what should I do if I wana infuse a hole bottle of 700ml's'gin with the tea bags…is that means I should put 10 package in to the gin??

Different tea bags may vary, but I'd stick with using about 4 tea bags for a full bottle of gin, and letting it steep for about 2 hours before checking in on it to see how it tastes (I've seen elsewhere to not go further than 8 hours of steeping). Using 10 tea bags is quite a lot - you can always add more and adjust as you go, and not so much the other way around (unless you have more bottles of gin around to water it down! Alternatively, you can always cut open the tea bags if you really want to get exacting with it - even then, 4 tablespoons of tea to steep for 2 hours (and up to 8 hours) will do it!

Tried a Maiden's Blush for the first time tonight - surprisingly less zippy and more subtle, which I appreciated. I enjoyed Pierre Ferrand here, to maintain a balanced sweetness. A fragrant grenadine with the right hits of orange blossom (or rose water, I'm sure) really rounds out the rest of the palate. I also omitted the simple syrup, and opted for a barely-more generous barspoon of grenadine for more "blush" (plus I didn't need to reach for another syrup bottle for simplicity's sake).

Tried this Bakewell Tart Sour tonight, not bad - maybe it's just me, but on first tasting out of my shaker I was hoping for a bit more "confectionery" out of it, or at least the feeling of such - so I ended up adding an egg white via reverse shake, and found the cocktail a lot more satisfying. I may also up the amount of Luxardo cherry syrup by just a tiny touch next time as well (maybe 2 barspoons). In this way, it is a bit reminiscent of Morgenthaler's Amaretto Sour.

Regarding Cocktails author weighing in here. Noticed that the recipe specs are off for this drink. Three bar spoons of jam would make this drink entirely too sweet. Sasha's Cosmonaut (which I pulled from the original Milk & Honey spreadsheet of recipes and included in Regarding Cocktails), calls for "a heaping bar spoon of raspberry preserves. The book also calls out that the jam of choice for this drink was always Bonne Maman.

Thanks for the clarification!

Well now we are getting somewhere! It tastes great and the layering effect in the glass is gorgeous. It's not really a "sour" cocktail though, and perhaps that's the key? Compared to a daiquiri or old-school whiskey sour, the tartness is barely noticeable, more akin to what you might encounter in a Witbeir or Saison.

Awesome! Glad it shook out well for you! And yes, I definitely don't view this drink as your typical Sour, as it is kind of an entirely different beast with the wine of your choice in the mix.

In fact, when I serve this to guests, I almost treat it as a dessert on its own - might also have something to do with the fact that I like to serve this drink in a red wine balloon glasses that hold a lot more volume than a rocks glass, and using upwards of 1 oz (or more) of red wine - but hey, to each our own. :)

A pretty interesting cocktail - upon tasting, I couldn't shake that this is a mezcal Last Word/Closing Argument without the citrus, leaning towards the profile of an Old Fashioned-style of drink. I'd fully expect that as a template, you can experiment with just about any amaro out there to substitute the Lucano to create vastly different drinks. I also do agree that 1 dash of any bitters probably helps this cocktail out a lot if a more delicate amaro is chosen.

On a second round, I attempted the recipe with Amaro Nonino to replace the same amount of Lucano, and added a single dash of chocolate bitters as Paul Green below had suggested - quite enjoyable!

A pretty interesting cocktail - upon tasting, I couldn't shake that this is a mezcal Last Word/Closing Argument without the citrus, leaning towards the profile of an Old Fashioned-style of drink. I'd fully expect that as a template, you can experiment with just about any amaro out there to substitute the Lucano to create vastly different drinks. I also do agree that 1 dash of any bitters probably helps this cocktail out a lot if a more delicate amaro is chosen.

Tasty! Like most drinks with falernum in it, a quality one will make or break the drink, I find. On top of being prepared to adjust sweetness levels based on that falernum, I've also seen recipes modify the ratios of rum used as well, but 1/3oz Wray & Nephew seems right to me here.

