254 replies to this topic

[EvergreenDan]

@frog - you mentioned in the linked thread that you initially had a hard time getting your head around Campari + rum. It was mentioned way up-thread, but I think the Bitter Mai Tai is simply awesome.

Bitter Mai Tai
by Jeremy Oertel, Brooklyn's Dram, NY
1 1/2 oz Campari
3/4 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1 oz Lime juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Curaçao

Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass over crushed ice, garnish with a mint sprig.

Some have suggested cutting the Campari to 1oz and increasing the rum, but I love it as written. Use good orgeat. If using almond-extract type brand, cut the quantity of orgeat considerably (maybe to 1/4 oz?). The Smith & Cross is pretty important for its hogo and high proof.

[FrogPrincesse]

@frog - you mentioned in the linked thread that you initially had a hard time getting your head around Campari + rum. It was mentioned way up-thread, but I think the Bitter Mai Tai is simply awesome.

Bitter Mai Tai
by Jeremy Oertel, Brooklyn's Dram, NY
1 1/2 oz Campari
3/4 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1 oz Lime juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Curaçao

Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass over crushed ice, garnish with a mint sprig.

Some have suggested cutting the Campari to 1oz and increasing the rum, but I love it as written. Use good orgeat. If using almond-extract type brand, cut the quantity of orgeat considerably (maybe to 1/4 oz?). The Smith & Cross is pretty important for its hogo and high proof.

Hi Dan. Thanks for the suggestion. You brought up this cocktail a few times so it was already on my radar screen. So far I was reluctant to try it for the reasons explained before, but I think it's time to give it a try now (well, I mean tonight!). I have a bottle of Smith & Cross that I haven't used yet and just by smelling it I can tell how it could pair well with the Campari. I have some homemade orgeat so I am all good to go. It looks like a good transitional drink to classic tiki concoctions which I have been itching to mix again with the nice weather here.

Some cocktails using aged/very smooth rums in combination with Campari seem like a waste of good rum to me, because you can't really taste the subtlety of the rum anymore. I have ruined really good aged rums that way including some special rhum agricoles (I am thinking of a bad experience with the Right Hand cocktail for example)... However, with more assertive rums such as the black strap (or S & C) this is no longer an issue. So it's just a matter of finding the appropriate rum for these drinks I guess. Sam Ross mixed quite a few Right Hands the other night at Noble Experiment, but of course I did not have the idea to check what rum he was using.

[EvergreenDan]

@frog - You make a good point. Some spirits that I really enjoy sipping do not make the best mixing spirits. For example, a smooth, refined aged rye will get lost in a cocktail, whereas something like Wild Turkey 101 stands up to the competition.

Smith & Cross is expensive, but it makes this drink. I hope you enjoy it, now that I've pitched it!

[FrogPrincesse]

Smith & Cross is expensive, but it makes this drink. I hope you enjoy it, now that I've pitched it!

I made the Bittter Mai Tai last night with the ratios from your post.
It's a very pretty drink.



Regarding the taste, at first, it feels like you are sipping on a Smith & Cross Mai Tai. Then the Campari kicks in - in a big way. A very long bitter grapefruit finish. I really like Campari, but I have to say this was a little much for me. If I ignore the fact that it's a "Mai Tai", it is a tasty drink which reminds me of the Jasmine. At the end though my taste buds were a little saturated with Campari and I could hardly taste the S & C anymore.

My husband could not deal with the bitterness of the drink, so I made him a Trader Vic Mai Tai.



I had a sip (to make sure that it was right) but I could still taste the grapefruit notes from my cocktail. Not a good idea to have these two cocktails side by side...

[ChrisTaylor]

@frog - you mentioned in the linked thread that you initially had a hard time getting your head around Campari + rum. It was mentioned way up-thread, but I think the Bitter Mai Tai is simply awesome.

Bitter Mai Tai
by Jeremy Oertel, Brooklyn's Dram, NY
1 1/2 oz Campari
3/4 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1 oz Lime juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Curaçao

Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass over crushed ice, garnish with a mint sprig.

Some have suggested cutting the Campari to 1oz and increasing the rum, but I love it as written. Use good orgeat. If using almond-extract type brand, cut the quantity of orgeat considerably (maybe to 1/4 oz?). The Smith & Cross is pretty important for its hogo and high proof.

