It's Not Easy Being Green.

It's not easy being green.

So your Uncle Giltron is still playing with his bottle of Green Chartreuse. After a year of trying to find it,by the Smoking Baboon I'm going to mix it. It's hard to find good recipes that use it because it's kinda rare,but I've got a pair for you I think you'll really like,provided you can find all the ingredients. Enjoy!

Mix #219 Swamp Angel

2oz rhum agricole blanc 1oz lime juice 1oz pineapple juice 3/4oz Green Chartreuse 1/2oz orgeat 1/2oz falernum 1/4oz allspice dram 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake or blend with ice and strain into glass with fresh ice(I shook it).

From Justin Oliver and Chad Austin on the Facebook group,Tiki Recipes,this is sweet with a creamy mouthfeel and lots of spice and herbs. It also has some real kick. An excellent cocktail with lots of flavor.

Mix #220 Vicious Whale

3/4oz Appleton Signature rum 3/4oz Rittenhouse rye* 3/4oz Green Chartreuse 3/4oz Giffard Banane Du Brasil** 3/4oz blue curacao 1/2oz Benedictine 3/4oz Don's Mix 3/4oz lime juice 2 dashes grapefruit bitters

Shake with ice and pour into glass. Top with a bit of grated nutmeg.

*I used Crown Royal. **I used Tepus Fugit Creme de Banane.

Created by Facebook user Johannes Oscarsson,and also posted to Tiki Recipes,this is another sweet,complex drink with a strong herbal finish. Another winner you should try.

So if you can find a bottle of Green Chartreuse,grab it,it's an excellent addition to your home bar. And follow my advice and you won't waste any.

And of course,i have to post some Kermit,cuz who who doesn't love the little green guy.

What's in a name?

Ernest Raymond Gantt. Sound familiar? No? How about Donn Beach? Yep,that's him. Donn changed his name when he started his Beachcomber chain of restaurants. Now I make mention of this because ol' Donn wasn't the only "Beachcomber" out there. Turns out there were a few scoundrels who tried to straight up rip him off by opening their own places called 'Beachcomber' and even ripped off the name of his classic Zombie drink. I learned all about this recently while reading Kevin Quigley's excellent book,New England Tiki. I highly recommend reading it as it gives the full story along with a lot of other fascinating Tiki stuff.

Now bringing this back to mixing,ol' Donn had a drink called Montego Bay. Thing is,if you search for this online,many of the results you'll find will be for drinks that have the same name,but are totally different(and not as good). Many use spiced rum(with one using light rum),different juices,and it may even contain ginger ale or creme de banana. But don't worry,Uncle Giltron won't let you waste your rum,I've got the proper Donn Beach recipe,as sussed out by our friend Beachbum Berry. And as with most of his drinks,the Donn knew what he was doing. Enjoy!

Mix #210 Montego Bay

1.5oz dark Jamaican rum 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz grapefruit juice 1/2oz honey syrup 1/4tsp allspice dram* 1 dash Angostura bitters 6 drops absinthe 3oz crushed ice

Blend everything for 5 seconds and pour into sour glass.

*About 1ml or 20-25 drops.

A classic Donn drink with lots of flavor. It starts with honey in the front,then a touch of spice,with some absinthe to finish. Complex and flavorful,use good rum because you'll taste it. Very nice.

And wouldn't you know,but ol' Trader Vic(AKA,Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr),also had a drink of the same name:

Mix #211 Montego Bay Cocktail

1oz Rhum Negrita rum* juice of 1/2 a lime** 1 dash triple sec*** 1 dash rock candy syrup*** 1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into chilled stemmed cocktail glass.

*I used Coruba. **I used 1/2oz. ***I used 5ml = dash.

From the 1972 edition of Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide,this is a very different drink from Donn's. It's very tart and close to a daiquiri or traditional sailor grog. Now the measurement 'dash' has changed a bit over the years,so I decided to go with five milliliters as it seemed about right for this. Rock candy syrup is double-sweet so I actually used ten milliliters of regular simple. The original recipe called for Rhum Negrita,which is very dark and considered a 'cooking' rum,so I subbed in Coruba which is a nice very dark rum I've enjoyed in the past. I'd also like to note that for some reason Difford's Guide chose to use Rhum Clement Blanc,which is a white agricole,and very different(and no idea why they would do this). So if you want to try a different daiquiri,just pick a fav rum and give this a try. You can also do like Difford's and play with upping the other ingredients to your personal tastes.

Well,that's all for this week folks. Keep checking in for more mixings. Aloha!

What's Nui with you?

Last week I did a Donn Beach classic,and this week I decided to keep rollin' with tha Donn by making another Beachcomber drink,the Nui Nui. Created in Hollywood around 1937,it was originally named the Pupule. But Donn later changed the name(after playing with the proportions) in 1953 when it was added to the menu of the Mandalay Bar in The Colonel's Plantation Beefsteak and Coffee House at the International Marketplace in Waikiki,HI. This was an interesting place where you picked your steak out from a butcher's case and they would cook it and bring it to your table. Fun fact,the Elvis movie Paradise, Hawaiian Style had recreated the restaurant for a dining scene,and an actual former Donn employee,Lean Lontoc,was the waiter serving Elvis his steak. Pupule is Hawaiian for "to make insane or act crazy" and nui means "big/large/greatest",so the second name is probably better as this isn't a strong drink,but it is tasty. Enjoy!

