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Thank's so much! Last time I made a Spicy Chica from Velvet Tango Room for my girlfriend (it's a must try if you like a lot of spicy ginger) I ended up making my ginger syrup by hand squeezing ginger pulp through a strainer... Took me about 1.5 hours for 4 cocktails...

I will definately try these guys out once I am back from NYC (D+C, Pegu, PdT here I come!)

Wow, that's some serious dedication to make four cocktails...which I can totally respect when booze is involved

Hope you have a blast in NYC...if you make it to PDT, and the bacon-infused Old Fashioned is still on the menu, do give it a try - it was delicious!

Since it appears to be the unofficial rite of passage around here , I present my Juliet & Romeo:



Tastes as good as it looks. Mint leaves were clipped from my mint plant outside minutes before, and lime juice was squeezed "a la minute". Unfortunately, during the mixing, I realized my store of simple syrup was 2:1, so I threw in around half of the .75oz called for. As you can see, I managed to snag some TVH-sanctioned Libby glassware from a restaurant closure on eBay, and I bought a mint plant just for this drink. (Yes, to answer your question, I am insane.... I've even scoped out the mini-carafes, but have yet to buy them )

I tasted this drink about a month ago for the first time at TVH and instantly fell in love. For some strange reason, it evoked childhood memories of my grandma's house, but I can recall nothing more. In any case, I was blown away, and thanks to Toby, from that moment on I was able to add "cocktail geek" to my long list of geekinesses (is that a word?).

The J&R is the drink I strove to make initially after seeing this thread, but I hope to collect/make the other ingredients so I can replicate more of these lovely creations. As always, props to Toby for making this all possible. I could have a J&R every night.</tobylove>

Magnifique, Geno!

Toby, if you get a minute, I'd love to know the recipe for the Rocky Mountain Punch... Thanks

Toby -

Tongue in Cheek Weller Special Reserve Bourbon, Lemon, Carpano Antica, Stawberry, Mint

Okay I would love to know how to make this. I have a TON of fresh mint on my porch, a brand new bottle of Carpano Antica, and the Weller Bourbon is just right down the street sitting on a liquor store shelf begging to come home with me.

By the way, the summer menu looks absolutely righteous. Hope to make it up for my birthday this year.

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"I swear to drunk I'm not God."

Picture time! My iteration of the Rangoon Fizz, accompanied by ingredients.


Hope you all enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed drinking it!

Just saw this in this month's issue of Wired...spherical ice for us regular folk!

LiNK

I just got home from the Violet Hour and I really really enjoyed the Giralamo Sour. It might be the best drink I've ever had. I'd really love to get the recipe.

(I've made the Angostura Fizz a few times at home since you gave the recipe here. My home version definitely isn't as good as the original, but I've enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks so much for providing the recipe.)

Thanks, Jeff -- what I've been doing to make big ice is sealing off (loosely) a rocks glass with Saran wrap that I then indent with my thumb. I then pour water into the indentation and let it freeze, and then carefully pull off the Saran wrap when all is said and done. It's inconvenient and messy but it does make some nice big ice for those Old Fashioneds.

Re: spherical ice, Alton Brown had a great method in his Good Eats show on punches. He fills water balloons and freezes them, then cuts the balloon away. For consistency of shape, he rests them in an over sized teacup in the freezer.

I was recently in Chicago and really enjoyed the Violet Hour. Looking for a comparable experience in San Francisco. I just purchased the ingredients for the dogwood manhattan. Made some guesses about proportions but I havent gotten it right. Any suggestions?

Bourbon and Branch is probably the best -- it's in the Tenderloin -- but you should make reservations so you don't get stuck in the Library room, where they serve a very very limited cocktail menu. They'll give you a password -- the sign outside the door says "Anti-Saloon League." But make plans more than a week in advance -- they book up.

A good alternative is Absinthe on the corner of Hayes and Gough. Not only do they have at least a half-dozen brands of absinthe for an old fashioned drip, but they've got quite an extensive and delicious cocktail menu ranging from Savoy classics to delicious newfangled concoctions. I had a drink that combined Scotch with strawberry shrub, and that was pretty awesome.

I've also heard good things about the Orbit Room Cafe at 1900 Market, but I've never been. Sorry if this isn't the right forum for an answer to this question, but I figured since it was asked, I'd give my two cents.

On my last couple of visits to the Violet Hour I enjoyed a drink that seems new to the summer menu - the Gilded Cage. It's terrific (though so are many others). Toby, could you share the recipie for it? I'd love to try my hand at making one.

I lived in Chicago from 2005-2008, and stopped by the Violet Hour about 4 times. My favorite drink there was a smoky manhattan, which I could never remember the name of until I found this thread. It is of course the Blue Ridge. The menus changed from the time I first had it to the time I went back, so I only ever had it once. I am so pleased to get the recipe straight from the source, 'cause I never had anything else like it. I just had one question though. I know I can't make the bitters from scratch the same way TVH does, but I was hoping to make a reasonable facsimile using the mix of bitters you referenced earlier. Could you specify proportions of all the types of bitters that go into making the home version of the peach bitters for the Blue Ridge Manhattan?

