Bartending.

Bartending.

(always remember to dress appropriately when bartending)

So I'm not a bartender,but I play one when I go to parties. And this past weekend I was at a friend's house for burgers,music,and of course cocktails. He enlisted me to be his bartender,and I did two drinks batched style in pitchers for the guests.

As per usual,my drinks got rave reviews. Here's what we served:

Mix #166 Don's Special Daiquiri

1oz gold rum 1/2oz light rum 1/2oz passion fruit syrup 1/2oz honey syrup 1/2oz lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into chilled glass.

Sweet,but no too sweet,with a honey finish. This is the '70's version of Don's 1934 Mona Daiquiri. His used a special thirty year old rum,but it works just fine with regular rum.

Mix #22 Remixed Zombie

1.5oz gold rum 1.5oz dark rum 1oz 151 Demerara rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz Don's mix * 1/2oz falernum 1tsp grenadine 6 drops absinthe dash Angostura bitters 6oz crushed ice

Blend at high speed for 5 seconds. Pour into tall glass and add ice to fill.

*Don's Mix is 2 parts white grapefruit juice to 1 part cinnamon syrup,I've used regular grapefruit juice with good results.

Spicy,cinnamon-y,citrus-y,this drink is legendary for its kick. With four ounces of rum,one of which is 151,there's a reason Don would only serve you two of these. More than two and you'll feel like the walking dead the next morning. We did small cups that were about equal to a triple shot,and limited the guests to two since our host didn't want to hurt them.

On the subject of bartending,here are some of the tools I use for my mixings.

The Difford's Easy Jigger is great for mixing cocktails due to the markings in many sizes and measurements. It does ounces,milliliters,and even tea and table spoons. It goes up to two ounces and all the way down to 1/24. It allows you to get precise measurements to ensure your cocktails turn out right.

Bee Chill ice cube trays. Tiki drinks are best made with pebble or cracked ice,but ice makers are expensive and a pain to clean. These silicon trays make hex cubes about as big around as a nickle. You can find them for cheap at TJMaxx or Marshalls. They also have these mini trays:

These make proper pebble ice,but are a pain to use. I bust these out when I'm feeling fancy.

A jelly jar. What's Tiki about a jelly jar? Well back in 2020 Trader Vic's did a jar for Mai Tai day. The idea was to pour the ingredients into the jar with ice,screw on the top and shake,then remove the top and drink from the jar. Brilliant! A shaker and glass in one,so you only have to clean two things(jigger,jar) instead of three(jigger,shaker,glass/mug). This appeals to the bachelor in me. And it's classy as long as you hold up your pinkie while drinking. That jar is in my collection,but for a user I picked up a fancy Italian one at the Container Store.

So if you need a bartender for your party,I only charge in food and rum.

Another lifetime ago,I worked on A-10's. I may have worked on that second plane,956,in England. Would love to see the tail so I could see if it was an '81 model.

A-10C

Happy V Day.

Meh,as a bachelor,I got nothing for today. But I've been meaning to tweak one of my cocktails to make it less 'touristy'. So here it is. There are several other cocktails with this name that are supposed to be for the Marvel comics character,but mine is actually drinkable.

Mix #142 The Scarlet Witch

1oz Doctor Bird rum 1oz Hamilton Beachbum Navy Grog Blend rum 2oz pineapple juice 2oz cranberry juice 3/4oz lime juice 3/4oz pomegranate syrup* 1/2oz velvet falernum

Shake with plenty of ice and pour into a naughty Tiki mug.

*Try to use pomegranate syrup instead of grenadine.

A sweetish drink,it masks the rum Hurricane style so it creeps up on you. Give a couple of these to your significant other and they'll be in the mood in no time. Add a float of overproof rum if you're feeling wicked.

Have fun kids. (but don't name 'em Giltron)

Ya guava be kidding me.

Guava is a tropical fruit that is sweet,full of vitamin C,and according to the internet,"the queen of fruits" because it's supposed to have all kinds of health benefits. Why,just check out this fascinating chart:

So what's the best way to add this miracle fruit to your diet? Why,in Tiki drinks of course!

Mix #131 PopTiki Volcano Mug

1oz Barbancourt 8yr rum 1oz Demerara rum 4oz pineapple juice 2oz guava nectar 1oz lemon juice 1/2oz passionfruit syrup 1/4oz orgeat

Shake with ice and pour into mug.

This was created by PopTiki with the volcano mug they put out to raise money for the Hawaii fire relief. Cool mug,good cause,meh drink. It's very sweet and fruity with a strong guava taste. It's a big drink that will slake your thirst,but all that sugar is a trip to hangover city. I actually started to feel something after drinking just the one cocktail. Have one if you like sweet drinks,but no more unless you want to feel it the next day.

Mix #132 Murky Lagoon

2oz Whaler's Original Dark rum 3oz guava nectar 1/2oz falernum

Combine all ingredients in double old-fashioned glass with ice. Pour into shaker,shake,re-pour into glass.

From Frankie's Tiki Room in Las Vegas. I used Coruba rum to make this because I didn't have Whaler's and every review I read about it said it sucked. Just use a good dark funky rum instead. It's a nice sweet,funky drink that's creamy and has a touch of spice aftertaste. Quite good with decent rum.

