New Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters Review

Just reviewed the new Fee brothers Cherry Bitters and came up with a cocktail for it.
http://www.spiritsreview.com/reviews-bitters-fees-cherry.html

Going to Tales !

Headed to Tales of the Cocktail soon!
Will be going back to Tales for further punishment and to host the second annual Ernest Hemingway Bar Crawl

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That Smell is My Eyeball Burning....

Just got my eyes lasered yesterday.I think the official term is LASIK, excimer laser, mixed vision,(One for long distance, one for short distance, reading, computer,etc.,)
They did a couple work ups and then gave me a pouch of medications, goggles sunglasses and scrips for prescriptions on the Friday before and had me come back on Wednesday the 4th (of June to do the actual surgery.
They put a number of numbing local anesthetics in my eyes then painted them with Betadine (felt like they were tanned like leather after that)and had me take a 5 mg Valium.
After they laid me down on the table they put a patch on my left eye then taped my right eyelid down and put a eye speculum (remember "A Clockwork Orange"?) and suction on my eye to pull the cornea up.
They then turned off the lights so they could "flap" my cornea - read cut the top with a scalpel and fold it back - without me having to watch (sounds like something from a bad horror movies so I was glad I didn't see it).
Then they said focus on the blinking red light - it didn't hurt but the smell of the cornea being vaporized was like the smell of burning flesh - they forgot to mention that bit beforehand - held my breath and tried not to think about it as much as possible. While a nurse held and occasionally tappped my upper arm to distract me.
They then turned the laser off and put the cornea flap back,smoothing it out like putting tinting on a window (very carefully to avoid bubbles)with a lot of stroking it with a small instrument to lay it down.
They then did the same procedures on my left eye (while a nurse helpfully held my hand).
Everything seems to have gone well. There is a constant rain of eye drops ( 4 different ones - a steroid, 2 antibiotics and a preservative free artificial tears, that I have to use (some every hour, others about 2 hours apart)and a pair of goggles/eye shields I have to wear to bed for the next week or so to prevent my rubbing my eyes during the night.
Above is me with my new "Motor Vehicle Card" which says I don't have to wear corrective lenses to drive anymore.Very cool I thought. Glad to have it! -It was a very nice surprise that the Doctor gave me the day after surgery.

Fermenter Room Panorama

Fermenter Room Panorama
Originally uploaded by Spirits Review

Stitch Photo of Mash Fermenting Room at Michters

Just finished up a tour of the abandoned Michters Distillery full photo set is at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiritsreview/sets/72157604984602396/
Most of the equipment is intact but the roofs have fallen in on some buildings.
Also there is a lot of raccoon excrement and mold in the place.
Something seems to have got me....
Sore throat,trouble breathing and a body temp of 97.Dizzy and sick. Hope I can write a story abou the place to pay for the doctors bills...
Anyway please check out the photos.

Century Pittsford Nicole's Liquor Store Review

The much delayed , much anticipated Pittsford Century,Nicole's Liquor Store is now Open.
Wegman's Does Wine the Same Way they do Sushi or Anything Else-
Badly.corporate,soulless,Potemkin Village. It has that Wegmans feel, take something and corporate manage it to death - like their sushi,cheese or natural foods, lets bulk up on questionable cheap products that are mediocre and serve them up in a overly big,brightly lit store that has much charm,interest or fun as a cat litter (but to be fair, cleaner) ignoring interesting products or doing any research to find truly good products.

The selections are uninspired, the selection LOOKS big but is not- they have a lot of the same product side by side to bulk up space but the selections are lacking.
Where are the artisanal items,small production,interesting or quirky things? What about all the new and interesting products out there?This place is a homogenized,pasteurized and antiseptic version of a store with no soul.
The information are has 1 computer to look things up, the spirit books selection is poor to middling.

I won't do a point by point critique of each area but it was uninspiring,unimaginative,and unexciting- not to say boring and lacking.

As to their tastings,the stuff they had in the spirits section today was undrinkable kiddie Koolaid with regretabble vodka.On their opening day they chose this?
Even the ABC chain liquor stores in Florida do a lot better job in terms of breadth of selection.

Yeah, it looks flashy,big,supposedly great but I wouldn't go back. After all this I'll probably be banned from the property anyway!

The Eliot Spritzer

I guess this goes to show what happens when I am unsupervised...
I started thinking about Eliot Spritzer and a drink that would be fitting and I was foooling around with various options,Champagne was obvious for the spritzer and success, then something for madness or loss of any even remote self control. hmmm, mezcal?, gin, then I thought the obvious, Absinthe,why not ?
Most people actually believe those stories, so it would be humorous. So then I thought "Death in the Afternoon,Hemingway , etc.,
and Campari for a bitter bloody ending, why not?
We of course used upstate New York Champagne given Eliot's love of upstate too.
Original - Quite Bitter- Especially at End

1/2 oz of Campari
1 oz Absinthe
3 oz Champagne
(Basically a Death in the Afternoon variant)
Pour the Campari into a champagne flute
Float 1 oz of Absinthe (I prefer the Kubler Clear/white for looks or if you want a sweeter version use Lucid)
Float the champagne over all of it. (The absinthe will mix with the champagne)
Another method to make it is to add the Absinthe and champagne first then put the Campari in the bottom using a turkey baster or other syringe type device to layer it below the other ingredients.
If you want a sweeter version add sugar or simple syrup to the absinthe before hand
Of course the story is champagne (sweetness of success) followed by the Absinthe (Madness and Sex)and then the Campari (a bitter,bloody red end)

Sweeter Version

1/2 oz of Campari
1 oz St Germain Liqueur
1 oz Absinthe
3 oz Champagne

Pour the Campari into a Champagne flute
Mix the St Germain, Champagne and Absinthe together then float over the Campari
Another method to make it is to add the mix first then put the Campari in the bottom using a turkey baster or other syringe type device(marinade hypo) to layer it below the other ingredients.
Of course the story is champagne (sweetness of success) followed by the Absinthe (Madness and Sex)and then the Campari (a bitter,bloody red end)
Cheers,
Chris