September 22, 2019

Banana Passion Grove Swizzle


Swizzles are fun to both make and drink so my third cocktail to try from Matt Pietrek's book Minimalist Tiki was his own creation Passion Grove Swizzle. Only - I don't really like Falernum so I changed that out for banana liqueur instead.

That however was not the only change I made I noticed after mixing the drink and taking the first satisfying sip - I had also misread the recipe. CocktailWonks original recipe calls for a lightly aged/filtered rum like Plantation 3 Star - but I had grabbed Plantation Xaymaca when gathering the ingredients for the drink.

It did however turn out great so I this is going to be my future recipe:

  • 2 cl white over proof rum - I used Wray and Nephew
  • 4 cl aged/golden rum - I used Plantation Xaymaca
  • 2 cl lemon juice
  • 3 cl pinapple juice
  • 1,5 cl creme de banana - I used Giffard Banane du Bresil
  • 1,5 cl passion fruit syrup - I used homemade

Build the drink in a tall glass add crushed ice and swizzle with a swizzle stick or a long bar spoon - I cut my own swizzle stick from local pine back when I made my first swizzle - they are fun to work with. Top the glass with more crushed ice once the drink is mixed and very cold. Garnish with a fun piece of banana candy - mine was banana and liquorice.

September 17, 2019

Mai Tai Digestif


I am not a Mai Tai puritan even though Trader Vic's 1944 Mai Tai just happens to be my favorite cocktail. And yes, yes I know the original rum used has been lost but the gist of his creation stands.

I'm always up for a clever twist or riff on the drink - one that respects the original but dares to play with the ingredients or the measurements.

I have made a few twist myself over time and think I have gotten away with it.

So when I saw a recipe for a Mai Tai with Jägermeister I was intrigued. It was posted in a Tiki recipe group on Facebook and all the poster wrote of the origins was "at a new Cuban place in Atlanta".

I can google the information that a place called 1 Kept  in Atlanta once served a Mai Tai with Jägermeister but that's all I know.

I wanted to try out a recent birthday gift of a Hario Filter-in Coffee Bottle so I put a handful of fresh lavender and some espresso roast coffee beans in the filter and poured in a mix of Jägermeister, Fernet Branca and Branca Menta - just basically emptying some bottles.

After 24 hours I mixed the drink:

  • 3 cl light rum - I used Havana Club 3 yo
  • 3 cl Jägermeister - I used my infused mix
  • 2 cl lime juice
  • 1,5 cl orgeat - I used home made
  • 1,5 cl curacao - I used Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
Shake everything with ice and pour unstrained into double old fashioned glass or Mai Tai glass. Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of lavender.

I have to admit that the lavender and coffee was hard to find in the mix - so I will let it infuse for another week and try the drink again then.










August 28, 2019

Angostura Colada



Upon my first quick browse through Cocktailwonk's - or Matt Pietrek’s - amazing book Minimalist Tiki I noticed three cocktails straight away to try out first. On closer inspection it turned out I could only make one of them as the cocktail hour came around in my household: The Angostura Colada.

The cocktail is developed by Zac Overman in New York who now co-owns a restaurant/bar in Seattle. 

As anyone who has tasted a Trinidad Sour knows a cocktail with Angostura Bitter as it’s base can work. So I was not apprehensive about the 4,5 cl the recipe called for. I was however a little concerned about the marriage of coconut and Angostura.

I really don’t much like traditional Christmas spices in sweet things and I feared it might be too much. It wasn’t - the lime and pineapple works it’s magic and the drink has a solid medicinal tast that I really like. I will definitely mix it again:
  • 4,5 cl Angostura Bitter
  • 1,5 cl Aged over proof Jamaican rum - I used Plantation OFTD
  • 3 cl Lime juice
  • 6 cl Pineapple juice
  • 4,5 cl creme of Coconut - I used  Coco Real Creme of Coconut
Shake everything with crushed ice and serve in a big glass topping the drink of with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange slice and the prickly bits from a pineapple if you have them. You can grate som nutmeg on top - I did not, so as to not over Christmas spice the drink.

