• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

The Cocktail Thread

knittieguy

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2005
Messages
1,592
Reaction score
530
One old classy cocktail I make for my wife is the Jack Rose. It's made with Applejack (an apple whiskey), grenadine and lemon juice (sour mix). Too sweet for me, but it is interesting.
 

graphix

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
dmax, anything written by drinkboy (robert hess) is definatly worth reading or trying. He is a truly passionate bartender. I would also recommend either The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan (try his orange bitters also) or The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale DeGroff.

I was lucky enough to have the head bartender for southern wines and spirits make me a sidecar with Martell XO and Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire. A little over the top as each of those ingredients could have been slowly sipped on their own...but wow was it delicious.

as for your sidecar dmax i bet a touch of fee brothers peach bitters or the orange would be nice. And something you might like, that i consider a sidecar variation is Laird's Applejack/Poire William/Lemon with the similar proportions to however you make your sidecar. mmm so good.

Huntsman let me know what you head to NY i have the current number for Milk and Honey if you are interested. Sounds like you know your way around the the spirits pretty well....it really is a shame how poor most (99%) bars are these days as far as quality cocktails go. I blame it on our tipping culture...if bartenders who were skilled were paid fair wages compared to people who sling highballs all night it wouldn't be this bad. Every bartender out there is trying to do as much volume as they possible can be cause they know thats where the big $$$ comes from. I watch all the time as guys who wouldn't know Bud Light from Crystal tip based on how much cleavage the bartender is showing.
 

sygyzy

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Messages
1,502
Reaction score
13
2083614422_fd59a7d9c6.jpg


Gin and tonic gelee topped with lime slice and mixture of powdered sugar, baking soda and citric acid.
 

FLMountainMan

White Hispanic
Joined
Aug 18, 2006
Messages
13,558
Reaction score
2,080
Originally Posted by sygyzy
2083614422_fd59a7d9c6.jpg


Gin and tonic gelee topped with lime slice and mixture of powdered sugar, baking soda and citric acid.


I didn't know Marcel drank....
 

chorse123

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Nov 5, 2004
Messages
10,427
Reaction score
80
Originally Posted by Dmax
I have been using Patron Citronge, fresh lemon juice and whichever cognac, armagnac or brandy is around for my Sidecars.

do you like the citronge? I bought a bottle but don't think it's as good as cointreau.
 

aybojs

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
947
Reaction score
2
Originally Posted by graphix
dmax, anything written by drinkboy (robert hess) is definatly worth reading or trying. He is a truly passionate bartender. I would also recommend either The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan (try his orange bitters also) or The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale DeGroff.

I was lucky enough to have the head bartender for southern wines and spirits make me a sidecar with Martell XO and Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire. A little over the top as each of those ingredients could have been slowly sipped on their own...but wow was it delicious.

as for your sidecar dmax i bet a touch of fee brothers peach bitters or the orange would be nice. And something you might like, that i consider a sidecar variation is Laird's Applejack/Poire William/Lemon with the similar proportions to however you make your sidecar. mmm so good.

Huntsman let me know what you head to NY i have the current number for Milk and Honey if you are interested. Sounds like you know your way around the the spirits pretty well....it really is a shame how poor most (99%) bars are these days as far as quality cocktails go. I blame it on our tipping culture...if bartenders who were skilled were paid fair wages compared to people who sling highballs all night it wouldn't be this bad. Every bartender out there is trying to do as much volume as they possible can be cause they know thats where the big $$$ comes from. I watch all the time as guys who wouldn't know Bud Light from Crystal tip based on how much cleavage the bartender is showing.



Drinkboy actually has never worked as a bartender. Funny thing that a lot of people don't get is that mixology and bartending are two completely different things. You can be a great mixologist and not know **** about how to bartend or vice versa. A lot of the e-gullet crowd has never actually worked in the industry and just does the armchair quarterback thing without any actual experience; so you get a lot of types who will go to a neighborhood dive bar and ***** and moan about the bartender not being able to make a drink that nobody's ever ordered from him in his 3 years there, and that no non-speciality bar would have the ingredients for (e.g. I remember some poster getting into a hissy fit about not being able to get a "last word" at some neighborhood bar, too bad I've never seen any bar that stocks the ingredients for it).

