February 22, 2016

Violet Kai


Spring has far from sprung in these parts, and the vacations people with school children enjoy in February are called winter vacation, not spring break.

But I do understand the brief for this month's Mixology Monday - to imagine what libations conjures up spring.

Joel of the Southern Ash blog puts it this way in his announcement post:

As we look past the frost in the air for the arrival of spring, I wanted to challenge you with the theme of Spring Break!..  The best part of Spring Break is that it means so many things to so many different people, so I have some high expectations this month.  Yes, tiki-heads, I am looking at you. I want all of you to dig deep, steeled by last month’s MxMO, and find your spring break drink! What sort of drinks do you enjoy when you start to break out of your winter shell? Do you crave a return to gin and tonics? Is there a drink that calls to you as the weather warms and the sun creeps through the sky longer and longer?  Perhaps there is a drink that you fondly recall from your days of being a callow youth on Spring Break that led you down this primrose cocktail path?.. This is the month to to share those warm weather finds!

I hardly qualify as a tiki-heads but I can not overlook the fact that the 22nd is Don the Beachcombers birthday - he would have turned 109 today.

So I did surf around in the Total Tiki app looking for some cocktail with ingredients signaling spring - in Denmark.

Rhubarb and violets are some of the sure sign of spring at latitude 56 N.

I came across Dons Royal Daiquiri and that got me thinking - so I present Violet Kai, named in honor of a dear colleague who is retiring in a weeks time and who will be missed for being a truly decent human being and for his amazing, smooth voice - yes I work in broadcasting where voices matter.

  • 3 cl light rum - I used Plantation 3 star
  • 3 cl golden rum - I used Appleton Signature blend
  • 6 cl white grapefruit juice - I do not think it will work with pink grapefruit juice
  • 0.75 homemade pineappe syrup - cook fresh juice with equal parts organic cane sugar
  • 1,5 cl creme de violette - I used the one from Bitter Truth
  • 1 cl coco creme - Coco Lopez of cause
Add all but 0,75 cl of the creme de violette to a shaker, fill it with ice and shake hard. Strain into highball glass filled with crushed ice. Float the last of the creme de violette on top and serve with striped straw and perhaps a fresh flower if you can find one. I could not.