Any reason for the new changes, Simon? Just curious about your opinion - was the blending of the various vermouths just overcomplicating? (As much as I enjoy using Cocchi Storico in mine)

A minor thing for anyone infusing in smaller servings - some of that gin's measurments will end up staying absorbed inside the tea bag, so if you're infusing 2 or 4 oz, you're probably going to end up losing 0.2 or 0.4 oz of gin to the infusion. You could squeeze every last drop of gin from tea bag, but a warning that you'll over-extract tannins and bitterness doing this. Just make sure you add a tiny splash more gin for your infusion at the start to avoid this (or just do larger servings).

I got 2/3rd of the way making a Ramos tonight after my final shaking (I dry shake last, after a 40~g ice-fully-melted shake), only to realize I was out of soda water. There's no going back - so browsing my fridge for anything carbonated, I picked a can of Fever Tree Ginger Beer. And know what? Not bad! Makes sense it would taste alright - kind of a cross between a Gin Gin Mule, minus the mint? Maybe I'll use ginger syrup or muddle a touch of ginger next time? Salvaged all my shaking at least!

I got 2/3rd of the way of making a Ramos tonight after my final shaking (I dry shake last, after a 40~g ice-fully-melted shake), only to realize I was completely out of soda water. There's no going back - so I'm browsing my fridge for anything carbonated, and ended up picking a can of Fever Tree Ginger Beer. And know what? Not too bad! Makes sense it would taste alright - kind of a cross between a Gin Gin Mule, minus the mint. Salvaged all that shaking, at least!

Tried this tonight - enjoyed, but *highly* dependent on your choice of jam. Factors to consider: #1) How much sugar is in your jam? #2) Does it contain a pectin? I attempted this with an organic seedless low-sugar jam (only had 7g of cane sugar), which was quite tart but light tasting. Could have used a barspoon of simple, probably. The pectin also makes dissolving the jam difficult - though a homemade non-pectin jam would likely be over-sweet from all the added sugar to macerate into jam.

Tried this tonight - enjoyed, but *highly* dependent on your choice of jam. Factors to consider: #1) How much sugar is in your jam? #2) Does it contain a pectin? I attempted this with an organic seedless low-sugar jam (only had 7g of cane sugar), which was quite tart but light tasting -could have used a barspoon of simple, probably. The pectin also makes dissolving the jam difficul - though a homemade non-pectin jam would likely be over-sweet from all the added sugar to macerate into jam.

I'm intrigued by the New York Sour but I've never made or been served a great one. I assume it succeeds or fails on the compatibility of the Bourbon and "Claret red wine." Could we clarify in more modern language what red wine would work well in this cocktail? A California Cabernet? A South Australian Shiraz? And what about substituting Rye for Bourbon. Rye seems more "New York."

When I made this a few weeks ago, I used Canadian Club 12 year as my base (fairly mellow, medium rye spice in a mixed mashbill), which paired nicely with Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz (Australian, and finished in whiskey barrels). It was definitely a full-bodied drink as a whole - the shiraz adding deep plum fruit and chocolate notes - I quite liked it. Whiskey-barrel-finished reds are pretty commonplace (but not all are equal) among many brands and varietals, but definitely experiment! My choices may not scream “New York” but if this drink is Chicagoan in actual origin anyways - well, whatever tastes great!

I’m definitely with Trader Vic when it comes to their 1972 recipe here. A 3-rum blend really gives this drink proper character (but I hold to 2 oz of rum total, so I don’t end up under the table). It definitely should consist of #1) a light/gold 1-3 year, #2) an overproof/navy-strength, and #3) a heavy Demerara. My personal preference is 1 oz Plantation Grande Reserve (or 3-Star), 1/2 oz Smith & Cross, and 1/2 oz El Dorado 12 year. And yes - I love to load it up unreasonably with Angostura!

An incredible all-timer of a cocktail. My personal spin prefers using 1 oz Plantation Grande Reserve, 1/2 oz Smith & Cross, 2/3 oz Cocchi Storico (and leave out the Bianco, having its ratio filled by the Cocchi Storico), and keeping the rest of the recipe list intact with the 2/3 oz Dolin Dry and 1/3 oz Curaçao, with grenadine and bitters to taste.

I find a homemade grenadine (with the proper hits of orange blossom water) really makes this punch above-weight as well.