danslemarais's Profile

If you want to just clean off the bottle, the hot water method will work, but if you're looking to preserve the label I would avoid it -- the label is much more likely to tear, and even if it doesn't, it will get wrinkly and probably not dry nicely. I'd recommend a dry method, like the oven or the label lift offs.

If you have a lot of space, like the look, or prefer glass-top tables, why not? However, for most people it seems like it would make more sense just to use one dining room table with a removable leaf, so that it could be adjusted to fit 4 or 6-8.

You could also try making infusing it into flavored brandy by adding fruit and spices. Nigella Lawson has a quince brandy recipe, and I think she even specifies to use a cheap brandy. (In fact, most infusion recipes I see, e.g. for homemade vanilla extract, specify using a cheap alcohol.)

That's awesome that this is coming to the US! Lotus makes a really delicious Speculoos spread that's widely available in France -- not as fancy-looking, but still awesome! David Lebovitz has written about it a few times.