151?

IMGP1534
Originally uploaded by Princess Pupule

Hmmm.....

A drink that is full

With an overly elaborate garnish

with bottle inside a coozy

and a guy just off camera with a box of matches.....

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, nothing really. That was just the set up to a new drink a friend of mine is working on. He said it needed some oomph on the garnish and what has more oomph than a float of 151 and a match?

Oh, and a tip for you..... Some overproof rum labels don't make a very big deal about being overproof, like Lemon Hart. So to keep the burny ones separate from the drinky ones, use a bottle coozy or hang something on the neck of the bottle.

The only thing worse than trying to light 80 proof rum is an unexpected shot of 151.

Its good to be FOM!

I belong to a group called the Fraternal Order of Moai, you might have heard of us....

We do this thing every year where we all get together, hang out, have some fun, drink a little, have some more fun, its great and I highly recommend it!

Anyway.... last year we got together on a little bigger scale than usual and turned it into a right proper event with ticket sales and web pages and the works! And we did it in Lake George at the Tiki Resort. This place was amazing, it really is like the Land That Time Forgot. Our event was named Ohana, Luau at the Lake, and part of the proceeds from the event were set aside for charity. We managed, with our small group, to raise $3,000 for the Easter Island Foundation, which is really saying something considering there were only about 300 people in attendance. Check out the link at the top of this post to read a bit more.

Long story short (too late!), its good to be FOM. Good friends, good drinks, and now with good deeds!

Check out all the related bits of internet linkage:

FOM is at http://fraternalorderofmoai.org

Ohana, Luau at the Lake is at http://www.luauatthelake.com/

And the Easter Island Foundation (whose website is not working at the moment) is at http://www.islandheritage.org/

Do you measure?

Read this article by Robert Hess over at The Spirit World and thought you would enjoy it.

And I completely agree. The importance of measuring your ingredients is for consistency more so than for accuracy. I think measuring is even more important so you can write down the good ones when you are experimenting behind the bar.

Mojitos... And drinks like them.

Limes!
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

Well... as most of the US starts the chilly decline into winter, we here in South Florida are still sitting under a heat index that is over 100 degrees. I only share that to make the point that those fine summer drinks, like a Mojito, don't need to be closeted away just yet.

Mojito

3 - 4 Mint Leaves, plus a pretty sprig

1 -2 Tablespoons of Sugar, granulated is best

1 medium size Lime, quartered or smaller

1.5 ounce Light Rum

Club soda

Muddle lime, sugar, and mint in a heavy bottomed collins glass. Add crushed ice, rum, soda, and stir lightly. Garnish with Mint sprig and a straw.

Some recipes call for bitters, I think a dash of Angostura is a real treat in this drink.


Why the Mojito? Well, a couple of things......

First, I read this hilarious post over at The Art of Drink that involves. among other drinks, the Mojito. Then, Skitiki is keeping the FOM Test Kitchens busy with a Drink of the Month, and this month she has taken our humble Ti' Punch and moved it forward in time and taste to the Mojito. I figure back-to-back Mojito references is a sign to step behind the bar for a moment....

I like Mojitos, and like many fine drinks a good Mojito is a thing of beauty and taste. Sadly, this drink is well on its way to being commercialized, if it hasn't already crossed that threshold, and that will be a shame. There is nothing more depressing than to see good drinks wind up inside of a slurpy machine (I still love you Margarita), or worse yet, seeing a whole menu devoted to all of the 'variations' (sorry Martini). But, with your help maybe we can save this one.....

How do you make a good Mojito? Simple. Find some good looking mint, the best smelling lime you can find in your markets, and a good Light Rum. Like any other drink, quality counts so get the best you can find, or at least the best you can afford. Now, as to the rum, my friend Scottes recommends Ron Matusalem Platino. I tried the last batch with Oronoco (thanks Helz!) and I was very pleased. I don't recommend Bacardi, unless that is the only light rum you happen to have on your bar, because it is a boring rum with absolutely no character or body.

I can't offer any kind of secret to the mint beyond fresh, or any tips for muddling the drink, or some super-secret formulation for the club soda. I can offer you a drink that will help you hold on to what ever is left of summer in your area, even if you have to stand over a heating grate to be able to wear your shorts.

