Tiki Night at the Twilight Lounge

Day 321, Cocktails 324 & 325

Patti and Gwen were out shopping Saturday when Gwen texted me “Patti wants to know if the bar is open?”.  Of course the Twilight Lounge is open!  If I’m awake (even at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon) then the Lounge is open. 

So when the girls arrived I busted open a couple of tiki cocktails on them.  Hey, it was sunny and almost 40, which passes for spring around these parts.  I could see the tiki torches in mind, and in a few short weeks I’ll see them for real around the Patio Lounge and Swim Club.

My first cocktail was the Trader Woody, which is yet another TikiBar TV recipe (and is pictured above).

  Trader Woody

• 2 oz dark rum
• 1 oz amaretto
• 1 oz pineapple juice
• 1 oz orange juice
• dash of lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice.  Shake, shake, shake to combine and chill.  Strain into a tiki glass and add cracked ice to fill the glass.

For this drink I used my Appleton Estate V/X rum and the Disaronno amaretto.  It’s a nice, basic tiki style drink with the rum and pineapple being the dominant flavors.  There’s a bit of nuttiness that normally would be provided by orgeat in this thanks to the amaretto.  By the time I was done with this I was thinking mai tai junior.

Patti and Gwen approve of the Trader Woody

The second cocktail is courtesy of Beach Bum Jerry’s Intoxica recipe book.  Called the Cesar’s Rum Punch, it was created by Joseph Cesar, the head bartender of the Grand Hotel Oloffson in Haiti in the 1960’s.  During its heyday in the ’70’s you could find Mick and Bianca Jagger, Michael York and other assorted celebrities at the bar.  Your first Cesar’s Punch was on the house, accompanied by the warning “You won’t like it here.”  Let’s see how we like it at the Twilight Lounge!

  Cesar’s Rum Punch

• 2 oz dark rum
• 2 oz lime juice
• 1 oz grenadine
• 1/8 oz bar syrup
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice cubes.  Shake, shake, shake to mix and chill.  Strain into a tiki glass filled with crushed ice.  Garnish with a pineapple wedge, maraschino cherry, lime and orange wheels speared together with a mint sprig.

The original recipe called for Rhum Barbancourt, which I did not have, so I substituted in my Appleton Reserve V/X.  I’m not sure that it makes that much difference as this has an almost overwhelming lime presence at first, followed by the fruitiness of the grenadine and then the rum.  And when I say overwhelming, I mean it.  This was in your face lime taste, although there was enough grenadine and bar syrup to tone down the sour component of the lime.  Overall, a fun drink, and it does break the typical tiki flavors of rum and pineapple.

After two tiki drinks the girls and I were in the mood for something different, and the night was still young (who am I kidding, it was still afternoon!).  So for the next two drinks you’ll just have to wait for the next post!

Cheers!

Skinny Dipping

Day 152, Cocktail 152

There were so many ways to go with this tonight…

I really missed a prime opportunity yesterday, the 151st day of my liver’s long day’s journey into night.  C’mon, you know what it was I missed out on — a chance to have a cocktail that features Bacardi 151, of course.  So that’s what I’m doing today, a day late perhaps, but really, can you ever be late when it comes to cocktails?  Certainly not at the Twilight Lounge where there is no such thing as bar time.

So what to make?  I started with my Beachbum Berry’s Intoxica! recipe book, but just didn’t see anything that caught my eye that I had all the ingredients for (passion fruit nectar was my downfall in most cases).  So next I moved to the Ultimate Bar Book and began flipping through the rum section.  Mittie Hellmich, the author, doesn’t take too kindly to overproof rums like Bacardi 151, so he didn’t have a lot using the stuff.  To be honest, I agree with his sentiments that they are mostly for show or lighting on fire and don’t really add depth or character to a cocktail.  But I was determined to forge ahead anyway.

I cued up some tiki music and became inspired when Don Tiki’s “The Other Side of the Moon” came on.  Actually, it wasn’t as much the song as the album artwork that goes with it.  This is from his “Skinny Dipping with Don Tiki” disc and the nude woman on the cover dipping her toe in the water 

just did it for me.  At the same time I found a cocktail in Hellmich’s book called the Florida Special that provided the inspiration for tonight’s cocktail.

