Giltron's Mixings

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  • I still know how you Tiki’d last October.

    Here’s a sequel you’ll like: Last year’s 13 Nights of Tiki Frights part II.

    Mix #76 Headhunter’s Trophy

    2oz Plantation Isle of Fiji rum
    1oz lemon juice
    3/4oz grenadine
    1/4oz passionfruit syrup
    1 dash absinthe
    1 dash Angostura bitters

    Shake with ice and pour into glass.

    This was a nice light,fruity drink. Despite being made for Halloween,it would do well as a summer drink.

    Mix #77 Necromancer’s Potion

    1.5oz Plantation Original Dark rum
    1oz Plantation OFTD rum
    1oz pineapple juice
    3/4oz lime juice
    1/2oz passionfruit syrup
    1/4oz ginger syrup
    1 dash absinthe
    1 dash Angostura bitters

    Shake with plenty of ice and pour into tall glass.

    A ‘light’ loaded Zombie. Very ginger forward with a touch of sweet and some absinthe. For when the standard Zombie is a bit too much.

    Mix # 78 Shambling Skeleton

    2.5oz Plantation Xaymaca rum
    1.5oz Don’s mix
    1oz orgeat
    1/2oz Pierre Ferrand dry curacao
    1/2oz lime juice

    Shake with ice and pour into mug.

    This is basically a sweet Mai Tai with a cinnamon finish. A neat twist on the classic.

    Mix #79 Vampire’s Fang

    1.5oz Plantation OFTD rum
    3/4oz grapefruit juice
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/2oz grenadine
    1/4oz allspice dram
    1 dash Angostura bitters

    Shake with plenty of ice and pour into glass.

    Citrus-y with a touch of spice. Lives up to its namesake thanks to the overproof rum,it will bite you.

    Of course there will be plenty more sequels as this year’s Halloween season is just getting started. Stand by for more spooky drinking fun.

  • A sign of Tiki to come….

    So the third of tSfT’s thirteen recipes has dropped,and once again I missed winning the mug. Also missing is the second recipe,which I’m skipping because I don’t have any cassis.

    Mix #75 Sigil of Protection

    2oz Plantation 3 Star rum
    3/4oz lime juice
    1/2oz Mathilde Peche liqueur*
    1/2oz honey syrup
    6 fresh mint leaves

    Muddle mint leaves in shaker,then add the other ingredients plus ice and shake. Strain into glass.

    *So,I don’t have the foo-foo peach liqueur tSfT used,so I used my Peach99. Which is way stronger than Mathilde,which up-gunned the drink. I did use the proper rum,and I actually bought some mint leaves and muddled for the first time.

    Very nice. Basically a peach Daiquiri with a mint finish. No doubt it would’ve been better with the proper Mathilde Peche,but I’m pretty satisfied with it. Of course now I have mint lying around,so maybe this weekend I make a Mojito.

    Stay tuned for more Halloween Tiki drinks.

  • Here we go again!

    So it’s that time of year again folks. The weather is turning cooler,the leaves are changing color,and the Search for Tiki is doing another round of their 13 Nights of Tiki Frights. Be sure to check out their site to enter to win mugs,watch cool podcasts,and try new Halloween-themed Tiki drinks. Here’s the first one.

    Mix #74 Hessian Mercenary

    1.5oz Plantation Xaymaca rum
    1oz Pierre Ferrand Cognac 1840 Original Formula*
    1oz lime juice
    1/2oz Pierre Ferrand dry orange curacao
    1/2oz orgeat

    Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.

    *I used Raynal VSOP.

    This pretty much tastes like a standard Mai Tai with a brandy finish. If you’re a cognac/brandy fan,give it a try.

    I’ll be posting most of the rest of tSfT’s recipes as they post them. Happy Tiki Halloween!

  • In Memoriam

    Let’s take a moment to remember pineapple molasses syrup. Devil’s Reef Tiki bar in Tacoma, Washington uses it to make their signature cocktail,created by co-owner Jason Alexander. BGR dropped it from their line because it wasn’t very popular,but I picked up a bottle before they were all gone and went through their roster of mixes. Enjoy these is you can find a bottle,or head up to Washington state and get a cocktail from the original bar.