Go, get mixing.


Yes, I know my picture is really a Caprihnia, but I was digging in the back of the bar and got distracted... The camera battery didn't make it to round two.

Blackberry Shrub

Blackberry Shrub
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

OK, I read something a while ago and then forgot it.

Then, I see a blog entry mentioning it again. It sticks in the head a little bit longer, but eventually gets pushed out by something more entertaining.

Then, I see several people talking about it and I get this funny feeling that I already know the punch line, but it is just out of mental reach....

Well, after reading Cocktail Nerd and finding a discussion on the humble Shrub, I decided that this time I would write it down. And I did. And now I am hooked. Now I can't wait to get to the market to pickup a couple of things to see how they work. To wit....

The Blackberry Shrub.
This one is Blackberry Shrub, some simple syrup, some Silver Tequila (Milagro, to be specific) and Sprite. In a word, Yummy!

I tried Raspberry and it is good. I tried it with many different rums and they were all good. So good, in fact, that I quickly ran out of Shrub. Then, this weekend we gathered many of us into the FOM Test Kitchens and one of the things we were cooking up is another batch of Shrub. This time, blackberry from the frozen blackberry pulp we get in our freezer section (100% frozen fruit pulp, I think Goya is the brand).

Well, it is easy to make. The hardest part of the whole process is waiting for it to cool enough to start mixing. So, add more ice!

Round One - White rum and Vernon's Ginger-ale. Very tasty, has a weird linger after you get to the bottom of your glass. Not sure if the linger is from the vinegar or the Vernon's

Round Two - Medium Rum and Sprite. Very tasty, opens up the blackberry very well, but the Sprite makes it overly sweet.

Round Three - Milagro and Sprite. On a lark, or possibly a dare, we crack open the tequila and give it a try. Cut back the syrup a tiny bit, increased the shrub by a bit, topped with sprite and WOW! This was something really nice to sit out on the deck with.

I know most of you northerners are saying "Deck?" Well, it is still in the high 80s here in South Florida and tall refreshing drinks on the deck are still the order of the day. Not trying to rub it in or anything, just saying that the seasons run a bit contrary down here....

Any way.... The Humble Shrub. If you haven't yet tried it, get going! This may be the best thing to happen to your bar in a while.

Mixology Saturday....(?)

We are gathering later today to make a bunch of home-brew stuff for the bar. Chris from The Modern Day Hobbitt, Don from Experiment 33, and yours truly are gathering a list of arcane recipes with unusual ingredients and even weirder preparation methods and plan on spending an evening huddled over a pile pots with bubbling potions and a stack of some empty bottles that should be full by the end of the evening.

If everything goes according to plan we will end with some Hibiscus Liqueur, Falernum, Pimento Dram or a close approximation, and many flavored and infused syrups including the oft used Passion Syrup. I hope we will have started the process for at least two batches of bitters including Regans Orange #5. And, I hope to have started a batch of a Nutmeg Liqueur of which the recipe must, at this time at least, remain secret.

So, provided we don't blow ourselves up or burn the FOM Kitchen Labs to the ground, all three of us should have plenty of new stuff for the bar and that means plenty of new stuff to share with you.

Keep drinking, we need the empty bottles.

Oh, and can you save the cork stoppers too?

Bahia Honda

Bahia Honda
Originally uploaded by My good friend Loki

I offer to you.....

The Bahia Honda

3/4 oz Cointreau

1 1/2 oz Southern Comfort

3 oz Cran-rasberry

Club Soda.

Build in a Collins glass full of cracked ice. Top with Club Soda and garnish with lime and orange wedge (or whatever you have seasonally that is yummy).

We spent a weekend in Key West with some close friends with much of the weekend devoted to drinking and general rabble-rousing. This is Key West after all....

Well, one of the smaller Keys that you cross on the way is Bahia Honda. It would seem that some of their relatives came down for some special occasion, a Honeymoon if I remember correctly, and stayed on Bahia Honda. Did I mention that Bahia Honda was one of the smaller keys? Well.... now anytime anyone mentions a trip to the Florida Keys they go on and on and on about Bahia Honda, Bahia Honda, Bahia Honda.

