[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Over a decade ago I dated a woman who, like me, appreciated properly mixed drinks. I read books on well made cocktails, and every weekend I would make us each one, using only fresh ingredients and the best liquors and following the recipe carefully. Then we rated the results. We each gave five stars to several cocktails. Those were added to the list. Some got four stars, or one four and one five. In that case we would discuss where the cocktail fell short and try to improve it. It might need another 1/4 oz. of this or that. Sometimes we developed a five star recipe. Sometimes we failed. Our favorites included the Last Word, the Widow’s Kiss, and a good Negroni. I like cocktails with very complex herbal liquors, like green chartreuse (not yellow) and Benedictine. A good cocktail should always be sipped slowly and savored. Never a mouthful. The only vermouth allowed in the house should be Carpano Antica. No other will do.

Try the Caipirinha, the national cocktail of Brazil. It MUST be made with Cachaça, not rum. (2 oz. of Cachaça, 1 tsp sugar, one lime, quartered, with sugar and lime muddled.)

Martini? 2 1/2 oz of Tanqueray #10 (not the regular Tanqueray), 1/2 oz of Carpano Antica. Thoroughly stirred or shaken.

But the original Martini was sweeter and also delicious. 2 1/4 oz of gin. 3/4 oz of sweet vermouth. Dash of orange bitters. Try it!

Mojito? 2 oz of light rum, 1 oz of lime juice, fresh-squeezed only, 2 tsp sugar, 4-6 sprigs of long-leaf mint. Muddle the sugar and mint with 1/2 oz of soda. Add lime and rum. Top with another 1/2 oz of soda. (Most mojitos are ruined with too much soda.)

Some drinks were never five star, and we weren’t able to ever make them worth drinking. Top of the list for drinks not worth drinking? The Cosmopolitan. Sex on the Beach. I’ve never had a good one.

Best fast drink for guzzling? Sobieski Vodka (better than Tito’s and much cheaper) and San Pellegrino Pompelmo (grapefruit) soda. A can of the latter and three or four ounces of the former. That is the only soda worth mixing with vodka. I have to order cases of it from Amazon, as it is hard to find here. That is the ONLY San Pellegrino worth tasting, and I mean the soda, not the flavored waters. It has the bitter taste of real grapefruit membranes.

I don’t know of any great bars around here that mix drinks accurately and use only fresh ingredients. Make your own!

Yep. Definitely not a "drink snob"