As for the tipping culture, it's actually one of the best things going for the bartending scene in the U.S. I only am able to make a living as a bartender because of it, and every time I hear someone talk about a "fair wage" (read: what your average retail clerk makes), I cringe at the thought of someone thinking I'd be happier taking a substantial paycut (and that's what it would be, maybe 2-3 times over) just so a few people who don't get tipping can sleep better at night.
 

Augusto86

Sean Penn's Mexican love child
Joined
Oct 4, 2004
Messages
6,627
Reaction score
0
Originally Posted by aybojs
Drinkboy actually has never worked as a bartender. Funny thing that a lot of people don't get is that mixology and bartending are two completely different things. You can be a great mixologist and not know **** about how to bartend or vice versa. A lot of the e-gullet crowd has never actually worked in the industry and just does the armchair quarterback thing without any actual experience; so you get a lot of types who will go to a neighborhood dive bar and ***** and moan about the bartender not being able to make a drink that nobody's ever ordered from him in his 3 years there, and that no non-speciality bar would have the ingredients for (e.g. I remember some poster getting into a hissy fit about not being able to get a "last word" at some neighborhood bar, too bad I've never seen any bar that stocks the ingredients for it).

As for the tipping culture, it's actually one of the best things going for the bartending scene in the U.S. I only am able to make a living as a bartender because of it, and every time I hear someone talk about a "fair wage" (read: what your average retail clerk makes), I cringe at the thought of someone thinking I'd be happier taking a substantial paycut (and that's what it would be, maybe 2-3 times over) just so a few people who don't get tipping can sleep better at night.


So you bartend? I really like making drinks for people - at parties, I've become the de facto bartender. Also, I have Starbucks experience slinging drinks and handling orders at high speed. I'd like to try my hand at it after I graduate.

Question is: are those "Bartending Schools" or "Licenses" worth it? I sort of feel like they are a scam. But if you don't start there, how do you? Restaurants? Luck? Barbacking?
 

Piobaire

Not left of center?
Joined
Dec 5, 2006
Messages
81,723
Reaction score
63,071
Originally Posted by FLMountainMan
I didn't know Marcel drank....

crackup[1].gif


To the thought of bartending vs. "mixologists" (I just love that term), yeah, bartending is fast action stuff. You need your mis all set up and god help someone that ***** with it. It's all about speed and consistency and you need to not get rattled over small stuff.
 

Kent Wang

Affiliate Vendor
Affiliate Vendor
Dubiously Honored
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
5,841
Reaction score
1,492
Originally Posted by aybojs
A lot of the e-gullet crowd has never actually worked in the industry and just does the armchair quarterback thing without any actual experience; so you get a lot of types who will go to a neighborhood dive bar and ***** and moan about the bartender not being able to make a drink that nobody's ever ordered from him in his 3 years there, and that no non-speciality bar would have the ingredients for (e.g. I remember some poster getting into a hissy fit about not being able to get a "last word" at some neighborhood bar, too bad I've never seen any bar that stocks the ingredients for it).
Sounds like amateurs misusing information they learned on the internet, like people going to Neiman Marcus and expecting them to carry all the brands they read about here.
 

Tsintaosaurus

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
254
Reaction score
0
i moonlight in an industry where two employees of completely differently fields compete for the same title - both djs and bartenders want to be known as master mixologists.

i even recently tried to register for a mixology.com domain name, but apparently it's already taken by a bunch of bartenders.
 

knittieguy

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2005
Messages
1,592
Reaction score
530
Originally Posted by LabelKing
What is a nice cognac cocktail?

I have a full bottle of Hennessy X.O. cognac and I don't like it.


Stinger
 

Huntsman

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Messages
7,888
Reaction score
1,002
Happy to see all the love for the Sidecar. It's my sentimental favorite. Had one for Repeal Day. Link-wise, I also enjoy www.artofdrink.com ~ Huntsman
 

Huntsman

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Messages
7,888
Reaction score
1,002
Originally Posted by LabelKing
What is a nice cognac cocktail?

I have a full bottle of Hennessy X.O. cognac and I don't like it.


Give it away. Only thing for it.
 

Huntsman

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Messages
7,888
Reaction score
1,002
The Fine Living channel has a show on Saturdays, at 11:00pm called Great Cocktails that is actually a pretty decent exposition of the cocktail. They emphasize fresh ingrediants and quality spirits at the heart, even if they drift into froufrou territory occasionally.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,174
Messages
10,579,196
Members
223,888
Latest member
LisaAtkinsu
Top