued. Bummer.
Cowgirl Creamery Cheese
I bought Mt Tam (Cowgirl) at Whole Foods Chandler less than 2 weeks ago. I sure hope they didn't discontinue for good. Maybe try Wedge and Bottle? They had Mt Tam and St Pat recently.
Sweet Vermouth
Dapuma, BevMo carries Vya, at least the one over at Tempe Marketplace does.
Where do you find Dolin? I got so frustrated trying to source it that I ended up mail ordering.
Downtown Phoenix for 5 nights....food/drink recs
+1 on The Breadfruit. We love that place.
Sweet Vermouth
I'm with Dan in the minority finding Carpano Antica just too overpowering with vanilla for a cocktail.
My current faves are Dolin and Cocchi Torino. Vya is very good but pricey in PHX (compared to Dolin). I use MR when I want to have more control in tailoring the herbal/bitter character with bitters or infusions.
Also agree with JMF on trading out an amaro for sweet vermouth. I like using Ramazotti, montenegro or Fernet with rye/bourbon variations.
New to vermouth and wanting to pick up a dry and a sweet....which of these brands?
Good call. Suggest getting a MR dry as well so you can taste side by side with the NP and see what you like best.
Has anyone tried Hum Liqueur? Do you like CARDAMOM?
Love Adam Seger's Hum. The last drink I made with it was Hum, Aperol, Dolin blanc, OJ, and our AZBL Orange Sunshine bitters (called it the Oscar Humpty for Oscars night)
I've also made a few of the drinks on the humspirits.com website including the Humgroni (Hum, gin, maraschino) and the Reinvented Saz.
Pairing Cocktails and Cheese
Port is a natural pairing with bleu so why not a port-based cocktail like a Let's Slide or a Sangaree.
Or you could make a Manhattan variation using Port instead of sweet vermouth.
Dolin Blanc
I love Dolin blanc as a clear sweet vermouth that isn't as aggressive as many rouge sweet counterparts. Last night I made a drink of 1800 Reposado, quarter lime, some Dolin blanc, some agave, couple dashes of our Hopi tea bitters and a dash of our mole bitters.
I agree with you that it's too sweet for a proper martini (IMO).
I also use it in a Manhattan when I want to create the herbal profile through select bitters.
Which orange bitters best in a martini?
Joe Fee's latest gin-barrel aged orange bitters is also quite good.
best rye for manhattan
Overholt is tough to beat on cost. Rittenhouse 100 is also one I like alot. For a bourbon with high rye mash bill I like Four Roses. Agree with davis_sq_pro in that I favor the 3:1 ratio over 2:1.
Somewhat on topic is the vermouth that you pair with it. For me, Carpano Antico Formula has too much vanilla. I know it's the go-to vermouth in many bars these days, but I'd rather use Dolin rouge or Cocchi Torino.
Zephyr recirculating under cabinet hoods
I got a Zephyr about 4 years ago and love how it performs, even with my inevitable kitchen pyrotechnics. 8-)
Riedel syrah glasses... What wines?
The balloon is our default for many things, particularly nebbiolo, gamay, older traditional rioja, and Jura whites or somewhat oxidized whites (like Lopez de Heredia).
We have vinum syrah stems but they rarely get used...occasionally pulled out for the older hermitage/st joseph. For younger syrah, I'll use a bdx glass (because they are slightly easier to clean than the deeper syrah bowl).
We drink nearly all of our bubbly (mostly pinot heavy) out of a Montrachet type glass.
As others have said, it really comes down what works best for you...no magic here. 8-)
Progression of preferred drinks/flavors throughout your life?
Italian jug wine with orange soda with my Papa >
less orange soda each year until age 14 when we could have pure wine with dinner >
high school Seagrams 7 with Michelob >
Rolling Rock mini cans >
College Budweiser cans back when the specific brewery was on the label >
Better beer >
gets a real job...Home brew / craft beer >
Super Tuscan wine >
Australian shiraz and other gloopy pointy things (thinks "cost equals quality") >
Mudslides and Black Russians (purchase Kahlua by the case) >
Demi-sec bubbly >
Meets a group of Boston internet wine geeks...
More "authentic" red wines ("real", "natty", choose your modifier)
gin and tonic >
gin martini >
German riesling > sweeter side of chenin > dry riesling/chenin >
Brut bubbly>
acid /mineral driven white wine >
Scotch (Macallan to start > > > Lagavulin, Laphroaig)
(purchases Dale DeGroff Craft of the Cocktail book...c 2003)
A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view....
proper Nick and Nora martini >
vermouth from the cabinet >
bourbon based cocktails >
Cocktails often replace wine during dinner at restaurants >
vermouth from the refrigerator >
buy lots of different bitters >
make bitters >
mostly stirred cocktails, lots of brown spirits and gin...lots and lots of different styles of gin, lots of experimenting....
Cocktails with ginger syrup
Ginger simple syrup in a PImm's Cup is a beautiful thing too.
Italian Wine 101 for French Wine Lover?
What about ruche, brachetto, grignolino, freisa? All have wonderful examples of reasonably priced, beautiful wines.
Pls review my Scottsdale rest choices-what am I missing?
That was Shel Bourdon that won the AZ Cocktail Week Last Bartender Standing competition. Glad you liked it!
Pls review my Scottsdale rest choices-what am I missing?
Kaz Bar is ok for drinks but your best bets in that area IMO are Casablanca, CPH, and Rancho Pinot (which is also highly recommended for dinner).
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Rancho Pinot Grill
6208 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ
Citizen Public House
7111 E. 5th Avenue, Suite E, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
The Casablanca Lounge
7134 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
12 bottle case
Heh, I live in the desert and sit under palm trees in the backyard with a martini quite often. ;-)
12 bottle case
I'm assuming unlimited refills but that wasn't really defined! Ya, you are right, a case just wouldn't do it. 8-)
The scotch was the one that I was thinking would get the most alone time. Everything else was for blending for the most part (with the occasional neat sipper) so I went for labels that fit the cocktail first, even though it was overkill in some cases.
I'd be interested on your choice of gin for robustness. I just love the versatility of Plymouth for many cocktails and Hendricks for a 3:1 to 5:1 martini depending on mood. That said, I'd love to have added Bols Genever and something like Death's Door or Aviation. Had to draw the line somewhere.
As I mentioned in Hoke's article, rum isn't my fave but I really see how it would fit the island theme.
What are your favorite online wine websites? Where do you shop?
I can thank the following for riches of the cellar and an empty wallet...
Selection Massale
Crush
Chambers St
Rare Wine Co
Woodland Hills Wine Co
