Inspired by Brookelynn and Becky! blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/08/brandied_cocktail_cher… I simmered up some water, raw sugar, cinnamon bark, lemon juice, and vanilla.

Added cherries (I left the pits in out of laziness and in hope that some of that almond flavor will be imparted), simmered another five minutes.

Then bottled the cherries in the syrupy juice and added brandy. In a day they should be ready, but I added one to a Manhattan tonight and loved it.

This is on top of a fridge in a break room at work.

The kids and I came up the escalator at Barnes and Noble to be greeted by this DIY Guides endcap. They recognized Jane and Sarina’s dad, Mark, right away, and then pointed out that I have most of those other books on my bookshelf, including the excellent Make: imprinted books.

This is the glorious result of my first ever attempt at making my own tonic syrup. It tastes delicious — better than nearly any other tonic I’ve had. The chinchona bark I started with is a bit more floral than I’d prefer, but I have a few other kinds on order to play with.

I followed Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s basic recipe, and it couldn’t have been easier. First, I pulverized the chinchona bark in a coffee mill. Then I added it to a sauce pan with water, citric acid, salt, allspice berries, and the zest and juice of a lemon, lime, and orange (I had no lemongrass, but will next time). Brought to a boil, simmered covered for 20 minutes, and then strained through cheese cloth and a french press.

Once strained, I reheated and incorporated the agave syrup. The taste is bitter, tart, sweet, and awesome. I don’t have any seltzer or sparkling water on hand, but that’s fine. My first goal was to recreate the fine Tonique Gin cocktail Ed made for me at Bar Tonique in New Orleans last year. Mission accomplished! I used 3/4 oz. tonic syrup, 1 1/2 oz. gin, stirred with ice. Delicious.

I ordered a few different sources of quinine to make my own tonic water. This is the first to arrive! Chinchona bark from Tenzing Momo in Seattle. It’s almost exactly a year since our gang from DisneyToon Studios descended upon Ed’s Bar Tonique in New Orleans to be educated by the man himself about homemade tonic. I’m finally getting around to making my own. Will update as I go.

Make: television is up for an Emmy award and the winners will be announced tonight! We’re up against Martha Stewart, This Old House, and two Style network shows. Wish us luck!

Producer Richard Hudson, Make: publisher Dale Dougherty, myself and my wife Erin will be attending. I’ve got a tux and everything! I’ll be tweeting @johnedgarpark and try to get some photos.

I just picked up 70lbs. of green coffee beans that I’m splitting with a friend of mine. Sadly, a friend of a friend’s roasting business just went bust, so they had quite a supply of beans to sell off at bargain prices. Normally, I pay about $6 per lb. for beans, I got these for $1.50 per lb.

It’s going to be fun roasting them over the coming year. Left alone they should keep for a year, and I can get another 6 mo. to a year out of them if I bag and freeze them.

The lovely Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh sent me some packs of Sugru modeling repair/mod/hacking silicone to review for the next volume of Make: magazine. Here’s a preview of the tea kettle repair I performed.

I’m not sure I want to know why this ring is around the moon in LA tonight.