this is perfect. i bought a bottle of St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram this summer after being enamored with the ice cubes i had (made from tart cherry juice and the allspice) in a bourbon drink at a bar. i've used exactly 1/100th of the bottle after failed attempts to make those damn cubes.

i'ma try this Lion's Tail tonight.

anyone else using Agave Nectar in place of Simple Syrup? i've found it to be less sweet, and mixes perfectly.

Here's another one I drank a lot during the summer which uses allspice dram. I can't find the exact recipe so I'm guessing at ratios

Fresa

3-4 strawberries with stems removed (depending on size)
Agave Syrup (you can substitute a spoon full of honey if you don't have agave)
2 shots of tequila blanco (I use espolon)
dash or two of allspice dram
1 Lemon

Put strawberries in a shaker. Lightly cover them with a squeeze of agave syrup and muddle them
Add the Juice of 1 Lemon, 2 shots of Tequila Blanco, and a dash of allspice dram
Add ice and shake
Pour the whole thing (don't strain) into a rocks glass

This doesn't use a lot of allspice dram though so I was happy to find another use for it too.

I made the jalapeno simple syrup last night and then tried the Merchant out. That's a really tasty drink. Now, I'll have to figure out the Tavern on the Green.

I had one of these at dinner last night:

The Fawkestail

INGREDIENTS
2 ounces rye whiskey
3/4 ounce Allspice Dram
1/2 ounce homemade lapsang liqueur
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Thin slice of lime peel
To serve: A chilled martini glass rinsed with Mezcal

PREPARATION
1. Shake all ingredients, except lime peel, with ice.
2. Double-strain into chilled rinsed glass.
3. Garnish with lime peel.

Recipe for the Lapsang Liquor:

Lapsang Liqueur
From: Gabriella Mlynarczyk
Note: Mlynarczyk uses Groundworks tea.
Makes: about three 750 ml bottles of liqueur.

INGREDIENTS
4 ounces lapsang souchong tea
6 cups boiling water
6 cups organic cane sugar
1 750 ml bottle of white rum, such as Cruzan

PREPARATION
1. Steep tea in boiling water for an hour.
2. Strain infusion through a chinois or fine-mesh strainer and discard tea leaves.
3. Pour tea then rum into a large saucepan. Simmer the mixture -- but DO NOT let it boil -- for about 10 minutes.
4. Add sugar and stir until it dissolves.
5. Strain tea and decant it into bottles.

Pretty good but I'm not sure I want to go to the trouble of making the lapsang liquor to be able to make it at home.

So I never did figure out exactly what was in the Tavern on the Green but taking the recipe for the Merchant less the Grand Marnier and subbing 10 Cane Rum for the Bourbon and Basil for the Mint makes a very nice drink.

I've been wanting to try that Lion's Tail but I can't find allspice dram anywhere. It's nowhere in Utah (doesn't surprise me), but I was in Palm Springs last weekend and couldn't find it there either.

Is it typically tough to find?

I didn't think so but I'm blessed with a really good wine & spirits store.

Bottleneck Wines

http://bottleneckwines.com/

is listed as the UT distributor for the company that makes St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram. You might contact them to see if there's some place near you that stocks it.

Alternatively you could try to make your own. There seem to be a lot of recipes on the internet such as this one:

http://www.cocktailchronicles.com/2005/ ... ento-dram/

It was bad enough when a generation of low rent Louis XVI's started putting ice in whisky but just look at this shocking state of affairs!

I've done a lot of dumb shit in my time but I'll never shame my ancestors to this degree. Thin slice of lime peel? Chilled martini glasses - Jesus Christ!

Thanks for the links BG. I'll check out that distributor--I don't want to take the 6 weeks to make it myself.

I've just had a dirty vimto. WKD.

i kinda let this thread die. I still drink more cocktails than beer. Along with mint juleps, lately, I've been drinking a lot of Pimms Cups which is:

1/3 Pimms #1 Spiced English Gin
2/3 Sparkling Lemonade

Garnished with a slice or wedge of cucumber, a slice of strawberry and a few sprigs of fresh mint

It's a pretty refreshing drink, simple to make and much lower alcohol than what I usually drink which makes it pretty sessionable

I've also been having the occasional Pisco Punch

1 1/2 oz Pisco
1 1/2 oz Water
3/4 oz oz Key Lime Juice
1 oz Pineapple Syrup*
About a tablespoon of pineapple diced small

garnished with a maraschino cherry

*I don't have the exact recipe for the syrup at hand but basically you boil a bunch of pineapple chunks in water and then add sugar in the ratio you would for a normal simple syrup. You can leave the pineapple chunks in the syrup and then use them for the pineapple in the drink

I think I'm going to try to make my own cocktail cherries tomorrow night from a lb of cherries I bought at the farmer's market and some cheap brandy.

Been drinking a good amount of Rum lately. Mojitos and Bay Breezes.

I think most people know how to make a mojito, but my secret ingredient is Powdered sugar. The Bay Breeze is a good summer drink too, 2 parts rum, 1 part pineapple juice, 1 part cranberry juice, squeeze of lime.

I haven't had one in several years, BG, but I will vouch for and endorse a session of Pimms Cup on a warm summer's day.

Yours in Jesus,

Barrister "Uncle" Brian Lee
The Secretary of Space

"Hold on guys, I've got a cucumber out in my yellow car. Mother grew it in her garden..."

i made a pretty good blackberry mint julep the other day.

1 1/2 oz bourbon
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mint leaves
1/4 cup blackberries

combine in a shaker, pour it out, muddle it into a rocks glass with ice and add a blackberry & mint sprig.

Finally tried a dark & stormy the other night, dark rum with ginger beer. Over ice with a lime. Damn good, actually.

I wholeheartedly disagree...one ice cube (as opposed to a splash of water) does wonders for even the best whiskies.

Caipiranha's here, made w/ Flor De Cana 7 YO Reserve.

Campari and OJ or grapefruit juice is a good refresher. Throw in a little soda water. The freshmaker.

Yeah, one of my go-tos. Try it at home with The Kracken and Goslings ginger beer.

had a couple of Divanzo – tequila, cucumber, serrano chile - at Bar 308 last weekend. Haven't stopped thinking about it since.

I've never had Kraken but I thought it was a Spiced rum not a Blackstrap rum like a Dark n Stormy calls for. Am I wrong about that? Technically, a dark n stormy is always made with Gosling's Black Strap because Gosling's has a trademark on the name "Dark n Stormy" but I'll alternate between buying Goslings and Cruzan Black Strap so that I don't get too sick of either.

I used to occasionally make them with Meyers, but I most definitely preferred Goslings; Plus Meyers is great with just a splash of soda water and a lime.

i had the best dark & stormy of my life at this spot in Tribeca-
http://smithandmills.com/

been making:
fresh mint muddled with sugar + gin of your choice