Here We Go Again!

Here we go again!

So it's that time of year again folks. The weather is turning cooler,the leaves are changing color,and the Search for Tiki is doing another round of their 13 Nights of Tiki Frights. Be sure to check out their site to enter to win mugs,watch cool podcasts,and try new Halloween-themed Tiki drinks. Here's the first one.

Mix #74 Hessian Mercenary

1.5oz Plantation Xaymaca rum 1oz Pierre Ferrand Cognac 1840 Original Formula* 1oz lime juice 1/2oz Pierre Ferrand dry orange curacao 1/2oz orgeat

Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.

*I used Raynal VSOP.

This pretty much tastes like a standard Mai Tai with a brandy finish. If you're a cognac/brandy fan,give it a try.

I'll be posting most of the rest of tSfT's recipes as they post them. Happy Tiki Halloween!

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!

Cheating.

Well,it's Labor Day weekend. This is supposed to be Summer's last hurrah,with folks just hanging out and doing as little as possible. So I'm going to take the weekend off from mixing,and instead cheat with just putting rum in stuff. Here's my two 'cheats',which by the way are actually quite good. Enjoy!

Mix #56 The Cloudy Horizon

2oz Kraken Dark Label rum 12oz good vanilla soda*

Pour soda into Tiki mug with ice. Add rum. Stir. Add a couple swizzles and an umbrella so it looks legit.

*I used Natural Brew soda.

Ok,it's just rum and soda. But it tastes really good. Dark Label is more vanilla-y than the regular Kraken and really mixes well with vanilla soda. Also does well with Dr Pepper.

Mix #57 The Fiji Mermaid

2oz light rum 1.5oz Skinny Syrups Mermaid syrup club soda

Pour everything into a tall glass with ice so you can see the cool color. Add mermaid swizzle and stir.

I've started playing with some of the Skinny Syrups because they're sugar free(and cheap at TJ Maxx). Their Mermaid syrup tastes very 'tropical' with pineapple and coconut flavor. This is a sweet,touristy drink,but it is very low cal and the low sugar helps reduce the chance of a hangover.

Well that's about all the effort I'm putting out this weekend. Time to sip a Mermaid and watch Hawaii Five-0. Cheers!

Indeed,why not both?

I've previously posted gin drinks and apricot brandy drinks,so here's a pair of recipes that use both.

Mix #58 Paradise Cocktail

1.25oz gin 3/4oz apricot brandy 1/2oz orange juice

Shake with ice.

This didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Very tart. If I were to make it again I would switch to tangerine juice and maybe add either some simple or passionfruit syrup.

Mix #59 Maneater

1.5oz gin 1/2oz apricot brandy 1/2oz curacao 1.5oz mango juice 1oz pineapple juice 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz orgeat 3 dashes bitters

Shake with ice and pour into tiki mug.

This was quite nice with an excellent sweet/tart flavor and an apricot finish. Would drink again.

Don't stay thirsty my friends,drink a tiki cocktail.

Feel the burn!

Ginger is a plant whose root has been used for centuries as a spice and in folk medicine. The philosopher Confucius was said to eat ginger with every meal. Today we bake it into cookies and houses for the holiday season. We also make it into the soda ginger beer,which makes for a spicy Tiki drink. Here's a few to enjoy.

Mix #101 Dark and Stormy

2oz Gosling's Black Seal rum 1/2oz lime juice ginger beer to fill

Pour rum and lime juice into glass with ice. Add ginger beer to fill and swizzle.

Invented over a hundred years ago at Bermuda's Royal Naval Officer's Club,this cocktail is found in many non-Tiki bars and is the national drink of Bermuda. The 'correct' way to make it is with Gosling's rum and their ginger beer. If you don't have Gosling's,you can use most dark rums('black' rums work best),but you need to use ginger beer and not ginger ale or it won't turn out right. It's simple and spicy and goes down smooth providing you can handle the burn.

Mix #102 Darth & Stormy

1/5oz Demerara rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz cinnamon syrup 3oz ginger beer

Pour everything into glass with ice and stir.

BG Reynolds riff on the classic Dark and Stormy adds cinnamon syrup to the mix because ginger beer just doesn't give enough burn. Sweet and spicy.

Mix #103 Suffering Bastard

1oz dry gin 1oz brandy 1/2oz lime juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters ginger beer to top

Shake everything except beer with ice and pour into mug. Top with ginger beer.

Not originally a Tiki drink,it's been embraced by the Tiki world and even had a Trader Vic's mug named after it(see above). It was supposedly invented in Cairo,Egypt as 'hangover cure' for British soldiers(hair of the dog plus ginger beer to settle the stomach). A 1947 Esquire article credits bartender Joel Scialom at the Hotel Shepard. He supposedly named it the "Suffering Bar Steward",and it somehow morphed into Suffering Bastard. Trader Vic's had a rum drink of the same name,but it wasn't popular and faded into history. It has a gin start with a ginger burn finish. Drink enough of these and you'll have to find your own hangover cure.

Mix #65 Fizzy Rum & Gin

1oz Plantation Isle of Fiji rum 1oz Citadelle gin 1/2oz lime juice 1/4oz simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters 4oz ginger beer

Shake everything except ginger beer with ice. Pour ginger beer into tall glass,strain mix into glass,then top with some pellet ice.

From the 13 Nights of Tiki Frights in 2022,this is a riff on the Dark and Stormy that adds the classiness of gin.

Mix #104 Guardian Idol Cocktail

3oz dark Jamaican rum 4oz pineapple juice 1.5oz lime juice 1/2oz orgeat 2oz ginger beer

Shake everything except beer with ice and pour into mug. Add ginger beer and stir.

Created by Home Aloha for their Tiki mug of the same name,it's sweet and pineapple-y with a ginger burn at the end. A big drink with lots of kick,I liked it enough to add to my regular roster of mixings.

So enjoy the burn with these delicious cocktails. There's just something special about ginger.