Sunny&Rummy

That Flaming Orange Gully looks like it would be pretty good. Now the question is, do I dare allow a bottle of flavored vodka into the home bar?

I just mixed up the Jungle Bird, and I must say that is a very nice drink. The Campari sets it apart from a typical Tiki/faux Polynesian punch. Thanks for sharing!

How about an Amaretto Sour made with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, a few healthy dashes of Ango and a teaspoon of simple syrup instead of the commercial artificial sour mix? Having some decent ginger beer (Barritt's in glass bottles is very versatile and it actually is made with sugar cane and not HFS) on hand is an easy way to be able to come up with a number of highballs that appeal to a wide range of people. One 12-oz. bottle of ginger beer can be used to spin up a Dark 'n Stormy, Moscow Mule, El Diablo, and a Mamie Taylor if your home bar is moderately well stocked. When everything else fails, a Kahlua and Cream or White Russian can usually still satisfy the drinkers who don't want to be overly challenged by their libations.

Cocktails are so funny that way. There are some classic cocktails I adore, and then others that just don't quite do it for me even when someone else thinks they are wonderful. Viva Diversity I guess. With Tiare's Mayahuel, I was actually not entirely sold on it the very first time I mixed it up — some flavors that seemed to clash a bit on first sip. Still, the drink had enough going on in it that I revisited it and very soon became a huge fan of. And the cocktail kept getting better and better for me as I traded up from lowbrow Monte Alban to del Maguay Vida and then the crazy good del Maguey Santo Domingo Albarradas. I had a very similar experience with the Coconaut from Grog Log. I liked coco cream well enough, and I think I single-handedly keep lime farmers in business with all the limes I squeeze into drinks. But the combination of those two strong flavors was totally jarring to me at first and I didn't really care for it. Again, though the combination started to grow on me and now it is probably my favorite Beachbum original drink.

That looks great. Going to have to try that one very soon. Another mezcal cocktail I really like is from Tiare at themountainofcrushedice blog, the Mayahuel: 1 oz mezcal 0.75 oz pineapple juice 1 barspoon coffee liqueur (I use a full 1/4 oz.) 1/4 oz orgeat Shake and strain into a tumbler with crushed ice.

No citrus. An early attempt had the lemon juice of the original French 75 and it was still pretty balanced, but I liked it better without. I think the sweet and tart of the fruit lambic does a good job as solo substitute for citrus and simple syrup (or for the geuze + sugar = beer cafe faro that my originally planned cocktail would have employed). Overall the drink skews sweet, but not unappealing so. Ach I also see I misspelled Martell in my original post. Apologies for the poor spelling.

OK, my MxMO Beer Cocktails submission is the cocktail I tried out for last week's TDN — The Flemish 75 I had originally intended to keep the gin as a holdover from the original French 75, along with most of that classic drink's original ingredients and ratios other than the champagne. In its stead, I planned to use a wonderfully tart Belgian ale along the lines of Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René, but unfortunately here was none to be found at the local beer shops. Switching gears, I bought a bottle of Lindemans Pomme apple lambic and started thinking about changing my approach to the cocktail. Gin seemed like like it would clash with the sweeter fruit lambic, but cognac seemed like it would work rather well. To add just a touch of balancing sweetness and depth to the already tart-sweet Pomme I included some ginger liqueur and just a touch of maple syrup. Flemish 75 • 2 oz. cognac (Martel V.S.) • 0.5 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur • 0.25 oz. maple syrup • 3-4 oz. Lindemans Pomme apple lambic Shake first three ingredients w/ice, strain into a cocktail flute. Top with Pomme lambic. Garnish with slice granny smith apple. The drink turned out a very attractive cloudy, effervescent gold, with the Belgian ale contributing a small but dense meringue head. The nose was dominated by delicate apple cider notes, with brandy notes evident but subdued. Apple also dominated the sip initially, but the cognac was immediately evident mid-palate both in the flavors and in the pleasant thick mouthfeel of the drink. Maple and ginger notes were also evident mid-palate and becoming somewhat more pronounced on the swallow but never dominant. In the first attempt at this cocktail last week I went with 0.75 oz. of Canton but that amount put the ginger too much in the forefront so it was cut back for the next iteration. I honestly find the original French 75, with two full ounces of gin, a bit much compared to most of the decidedly more subdued champagne cocktails. In contrast, even though this new riff on that drink has the same amount of spirits, it is very approachable and drinkable. And repeatable. I like this one, and I hope one or two of the MxMO folks out there give it a spin. Thanks to Frederic for hosting this month's installment. And sincere thanks for reviving the eG MxMO thread to give us non Booze Bloggers (Booze Bystanders. . . ?) a chance to join in the fun.

Well, they didn't drop their proof so much as they stopped exporting the 95.5 to the US. I think the 42% works better in a Painkiller #2 anyway, but I do miss the 95.5 proof in a big rummy Navy Grogs. I have just a bit of a bottle of 95.5 left that I found on a dusty liquor store shelf last year that I think will end up in a nice grog to commemorate Black Tot Day next month.

Matt over at Rumdood posted an informative writeup on the Pussers-PKNY kerfuffle. I hate but understand the need for trademark protection, though I sure wish it was unnecessary. None of this unfortunate saga changes my opinion that Charles Tobias makes some great rums, although it doers leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I might have to make my next Painkiller with a mix of Smith & Cross, Appleton 12, and El Dorado 5 as a symbolic protest though. Actually, that looks like it would make a killer Painkiller. . .

Three great and entirely distinctive rums right there, and three of the best steals in terms of price.

The initial cost of multiple bottles of decent rum is understandably off-putting to people just starting out. The common recommendation to start with one or two bottles that work well in cocktails whose recipes look appealing is a very good one. In the coming weeks and months you gradually and affordably build up a home bar complete with the liqueurs and mixers you need for a growing menu of new favorite cocktails. The OP mentioned Matusalem and the Gran Reserva 15 is a widely available, value-priced, and very good rum that does double duty as a sipper and an upscale mixer. What I like to do with friends just starting into rum is to mix them up something simple to taste side-by-side with the the featured rum served neat. The Captain's Blood cocktail from Robert Hess' Drinkboy recipe index works really well with Matusalem GR and with most dark sipping rums: 1 1/2 ounce dark rum 1/4 ounce lime juice 1/4 ounce simple syrup 2 dash Angostura Bitters Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel (optional). Try that along with a small neat pour of the featured rum and it gives a good appreciation for the versatility of the spirit.

I was so glad to see an eG thread started for this coming MxMo for us non booze bloggers to participate. Thanks Frederic! Time now to start thinking about a beer cocktail.