  Skinny Dipping

• 1 oz Bacardi 151 rum
• 1/4 oz triple sec
• 1/4 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 1/4 oz bar syrup
• 1 oz orange juice

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with 4-5 ice cubes.  Shake, shake, shake to combine and chill.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Although it is only 1 oz of rum, it’s like a double.  Add in the triple sec and Luxardo and you have a cocktail that has a kick.  The neat thing is that between the orange juice and Luxardo you only get a nice, tropical flavor – a nice blend of orange and cherry with a hint of rum in the background.  You’d never know this was 151 proof rum floating around in the glass if I hadn’t told you.  Of course, after two or three of these, you and your friends will be skinny dipping!  It’s just too bad that the Patio Lounge and Swim Club is closed for the year!

Cheers!

If You Have an Itch, then Scratch It!

Day 82, Cocktail 86

Ok, first, before you start to flame me, I know that today is actually the 84th day of my journey.  But, this post is about Friday’s cocktail – I’m a day behind on my reporting…so, it is the 86th cocktail on the 82nd day.

Friday night was another stay at home evening for us.  Not that we’re boring old coots or anything, but we did go out on Thursday and had plans for Saturday night as well.  So, it was homemade pizza (Hawaiian, of course – it is Tiki Week after all) and Goldfinger on the DVR.  This is one of my favorite Bond movies of all time.  I mean, really, from my perspective what’s not to like when the Bond girl is named Pussy Galore?

Since we were staying in I thought it was a good time to try out a heavy duty tiki drink.  This recipe comes from Beachbum Jerry’s Intoxica! recipe book.  However, the credit for this recipe goes to Harry Yee.  This is a recipe that Yee developed at the Hawaiian Village Hotel bar on Waikiki Beach.  I don’t know if Yee had a limit on how many of these he would serve a customer, but I know that after two I was seeing double!

  Tropical Itch

• 1-1/2 oz Bacardi 151 rum
• 1 oz dark Jamaican rum
• 1 oz bourbon
• 1/2 oz orange curacao
• 8 oz passion fruit juice
• 2 dashes Agnosturo bitters

In a large mixing glass add all the ingredients and stir well.  Fill a large hurricane glass (or double collins glass, a large tiki glass or even a pint glass) with crushed ice.  Pour the mixed cocktail in over the ice.  Garnish with a pineapple chunk and a sprig of mint leaves.

What can I say – this was outstanding!  First, the passion fruit gives this drink a fruity dimension without being overly syrupy like pineapple juice can get.    The 151 is potent (duh!) and I used Appleton Reserve for the dark rum and Maker’s Mark for the bourbon – both high quality spirits that worked well.  Like I said above, after two of these each we were ready for a nap!

Cheers!

The Godfather of Tiki

Now That's Refreshing!

  

Day 77, Cocktail 79   

Tiki has come in and out style over the years.  Personally, I caught Tiki fever two summers ago and lived the now infamous Summer of Tiki.  Through it all, though, one man has been the consistent bearer of the Tiki torch.  That man is Jeff Berry, better know as Beachbum Berry.  Virtually all of my Tiki cocktails come from one of his several books.  What I like most about Beachbum Berry is that he combines the classics – classic ingredients, classic cocktails and Tiki culture with up to date ingredients and cocktails as well.  Beachbum Berry, wherever you are, my hat is off to you – Thanks for keeping the torch lit!   

Today’s cocktail is one I’ve been wanting to try for a while now.  Since Gwen’s sister Gale is here for a visit and it is her birthday today, it seems like as good a time as ever for this “serves a crowd’ drink.  

  Blood Of The Kapu Tiki 

• 10 oz amber rum
• 3 oz lime juice
• 3 oz orange juice
• 3 oz grapefruit juice
• 3 oz grenadine
• 3 oz bar syrup
• 1/8 oz Pernod
• 3 dashed Angosturo bitters

In a large pitcher mix all the ingredients.  Fill tiki glasses with crushed ice and fill with the drink mix.  Garnish with lime or orange slices.  Serves 4-6. 

This was  a tasty cocktail, somewhat similar to a Mai Tai, but different enough to enjoy.  I used Appleton Estate amber rum and it was a real crowd pleaser this evening. 

Cheers!