Mix #133 Aloha Screwdriver

3/4oz light rum 3/4oz Lemon Hart 151 3/4oz banana liqueur 1oz guava nectar 1oz pineapple juice 1/4oz Campari* 1/4oz allspice dram

Shake with ice and pour into glass.

*I used Aperol.

Created by one of my fav surf rock bands,it can be found in the liner notes of their album The Lost Recipe. Nice Demerara funk,a touch sweet with some banana and a bit of spice on the end. Quite nice with a bit of kick.

Mix #134 Blake's Guava Grog

2oz Plantation OFTD 1oz guava nectar 3/4oz lime juice 1/4oz falernum 1/4oz allspice dram 1/4oz cinnamon syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with plenty of ice and pour into mug.

I found this Facebook user's creation posted in the Tiki Recipes forum. Sweet and spicy with cinnamon burn and plenty of kick. A proper Tiki grog.

So drink up. The internet says it's good for you,and you can't put false things on the internet.

Bah Humbug

Ok,Thanksgiving is over,it's black Friday,and now we can start getting into Xmas mode. Here's a tasty cocktail to brighten your spirits,or deaden the pain of shopping.

Mix #105 Winter Fling

4oz apple cider 1oz white rum 1/2oz cognac 1/4oz allspice 1/4oz Aperol 1/4oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.

From Tiki Farm's site comes a Trader Tom creation that is pretty much Yuletide in a glass. It's very cider-y with a spice finish. Delicious,and you can up-gun it with Wray & Nephew Overproof if necessary.

Happy holidays folks! Don't worry,it'll be over soon.

Spring has sprung.

It's Spring time in DC,which means we get to enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms. The weather wasn't so great this year,but they were still pretty.

(actual cherry blossom pic taken by Uncle Giltron)

And of course,there are Tiki drinks for this occasion.

Mix #160 Cherry Blossom

1.5oz white rum 1oz pineapple juice 1oz cream of coconut 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz blue curacao 1/2oz cinnamon syrup

Shake well with plenty of ice and pour into hurricane glass.

Created by Justin Wojslaw,from the book Minimalist Tiki. Despite the name,there is no cherry in the drink,and it's actually turquoise colored instead of red. So it's pretty much the perfect drink for the way things work in DC. It's sweet and creamy with a cinnamon profile. Pretty good,if a bit touristy.

Mix #161 Cherry Pie Tai

1.5oz Demerara rum 1/2oz rhum agricole 3/4oz Cherry Heering 3/4oz lemon juice 1/2oz orgeat

Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.

I love Mai Tais,so a cherry version was perfect to go with the blossoms. Created by Nathan Robinson,it pretty much tastes like a tart cherry Mai Tai. Quite nice.

Mix #162 Paradise Cooler

2oz white rum 1/2oz Cherry Heering 1oz velvet falernum 2oz orange juice 1oz lime juice

Shake with ice and pour into double old fashioned glass. Garnish with cherry speared with an apple slice.

This was the house drink of the Denver Hilton in the 1960's. It's tart and citrus-y with some spice and a bit of cherry finish. Very nice. A good Tiki drink for cherry fans.

Mix #163 Hemingway Daiquiri

2oz white rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz grapefruit juice 1/2oz maraschino liqueur*

Shake with ice until chilled,then strain into coupe glass.

*I used Cherry Heering.

So,the story goes that Ernest Hemingway went into the El Floridita bar in Havana to use the restroom. On the way out the bartender was setting up a line of daiquiris and Hemingway decided to try one. He commented that it wasn't bad,but he preferred twice the rum and no sugar. So the bartender made one his way and named the drink after him. And over time it has morphed into the recipe above. No idea if any of this is true,but it's a good story. Since Ernest was a man's man,I decided to use Smith & Cross navy rum instead of white rum. The result was a VERY tart drink(I did use Heering which is tarter than maraschino liqueur). I didn't want Ernest's ghost to haunt me and call me a wuss,so I finished it,but if I were ever to make another I'd definitely dump in some simple syrup. If tart's your thing,then you might like this.

Mix #164 Ankle Breaker

1oz 151 rum* 1oz Cherry Heering 1oz lemon juice 1/2 oz simple syrup

Shake with ice and pour into double rocks glass.

*I used Wray & Nephew Overproof.

I came across this recipe in a Facebook group. According to Beachbum Berry's book Remixed,this was created in the Swamp Fox Room bar in the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina sometime in the 1950's. It was inspired by a story about hero of the Revolutionary War,General Francis Marion(AKA,the Swamp Fox),who supposedly broke his ankle jumping from a second-story window of the hotel while trying “to escape sober from a party at which this drink was flowing too freely.” Again,no idea if this is true but a good story is a good story. While 151 rum is intended for this,the poster used Wray & Nephew Overproof(which is "only" 126 proof) and since I have W&N and have been meaning to use it more,I used it too. And since I like funk I also doubled down and used Demerara syrup instead of regular simple. Very nice. This drink is very daiquiri-like. The rum really came forward with just a bit of cherry finish. Of course with overproof rum it had some kick. I'm going to make this again with some other rums just to play around with it.

So until next time,have a cocktail and enjoy the pretty flowers.