So, that became the annoying thing to do to each other during the remainder of the trip... "Bahia Honda! Bahia Honda! Bahia Honda!" Which is kind of fun to say, and you can get such a mean lilt into it if you try.

Well, this little game of ours made one in the group start looking to find a clock tower to climb. But, the game was still kind of fun to play. So, I decided that I would take this annoying little name-game and repurpose it into a cocktail. Then, we could continue to play the game, but now it could be a drinking game. Into the kitchen to see what we had, which wasn't much since all I brought for the travel bar was Mai-Tai fixings.

Hmmm.... The Florida Keys...... Hot...... Humid...... Tourists....... Monkey Bar.............

From that series of thoughts and a bit of discussion we chose SoCo as the base spirit. That and we already had some in the travel bar. And then? Well, cranberry goes well with SoCo, but we don't have any. And, we need to make this a tall without killing ourselves, so we are going to need some soda or tonic or something. Who's up for going to the market?

While everyone naps, I dash off for the market to pickup a few things. I drive by what looks like the largest Liquor store I have ever seen, but upon entering I promptly run into the back wall. I turn around and in doing so see the entire place. Well, this may actually be the smallest shop I have ever been in, they at least have Cointreau so it aint all bad. The market proves better... limes are on sale, a Cran-Rasberry catches my eye, a few snacks for later, the usual vacation slash lost-weekend kind of shopping. Back to the hotel, into the kitchen and time to start mixing.

And then, well I got lucky. I decided to start with the basic 1-2-3 recipe that works so well for a margarita and got it in one, to borrow a sports cliche. The glasses on hand were actually jelly jars which is perfectly fine for the place we were staying. And, we were more interested in the contents of the glass than the actual glass.

And, after field-testing the recipe several more times, we now have a cocktail that is quite yummy with a name that is quite annoying if you repeat it over and over again. And I get the joy of being able to annoy my two closest friends with the name of a drink that was taken from a story about some of their annoying relatives. It is good on so many levels!


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I had parts of this story started in several different drafts. Because of Mixology Monday 19 I finally pulled this one together so I could share in the fun that is MxMo. A Big Mahalo to Cocktail Nerd for hosting this months event.

A Component Study of the Mai-Tai

I had this conversation on Tiki Central about a year ago, and I think it has been long enough that I can reclaim it as my own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you "The Mai Tai!"

But first, a few words....... A little "Light" Urban Archeology:

A Google Search for "Mai Tai" returned over 5 million hits. A search for "Mai Tai Recipe" returned 233,000 hits. Using Google Images also returned some interesting shots of Mai Tais including:



Here are some links to interesting bits about Mai Tais that I think you will enjoy, starting with Trader Vic's. Then there is the quest for the Ulitmate Mai Tai. One of my favorites commentaries from Joe Bob Briggs. And, an interesting view of all of the 'different' Mai Tais available is over here at Drinkboy.com.

Then there are some interesting recipes and variations including this one from Drinkboy.com (notice the Floater). This one also makes special note of a float of Dark Rum. This One claims to be the "Original Hawaiian Recipe." This one is entertaining being the Mai Tai from Down Under.

Then we have a Gift Basket for Mai Tai's. And lastly, we have one that fits in the "WTF?" category Here for those of you over 18.

Why do I share all of this with you? To prove the point that every drink and every drinker out there has their own opinion of what a drink should be and that includes our esteemed Mai Tai. But! For the purposes of this experiment in Mixology we all need a common starting point. That starting point for us is Beachbum Berry's recipe from the Grog Log.

Why the Beachbum's Recipe, you ask? Well, Trader Vic (original recipe) used ingredients that are no longer available. Don Beach uses too many ingredients for this kind of discussion and some of the ingredients are hard to come by these days. And, any other variation on the recipe would not serve us on our tasting adventure because the point of this kind of journey is to learn the origins of a thing so you can appreciate the thing in all of its variations.