Enjoy - oh, and if your new to Tiki or an expert, get the book - It’s solid. And no this is not an ad - I bought my own copy. It you are in Europe and the price of shipping on Matt’s homepage scares you - you might use the same solution I did and buy it from the Netherlands https://www.zeewijck.nl/en/search/Minimalist+Tiki

August 21, 2019

Raspberry Lava Flow


After my first ever dolphin banana garnish I was not about to let the banana go to waste once the cocktail was gone. So I looked for a drink with banana and came across the tropical Hawaiian drink called Lava Flow.

I liked the look of it and figured raspberry would both taste great and look equally as cool as the strawberries it is traditionally made with.

Easy peasy to make in a blender:
  • 6 cl white rum - I used Plantation 3 Star
  • 12 cl pineapple juice
  • 2 cl coconut cream
  • a small ripe banana
Put everything in a blender with ice and blend until it's smooth as a milk shake. Pour into tall glass and rinse out blender:
  • Handful of frozen raspberries 
  • juice of 1/2 lime
Blend and pour on top of drink - use a wooden skewer to force the flow of raspberries down the inside of the glass.

Serve with a straw.

August 20, 2019

Wandering Dolphin


Good friends brought me back a souvenir from their trek along the Portuguese coast to Santiago de Compostella in Spain: Shell shaped ice coolers. The shell is traditionally the sign of the pilgrim.

I wanted to show them off in a cocktail, and have had an eye on Cocktailwonk's twist on The Banana Life for a while. Not least because I am the last cocktail blogger to try my hand at a banana dolphin. I don't know it the actually invented it at Three Dots and a Dash but they certainly made it popular.

I ended up tweeking the twist, so I gave it a new name:
  • 6 cl light golden rum - I used Damoiseau Gold from Guadeloupe
  • 1,5 cl banana liqueur - I used Tempus Fugit Creme de Banane
  • 1,5 cl blue curacao - I used a homemade
  • 3 cl ruby grapefruit juice
  • 3 cl pineapple juice
  • 1,5 cl passion fruit syrup - I used a homemade
  • 1,5 cl lime juice
Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice, pour unstrained into nice tiki glass and garnish with a banana dolphin. Use blue sugar pearls for eyes and a good cocktail cherry in the mouth.

I added my cocktail coolers on top og the drink mainly to show them off, but they actually kept the ice in the drink from melting and diluting the drink, so they ended up serving a purpose.




August 16, 2019

Spumoni


I have never given much thought to the alcohol content in the cocktails I mix at home. Never divided them into any kinds of weak/strong light/heavy categories. But recently I've spotted and mixed a couple of light aperitivos and been really delighted with them.

I'm sure much of their allure has been amazing photos from Punch Drink's photographer Lizzie Munro but then when I tasted them it was clear that they taste as good, as they look.

A few weeks ago I mixed a Garibaldi - they way it's mixed at Dante in New York.  So simple and so tasty. And it came in handy the other day when a visitor asked for something light.

And then the Spumoni - the way it's mixed at Bar Pisellino in New York caught my eye. I just had to try that one too.

I did not alter the recipe - just follow the link - my only personal stamp was the use of the Spiced Negroni Gin from Three Pillars - that played really well with the rose peppercorn syrup.

And so now I have a really light drink and a quite light drink in my repertorie.

August 7, 2019

Kiliki Cooler


I was recently reminded how easy it is to make your own fruit syrups. So when I spotted passion fruit at a supermarket I bought four to give it a try,

Before I got started I had decided to give it a try in a Kiliki Cooler - a Beachbum Berry creation made for the host of the Hukilau.

That recipe calls for coffee syrup - so I made that too.

I started by gently heating 350 g sugar and 3 dl water to the boiling point in a pan.

While that was happening I split the passion fruits and scraped the contents into a bowl - and since I was making both the syrups at the same time I pulled a shot of espresso on my espresso machine.

I added 6 cl of the simple syrup to the espresso - equal amount actually.

And then I added the passion fruit to the rest of the syrup in the pan and let it bubble away for a minute or too.

I let the passion fruit syrup steep for a couple of hours before I strained it - don't throw away the stuff you strain out it's excellent on a cheese sandwich or on ice cream.

