Last time, we talked about how to go about building a better home bar. Once you’ve done that and have all sorts of empty space (because you paid attention, and your bar holds about twice your current supply of liquor, right?), we should now get on to the fun part – how to best fill your shiny new liquor cabinet.
Now I know that I’m going to catch it in the comments by declaring some brands “essential” versus others. I know y’all are a bunch of passionate drinkers, and I also know that in certain areas, y’all have much more experience than I do tasting and thinking about spirits. But that’s not going to stop me from doing just that. The good news? After making declarative statements about which spirits you should have in your bar, I’m going to let you in on a few secrets about how to find rare and discontinued bottles that have helped me in the past. So take a deep breath, and enjoy the ride.
I’m a firm believer in Alton Brown’s mantra of buying things that serve many purposes. Unless you’re into a certain segment of the liquor market, you should strive for buying liquor that lets you make as many cocktails as possible. Once you’ve tasted a good representation of what’s out there, decide what to focus on, and buy more of those things, but with the understanding that if you run across something special and hard to find, you really ought to buy it. But more on that later.
Tasty AF. Used Rittenhouse rye and subbed Italicus liquor for black tea liquor
I agree with a previous comment about being 'thin'. Maybe swap amaro/vermouth quantities? But it's pleasant anyway.
Cut the bitters - they are out of place.
So glad you tried it and you liked it! The recipe is built quite directly on the modern version of the Trader Vic Mai Tai, including the nutty curry-leaf syrup in the place of orgeat and even the split rums.
As usual, went easy on the St. Elizabeth, about 4 mL. Dirty dump works too if you don't want to rinse your blender.