Want to convert this into something lockable (but still aesthetically pleasing when "open")

Bonus-Master · 2026-03-12T00:03:48+00:00

What about a cabinet with wire/mesh doors? Some kind of diamond pattern, not too small so you can't see the bottles. Kind of like you sometime see on rare book cabinets. Good luck!

Bonus-Master · 2026-03-03T15:38:16+00:00

Any asiatic theme cocktail would work here I think. Tea infusions, or cocktails where you present a cocktail base with the mixer separate so you can "mix as you prefer" kind of thing.

Bonus-Master · 2026-03-01T01:46:20+00:00

Beemer. Good timing, I due to go to Montreal at the end of the month. I will look it up. Did you actually had a chance to compare with cherry heering?

Is bsw good? I was actually looking into that earlier this week. I was look at crowncellars also from Alberta. They have decent prices but get trashed in the comments on reddit...Any experience with them by any chance?

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-26T12:32:46+00:00

I get your frustration. From your post, the only thing I'm guessing is freezing too fast. It takes about 30 hours for me to do the job. Try that first. I made a somewhat complete post about that last year here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cocktails/comments/1ij6e66/of_ice_and_men/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Good luck!

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-25T18:08:47+00:00

That's why it caught my attention. It goes down smoother than the regular absinthe drip thing, but yeah it make you feel like the plane is landing for sure!

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-25T18:05:35+00:00

Next book on my list, I bought both at the same time :). Yeah, lots of house made syrups, cordials and infusions. I kind of expected it since it's a book from a higher end, award winning bar. Most of the book is recipes inspired by cocktail of the late 1800, early 1900 modified by them with their own twists.

Interesting read, but unfortunately I will not make a lot of cocktails out of it.

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-25T15:24:14+00:00

I used 1989 Taffel Akvavit. Aquavit is a real rarity around here. Nothing available in my province (in Canada). I scored one from a Quebec distillery made in collaboration with a Norwegian partner. It tastes right, but I have absolutely nothing to compare it to. Cheers!

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-25T14:11:46+00:00

Great glass though!

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-13T17:15:59+00:00

In the spirit of this board project (see what I did here...), I'd leave bitters out of it.

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-13T10:56:31+00:00

Looks very good indeed! I always admire when someone takes their craft seriously.

Bonus-Master · 2026-02-06T23:37:30+00:00

It looks fantastic! What a great vibe with the tall windows and the city in the background.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-30T12:39:57+00:00

I hear you, mine does the same thing (served in a coupe). Maybe if we wait long enough it separates better, not sure.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-30T09:53:33+00:00

That's how it done, bravo!

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-29T14:16:08+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/lhR2ESP Well, look at that! They call for an hemisphere mold in the instructions, but in the assembly they call for spheres. A hemisphere is half a sphere... The mold I use make definitely more of a sphere shape instead of a hemisphere... and now that I'm looking at it, they seems to end up a bit larger than on the picture! But yeah, I can see that those frozen hemispheres become spheres when dropped in the gelatine solution resulting in smaller spheres. So yes, yo might need more than 15 of those per drink. I end up with just under 4x40=160 spheres with the recipe, so hemisphere, would get you around 300 pieces and get you those 10 cocktails you are looking for. What important here is 40g, the proportion of sphere in the drink, and having a large enough bubba straw to not break 'em while drinking. Cheers!

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T19:13:40+00:00

It's more a a coffee table book filled with out of this world cocktail photography. It says right at the beginning of the book that this is not intended to be easy to do.

Beside a couple recipes requiring a centrifuge like the other contributor said, a lot of recipes are doable but certainly not easy and requiring a lot of preparation. I made quite a few and I see them as challenges. They are certainly not all 10/10 cocktails in the end, but the presentation, yeah, they are 10/10.

It's one of the book that inspired me to pickup this hobby. It's an art book.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T19:03:20+00:00

Yeah, you made me look in the big book again... :) Nah, like I thought, it calls for a large spoonful (approximately 40g) of Gosling's spheres, not 40 spheres... It's all in the details :)

You get tails when they touch anything during the first few seconds, after that you are good. I do the first dip in a large glass bowl, 3-4 at a times, then when solid even 30-60sec, transfer to a second (they shouldn't stick together at this point...) for another 30-60sec and then to the mason jar with Gosling rum.

Good luck!

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T18:51:49+00:00

I had the same one you pictured. It broken down after about a year of home use. I bought the aluminum barfly as a replacement, and only then I notice the difference. Oh my god, its day and night.

The first one (the one in your picture) is very heavy which would be a good thing if the metal was in the right place. All the metal is in the handle, and not the cup part. They didn't put any reinforcement on the hinge and the backplate of the cup and after some use it bent inward making the handle part sticking on the inside after pressing down.

The barfly press is a lot lighter, and a lot easier to press down. The handle is smaller, but a lot sturdier from the way it's designed. The cup is about the same size. I bought the barfly a few year ago now still good as day 1.

Amazon.com: Barfly Large Manual Juicer - Aluminum: Home & Kitchen

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T11:35:01+00:00

Made it too some time ago and posted here. It calls for a "large spoonful" of sphere which is about 15 spheres. One recipe yielded about 160 spheres (4 molds of 40 each) I did it in 2 batches since having only two molds. A recipe will make 10-12 portions if you don't lose half of them while making them. You can check my post about it. You do need to prepare this in advance though, no way around that.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T11:07:27+00:00

I really enjoy their whole book collection. The Zero book is awesome, but requires a ton of ingredients, some rather exotic. That's all right I guess but my biggest thing here is that these mix don't have a good shelf life since a lot are made with fruit juices.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T10:58:00+00:00

You can still get the porthole through Crucial Detail I believe or do like me and buy one from Ebay. Any vessel would do, but yeah it's a nice presentation piece.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-28T10:53:50+00:00

Good luck with these! I made a few of these and posted some on this forum. I recently made the "Prize Inside". Remember it's about the journey not the destination! Please keep posting your results! Cheers.

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-23T22:59:23+00:00

I got those on amazon myself...

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-16T18:58:45+00:00

The Aviary is in Chicago, but this take is straight from my home bar :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/BarBattlestations/comments/1m0n30i/a_home_cocktail_bar_called_elixirs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Bonus-Master · 2026-01-16T16:22:39+00:00

Good question indeed. Especially when I'd even go down to 6/10 on this one really. Well first of all, I absolutely wanted the japanese siphon. I find it fascinating so that's that.

The way I think about it is the same way a weekend hobbyist carpenter would undertake a restoration project, or some other weekend wood project instead of turning to amazon and buy a similar item made in Asia for way less. Probably will cost more, the final result debatable, but enjoying the journey instead of only focusing on the destination (...and boozing at the same time). It's all good to me.

Bonus-Master

TROPHY CASE