When both syrups were completely cooled and bottled I mixed the cocktail:

  • 6 cl rum - I used Plantation Xaymaca
  • 1,5 cl lime juice
  • 1,5 cl orange juice
  • 1,5 cl pineapple juice
  • 1,5 cl passion fruit syrup - see above or use a ready made syrup like Giffard's
  • 1,5 cl coffee syrup - see above or buy some.

Shake everything and pour unstrained into a low wide glass. Garnish with fresh fruit.

August 3, 2019

Cherry Tai - my way


Messing with the mighty Mai Tai is always fun - I know some people think it is sacrilege, but I think it is such an amazing recipe, that riffing on it is bound to deliver a great tasting drink. I still drink my previous rhubarb driven attempt - Tøppe - so I knew it could work.

While shopping for Libbey's latest tiki glasses at Barkonsult, I was gifted samples of Three Cents Soda.

I was particularly interested in the Cherry Soda and I spotted a recipe for a Cherry Tai on their website.

But I decided to make my own interpretation:

  • 6 cl rum - I used Plantation Xaymaca
  • 3 cl lime juice
  • 1 cl orgeat- I used Giffard
  • 1,5 cl curacao - I used Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
  • 1 cl cherry liqueur - I used Frederiksdal

Shake and pour into glass ice included. Add a bottle - or 2 dl - of cherry soda, garnish with maraschino cherries, a mint sprig and a pretty flower.


August 1, 2019

Trader Vic Grog - with a twist


Yesterday was Black Tot Day - they day in 1970 when the British Navy for the last time handed out rum rations to the sailors.

In honor of the day I decided to mix a Trader Vic Grog - Grog was the name sailors gave the mix of rum and water they were given from 1740 after Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon began diluting their rum rations to cut down on drunkenness. His nickname was Old Grogram because of an old overcoat made from grois-grain fabric he always wore.

Trader Vic Grog lends itself well to a slight twist:
  • 3 cl lemon juice
  • 3 cl pineapple juice
  • 3 cl passion fruit syrup
  • 6 cl Jamaican rum - I used Appleton Estate Blend
  • 1,5 cl Green Chartreuse
Measure the first four ingredients into a shake, fill it with ice and shake. Strain over crushed ice and then add the Green Chartreuse ad a float/overlay. Garnish with a mint sprig, lightly awoken with a gentle slap.

If you want to try the original recipe - as written from Beachbum Berry first - don't use the green Chartreuse but add a dash of Angostura Bitters to the shaker before shaking.

July 24, 2019

The Pink Hare


For the third year running I was not in New Orleans at Tales of The Cocktail but that does not mean that I don't follow the event on SoMe.

I came across a picture of a delicious looking drink called The Pink Rabbit that Charlotte Voisey recommended. She is one of my cocktail heroes so I wanted to know more and try the cocktail.

Luckily Charlotte showcased the cocktail on her Proper Pour show on Small Screen Network back in 2016, so the recipe was easy to find.

Turns out it is developed by owner Craig Nelson from Proof in Charleston.

In my neck of the woods - remote part of Denmark - strawberry season is mostly over. I can get very expensive and not very tasty berries. I was contemplating that as I sat gazing on my very generous raspberries 20 feet away and decided to make a raspberry based cocktail. I have always liked raspberry and chili together.

Since the change of an ingredient calls for a new name, The Pink Hare seemed an obvious choice.

10 minutes later a homemade raspberry cordial was cooling in my fridge. Just the berries cooked with sugar - and since I had half a red grapefruit wasting away on my kitchen counter, I used a little juice but lemon juice or just water is fine. Sometimes I use a little star anise or indeed chili too, but this was without spice.

15 minutes before I was ready to shake my cocktail I mixed the milk and the cordial to let it infuse a bit. I just guessed at the amount of cordial needed.

  • 3 cl gin - I used Botanisk Gin - a local gin with a hint of raspberry actually
  • 3 cl Ancho Reyes chili liqueur
  • 9 cl raspberry milk - I used organic whole milk
  • 3 drops of mole bitters - I used Bitter end.
Shake everything with ice, strain into wine glass over fresh ice and garnish with a raspberry on a cocktail pick.

January 25, 2019

Buttermilk Collaboration



I was fortunate enough to get an invitation from Juuls Vinhandel to a tasting at the launch of a small batch collaboration between Teeling Whiskey and Plantation Rum.