So, Grog Log in hand, let us take all of our new found taste knowledge a build us a Mai Tai!



As Alton Brown puts it, the Hardware:


And the Software:


Our recipe starts with 1 1/2 ounces of Lime Juice. A fitting start to our drink since we started our adventure with this flavor. Our first choice is fresh squeezed. If fresh is not available, then bottled. I suggest that if you are using fresh limes in season that you use less lime, closer to 1 ounce. If you are using bottled lime or limes out of season (woody and/or dry) use the recipe measures. We discovered that lime is a sweet-tart flavor, the sweet will be offset by the 'heat' of the rum and the tart will be offset by both the sugar syrup and the Curacao and Orgeat. If your limes are more sweet or more sour than 'average' you will want to think about altering the amount of lime and probably in a generally less direction.



Now, we add 1/2 ounce of Curacao. Curacao being a Orange flavor with spicy undertones (mostly on the nose). Blue Curacao IS the same as Orange or Red or Clear Curacao with the only exception being the blue coloring. It works just as well, but your cocktail will be a very unfortunate color when you are done. If using Blue Curacao may I suggest you serve in your favorite Tiki mug. What? You say you still don't have any Curacao? Here is what you need to keep in mind if you are substituting: Curacao is usually 30% alcohol (60 proof) or higher. Your substitute should be a reasonably close alcohol content and be orange based in its flavor. If what you are pouring is sweet, pour slightly less. If what you are pouring is 'weak' in the orange flavor, pour slightly more. The flavor and aroma of the Orange blends wonderfully with the lime and adds that exotic feel to your Mai Tai.



A moment of your time, please.... I want to add a little tip to your mixing at this point. If you are making more than one Mai-Tai, do not simply double everything into one big shaker. Make each Mai-Tai in its own glass and measure each Mai-Tai as you make it. Why, do you ask? Because not all of the ingredients scale equally if you are making multiples. You can double the recipe with out a problem, but you can not multiply by 20 or 50 or 100 to make a punch. The lime will become to overpowering after about a factor of four, and the Syrup becomes sickly sticky sweet after a factor of about six. The Orgeat only makes that sticky factor worse since it is itself pretty high in the sugar content. Thank you for your time, carry on....

And now, the Orgeat. 1/4 ounce is all we need. Orgeat is almond based, with hints of Orange or Rose. It is also sweet, so measure carefully. The aroma of the Almond combines with the Orange from the Curacao to give us a wonderfully exotic aroma to our cocktail. And, like so many thing in life, quality counts. The better your Orgeat the better your cocktail. The Torani and similarly flavored syrups have the right flavor, but lack the subtle hints of a true Orgeat. I do not recommend that you alter this measure in any way as you risk the cocktail falling over the edge and being too sweet. If you do feel that your particular pour is too sweet, add a dash more lime so the tart can balance the sweet.



Then we need 1/4 ounce of Bar Syrup, or Simple Syrup, or Rock Candy Syrup. They are all about the same thing, Rock Candy being the sweetest overall. Why are we adding Sugar to a drink that already has two other sweeteners in it, you ask? Well, the other ingredients add a sweetness to our drink, but don't actually "Sweeten" the drink. It is the same concept as putting salt on something, it enhances the natural flavors. Sugar Syrup does the same thing for our cocktail, it balances the tart of the lime and enhances the flavors of the Curacao and Orgeat. If you are looking for a quality syrup, read the ingredients. You want to find one that is made from Cane Sugar or Cane Syrup. And, to get the most "Authentic" syrup, add a dash of Vanilla to the bottle. (It was a sad day indeed when things became "Plain old Vanilla" as it is one of the most exotic orchids on the planet.) Making your own is an excellent idea very easy to do.



Let us stop to analyze what we have mixed so far: Lime, Orange, Almond, Sugar. Stop and smell the glass with the ingredients so far. Does it inspire images of the Tropics? Of half-naked people on a sandy beach? You should already have an exotic blend of aromas in your glass. If you taste this mixture so far, you will find it to be very sweet. It is better on the nose than on the tongue at this point and that is because this entire mixture is designed to off-set the 'heat' that the rum is going to add.



