Tuesday Evening Shopping List

Tonight I found myself in Ellisville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis, for the non-locals), and I felt the draw of my favorite liquor shop--no, wait a second...hold up...this place is more accurately referred to as a supreme palace of booze--Lukas Liquor Superstore. I stopped in with my holiday shopping list in hand and picked up a few goodies to play with over the winter months. Some are old standbys, while others I've never tried before. The following is a partial list of some ingredients you are likely to see me using in upcoming week's cocktails.

Camus Cognac VS Elegance: I've never tried this Cognac, but it comes highly recommended by Tim Greco of Lukas. I'm excited to try a Sidecar and a Vieux Carre with it, as well as to expand my understanding and appreciation of Cognac by sipping a little of the Camus straight.

Clear Creek Eau de Vie de Pomme : This is the 8-year-oak-limousin-aged version. I was jazzed to find the Clear Creek available in a 375 ml bottle, which allows for "sampling" when you're not quite sure you want to buy a whole bottle. That said, this Oregon apple brandy that is said to rival some of the higher-quality Calvados, is probably something I'll want more of, eventually. I plan to try this out in a Widow's Kiss and Fallen Leaves cocktails.

Luxardo Bitter Liqueur: Luxardo is well-known to me for their Maraschino liqueur and very reliable Triplum (triple sec). Their Bitter Liqueur dates back to 1885 and is a Campari-esque (if I may use such a term) liqueur that is mainly comprised of sweet orange, bitter orange, rhubarb, mint, marjoram and thyme, along with some other highly secretive ingredients that makes it Luxardo's own unique combination. I'll probably start off trying this in a Venetian-style spritzer with a little sparkling water and a slice of lemon. Once I get to know this bitter a little better ;-), there's no telling what I might mix up with it.

Cheers! ~Dr. Cocktation