Two More.

Two more.

Just two mixings from Facebook this week,but they're good'uns. Hope you enjoy them.

Mix #225 Coconut Doppelgänger

1.5oz coconut rum 1oz pineapple rum 1/2oz velvet falernum 1oz lime juice 1/4oz orgeat 1/4oz simple syrup 3 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and pour into glass.

I found this in Tiki Recipes on Facebook. It's sweet with a coconut base and spice on the end. Very nice. It was apparently created for a German brand of rum. I can't find their rum on this side of the Atlantic,but their recipe was good,so I'm guessing their rum isn't bad either. If you're in Europe you might want to give it a try.

Mix #226 Two Metres Apart Gets You One Step Closer To Paradise

2oz dark Jamaican rum 1/2oz amaro* 3/4oz falernum 1oz pineapple juice 1oz grapefruit juice 1/2oz lime juice Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and pour into glass. Top with bitters and some grated nutmeg.

*See below.

The longest-named drink I've made,this was also found while perusing Tiki Recipes. It was created during COVID by the Shameful Tiki Room bars in Canada. It was intended to be made with an amaro such as Campari or Aperol,but the poster said it was very bitter,so I decided to swap in Disaronno. Mine turned out sweetish with some spice and a bit of tart on the end. Quite a nice drink. If you like bitter,then use the original amaro,otherwise my tweak will make it sweet. Or try both to see which you like best.

So that's it for this installment. Halloween is just around the corner,so stay tuned for some spooky drinks. Aloha!

Ohhh....mama!

Happy 4th of July folks,I hope you had a good one. This week we're going to look at the drink I made for the 4th,the Bahama Mama. Some might say it's tourist,not Tiki,but it can be found in many Tiki bars,and the former Lost Lake of Chicago had their own version,so that counts. The thing about the Bahama Mama is that there really isn't a singular proper recipe. Unlike the Mai Tai,it can't be traced to one bartender or bar. Even the origin of the name is hazy. Some say it was named for Caribbean dancer Dottie Lee Anderson whose stage name was Bahama Mama,some say it came from a song by George "King of Goombay" Symonette,a famous Calypso singer.

If you do a deep dive into the 'net,you'll find recipes where it's shaken,blended,or even layered. There's recipes with and without grenadine,with and without banana liqueur,the juices change,and I found one that calls for coffee liqueur. I even found a posting from a bartender on Reddit who claimed that he just made his from whatever he had behind the bar and proudly proclaimed that he would "go to his grave without learning a proper recipe". So basically,if you ever order a Mama at a bar,you'll get what they think it should be(or what the bartender feels like). In order not to waste your rum,I've tried a couple recipes that I can recommend,and one that shows you how to spot a bad drink. Enjoy folks.

Mix #201a Elevated Bahama Mama 1

1oz Plantation Xaymaca rum 3/4oz light overproof rum* 1oz pineapple juice 1oz lemon juice 1/2oz cream of coconut 1/2oz pomegranate syrup 1/4oz orange curacao 1/4oz banana liqueur

Shake with five ice cubes for five seconds and strain into glass with ice.

*I used Wray & Nephew Overproof.

From the former Lost Lake bar,this is fruity and sweet with a citrus aftertaste. The overproof also makes it strong. It's called 'elevated' because it was made to be a properly balanced drink that you'd be willing to make again. A bit touristy,but quite good. I wouldn't be ashamed to serve it in my bar.

Mix #201b Elevated Bahama Mama 2

1oz Appleton 12yr rum 3/4oz Smith & Cross rum 1oz pineapple juice 1oz lemon juice 1/2oz grenadine 1/4oz orange curacao 1/4oz banana liqueur

Shake with ice and pour into glass.

Remember how I said that there wasn't a single proper recipe? Well the internet can't even seem to agree with the recipe from Lost Lake. This is another 'official' version I found. It's sweeter than the above because the grenadine comes forward more than the pomegranate syrup did. It has some kick due to the Navy rum,but not as much as the first. Not bad,if you like sweeter drinks give it a try. I do prefer the first one though.

'The Bahama Mama'

1oz spiced rum 3/4oz coconut rum 3/4oz banana liqueur 2.5oz pineapple juice 1oz orange juice 1-2 Tbsp grenadine

Shake with ice and pour into something.

So you'll notice that I didn't number this recipe. That's because it doesn't count,this is your lesson in how to spot a bad drink. One to two tablespoons means a half to a full ounce of grenadine. That's a lot. And that's all you'll really taste in this hot mess. It's way too sweet because there's almost no sour to balance it(note the lemon in the Elevateds). I also stated 'coconut rum' without being specific because the rum specified in the posting I found is something you won't find in my bar. I'm not the worst of rum snobs,but I'm not mixing with rail. If your bartender serves you this,send it back and/or find another bar. And if they toss on an overproof float,they're just trying to give you a hangover. You've been warned folks.

I hope this has been informative for you. If you just want to get hammered on vacation,then go ahead and order a Mama at the beach bar. If you want something you'll enjoy,use one of the two numbered recipes above.

And now I'll close with some good music and a tribute to the Fourth by an American icon. Aloha!

Happy National Rum Day!

It's August 16th,which is National Rum Day. So instead of posting recipes,I'm going to just talk a little about rum.