Another moment of your time, please... For those of you reading this that are mixing drinks in your home bar, spend the extra time and effort and money to get a good set of tools. Get a set of measuring spoons, a Jigger, a good measuring cup, and most importantly USE them. It is a lot of fun to mix drinks with all of the flash and dash you see on TV, but those rarely result in a good cocktail. Measure carefully and consistently and you will always have a good drink. Thank you, carry on...

Now, the Rums!

Our recipe calls for 1 ounce each of a Jamaican and Martinique rum. Why those two? Well, pour yourself a shot and try it. The Jamaican rum has a 'green' quality to it, something that reminds you of the fields of cane. The Martinique rum is very complex, but overall on the dry side. The two combined balance each other into one simply elegant rum that is both lively and complex with a hint of spice, dry but not harsh.

Now the hard part, Rum Age.... I suggest that you find the oldest rums you can afford to make your Mai Tais. Appleton has recently released a 21 year old rum that would make a fabulous Mai Tai, but if you are like me you will have a hard time paying $100 or more for a single bottle of rum. I am just as happy with my 12 year Appleton and am quite pleased with the Mai Tais I can make with it.



The Final Pour!

I should have started with this, but it makes more sense here... You should be using Crushed or Cracked Ice, NOT cubes, or shaved, or blocks, or penguins or any other kind of shape. You need the fine quality of the ice to help chill your drink and the faster your drink chills the less watery it is going to become. Sounds odd doesn't it, melting small ice to prevent a watery drink... Well, a good Mai Tai is good all the way to the bottom of the drink. You get that by having your drink chilled to almost the same temperature as the ice, which prevents more melt and therefore more water getting into your drink. Look it up on the internet for the actual dynamics of it.



Shaken, Not Stirred.....

Apologies to Ian Flemming, but it is appropriate here. You should be shaking your Mai Tai because it is the fastest way to mix and chill all of the ingredients. This is the point where you get to add some flash and dash to your presentation. My Boston Shaker does not fit over my glasses so I have to use both parts of the shaker. But, that give me a chance to 'show off' when I return the drink to its glass...



Final Presentation:

Ahh, how to garnish the perfect cocktail.... Simple is always good. But, simple does not mean plain! I use the following: A cocktail pick with pineapple and cherries, one of the spent lime shells, an orchid flower, a sprig of mint, a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a straw. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? Well, a good Mai Tai is worth the effort. The pineapple and cherries and orchid are all 'pretty' to look at. The spent lime shell and the mint add to the final aroma of the drink and the sprinkle of powdered sugar is because I can. I also always use a straw cut to an appropriate length for the glass I am serving in. The straw is long enough to make the ladies with lipstick happy, but short enough that you still have to get all of the garnish in your nose to drink it.



You can see the rest of these photos Here.

Lani Honi

Lani Honi
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

Summer has arrived and this year the sun is absolutely crushing here in South Florida. I am still convinced that the Miami area is actually higher than the rest of the US putting us closer to the sun.

Anyway, one of may favorites from Beachbum Berry's Grog Log is the Lani Honi. It is an intriguing mix of Benedictine and Rum that is very refreshing (and surpisingly potent) and goes wonderfully with a backyard and a pool as garnish.


Lani Honi
1 1/2 oz Benedictine
1 oz light Puerto Rican rum
1/2 oz lemon juice

Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass; strain into a wine goblet filled with crushed ice.

Go, make one. Enjoy it.

And, it is always nice to find a good cocktail that uses some of the 'dustier' bottles hiding under you bar.

Zombie, Beachbum Style

Zombie Lilly
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

I read somewhere recently that someone said they never garnish thier cocktails, it takes too much time away from drinking.

Well, I offer this picture to try and change your mind. I will also take a moment to remind you of 'the rules' and one of the rules is "Garnish Matters."

This is a Zombie made from the recipe in Beachbum Berry's Grog Log. I dont remember which of my juices made this drink so pink looking, but it sure tasted good. And around the glass are:

Limes, Kiwi, Bananna, Hibiscus, and the weird looking space creature is a Gloriosa Lilly. In the drink is some Pineapple Mint.