Angostura & Peychaud's are the go-to, always have both on hand.
I was a member of a cocktail club at one point, so have lots of other bitters on hand.

I haven't tried a Douglas Fir bitter, but in regards to a forest influence product, I did just buy a German honey that is described as "Dark Forest" honey. Nice pine aspect to the honey, very different that the usual honey I buy. (Mrs Willie was not a fan)

I am slowly building my collection of bitters! There is a wonderful shop here in Melbourne (aptly named Only Bitters) that carries a fantastic range. Otherwise, I also pick up interesting ones on my annual trips to the US.

The Douglas fir bitter that I have is the Woodland Bitters from Portland Bitters Project. I bought it to make a spin on the Negroni together with St George Terroir Gin (one of my all-time favourite gins), Cynar, Zirbenz stone pine liqueur, and lemon peel. Woodsy flavoured food and drinks are definitely an acquired taste that is not for everyone! To me, that forest honey sounds excellent.

Last night Mrs Willie & I enjoyed Negroni Sbagliato

A classic negroni contains equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. The sbagliato contains equal parts sweet vermouth, Campari and prosecco.

We tweak the recipe and use 1 part Sweet Vermouth, 1 part Campari, 2-3 parts prosecco as who wants leftover prosecco?

They were all the rage in Milan when I was there in about 2015. It was fun! "Sbagliato" means "false" iirc. It's a fake negroni. :)

Lazy man's coffee & cream "cocktail" last night

Some no name brand of Irish cream I had on hand I felt I should use up, mixed a ratio for 3 Irish Cream to 1 Tia Maria coffee liquor. Served in a tall glass with lots of ice.
A happy drink to sip while watching Top Chef with Mrs Willie last night.

This past Saturday evening, Mrs Willie & I enjoyed the tequila cocktail called a Siesta. I didn't have any grapefruit juice so simply added 1oz of St. Elder Pamplemousse (grapefruit) Liquor, I also wanted a smokey component so used reposada instead of blanco Tequila, I also used some honey instead of simple syrup. (I actually couldn't tell you the last time I used simple syrup, I either use honey or maple syrup)

Was a fantastic cocktail, highly suggest anyone who loves tequila cocktails to try this.

_____________________________________

Ingredients for Siesta Cocktail

• 1 1/2 ounces blanco tequila
  
• 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
  
• 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  
• 3/4 ounce simple syrup
  
• 1/4 ounce Campari
  
• Garnish: grapefruit peel
  

Steps

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice until well-chilled.
   
2. Fine-strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled coupe glass.
   
3. Garnish with a grapefruit peel.
   

Pretty simple— enjoying the Old Fashioned mix served in F aboard UA. It’s made with Knob Creek whiskey and isn’t overly sweet. Nice way to start my trip!

We also enjoy coffee and cream cocktails as a nightcap.

Typically 1 part Five Farms Irish Cream and 1 part Crater Lake hazelnut espresso vodka over a full glass of ice. The vodka is sweetened and isn't full strength so it doesn't overpower the cream.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a50f01d417.jpg
St Germain Royale

Not bad.

The Manhattan is one of my favorite cocktails. Just made one with Sazerac Rye which I've come to really enjoy over the last few months.

Sgroppino with peach sorbet instead of lemon.

Sipsmith gin with light tonic.

TYPICA. Confluence gin, Mandarin amaro, Dillions sweet vermouth, garden bitters.

(At Primary Colour in YYC) Sorry-- no picture.

It was pretty good :)

This sounds decent.

I've been making Aviation cocktails lately. The Aviation is a pre-Prohibition cocktail that's basically a gin sour. The recipe is:

2 oz gin
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.25 oz creme de violette (or creme yvette if you can't find creme de violette)
0.5 oz luxardo maraschino

shake with ice in a shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. serve with a cherry.


Separately, I have recently discovered that there's a global shortage of Chartreuse! The monks have apparently decided to limit production. Has anyone been able to find it in stores?