More progress on the summer reading list
Read Brad Thomas Parsons's "Bitters" today. It's more a recipe book than a historical record, but it feels like a valuable reference for that nagging feeling I have that I'll be making my own bitters sooner rather than later.
What strikes me about DIY bitters, however, is that any recipe I develop that requires my own bitters will then require that I carry said bitters with me. There's something to be said for being able to recreate a cocktail in someone else's bar with the ingredients in said bar when called upon.
I like the suggestion in the book of holding a "bitters making party" where you and your guests pool resources to create batches of bitters and then reconvene a month or so later to compare results. That's an idea I can get behind.
I'm feeling punchy
4th of July here in the US, so a punch is in order.
Raw materials.
Oleo-saccharum.
Link: The 10 Best Budget Rums →
It's not a bad list, though I'd swap out the Appleton Special Gold for Appleton V/X (also mentioned in passing). It's not much more expensive where I live - about $18 a bottle - and it's an overall better Jamaican rum. But the author is in NYC, so V/X priced itself out of the running for the article. Luckily you don't have to hold yourself to the same artificial limit.