    Mix #70 Devil’s Reef

    1oz Jamaican pot still rum
    1oz Demerara rum
    1oz Don’s mix
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/2oz pineapple molasses syrup
    dash Angostura bitters

    Shake with plenty of ice.

    An interesting blend of flavors,it starts with molasses and a hint of pineapple,then has a cinnamon finish. Very nice. BGR’s recipe uses their own syrup instead of Don’s mix,but I just make Don’s mix so I won’t have to buy another bottle of syrup.

    Mix #71 Double Pineapple Rum Punch

    1oz pineapple rum*
    1oz overproof rum*
    1oz lime juice
    1oz pineapple molasses syrup
    12 dashes Angostura bitters

    Shake with ice. Pour into glass with more ice and put bitters on top until it looks like a bitters sno-cone.

    *I used Plantation Stiggins and OFTD.

    If you drink it with a straw it has a light pineapple and molasses taste reminiscent of a daiquiri. After a bit the bitters will mix in and it gets spicy and citrus-y. Quite good.

    Mix #72 Plantation Pastime

    1oz Plantation Original Dark
    1/2oz Plantation Stiggins pineapple rum
    2oz pineapple juice
    1oz pineapple molasses syrup
    1/4oz lime juice
    1oz club soda

    Shake everything except soda with ice and pour into glass. Top with soda.

    A sweet and pineapple-y drink. Nice and light but not too strong. A good party drink.

    Mix #73 Pink ‘n Pine

    1.5oz blackstrap rum
    3/4oz pineapple molasses syrup
    1/4oz lime juice

    Build into a glass with ice and stir.

    Tastes like a very funky grog. Not quite my thing,but try it and see if you like it.

    Well,the syrup might be gone,but the memories(of the hangovers) remain. Maybe BGR will bring it back some day. I’m going to scour the web for other pineapple syrups,and when I find something good I’ll post it. Aloha all!

  • Boo!

    It’s that time of year again folks,when the days get shorter,the weather turns cooler,and we start watching our favorite spooky movies again. Halloween season.

    Last year,the Search For Tiki did a 13 Nights of Tiki Frights where for thirteen days in a row they did a podcast with a prominent figure in the Tiki world,gave away a mug,and posted a new drink recipe featuring Plantation rum. Not only did I try most of them,but I even went out and bought the fancy rums to make them. And I can tell you folks,Plantation makes a good rum. Here’s the first batch for you to enjoy.

    Mix #28 Gunslinger’s Grave

    2oz Citadelle gin
    1oz orange juice
    3/4oz lemon juice
    1/2oz grenadine
    1/4oz passionfruit syrup
    1/4oz allspice dram
    2 dashes Angostura bitters
    2oz soda water

    Shake everything except soda. Pour soda into glass and add mix and more ice.

    Reminiscent of a Saturn,this sweet gin drink has made it into my regular rotation. I can also highly recommend Citadelle,which has become my gin of choice.

    Mix #64 Ferry to the Underworld

    1oz Plantation Original Dark rum
    1oz Plantation OFTD rum
    3/4oz pineapple juice
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/2oz falernum
    1/4oz cinnamon syrup
    1/4oz allspice dram
    1 dash absinthe
    1 dash Angostura bitters

    Shake with plenty of ice and pour into double rocks glass.

    This is reminiscent of the Zombie in taste,and has almost as much kick. A Zombie light if you would.

    Mix #65 Fizzy Rum & Gin

    1oz Plantation Isle of Fiji rum
    1oz Citadelle gin
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/4oz simple syrup
    2 dashes Angostura bitters
    4oz ginger beer

    Shake everything except ginger beer with ice. Pour ginger beer into tall glass,strain mix into glass,then top with some pellet ice.

    This has some real ginger burn and is basically a hopped up Dark & Stormy. If you like D&S’s,or are just partial to ginger beer,you’ll love this.

    Mix #66 Ghostly Shadows

    2oz Plantation Isle of Fiji rum
    1.25oz lemon juice
    1/2oz cinnamon syrup
    1/4oz honey syrup
    1/4oz passionfruit syrup

    Shake with ice and pour into glass.

