The Tiki Drink Discussion Topic (part 2)

[BillBuitenhuys]

[Host's note: This topic is part of an extended discussion that grew too large for our servers to handle efficiently.  The discussion continues from here.]

 

 

Seeing it's white grapefruit season in AZ, we've been drinking our share of Navy Grogs.

Edited March 2, 2016 by lesliec
Added host's note (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

When I got home from work there were seven pounds of fresh white grapefruit sitting by my door.  So of course this means a zombie!  It's been so long, so very long, I really have to rethink my take on the recipe.  Here is what I tried this evening:

 

1 1/2 oz S&C

1 1/2 oz Neisson l'Esprit

1 oz Hamilton 151

1/2 oz Taylor's Falernum

1/2 oz Small Hand grenadine

5 ml tincture of cinnamon (made with W&N)

12 drops Jade 1901

1 (generous) dash Angostura

juice of 1 lime

juice of 1/4 fresh white grapefruit

 

 

Purple straw, garnish of mint.  The styrene taste I love about l'Esprit  comes through over everything.  Though of course both cinnamon and peanuts contain styrene, so one never knows.  I've always wondered if what I taste in l'Esprit is really, really styrene (vinyl benzene, phenylethene) or something else.  But styrene's what it tastes like to me.  And I don't taste it in any other rum.

 

Taylor's being Taylor's, I think I will decrease the falernum and increase the grenadine.  I would never admit it sober but I really don't like Taylor's.

 

The main problem is the drink did not fit in this 15 ounce crystal high ball glass.  I shall explore serving the zombie in my usual Baccarat mai tai tumbler.  Even should poor Don be rolling in his grave.

 

[lesliec]

56 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

here were seven pounds of fresh white grapefruit sitting by my door.  So of course this means a zombie!

 

That could be taken a couple of ways, Jo.  White grapefruit are zombie droppings?  If you see them, beware!

 

I must agree, soberly, with your assessment of Taylor's (or was it Velvet I tasted?  No matter).  Making one's own is the only way - have a browse; I can recommend both the Kaiser Penguin (both versions) and the Elmegirab.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am not going to peel all those limes to make falernum.  But interesting thought about the grapefruit droppings.  I'll remember that as I try to get to sleep.

[lesliec]

Dream of self-zesting limes.  It's really not that bad, as long as you avoid grated finger syndrome.

 

I'm convinced it doesn't go off.  I keep mine in the fridge for months.  And it's most assuredly better than the commercial stuff.

[BillBuitenhuys]

Zombie time! This was pretty wonderful for a warmish AZ afternoon.

Donn Beach, c1934. Rums, falernum, lime, Donn's mix, bitters, Pernod, grenadine

 

And I'm totally enthralled with the funkiness of the Hamilton Jamaican rum.

Edited May 23, 2016 by BillBuitenhuys (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Cobra's Fang (Don the Beachcomber) with Lost Spirits 151 Cuban rum, B.G. Reynolds passion fruit syrup, homemade falernum, lime, orange, Pernod, Angostura bitters. I love this drink! Also it's one of the rare tiki drinks that only calls for one rum without sacrificing interest.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
minor edit (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

The long awaited tiki bar False Idol had technical issues 15 minute into their pre-opening tonight, so I wasn't able to sample any drinks (although I stared at the décor which is absolutely AMAZING). I consoled myself with a homemade Mai Tai.

 

Mai Tai (Trader Vic) with Appleton 12 Jamaican rum, La Favorite coeur de rhum, lime juice, Clement Creole shrubb, homemade orgeat, simple syrup.

 

[tanstaafl2]

What? No décor pictures? Will just have to make do with the pictures in the article. 

 

Must have been some truly serious technical issues to bring the house down on their pre-opening debut!

 

Is the apparent cooler door to the left of the bar about 5 pictures down in the linked article on Craft & Commerce the Forbidden Idol entrance?

[FrogPrincesse]

1 hour ago, tanstaafl2 said:

What? No décor pictures? Will just have to make do with the pictures in the article. 

 

Must have been some truly serious technical issues to bring the house down on their pre-opening debut!

 

Is the apparent cooler door to the left of the bar about 5 pictures down in the linked article on Craft & Commerce the Forbidden Idol entrance?

You know, sometimes it's awfully nice to enjoy things directly and not through the lens of an iPhone!

 

About the technical issues, in summary, large tropical waterfalls + tiki torches = ...  extra rain showers from the fire sprinklers. But this was fairly minor, nobody got hurt or even wet (just the floor), and everything was resolved shortly after, in time for the next group! I will be back soon of course.

 

I could tell you about the secret entrance, but then I'd have to kill you... So it's probably best if you figure that one out on your own!

 

[tanstaafl2]

19 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

 

I could tell you about the secret entrance, but then I'd have to kill you... So it's probably best if you figure that one out on your own!

 

 

Ha! With my luck given my rapidly advancing age, distaste for anything resembling exercise and extensive liquor intake (at least according to some!) I am going to die anyway before I manage to get back to the San Diego area so no harm there... 