I went for 1 oz of Ron Zacarpa (I haven't seen anyone sell Smith & Cross in Australia, so I just decided to go for a nice dark rum) and 1.25 oz of Campari. This I like a whole lot.

[EvergreenDan]

Chris -- do you have access to something funkier -- more hogo?

[Tri2Cook]

A small spark of hope for Canadian tiki? Lemon Hart 151 is apparently now available in Alberta. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will eventually spread it's way across Canada now that it's in the door. I'm not too hopeful at this point but it's a start.

[Kerry Beal]

Noticed the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission has the Lemon Hart - but not the 151!

They also have the Cruzan Black Strap - so a bottle of that should be coming home to me in a couple of weeks.

Edited by Kerry Beal, 29 April 2012 - 02:53 PM.

[Tri2Cook]

Yeah, Manitoba has the 80 proof Lemon Hart too. I was hoping a bottle of the Cruzan Black Strap was coming home with a coworker that was in N.S. a few weeks ago but she said the stores around where the friend she was visiting lives didn't have it. I'm not too worried about that one right now though, I still have enough on my LCBO list to keep me broke and hungry for a while.

[thirtyoneknots]

Chris -- do you have access to something funkier -- more hogo?

I (tragically) can't speak from experience but by all accounts Inner Circle Green would be an acceptable analogue.

[haresfur]

Chris -- do you have access to something funkier -- more hogo?

I (tragically) can't speak from experience but by all accounts Inner Circle Green would be an acceptable analogue.

I use Inner Circle green or red (depending on how frugal I was feeling last time I was at Dan Murphy's) whenever Smith and Cross is called for. If a recipe asks for Jamacan rum I consider the source in chosing between Inner Circle or Captain Morgan's Dark (not spiced).

But I'm not sure Chris is an Inner Circle fan. I'll work on him while he works on getting me to appreciate peaty scotch.

While on the topic of Australian rum, a splash of Bundaberg in instant coffee just after dawn on Anzac day is actually drinkable. I guess the whole is greater than the parts.

[ChrisTaylor]

Aside from the apv%, is there any difference between the red and green Circles, haresfur?

[haresfur]

Aside from the apv%, is there any difference between the red and green Circles, haresfur?

I don't think so. Well the price. I haven't compared the cost per standard drink. But Green is easier to mix because you control the dilution - especially for drinks with a lot of non-alcoholic ingredients that may need a bit more strength.

[ChrisTaylor]

Yeah. The price. There's that. Black and Green are quite expensive--certainly more than your entry-level Angosturas, etc.

I guess maybe I'll look into it. Or maybe I'll just revisit Morgan.

Any other rums I need in my life? Think of what I'd maybe be able to get through Dan Murphy's or Nick's. At the moment I have:

* Green Island white rum. Almost done. Will maybe replace with Havana Club or something of that nature.
* Mt Gay Eclipse.
* Angostura 5.
* Ron Zacarpa GR.

[mkayahara]

The Jungle Bird, as seen on the Noble Experiment thread: Cruzan black strap rum, Campari, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup.



With the black strap rum, it becomes slightly sweet and very aromatic - quite dangerous! Much better than the original in my opinion.

OK, I've been casting about for a couple of days trying to find the "original" you refer to here, but all the Jungle Bird recipes I can find seem to call for Blackstrap! In any case, I tried it this past Friday, and while it was good, I wasn't blown away.

(The Montegomatica, on the other hand, was a thoroughly brilliant drink. I'll be revisiting that one soon.)

[FrogPrincesse]

OK, I've been casting about for a couple of days trying to find the "original" you refer to here, but all the Jungle Bird recipes I can find seem to call for Blackstrap! In any case, I tried it this past Friday, and while it was good, I wasn't blown away.

The "original" I was referring to is the version from Beachbum Berry Remixed.
3/4 oz campari, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 4 oz unsweetened pineapple juice, 1 1/2 dark Jamaican rum.

Try at your own risk!

[mkayahara]

OK, I've been casting about for a couple of days trying to find the "original" you refer to here, but all the Jungle Bird recipes I can find seem to call for Blackstrap! In any case, I tried it this past Friday, and while it was good, I wasn't blown away.