From Toby's post of about a year ago:

The key to a Blue Ridge is the peach bitters. When you have the Fees peach bitters and then water it down with a bunch of Peychuad's, a wee bit of Ango, a just a whisper of the Bitter Truth Choco and then a dash of Regan's. You don't want to know the 50something botanicals that went into The Violet Hour's Peach Bitters. From there try to imagine having a pulled pork po' boy on a varandah. If the smell isn't right tweak the bitters.

That's the best we'll probably be able to do! Hope this helps.

I think I would now give different advice. Don't try to make peach bitters. Use the base specs for this cocktail and use different bitters and see hoe the cocktail changes. The base will work with all of the bitters mentioned, and each will be different and tasty. Find out which version is your favorite.

Cheers,

Toby

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WRECHED EXCESS IS BARELY ENOUGH

HEAT

Thanks Toby, I will do just that. Since you are still looking at this thread, do you think you could favor us with your recipe for a Dark and Stormy?

DARK & STORMY

1.5 oz Matusalem Rum
.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
.75 oz Ginger Syrup

Top: Soda Water
Float: .5 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum

Glass: Collins
Ice: Shard
Garnish: Candied Ginger

Shake. Strain. Top with soda water. Stir briefly. Float Cruzan Black Strap rum.

And someone asked for this a while ago.

THE GILDED CAGE

2 oz Prairie Vodka
.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.75 oz Honey Syrup
1 Egg White
7 drops Grapefruit Bitters

Glass: Coupe
Ice: None
Garnish: Grapefruit Peel, Discarded
5 drops Grapefruit Bitters, Swirled

Mime shake all ingredients. Add 5 KD cubes. Shake. Strain.

Cheers,

Toby

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WRECHED EXCESS IS BARELY ENOUGH

HEAT

Toby,

Many thanks for posting these 2 classics.

chowhunt

I really don't go out for cocktails very often, but now I want to visit the Violet Hour. The drinks sound great, and the fact they are willing to share recipes makes me appreciate them even more.

I made my own ginger syrup at home yesterday and I tried a new technique that worked out well. Instead of juicing ginger, I made a 2:1 simple syrup and put that in my food processor with ginger cut up into around 2" long pieces and then whirrled it for 30 seconds or so in 5 second intervals over a couple of minutes until you could no longer see any discernable pieces of ginger. I then let it sit for around 30 minutes to let the flavor soak in (not sure if this is really neccisary or not), and then strained it through a fine chinois. I then added a little more sugar to it because the ginger added some water.

With this method you will get more water than you would if you juiced ginger. I don't have a side by side comparison, but I can say that it does give a very nice ginger bite to it, and it took me around 1/5th the time it would take me to hand juice ginger, if you can't make it to a shop that can do it for you.

This is such a wonderful thread. How long can it continue? I for one am still curious about a few favorites.

Toby, how about some details on the Dogwood Manhattan? I was amazed at how DRY vermouth and Amaro Nonino could combine to create such a classic flavor, but it's all about balance, I suppose. Also, I am just beginning to find an interest in Frenet Branca, so how about the Zarzamorra? I found that it reminded me of cola!

Thanks so much for sharing the love!

I like the simplicity of Toby's ginger syrup, but is anyone besides me using the recipe by Betty Fraser and Denise DeCarlo that appeared in Imbibe a while back? I have made this many times, but I am curious what Toby thinks, or how it compares when used in these recipes. You don't need to find someone to juice your ginger either:

http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Ginger-Syrup-Recipe

I prefer a no-cook method. Cooking sugar lends detectable flavors that are not always welcome in the final product. These days I'm making pain-free ginger syrup with a bottle of Ginger People's ginger juice and superfine sugar, shaken vigorously.

I prefer the uncooked as well. The flavor, and color change when you apply heat. There is a sharpness that is lost.

Toby

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WRECHED EXCESS IS BARELY ENOUGH

HEAT

This is such a wonderful thread. How long can it continue?

This is a question that I feel I need to address now. This thread has been up for a little more than a year, and I have been answering questions as quickly,and thoroughly as possible. As my schedual gets crazier, I do not want it to appear that I am ignoring this thread.

So I think it best if we break up, but remain friends. I'm sorry I wish that I could go on forever, but due to circumstances beyond my control, it just can't. It's me not you.

This has been a lot of fun, I had a great time, and I hope you did too. It makes me sad, but I will remember our time together fondly, and I hope you will do the same.

See you soon,
Toby

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WRECHED EXCESS IS BARELY ENOUGH

HEAT

Nooooooooo!!! Say it isn't so!!



=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I hope that my first post did not sound glib or patronizing. This thread has been great. I want to thank all the people that have showed interest in the workings of The Violet Hour. I hope that people have had better cocktails at home, and have a deeper appreciation for the hard working men and women who work behind the stick, night after night at TVH.

Cheers,
Toby

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WRECHED EXCESS IS BARELY ENOUGH

HEAT

Many thanks, Toby. It has been enlightening and beyond. You and your dedicated brethren have had a profound effect on the quality of my life -- you've spoiled me -- and I sincerely appreciate it.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban