In Memoriam

In Memoriam

Let's take a moment to remember pineapple molasses syrup. Devil's Reef Tiki bar in Tacoma, Washington uses it to make their signature cocktail,created by co-owner Jason Alexander. BGR dropped it from their line because it wasn't very popular,but I picked up a bottle before they were all gone and went through their roster of mixes. Enjoy these is you can find a bottle,or head up to Washington state and get a cocktail from the original bar.

Mix #70 Devil's Reef

1oz Jamaican pot still rum 1oz Demerara rum 1oz Don's mix 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz pineapple molasses syrup dash Angostura bitters

Shake with plenty of ice.

An interesting blend of flavors,it starts with molasses and a hint of pineapple,then has a cinnamon finish. Very nice. BGR's recipe uses their own syrup instead of Don's mix,but I just make Don's mix so I won't have to buy another bottle of syrup.

Mix #71 Double Pineapple Rum Punch

1oz pineapple rum* 1oz overproof rum* 1oz lime juice 1oz pineapple molasses syrup 12 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice. Pour into glass with more ice and put bitters on top until it looks like a bitters sno-cone.

*I used Plantation Stiggins and OFTD.

If you drink it with a straw it has a light pineapple and molasses taste reminiscent of a daiquiri. After a bit the bitters will mix in and it gets spicy and citrus-y. Quite good.

Mix #72 Plantation Pastime

1oz Plantation Original Dark 1/2oz Plantation Stiggins pineapple rum 2oz pineapple juice 1oz pineapple molasses syrup 1/4oz lime juice 1oz club soda

Shake everything except soda with ice and pour into glass. Top with soda.

A sweet and pineapple-y drink. Nice and light but not too strong. A good party drink.

Mix #73 Pink 'n Pine

1.5oz blackstrap rum 3/4oz pineapple molasses syrup 1/4oz lime juice

Build into a glass with ice and stir.

Tastes like a very funky grog. Not quite my thing,but try it and see if you like it.

Well,the syrup might be gone,but the memories(of the hangovers) remain. Maybe BGR will bring it back some day. I'm going to scour the web for other pineapple syrups,and when I find something good I'll post it. Aloha all!

Happy Halloween!

It's finally here,the spookiest night of the year! Here's a pair of cocktails to give you the courage to watch all those scary movies(and deal with the kids coming to your door).

Mix #94 Skull & Bones

1.5oz Lemon Hart 151 rum 1/2oz Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz passionfruit syrup 1/2oz grenadine 1/8tsp Pernod* 1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and pour into your spookiest mug.

*About 12 drops.

Boo! This is a sweet drink with a slight tangy/licorice finish. It's easy to drink,and with one and a half ounces of 151,you won't be scared of anything.

Mix #95 Season of the Witch

2oz dark rum 1oz apple cider 1/2oz Cointreu 1/2oz lime juice 1/4oz Skinny Syrups pumpkin caramel syrup*

Shake with plenty of ice and serve in Mai Tai glass.

*If you don't have this syrup,you can sub caramel syrup or any similar 'Autumn flavor' syrup.

I picked up the pumpkin caramel syrup to play with making an Autumn Mai Tai. This is what I came up with. The Skull & Bones was your Trick,this one's your Treat,a Giltron original recipe. A nice sweet/sour balance with a caramel aftertaste. I think you'll enjoy it,but then I am a bit biased.

Have fun tonight kids. Happy Halloween!

Don't lose your head.

The latest recipe from tSfT's 13 Nights of Tiki Frights:

Mix #81 Headless Horseman

1oz Plantation Barbados 5 Year rum 1 oz Plantation OFTD rum 1/2oz cinnamon syrup 1/4oz Allspice dram 3/4oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.

Between the cinnamon/allspice burn and the OFTD,this has plenty of kick. If you're looking for spicy and strong,here's the drink for you.

Until next time….

I did it!

Well,here it is folks,the completion of my first century of Tiki mixings. I picked a special drink for this,it's not only potent,but is also served in a pineapple. It's called the Boo Loo,and was created by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry,the famous Tiki drink expert.

To properly make the drink,you need to core out a pineapple to serve it in. I borrowed a corer from a friend,but you can find them online or in grocery stores for under ten bucks. To core the pineapple,follow the directions that come with it. Do not core all the way down,however,leave about two to three inches intact so you won't have to worry about leakage. You will also want to make sure you cut the top parallel to the ground so that it will sit flat and not slide off while drinking from it,and cut a small slot in the edge of the top for your straw. Finally,you'll want to freeze the pineapple overnight. This will not only keep the drink colder,but it makes the shell rigid so it's a better mug. Save at least two pineapple rings for the recipe,you can use the rest for garnish or eating,or squeeze it for the juice.

