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.

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.