Tonight’s cocktail tasting has us reverse-engineering a cocktail I enjoyed at Houston’s Philippe Restaurant. The restaurant, like the cocktail attempts to combine southwestern and French cooking, and I thought the most effectively executed original cocktail was the French Cowboy, which was billed as containing Bourbon, Lillet, and Agave Syrup. I’ve never worked with Agave Syrup, and have added orange bitters but we’re still working on the ratios and might switch out the bitters (and of course need to take the requisite cocktail glamor shots), so watch for a final recipe in the coming weeks.

We also have a rum showdown in the works. After reading And a Bottle of Rum we’ve been on a bit of a rum kick lately, and sipping rums are a nice addition to any bar. Most are devoid of pretentious marketing, and the high-end stuff clocks in around forty bucks. We have Babancourt Estate Reserve on hand, and ordered Plantation 20th Anniversary and Pyrat Reserve to complete a trio. How did we pick this combination? Using our patented scientific methodology: the Babancourt was already in the cabinet, I’ve had Plantation 20th and really enjoyed it (although admittedly after several cocktails, so I wanted to verify my initial reaction), and the Pyrat snuck in to spread shipping costs, and is distilled on the island of Anguilla, where Mrs. Cocktail Hound and I spent our honeymoon. Stay tuned for the throwdown!