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.