The "original" I was referring to is the version from Beachbum Berry Remixed.
3/4 oz campari, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 4 oz unsweetened pineapple juice, 1 1/2 dark Jamaican rum.

Try at your own risk!

Ah, well I guess that explains why I couldn't find it by searching online. Thanks!

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful weather yesterday (it finally feels like summer), so we were in the mood for a tiki drink.

I made a Test Pilot (Don The Beachcomber, via Beachbum Berry Remixed) which is one of the tiki drinks I make regularly. The recipe was posted on the falernum thread for those who would like to try it and don't have Jeff Berry's books.

One of my favorite falernum cocktails is the Test Pilot; recipe from Jeff Berry's Grog Log (Jeff credits the drink to Donn Beach, circa 1941).

Test Pilot

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Falernum
3 teaspoons Cointreau
dash Angostura bitters
1/8 teaspoon Pernod
3/4 ounce light Puerto Rican rum
1 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum

Blend with 1 cup crushed ice for 5 seconds, then pour into double old-fashioned glass. Add more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with a wooden oyster fork with maraschino cherry skewered on prongs.

It's spicy, it's deep and complex, and it keeps getting better with each sip. I imagine it would be even more fantastic with homemade falernum. The pastis + Angostura bitters combination is quite a wonderful base for the cocktail.



We started singing Don Ho songs at some point, not sure how that happened.

Edited by FrogPrincesse, 07 June 2012 - 11:19 AM.

[thirtyoneknots]

A dear friend is moving to Virginia next week and the opportunity to do a punch (for the farewell party) was too good to pass up. I've had my eye on the West Indies Punch from my 1946 Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink for quite some time--looks like I'll finally get to take it for a spin.

[FrogPrincesse]

I tried the Sumatra Kula last night, an early creation from Don the Beachcomber that is documented in Sippin' Safari. It combines white rum with orange (blood orange - my modification), lime, and grapefruit juices, and honey syrup as the sweetener.



It is not Don's most memorable work - it does not help that his master piece, the Zombie, was created around the same time - but it was what I was looking for, something fresh highlighting the grapefruit, with the honey providing additional interest. Surprisingly subtle for a Don the Beachcomber creation.

[tanstaafl2]

Beautiful weather yesterday (it finally feels like summer), so we were in the mood for a tiki drink.

I made a Test Pilot (Don The Beachcomber, via Beachbum Berry Remixed) which is one of the tiki drinks I make regularly. The recipe was posted on the falernum thread for those who would like to try it and don't have Jeff Berry's books.

One of my favorite falernum cocktails is the Test Pilot; recipe from Jeff Berry's Grog Log (Jeff credits the drink to Donn Beach, circa 1941).

Test Pilot

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Falernum
3 teaspoons Cointreau
dash Angostura bitters
1/8 teaspoon Pernod
3/4 ounce light Puerto Rican rum
1 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum

Blend with 1 cup crushed ice for 5 seconds, then pour into double old-fashioned glass. Add more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with a wooden oyster fork with maraschino cherry skewered on prongs.

It's spicy, it's deep and complex, and it keeps getting better with each sip. I imagine it would be even more fantastic with homemade falernum. The pastis + Angostura bitters combination is quite a wonderful base for the cocktail.



We started singing Don Ho songs at some point, not sure how that happened.

The drink looks nice but what I really want are those glasses! Suck 'em up indeed!

[FrogPrincesse]

The drink looks nice but what I really want are those glasses! Suck 'em up indeed!

The glasses were a fantastic gift from a friend. You see them on eBay occasionally.

[FrogPrincesse]

I've been craving a Three Dots and a Dash for a while now, and realized I was being silly because the only reason I was not making one was because I did not have a pineapple spear for the garnish.

The recipe is from Sippin' Safari (for those who don't have the book, rumdood/Matt Robold provided it on his blog here - but I believe he is missing a dash of Angostura bitters!). As opposed to the pretty tame Sumatra Kula, the Three Dots and a Dash explodes with spice, with a trifecta of pimento dram, falernum AND angostura bitters! Regarding the rum, with 1.5 oz of aged rhum agricole (I used La Favorite Coeur de Rhum) and 0.5 oz of Demerara rum (I used El Dorado 5 yr), it is particularly flavorful (and strong!). A great classic.



