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Gin If there is a particularly polarizing spirit it must be gin. Some people hate gin, while others love it. The folks that love gin tend to love specific brand or style of gin, and may even hate specific brands or styles. Gin can be confusing, and for more information you can consult this Gin 101 article, which has lots of helpful information listed in the comments, too!

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Tags: spirits, tools, Gregory Dal Piaz, how to, bartending, party cocktails, entertaining, classic cocktails

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Comments

courgette

124481 139

"I never use brandy in a cocktail..."!!!!

Greg, I gasped at that line! As your Christmas gift, I'm going to recommend that you try first the venerable SIDECAR (many variations on proportions, but I like 2 oz brandy, .5 oz Cointreau, .5 oz lemon juice); and then the classic STINGER-- incidentally, a perfect Yuletide drink, and ideal for any Mad Men-themed occasion: 2 oz brandy, .5 oz white creme de menthe. The Stinger was enormously popular in the 40's -60's, and then merely reliably popular in the 70's and into the 80's.

These two cocktails justify the existence of blended brandies!

Dec 25, 2010 at 1:16 PM
mannee

83613 1

I actually have a question I'm hoping somebody can help me out with. Do spirits have a shelf life? Can they go bad?

Dec 26, 2010 at 11:11 PM
therealpou-
r

102383 3

Non-sugared or non-scream-based spirits (vodka, rum, whiskey, scotch, etc.) don't have a shelf life and typically can be kept almost indefinitely.

Dec 29, 2010 at 11:09 PM