Now that you have your drinking vessel,let's get to the recipe.

Mix #100 Boo Loo

1.5oz gold Puerto Rican rum 1.5oz Demerara rum 3/4oz Lemon Hart 151 Demerara rum 3/4oz dark Jamaican rum 2.5oz pineapple juice 1.5oz lime juice 1.25oz honey syrup 1.5oz club soda 2 pineapple rings

Put everything except soda into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into pineapple shell and top with club soda and ice. Put top back on and insert straw.

So Beachbum is a mad genius. Despite all that rum,you barely taste it,you just taste pineapple. But you will feel it. In fact,I only drank about half the drink,and stored the rest for the next day. This will mess you up,and all that sugar and rum will give you a hangover if you're not careful. This really should be a drink you share with at least one other person. It is absolutely delicious though,which is why it can get you into trouble as it goes down so easy that you won't feel it until it's too late. This drink is like a firecracker in that it's fun as long as you're careful.

Well there you go folks,one hundred mixings. Stay tuned as I go for two hundred. Aloha and mahalo!

Chop chop.

The latest in tSfT's 13 Nights of Tiki Frights(I've skipped two).

Mix #92 Double Bladed Axe

2oz Plantation 3 Star rum 1/2oz Mathilde Peche 1/2oz grenadine 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz lemon juice* 2 dashes orange bitters

Combine everything except grenadine and shake with ice. Pour into glass and float grenadine on top.

*The pic on the site says 1.2oz,but I confirmed it's only supposed to be 1/2.

Very tart with a peach finish. I wound up adding more grenadine to finish. If you like sour drinks,this is for you.

Well,Halloween is almost here,so gotta drop the Elvira gifs while I can.

Catching up.

All good things must come to an end,and this includes the spooky Halloween season. With the passing of Samhain,it's time to get back to mixing regular cocktails. Well,maybe just one more spooky one.

Mix #96 Voodoo

2oz aged dark rum 2.5oz apple juice 3/4oz sweet vermouth 1/2oz lime juice 1/4oz rich simple syrup(2:1)

Shake with ice and strain into glass with fresh ice.

A sweetish,funky drink. Very nice. I made a second version I dubbed the Black Voodoo with Demerara rum,apple cider,and Demerara syrup. It was funkier and sweeter. A nice Autumn drink.

And now,back to the regular cocktails.

Mix #97 'Vintage Mai Tai'

1.5oz light rum 1.5oz gold rum 1/2oz 151 rum 2oz guava juice 1oz orgeat 1/2oz lemon juice 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz curacao

Shake everything except 151 with ice and pour into glass. Float 151 on top.

This was found on an index card with a bunch of other recipes by a Facebook poster. I needed to use up the last of my guava so I figured what the heck. It actually wasn't bad,but it was quite strong. If you want something sweeter than a Zombie,but with Zombie kick,give it a shot.

I've also been able to catch up on some of my reading,and the following are from the Tiki magazine Exotica Moderne,published by House of Tabu.

Mix #98 Deep Six

4oz Coruba dark rum 1oz Hamilton 151 Demerara rum 2.5oz Latitude 29 formula falernum 2oz pineapple juice 2oz lime juice 1.25oz St Elizabeth allspice dram

Shake with ice and pour into Tiki bowl with two or more straws.

From issue #20 comes a Beachbum Berry drink created for his Deep Six Tiki bowl. Now,being a bachelor,I'm flying solo,so I halved the ingredients to make it single person friendly. Very spicy,with the falernum and allspice coming forward. If you want to get your date drunk,let them sip most of it. And if you wind up drinking most of it,then you know they're trying to get you drunk.

Mix #99 The Retro Cocktail Hour Cocktail

1.5oz Jamaican aged rum(Appleton Estate) 1/2oz blackberry liqueur 1/2oz Pierre Ferrand dry orange curacao 3/4oz orange juice 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz orgeat

Shake with ice and strain into Zombie glass with fresh ice.

From issue #21,this was created by Diana Condori of the now closed Tiki Cat in Kansas City,Kansas for the KPR Retro Cocktail Hour,a radio show that's been on the air for 27yrs and recently passed 1000 episodes. A nice,sweet,easy drinking cocktail that would be perfect for kicking back and listening to exotica. Another good one that I've placed into my roster of regular mixes.

Well,that's all for this week. I'm up to 99 mixings,wonder if number one hundred will be anything special? Stay tuned to find out.