First some basics. There are two main branches of rum;rum and rhum agricole. Rum is made from sugar cane that has been processed into molasses,while agricole is made directly from sugar cane that has been pressed. If you see the word 'rhum' with an H,it's usually agricole,but not always. Sometimes they add the H to be fancy or for tradition. Agricole tends to have a super funky 'grassy' taste that is much stronger than regular rum. It's not to everyone's liking,but I do like it in certain cocktails. There are also rums that are made from things like sugar beets,but they all pretty much suck. Stick to cane rum/rhum and you won't go wrong. After this,there are numerous sub-categories. The thing is,some rums blur the lines between the categories,and some categories are kinda made up,so I'm just going to do a basic run down instead of dragging you down a rabbit hole.

White rum,also called light rum or silver rum,can be clear(which requires filtering) or have just a bit of goldish tint. It's light tasting and in Tiki drinks is usually mixed with other spirits or several ingredients. It works well in daiquiris. My preferred light rums are Bacardi Superior(my Kraft MacNCheese rum),Plantation 3 Star,and Probitas.

Gold rum,sometimes called amber rum,is a gold or amber color. It splits the difference between light and dark rums in terms of how heavy the flavor and funk are. I like Bacardi Reserva Ocho and Gran Reserva Diez,which are their 8 and 10yr aged rums.

Dark rum is the most commonly used in Tiki drinks,and can go from a dark amber to brown to almost black. It's got a lot of flavor and can have some serious funk. My favs are Appleton Signature/8yr/12yr,Plantation Original Dark,English Harbor,and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. I'm also a fan of Coruba,which many people consider a black rum.

Black rum is not really a category of rum,it's sort of a created term for really dark rum. It's heavy and funky and generally mixed instead of sipped. As I like funky rums,I am a fan. While I consider Coruba to be a dark rum,many consider it to be a black rum. I'm also a fan of Hamilton Pot Still Black,which is my go-to black rum. I'm also a fan of Cruzan Black Strap,which is a very molasses forward rum that many consider to be its own category.

Spiced rum,as the name suggests,has spices in it for extra flavoring. It can be light,gold,dark,or black. I'm a fan of Sugar Island(sadly no longer made) and Siesta Key. I also like Kraken Dark Label,which has a vanilla profile that mixes well with soda(I like it,but have never used it in a cocktail).

Demerara rum is only made in Guyana,although there are some rums called Demerara that are blended. The best way to describe it is that it is to rum what stout is to beer. Thick and funky with some sweetness. I'm a big fan of Lemon Hart Original and 151(my go-to 151),as well as Pussers Gunpowder.

Navy rum is 114 proof rum. It had to be this proof so that if the casks leaked,it wouldn't ruin the gunpowder it was stored with. I like Pussers,Hamilton Navy Grog Blend,and Smith & Cross.

Overproof rums are pretty much anything stronger than Navy rum. My favs are Hamilton Beachbum Zombie Blend,Wray & Nephew,and Plantation OFTD. And of course Lemon Hart 151.

There are also flavored rums,which can be any kind of rum with flavors added. I like Shipwreck and Siesta Key coconut,and Plantation Stiggins pineapple.

Finally,for agricole I like Duquesne Rhum Blanc for light,Rhum Barbancourt 8yr for dark,and Clement Rhum Vieux VSOP for gold.

Well,that's enough of a text wall,I think I pretty much covered all you really need to know. Stick with my suggestions,and you won't go wrong.

Cheers!

Shhh,it's a secret…

'Don's Mix' is a secret ingredient used in many Tiki drinks. That is,it used to be a secret until it was unearthed by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Donn Beach used to encode all his recipes to prevent rivals from stealing them,so for the longest time no-one knew what his drink and syrup recipes actually contained. Beachbum played Tiki archaeologist and was able to discover that Don's Mix was a two-to-one ratio of white grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup. Because of this,many classic Tiki drinks can be properly made as intended. It also features in many modern recipes. White grapefruit can be a bit hard to find,so I've used regular red grapefruit and think it tastes just fine. I've used Don's Mix to make classic Zombies,and here are three modern Tiki drinks that feature it.

Mix #184 Arkham Kula

1.5oz Plantation Xaymaca rum 1/2oz Plantation OFTD rum 3/4oz lime juice 3/4oz orange juice 3/4oz Don's Mix 1/2oz honey syrup 1/2oz passionfruit syrup

Shake or blend with ice and pour into zombie glass.

From the book Minimalist Tiki and created by Jason Alexander,this is a sweet drink with a bit of cinnamon burn to finish. The OFTD gives it a bit of kick. A nice classic-styled Tiki drink.

Mix #185 Commando Life

2oz Plantation Stiggins' pineapple rum 1oz Don's Mix 3/4oz Giffard Banane Du Bresil liqueur 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz passionfruit syrup

Shake with plenty of ice and pour into snifter.

Another Jason Alexander creation from Minimalist Tiki(this guy knows how to make a drink) it's sweet with a banana/cinnamon finish. A nice summer-y drink.

Mix #186 Muertito Vivo

1.5oz aged(8yrs+) dark rum 1/2oz 151 Demerara rum 3/4oz Jagermeister 3/4oz Don's Mix 3/4oz lime juice

Shake with ice and pour into mug.

From the book,Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails,I decided to try it after reading a posting on Facebook. It turned out to be super tart and very Jager forward. I wound up adding Demerara syrup to finish it. If you like sour and licorice,give this a try,but one-and-done is plenty for me.

So remember the secret formula to add to your Tiki drinks. Don't worry,I won't tell(rule #2).

Don's Mix = 2:1 white grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup

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!

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.