arcadiandj

Wow! Thank you everyone for your responses. Marvelous food for thought!

So my journey into enjoying cocktails began with the Manhattan. But it took a serious turn last year when my wife and I stepped into Trader Sam's at Disneyland. It was love at first experience and bam! I just had to learn how to make those amazing tiki drinks. Poof, my liquor cabinet has like fifteen bottles of rum in it, and before I knew it, I'm just loving Kevin Upthegrove's 5 minutes of rum podcast: http://5minutesofrum.com/ He introduced me to rum tasting, but the other day, after doing a comparison of Appleton 12 year, their reserve blend, and their signature blend, I realized I really probably don't know what I'm doing. I kept gravitating towards the cheaper spirits and wondered if the more expensive rum was too subtle for my palate. So I thought this might be a good question for the forum. Do any of you have any advice for someone who is new to tasting on how they can develop this aspect of their enjoyment of a spirit?

So, recently some amazing mixologists opened up a tiki bar here in Phoenix. First of all, WOW! The place is awesome, particularly when the best we could do locally was staffed by bar tenders that didn't know what demerara rum is. Not the case at:http://www.undertowphx.com/ My question to the forum is, their menu is a GREAT mix of classic and modern recipes. My wife and I want to try and recreate a couple of their modern recipes. Here they are: Heart of a Sailor... $ 13 A passionate blend of Macadamia Nut infused Overproof Jamaican Rum, Aged Demerara Rum, Creole Shrub, Peach, Amontillado Sherry, Passion Fruit Bitters and grapefruit Oils. and: Stirred Bird... $ 13 Take flight with this jungle bird inspired cocktail that combines a blend of Dark Rums, Pineapple Rum, Aperitivo* Aperitif Aperitifs Operative , Pineapple & Lime Oils. We have found both of these drinks to have both the qualities of a whiskey drink like a Manhattan-a sipper with one large ice cube, but with the rum/tiki qualities that we all know and love. Do any of you have any suggestions on how to approach trying to replicate these? I imagine one ounce base, 3/4 ounce other rums/shrub, 3/4 ounce etc... and splash of the other ingredients? Does that make sense? FWIW if you are anywhere within driving distance of this bar, check it out. It is an amazing place. They have taken an old Jiffy Lube and converted it into a coffee/bar/restaurant and then used the under ground area to make a tiki bar/like the hold of a ship. Now the space is AMAZING, but the drinks are even better. I'm sure they will get a following and you will hear more, but in short, if you are close by, check it out. Be advised, they are new and in high demand, so you need to make reservations. Text them with your request Monday morning-to get your slot. Or you may not get in.

A new bar opened recently in Phoenix, and it is AMAZING! While it is small, the theming is beautiful and very well done, giving you the feeling you are in the hold of a ship. And the drinks are AWESOME! They do a wonderful mix of classic recipes and their own concoctions. My wife and I had a total of five different drinks and we loved each one. If you can make it to Phoenix, you will definitely want to visit. Be advised at this time, it is very popular, and you will want to make a reservation. http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/dining/dominic-armato/2016/07/15/top-mixologist-opening-phoenix-first-underground-tiki-bar-under-tow/87052002/

Some Clement Creole Shrub (mai tai heaven!), Hamilton 151 (for the best Zombies), Clement Rhum Vieux Agricole (further mai tai heaven!), some ting soda, what else? Those were the highlights. We will definitely go back there when we get out to DLR.

My wife and I (late in life Disneyland and Trader Sam's fans-rum shoppers) were able to stop by Hi-Time last month. In my best Jimmy Valmer impersonation: "I mean, come on!" They have EVERYONE beat-and their staff were nice and helpful. If you live out west, make the trip.

Thanks to all for your comments! It was enjoyable exploring other content! I find at my level-a novice cocktail enthusiast who has fallen in love with tiki culture, that I gravitate back to Kevin Upthegrove's podcast. Hopefully more artists will share their knowledge so that we all can enjoy cocktails more.

So do any of you have any favorite cocktail podcasts? I have really enjoyed Kevin Upthegrove's Five Minutes of Rum: http://5minutesofrum.com/ Of course I've learned a lot about rum, but I've also learned a lot about tasting and making cocktails. I really like his format also, the way he starts out talking about a brand, gives a lot of background about how it is made, and then he ends with discussing how to make a cocktail (end even some of the ingredients). I've listened to two other podcasts, but they have seemed to be more about how to be a bartender/work in the business. Do any of you have others that you enjoy?

Related to my post about LA, Phoenix has total wine, bev mo, and AJs. While they all certainly have plenty, I am not finding some of the more specific types of rum I have been looking for. So I'm curious if there are web sites that are particularly good. Thank you in advance!

I am not having much luck around Phoenix, however my wife and I get out to Anaheim regularly so I thought I would ask. Thank you in advance!

I must admit I don't know what a shrub is. I don't think I've had a cocktail with one either. What is a shrub?

Cinnamon syrup. I am trying to make the Zombie and the syrup I've come up with is too strong/hot/spicy!

Thank you everyone. I will try grenadine first. I've tried cinnamon already, and used an extract-way too spicy!

So I am new to making cocktails (and generally new to appreciating culinary arts in general) and am just beginning to experience "really good" cocktails. Of course, I want to make my own at home, but am having some difficulty. With some cooking experience, I understand you can have a much better experience when you make something from scratch with fresh ingredients. As such, I am wondering where would be a good place to start with regards to making your own cocktail ingredients. E.g. grenadine, cinnamon syrup, etc... Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated. TIA

Thank you everyone