Basically the two producers exchange casks and experiment with finishing rum with whiskey notes ande whiskey with rum influences.

Alex Chasko of Teeling and Alexander Gabriel of Plantation took us through the process from idea to finished products. And we got to taste them two - as well as other spirits from the two companies.

Afterwards a friend and I stopped by one of Copenhagens best bars Duck and Cover for a cocktail. As always one is not enough and at the end of the evening we were both treated to a mystery cocktail on the house. Both made with buttermilk whey.

Mine had a base of Germana Caetano's Cachaca and cherry wine and my friend got a aquavit, gooseberry and Jerusalem artichoke cocktail. They were pretty amazing and I wanted to know all about the buttermilk whey.

In both drinks the whey had the effect of reminding your taste buds of something without your brain being able to pick out precisely what it was. I like that.

And it was a great experience right after listening to Alexander Gabriel reminding us that our noses and palates are more precise than any instrument in any laboratory and can pick up more smells and tastes.

He also let us in on the secret that distillers work mostly with the 1-2 procent of a bottle that is not alcohol or water. Then for a cocktail bartender that work only multiply on an exponential scale with 7-8 ingredients added.

So for full disclosure - I didn't not pay for the tasting - I took away a lot of interesting information, 2 cl of the Teeling Whiskey having spend 12 month in Plantation casks and a cute key chain hip flask.

And from Duck and Cover I payed for every drink I ordered and got one free that set my brain wizzing with ideas for buttermilk whey drinks.

One of which is Buttermilk Collaboration:

  • 2 cl Teeling Whiskey finished in Plantation casks
  • 2,5 cl Plantation Stiggins fancy Pineapple Rum  
  • 1 cl orgeat
  • 3 cl pineapple juice
  • 3 cl buttermilk whey (I brought 500 ml of organic buttermilk with a bit of lime zest, limejuice and pineapplejuice add up to about 50 C in a saucepan at which point it split and then strained it through a fine sieve through cheese cloth)
  • 2 cl aquafaba - from chickpeas

I added everthing to a shaker and gave it a quick dry shake before adding ice cubes and shaking it fiercely. Strain into low glass and garnish with pineapple or a good cocktail cherry.

 
  

January 23, 2019

Banana Daiquiri


It is actually quite winterly here in Denmark these days - frost day and night which isn't all that common.

But just because snow and ice is part of the landscape at the moment that doesn't mean I can't dream of icy cold drinks under a tropical sun - I just have to drink them in front of my wood burner.

After a nightly online conversation with some colleagues about the drinking habits - and preferences - of Hemingway I've been wanting a Daiquiri badly

Particularly one I have tinkered with a few times from a bar in Texas - a golden, sweet Banana Daiquiri. Here is the recipe I have been tinkering with.

My version looks like this:

  • 3 cl white rum - I used Plantation 3 Stars
  • 1,5 cl over proof white rum - I used Clairin Casimir
  • 2 cl fresh lime juice
  • 0.75 cl simple syrup
  • 1,5 cl banana liqueur - I used Tempus Fugit Creme de Banane
  • 0,75 cl chili liqueur - I used Ancho Reyes
Blend everything with crushed ice

Garnish with a coin of banana - if you have a dehydrator springle with banana and chili dust on top. 


 

January 18, 2019

Marlin


Picasso had a blue period and apparently so do I. Finding a very low prices ice crusher has also awakened a desire for cocktails with crushed ice.

Looking at the suggested cocktails in the brilliant app Total Tiki containing blue curacao, I decided to try a Marlin. An original drink by Clancy Carroll, 2000 it all it says.

I will say, that should I ever make it again, and why not it is a perfectly fine blue cocktail, I will dial the Maraschino down a bit:

3 cl light rum - I used Plantation 3 Stars
3 cl amber rum - I used Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Spiced Rum
1,5 cl fresh lime juice
1,5 cl fresh lemon juice
1.5 cl Maraschino - I used Luxardo
1,5 cl orgeat - I used Giffard
1,5 cl blue curacao - I used homemade

I shook everything with ice and strained it into a glass of crushed ice. Garnished with a homemade cocktail cherry.