Last year during a cocktail symposium at Tiki Oasis, Martin Cate had us deconstruct this cocktail by trying to identify each one of its 8 ingredients. He was using a different rum mix - obviously the aged agricole is not very cost-effective. I do however highly recommend using the agricole in this drink, because it stands up to the spices and makes the drink extraordinary.

[FrogPrincesse]

While going through pictures for the previous post, I stumbled upon some pictures that my husband took of Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach last year.




We did not know what to expect, but thought it was a great sign when we saw this guy carving tikis in the adjacent parking lot.



When we got in, we were immediately transported into a different world. The bar area is beautifully decorated.






We went at lunch time and pretty much had the place to ourselves. The food was decent and the drinks were great. We were relieved to see that the cocktail menu had a solid selection of classics.

This is how they serve the Three Dots and a Dash. I can't remember what rums they were using - my excuse is that I was sipping a Zombie 1934 and can't remember much else :-)




Some more eye candy.
If you are a regular, you can keep your special mug in this cabinet.

[FrogPrincesse]

For those of you who are into tiki cocktails, Tiki Oasis has published its program for this year and there is a great line-up on the cocktail symposium front, with Martin Cate (Smuggler's Cove) giving a couple of talks on rum and continuing with his investigations into tiki drinks with CSI: Cocktail II - Wrath of The Tiki Drink Killer, and Richard Boccato (PKNY, Dutch Kills, Little Branch) exploring the topic of Gin Tropical Cocktails (Beyond The Vesper).

[tanstaafl2]

Richard Boccato (PKNY, Dutch Kills, Little Branch) exploring the topic of Gin Tropical Cocktails (Beyond The Vesper).

Interesting title. Not sure the Vesper is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of tropical cocktails, gin based or otherwise.

[FrogPrincesse]

Richard Boccato (PKNY, Dutch Kills, Little Branch) exploring the topic of Gin Tropical Cocktails (Beyond The Vesper).

Interesting title. Not sure the Vesper is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of tropical cocktails, gin based or otherwise.

I was also confused by the title initially; however you have to keep in mind that the theme of Tiki Oasis this year is described as "exotic espionage and Polynesian pulp", hence the Vesper reference.

[tanstaafl2]

Richard Boccato (PKNY, Dutch Kills, Little Branch) exploring the topic of Gin Tropical Cocktails (Beyond The Vesper).

Interesting title. Not sure the Vesper is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of tropical cocktails, gin based or otherwise.

I was also confused by the title initially; however you have to keep in mind that the theme of Tiki Oasis this year is described as "exotic espionage and Polynesian pulp", hence the Vesper reference.

Ah! Makes a little more sense. Would like to go to an event like this but unless it is either in Atlanta or within an easy weekend drive from Atlanta it isn't going to happen this year. My trip to Buenos Aires and Antarctica in Jan/Feb and the upcoming trip to Iceland and the Arctic in August have pretty much chewed up both vacation time and vacation travel funds for the moment.

[FrogPrincesse]

An excess of citrus and a freshly-made batch of orgeat were my motivation for deciding to make a tiki drink last night - usually I look for less involved recipes for Monday nights! Looking up recipes using orgeat, I came up with Kelbo's Scorpion in Sippin' Safari. It's an eclectic mix of dark Jamaican rum, brandy and gin, plus orange juice, lime juice, passion fruit syrup and orgeat.



As with a lot of tiki drinks, with so many ingredients it's hard to know based on the recipe alone what it is going to taste like. It was very tasty, a little spicy, definitely on the boozy side but smooth (and therefore dangerous), with the creamy orgeat tying up everything together. Quite impressive.

For reference, stickyii posted the recipe while back on the Drinks! thread.

Kelbo's Scorpion

3/4oz lime juice
3/4oz orange juice
1/2oz passion fruit syrup
1/2oz orgeat
1oz dark Jamaican rum
3/4oz cognac
1/2oz gin
6oz crushed ice

Blend on high for 3 seconds. Pour into a fun tiki mug.

This potion is so wonderfully balanced and delicious.

[Hassouni]

Where did you get the passion fruit syrup?