[FrogPrincesse]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 10:55 AM, tanstaafl2 said:

 

Ha! With my luck given my rapidly advancing age, distaste for anything resembling exercise and extensive liquor intake (at least according to some!) I am going to die anyway before I manage to get back to the San Diego area so no harm there... 

You have to make it happen some day so you can try my drinks!!! As for the False Idol drinks, I tried a few but more studying seems required...

 

Here is an everything but the kitchen sink drink. These are fun when you happen to have all the ingredients!

 

Voodoo Grog (Trader Vic via Total Tiki) with Clement VSOP rhum agricole, Plantation 5 Stars Barbados rum, lime & white grapefruit, honey, St Elizabeth allspice dram (+cinnamon syrup as I ran short), BG Reynolds passion fruit syrup, egg white, grated nutmeg. This all goes in a blender with crushed ice.

 

This is very pleasant but the aged agricole is somewhat buried in there, which is a bit of a shame. The Clement VSOP, which is one of the more reasonably-priced aged agricoles out there, is on the mellow side, which is probably part of the "problem".

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Some of us don't have a blender.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

26 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Some of us don't have a blender.

 

You could make it on crushed ice, with a super energetic shake to emulsify the egg white! I bet that would work too.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thinking about it!.

[FrogPrincesse]

A Painkiller and a 3 Dots & a Smash at the Grass Skirt, another new tiki bar in San Diego.

 

 

 

 

 

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 10:33 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

A Painkiller and a 3 Dots & a Smash at the Grass Skirt, another new tiki bar in San Diego.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty diverse collection on both the food and drink sides of the menu! Is the house "Grass Skirt" daiquiri made with Stiggins or something they infuse themselves? Presuming you know of course!

 

Can San Diego handle two tiki bars? Or are there even more? And did you ever get back to check out False Idol again?

[FrogPrincesse]

Just now, tanstaafl2 said:

 

Pretty diverse collection on both the food and drink sides of the menu! Is the house "Grass Skirt" daiquiri made with Stiggins or something they infuse themselves? Presuming you know of course!

 

Can San Diego handle two tiki bars? Or are there even more? And did you ever get back to check out False Idol again?

There are more actually! There is at least a third place that I know of that claims to be tiki, and I should also make sure to mention the rooftop bar overlooking Petco Park (Fairweather) that doesn't have a tiki décor but has a very tiki-esque menu. And Bali Hai, of course, which is our historical tiki restaurant & bar. Tiki has infiltrated most places here! And I won't complain.

 

I am not sure about what they use in their Grass Skirt Daiquiri, but I will find out! (As a side note Stiggins makes a great Daiquiri, of course. I had one at Rumba in Seatlle before I owned a bottle.) I will be back for sure. And the food was pretty great, a nice eclectic mix; I am always happy to find bars that serve good food.

 

I did go back to False Idol but it was a busy night. I will have to see if I can dig up my notes/pictures.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by FrogPrincesse
formatting (log)

[tanstaafl2]

9 minutes ago, FrogPrincesse said:

I did go back to False Idol but it was a busy night. I will have to see if I can dig up my notes/pictures.

 

 

Sadly, I wonder if it is ever NOT a busy night! Although obviously that is good for business. One of my favorite places in town (not tiki) was usually reasonably quiet early on a random Tuesday evening when it first opened but lately not so much even then. It has been getting a lot of favorable press of late and now it is getting hard for an aging boomer like me to find a seat at the bar amongst the "millennial cognoscenti".

 

Although admittedly the bar area is quite small though so it doesn't take much to make it busy.

[FrogPrincesse]

Just now, tanstaafl2 said:

 

Sadly, I wonder if it is ever NOT a busy night! Although obviously that is good for business. One of my favorite places in town (not tiki) was usually reasonably quiet early on a random Tuesday evening when it first opened but lately not so much even then. It has been getting a lot of favorable press of late and now it is getting hard for an aging boomer like me to find a seat at the bar amongst the "millennial cognoscenti".

 

Although admittedly the bar area is quite small though so it doesn't take much to make it busy.

I know what you mean. I am very happy to see a place like Polite Provisions getting most of the press outside of San Diego, because it means that the places I really like aren't as packed with "tourists"!  

Edited February 10, 2017 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[EvergreenDan]

Passion fruit in a Painkiller? Not that even the Soggy Dollar makes a good one these days.

[mukki]

Does this count as modern tiki? Plantation pineapple rum, coconut cream, lime, kaffir lime and salt.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, mukki said:

Does this count as modern tiki? Plantation pineapple rum, coconut cream, lime, kaffir lime and salt.

 

I'm not sure coconut cream counts as tiki...but the drink looks interesting.

 

[Tri2Cook]

Rum, pineapple, coconut and lime... not sure how it could be much more tiki-esque short of sipping it while lying on a tropical beach under a palm tree. Not even sure what would make it modern tiki, there were tiki drinks combining those flavors 75 years ago (did not go check that number for accuracy but I'm betting it's pretty close). Maybe the lime leaves, but really they're just replacing the usual mint as an herbal component. But I'm not an expert on the subject, this is just my opinion.

[mukki]

Skullduggery from Tiki Drinks: passionfruit puree, dark rum, overproof rum, pineapple juice and coconut cream.