• Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters gives a review of Johnnie Walker’s newest offering, Double Black, a smokier version of the regular JW Black. He also continues his “5 Essential Cocktails” series in SeriousEats — this time with brandy drinks including applejack and pisco besides the standard Cognac ones.
• A Mountain of Crushed Ice’s Tiare showcases her creation for the last Thursday Drink Night called the Nuku Hiva Warrior replete with an Navy Grog ice cone and fire!
• Camper English of Alcademics utilizes his liqueur drying methods learned in his Solid Liquids Project to make a molecular mixology Aviation using a creme de violette rim so drinkers can determine how much of the sharp floral notes they want in their sip. He also reports on an interesting new trend in drinks, namely bottle fermented cocktails using champagne yeast for carbonation, and he provides the list of sherries that were tasted at the class he led.
• Art of Drink’s Darcy O’Neil writes part two of the cyanide risks in fruit pits.
• Frederic Yarm, the Cocktail Virgin/Slut, offers up history in the glass — the Juan Bautista he was served at Craigie on Main in Boston. He delves into the PDT Cocktail book with the rum-marmalade Paddington and into Boothby’s 1934 World Drinks And How To Mix Them with the limey Between the Sheets-like Embassy Club. And for extremes, he proffers the Angostura-laden Tom & Jerry he calls the Tobago & Jerry for a load of winter spice!
• Scott from In With Bacchus got published in Whisky Magazine! He shares an excerpt of his article on distillation.
• Whiskey Forge’s Matt Rowley has tempted me to do some baking with the recipe for Rootbeer Cake he found in Andrew Carmellini’s American Flavor. Matt also relates his drinking project in anticipation for the move to his new house.
• Rumdood created a drink for an article on The Rum Diary movie that just came out. I can vouch for the movie being enjoyable since I saw it on Saturday, and I can’t wait to be able to say the same for this recipe!
• Paul Clarke in The Cocktail Chronicles gives his thoughts on the PDT Cocktail Book and shares a few of his favorite Jim Meehan recipes. He also reminds us of the Swig Well class he is helping to teach on the 19th at the Rob Roy in Seattle and discusses the apple brandy section of the talk.
• Two at the Most’s Stevi Deter reviews Woodinville Whiskey’s Age Your Own Whiskey Kit. In three months using a small barrel, she went from white dog to tasty whiskey.
• Erik Ellestad of the Savoy Stomp just got back from visiting Italy. He regales us with tales of the food, the dining culture, and the drinks. He also provides an excellent explanation to a question on how to parse apricot brandy in recipes as to whether they mean a dry eau de vie or a sweet apricot liqueur.

This is a cross-post, originally written at Scofflaw’s Den.

Tomorrow night over at The Mixoloseum chat room, the theme of the night is “Muddled” where each drink will require the muddling of some component.  The theme is very apropos because I recently bought the best muddler I’ve ever used.

Specifically, I’m talking about PUG! muddlers.  I had read a few articles on these hand-made muddlers around the interwebs and they have had some great reviews.  Where most bar equipment can readily be purchased on-line at any number of on-line retailers, PUG! muddlers are a little more difficult to come by.  You see, there is no website to sell them.

The maker, Chris Gallagher takes orders via email.  It is actually a great way to talk to Chris and find out what types of wood he’s using at any given time, photos of various muddlers and the cost.  PUG! is actually an acronym for “Pick Up Gallaghers!” and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll pick up another muddler again.  These are that good.

Maple (L) & Cherry Wood (R)

You can see from the photo above that the shape is pretty unique. The angled top really allows the palm of your hand to rest comfortably on the muddler. It also gives you more control and a more efficient use of force to muddle. In other words, it doesn’t take a lot of pressure to really do the job. The height of the muddler also allows you to really reach the bottom of your mixing glass or tin. These things are a beast! And can offer personal protection if an unruly customer comes calling!

Almost as tall as a bottle of gin!

When I emailed Chris, I asked for the cherry wood muddler. One thing I didn’t think about, and Chris was kind enough to point out before I made my purchase, was that different woods have different densities. These densities play a discernable role in the job at hand. A lighter wood will require slightly more force to muddle than a more dense wood.

When Chris sent me the shipping confirmation, he dropped the bomb that he was also sending me the maple wood muddler! He asked me to put them both through their paces and let him know what I thought.

Well, this past weekend at Sean’s housewarming party, Sean, Rick and I did just that. Both muddlers worked wonderful. The added bonus of the heavier maple was that it could be used to bash the living hell out of ice cubes for crushed ice and swizzles. We all know how Rick loves his swizzles . . .

I’ll be honest, these muddlers are not cheap. Depending on the wood they run $30-35 and the more exotic Mexican hardwoods run in the $60 range. Is this more than you are likely to pay for any other muddler? Most likely, yes. Is this one of the best bar implements I currently own? Yes. Will I recommend these whole heartedly? YES!

Medley of Motley Muddlers

If you are interested in purchasing a PUG! muddler, email Chris Gallagher at jcgallagher08@hotmail.com.

Inspired by our heated debate over the Old Fashioned, cocktail writing guru and “father” of the cocktail bloggers Paul Clarke mentioned the Mixoloseum in today’s New York Times proof blog.

I can already see the “get a life” comments this confession will incite (though really, is fantasy baseball that much cooler?) and indeed, there are times when ardent cocktail fans gather — whether in person at an event like the annual Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, or online in the Mixoloseum, a blogger-oriented chat room with an atmosphere and maturity level not unlike that found in a yellow school bus on the way to junior-high band camp — that, in certain circles, the geek-ness hangs so heavy in the air that there’s real danger a game of Dungeons & Dragons might break out at any moment.

Thanks Paul, we think.  But since we’ve got you here, why not head over to the chat and whoop it up? We promise to keep our d20s at bay, stay out of the Whedon-verse, and keep the discussion on what’s important… drawing sides on differences between two Stoughton’s bitters recipes both published in the late 1700s with a 5ml variance of hyssop tincture.