Mix #212 Nui Nui

2oz dark rum 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz orange juice 1/4oz cinnamon syrup 1/4oz Donn's Spices #2* 1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into glass with fresh ice. Can also be blended.

*1:1 vanilla syrup and allspice dram

Depending on who you ask,this drink can be shaken or blended. I decided to shake it. It's a spicy drink with lots of cinnamon burn and just a touch of vanilla on the end. Pretty good,but next time I think I'll double the Spices #2 just to counteract the cinnamon. The rum used can also be Jamaican dark or Virgin Islands amber,depending on the source. I used Appleton 12yr and it worked quite well. Feel free to use the rum,proportions,and mixing method you prefer to tune this the way you like it.

Remember folks,if you can't get to paradise,the Donn will bring it to you. Aloha.

Fixed it.

So back in Feb I did a post on the classic Trader Vic drink the Fogcutter. It was very sour. I've read plenty of postings from folks who were in agreement with me on this,so I decided to 'fix' it. Presented for your approval,the Fogweaver(named for a band I like). Enjoy.

Mix #209 The Fogweaver

1.5oz light rum 1/2oz sloe gin 1/2oz VSOP brandy 2oz tangerine juice 1oz lime juice 1/2oz orgeat 1/2oz oloroso sherry.

Shake everything except sherry with ice and pour into glass. Float sherry on top.

Every bit as potent as the original,but more balanced. I think the Trader would've approved.

Until next time folks.

Summer in the City.

It's Summer in DC and with the heat and humidity climbing,a cool drink is just what you need. And if there's some alcohol in it,that'll just add to the fun. For this installment,I decided to go 'Tiki adjacent' with two of the five hottest summer drinks according to local bartenders. They might not be exactly Tiki,but the ingredients and flavors are what you would expect from good drinks at a proper Tiki bar. Enjoy!

Mix #194 Something Blue

2oz blanco tequila 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz amaretto* 1/4oz blue curacao 1/4oz Demerara syrup black salt

Salt the rim of a glass. Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into glass.

*I used ‎Disaronno.

From bartender Darlin Kulla at The Grill,this margarita riff is very tequila forward and citrus-y tart. I actually added another quarter ounce of Demerara syrup. I also didn't salt the rim of my glass(not my thing). If you like tequila margaritas,give this a try. The blue color also makes for a cool looking party drink.

Mix #195 MF Zucca

2oz spiced rum 3/4oz passionfruit syrup 1/4oz amaro* 1/4oz lime juice

Shake with plenty of ice and pour into glass.

*I used Aperol.

Created by bartender Danny Gonzalez of Maketto,this is a very interesting drink. It's bitter on the nose,but very sweet tasting. Very nice. A complex tasting drink you could serve at parties to impress your guests. I used Sugar Hill spiced rum,but it's no longer available. I look forward to trying this with other spiced rums. I think it would be a good test bed for checking out the taste of a spiced rum in a cocktail. BTW,in case you're wondering where the drink's name comes from,the bar uses Rabarbaro Zucca as their amaro.

So Summer heat may be here,but there is relief. Stay cool folks.

Happy Mai Tai Day!

Once again,it's time for Tiki's favorite holiday,MAI TAI DAY! The day when we salute the birth of the magic elixir created by Victor Bergeron in 1944. My first post was on the classic Mai Tai,so for today I've decided to mix a pair of modern Mai Tai riffs I think you'll really like. Enjoy!

Mix #217 Blue Hawai-Tai

1oz Wray & Nephew Overproof rum 1/2oz Plantation 3 Stars rum 1/2oz blue curacao 1oz lemon juice 1/2oz orgeat 1/2oz simple syrup

Shake with ice and pour into snifter glass.

From Mai Tai expert Kevin Crossman comes a delicious spin on the classic recipe. While I thought the lemon would sour it,it's in fact a touch sweet with some super funk on the end. And the W&N gives it some real kick. The pretty blue color in the snifter also makes for an eye-pleasing experience. Another winning Mai Tai from the master.

Mix #218 S.O.S. Mai Tai

1.5oz rhum agricole blanc 1/2oz pot still Jamaican rum 3/4oz lime juice 3/4oz orgeat 1/2oz orange curacao

Shake with ice and pour into collins glass. If you're fancy,add a spent lime shell with flaming 151.

Created by bartender Ean Bancroft at the S.O.S. bar in Georgia,this is another good sweet/funky riff. Funkier than the Blue Hawai-Tai,but not as strong,if you're looking to have more than one,I'd go with this. Either way,these are both good spins on the classic recipe.

So celebrate the day with an original Mai Tai or a riff. Maita'i roa ae!