Age your own darn whiskey

This is silly but I love it. Monterey Rye Spirits will sell you ten bottles of new-make rye whiskey and a mini 2-gallon barrel in which to age it. They say that after just three months, you'll have aged whiskey. I can't imagine that it would be very good, but it'll be the hit of your self-made Sazerac party.

It's kind of like growing your own tomatoes- you can buy the baby plants and pots and soil and plant food, or just go to the store and grab a tomato for 1/5th the price.

And if you're even lazier than that Monterey Rye will sell you a single bottle of rye with a stick of barrel wood taped to the side. Just dip it and wait!

Looking forward to purgatory

Doesn't this drink sound crazy? I need to get some Rittenhouse Rye just to try it out. The recipe comes from Gary Regan's cocktail column in the SF Chronicle.

Purgatory

Makes 1 drink

Adapted from a recipe by Ted Kilgore, bartender and bar manager at Monarch Restaurant, Maplewood, Mo.

• 21/2 ounces Rittenhouse 100-proof straight rye whiskey
• 3/4 ounce Benedictine
• 3/4 ounce Green Chartreuse
• 1 lemon wedge or twist, for garnish

Instructions: Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full of ice and add the whiskey, Benedictine and Chartreuse. Stir for approximately 30 seconds, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, add garnish.

Mixing New Orleans cocktails

Thanks to Todd Price on eGullet who pointed out these videos. In them, Chris McMillian of the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans demonstrates how to make some famous local cocktails.



In the Ramos Gin Fizz video he tells us that some people add a couple of drops of vanilla to the drink, and also shows that for egg white drinks such as this one, you should first shake the drink without ice, then add ice and shake it more. Good info here.



In the Sazerac video we learn not just how to make it, but this piece of trivia I hadn't heard before: When absinthe was made illegal, it was also illegal to use the word absinthe on the bottle. Herbsaint, an absinthe substitute, is not coincidentally a near anagram of the word 'absinthe' (just with an extra 'r').

He also has videos up for the Pimm's Cup, Margarita, and the Martini.

Rye, Oh Rye

Gary Regan steals all the good topics on the good booze to write about in the San Francisco Chronicle. First he did a big cover story on gin, and today he takes on rye. Not fair! But I suppose since he's an "expert" who "knows a hell of a lot more than I do" and "doesn't live in San Francisco" I can't go beat him up. Also, he's crazy. Read this:

Among whiskeys, Canadian whisky is generally sweet and somewhat generic. It almost always slides down the throat singing some ballad by Robert Goulet, another easily palatable Canadian. Bourbon also has harmonious sweetness from corn, but with a bit of an attitude. You might hear the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, for instance. Or Robert Johnson could make an appearance on a 78-rpm gramophone record, complete with earthy scratches. He's likely singing "Love in Vain."

Straight rye whiskey is more elegant, with subtle spice notes and a flavor that's smooth but not sweet. It leans a little toward opera. Think Enrico Caruso.

Okay, Regan, you win again. Oh wait, no you don't- I've actually met Robert Goulet. Ha!