Comments on: On Distilling Conferences and Watering Holes

By: On Distilling Conferences and Watering Holes | cocktailista.com

On Distilling Conferences and Watering Holes | cocktailista.com — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:00:16 +0000

[...] On Distilling Conferences and Watering Holes jb 14 April 2009 Uncategorized absinthe, anchor, bars, brasserie, food, marnier, signature, [...]

By: Chartreuse Swizzle | cocktailista.com

Chartreuse Swizzle | cocktailista.com — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:59:24 +0000

[...] may recall, from last week’s post, that I taunted you briefly with mention of the Chartreuse Swizzle, also known as the official [...]

By: dbeach

dbeach — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:59:26 +0000

I have had the Pan-American Clipper at Heaven’s Dog and it is indeed fantastic. Many (all?) of the cocktails at Heaven’s Dog are adapted from Charles Baker’s The Gentleman’s Companion. Here is his recipe for the Pan American Clipper:

Applejack, 1 jigger
Absinthe, 1 dash
Lime juice, 1 scant pony
Grenadine, 1 tsp

Shake with cracked ice and serve in Manhattan glass.

It’s a Jack Rose with a dash of absinthe. Obviously if you don’t live in SF you can’t get the Small Hand Foods grenadine, but you probably make your own already, right? Assuming you have good grenadine, I would increase it a bit; I think Heaven’s Dog does.

This post inspired me to take a stab at the Pendennis Club, for which Baker also has a recipe, but obviously not the one that Heaven’s Dog uses. Here’s his:

“To 1 jigger of dry gin add 1/2 jigger of the best dry apricot brandy procurable. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime or 1/2 a small lemon, strained of course, and trim with 2 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters which has been made for generations in New Orleans…. Split a ripe kumquat, now available during the winter in most big grocery or fruit stores; take out the seeds and put the 2 halves in a Manhattan glass. Stir the drink like a Martini with lots of cracked ice and strain onto the golden fruit.”

Well, first of all, I don’t have any kumquats and I haven’t even ever tasted one, but I gather it’s a citrus fruit. I also don’t have any apricot eau de vie, but it sure looks like if you used that in there you would have one very tart drink, unless kumquats are much sweeter than I guess them to be.

So I used 1 1/2 oz. gin, 3/4 oz. R&W Apricot, 3/4 oz. lime, and the Peychaud’s. I put a little tangerine juice in to try to simulate the kumquat. The resulting drink was a little tart, so I scaled the lime back to 1/2 ounce and found the result quite pleasant. Next time I go to Heaven’s Dog I’ll have to try their version and see how it compares.

By: Marleigh

Marleigh — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:48:25 +0000

Mr Manhattan—It’s not such a bad walk between the two, unless you’ve already walked two or so miles in the same day. Duggan was actually there when we walked in and was really great to us, but the Friday night vibe isn’t so great if you’re a group of five and want to have a conversation.

C—I think someone tried it (Rick? Rowley? Adam?) but I don’t remember distinctly. All our drinks were solid, though, so I’m sure the Clipper would have been fantastic.

By: Dr. Bamboo

Dr. Bamboo — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:41:34 +0000

It’s gatherings like this that make me wish the jetpack I’ve been tinkering with was at least near the prototype stage. I need to be able to quickly get to these things.

Anyone try the Pan-American Clipper? That looks awesome.

By: Mr Manhattan

Mr Manhattan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:38:25 +0000

Hah! I did the same trek from Clock Bar to Cantina just last Thursday. I was totally rebuffed by the loud crowd of obviously plastered 20-somethings and the even louder music. I remember thinking, “Duggan Mcdonnell actually works inside there?” I beat a hasty retreat to Heaven’s Dog just in time for a last Bittered Sling (my current favorite of Erik’s potions).