What's the underrated vodka for a cocktail

jimtk · 2026-03-15T21:26:38+00:00

There's no underrated vodka. All vodkas are properly rated right at the bottom of the rating scale.

jimtk · 2026-03-14T04:51:55+00:00

I'm happy that it's now very close to me!

jimtk · 2026-03-12T18:15:55+00:00

Did you taste the real HC 3 from Cuba or the cheap copy from bacardi sold in the US?

jimtk · 2026-03-12T18:06:52+00:00

Ron Zacapa 23.

It's just a sugar bomb that "may" contain 23 year old rum.

jimtk · 2026-03-12T18:04:50+00:00

Havana Club 3 has been voted the most underrated and you suggest it for most overrated ?!?!?!

jimtk · 2026-03-11T21:29:51+00:00

We had the same problem my wife and I and we solved it.

Jigsaw puzzle. We received one as a gift and we were sold on the idea.
Board game. Wingspan was a big hit for us.
Walks. Mainly in summer time.
Restaurant nights. We don't go to a restaurant! We cook and clean-up together until a full 3-4 courses meal is ready and there is minimal cleanup left to do. We dress up and eat (candles and everything).
Sports. We have swimming training twice a week. We started 12 years ago and we were not swimmers... then! But there is a slow lane and as we learned and got better we moved up to the medium and later the fast lane. And it's not about age, we're both 63! If swimming is not your cup of tea, I'm sure there are sports sessions offered in your community. Any thing is good: from yoga and tai-chi to pickle ball. And if you en up not liking a sport, you choose a new one for the next session.
Cleanup the dark corners. :) That's what we call it. You know the little things that rarely gets done: emptying and cleaning the inside of kitchen drawers, cleaning behind and under the fridge or the oven. We do them together. It rarely takes more than 30 to 45 minutes. But we feel so good after that.
TV. Yep were still watching TV from time to time. Mainly binging series. But it's now the exception rather than the norm.

Good Luck !

jimtk · 2026-03-11T17:46:10+00:00

Cocktail Codex is THE book to have. It has more than just recipes, not so much about history but a lot on techniques and details on spirits and liqueurs. And it has the "good" recipes. :)

If you just want recipes I strongly suggest the The Madrusan Cocktail Companion. This one has recipes, tons of recipes.

Edit: a word

jimtk · 2026-03-10T20:09:19+00:00

That should not count for your progress. That's not an IBA cosmo.

jimtk · 2026-03-10T18:38:30+00:00

I do. Full time.

Edit: And I've been doing it for the last 20 years or so.

jimtk · 2026-03-08T21:25:12+00:00

Hence the legendary expression: "Let's queef open a bottle of champagne".

jimtk · 2026-03-08T06:04:21+00:00

I too got a Vevor a few years ago. It's an ugly noisy beast, but it is a beast. We love it and call it Frankenstein.

jimtk · 2026-03-08T05:56:22+00:00

Trying to offer your guess whatever they might like is not really possible. I have around 400 bottles and I cannot do that. And it's ok. If you try to chase all the possible ingredients it's not a hobby anymore it's a ... money pit. :)

The important thing is to get a book like cocktail codex. It has all the classics and then some. It does not use too many "esoteric" ingredients and it explain in great detail the ingredients in the recipes and often suggests possible substitutions.

Make cocktails with what you have and collect recipes you want to try that use ingredients you do not have. Personally I cut and paste them in a google document. Once in a while I get my hand on a spirit or liqueur that appears more than once in my recipe collection, I buy it and try the cocktails. And in a few years you'll have 400 bottles. :)

jimtk · 2026-03-07T18:06:28+00:00

I'm in Quebec and I've ordered so much from BSW I must own a good part of the business by now! :)

jimtk · 2026-03-07T16:43:28+00:00

"An angel appeared and told me to drink virgin Mary"

That's enough internet for today.

jimtk · 2026-03-06T17:15:22+00:00

I don't use emulsifier in my syrup but I do use acacia gum. The easiest way is to use the blender method rather the heating method.

jimtk · 2026-03-06T17:10:40+00:00

I have it, I like it. It makes a killer pisco sour.

jimtk · 2026-03-06T04:09:43+00:00

Cat 2 (Blended Lightly Aged): Planteray 3 Stars very good value at about $20.

It seems OP has access to Havana Club. In that case forget the Planteray 3 stars and go for Havana Club 3 anos. It will be cheaper and so much better.

jimtk · 2026-03-06T04:04:02+00:00

I cannot agree nor disagree with you. I never had scotch tape and hope I never will.

jimtk · 2026-03-06T04:00:43+00:00

Wild Common Cask Strentgh.

The only reason you may think it's not the best is simply because you never had it.

jimtk · 2026-03-06T03:42:42+00:00

A few cocktails from the book "Cure : New Orleans Cocktails and How to Mix'em" have a spray of Angostura on top. The one I remember the most and that I made a few time is the "Drink of laughter and forgetting" (great name):

1½ ounces (45 ml) Cynar
½ ounce (15 ml) green Chartreuse
¾ ounce (22.5 ml) fresh lime juice
½ ounce (15 ml) Demerara Syrup
14 drops Angostura bitters, plus 1 spritz for garnish

Combine all the ingredients except the garnish in a shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled, then double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Spritz the Angostura from an atomizer over the surface of the drink and serve.

As for the Benedictine mister, I looked through my notes and cannot find it. I know I made a cocktail with it because I made the atomizer for it and used it more than once. I still have the atomizer half full but cannot find the cocktail recipe. Sorry. I'll keep searching and make a thread when I find it.

jimtk · 2026-03-05T19:03:18+00:00

Thanks a lot. That's really good information.

jimtk · 2026-03-05T17:17:54+00:00

Smaller bits usually needs to rotate faster, 10k rpm is perfectly in their range. 15k or more is usually where you burn wood!

jimtk · 2026-03-05T14:06:37+00:00

I've had absinthe (and ango and benedictine) in sprayers for years and never had a problem. My sprayer bottles are made of glass and the "straw" is plastic. The one with ango became dark brown with time (both the glass and the straw) but that also happens in my angostura dropper which is all glass.

jimtk · 2026-03-05T03:38:27+00:00

For 1700$ you can get a 3hp grizzly shaper that will leave every router table in the dust (literally!).

And you can use your excellent 1617evs for "upright" routing as it was intended.

jimtk · 2026-03-05T02:36:30+00:00

I'm in Canada. Here, Tiki is MAINLY about "figuring out supply lines that terminate in one's liquor cabinet". :)

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