    An interesting drink that bounces back and forth between honey sweet and cinnamon spice.

    Mix #67 Pineapple Maze

    2oz Plantation Stiggins Fancy Pineapple rum
    3/4oz simple syrup
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/2oz grapefruit juice
    1 dash Angostura bitters

    Shake with ice.

    With that much simple I figured this would be too sweet,but it actually has a good balance. There’s a pineapple start with a grapefruit finish. The Stiggins is excellent pineapple rum;read the label for the interesting story behind it.

    Mix #68 Roaming Skull

    1oz Plantation Original Dark rum
    1oz Plantation 3 Stars Artisanal rum
    1oz apricot liqueur*
    1oz lemon juice
    1.5oz coconut cream

    Blend with ice.

    *I used apricot brandy

    I expected it to have a heavy coconut flavor,but it was actually quite tart with lemon forward. Not my thing,but if you like sour give it a try.

    Mix #69 Tombstone Grog

    1oz Plantation XO 20th Anniversary rum
    1oz Plantation Isle of Fiji rum
    1oz grapefruit juice
    3/4oz lime juice
    1/2oz cinnamon syrup
    1/4oz falernum
    1/4oz allspice dram

    Shake with ice and pour into glass.

    This is very spicy with a cinnamon burn. Not my thing,but if you like a drink with some burn,you’ll enjoy this.

    So enjoy these spooky concoctions,and be sure to check out the Search For Tiki to see what they do for Halloween this year. Unpleasant dreams.

  • G&T = Gin and Tiki?

    So Milk & Cheese aren’t the only gin fans out there,there’s a good number of Tiki drinks that use gin instead of rum. So in keeping with the gin roll I’m on,here’s some more to pleasure your pallet.

    Mix #60 Passion Cocktail

    2oz gin
    3/4oz passionfruit syrup
    3/4oz lime juice

    Shake with plenty of ice.

    A simple concoction from Trader Vic’s,this has a sweet taste similar to a Saturn,but only requires three ingredients. An excellent drink to whip up for snooty G&T friends you’re trying to bring over to Tiki.

    Mix #61 Bermuda Hundred

    1.5oz gin
    1.5oz pineapple juice
    1/2oz Campari
    1/2oz orgeat
    1/2oz lime juice

    Shake with ice.

    So this is interesting. I’m not generally into Campari because of its bitterness,but this drink carries it well. It’s sweet with a Campari finish. I was surprised how much I liked it.

    Mix #62 Garden Party

    2oz gin
    1oz blanc vermouth
    3/4oz lemon juice
    1/2oz agave nectar
    1/4oz lime juice

    Shake with ice and pour into double rocks glass.

    Another interesting drink in how the flavor bounces back and forth between sweet and tart. As the name suggests,it would make for a good party drink.

    Mix #63 Humuhumunukunukuapua’a

    2oz gin
    3/4oz pineapple juice
    3/4oz lemon juice
    1/2oz orgeat
    2 dashes bitters

    Shake with ice and pour into Collins glass.

    H-whatever-alphabet is the Hawaiian name for the rectangular triggerfish,the state fish of Hawaii. No,I can’t pronounce it either. I’m sure the bartenders in Hawaii will get it if you ask for ‘the gin drink named after the state fish’(they’re used to Haoles). This is a tart drink,pretty much the opposite of the Saturn. Not really my thing,but if you like sour you’ll like this.

    So go ahead and add some non rum liquors to your home bar. Just be careful;gin has a reputation for blistering hangovers if overused.

  • Let’s be careful out there.

    Unfortunately,you can’t always trust every Tiki recipe out there. If fact,many are pretty bad. But fear not,you can trust your Uncle Giltron. I’m willing to risk my sanity and rum to bring you mixes you can trust.

    I use Fee Brothers orgeat for most of my mixings. It’s pretty good. Too bad the ‘Mai-Tai’ recipe on the bottle is just plain wrong:

    2oz light rum
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/4oz orgeat
    1/4oz curacao

    Just for funnsies,I gave this a try. Yeah,it sucked. Too lime-y and tart. Fortunately,I was able to fix it by adding simple and upping the lime,orgeat,and curacao to where they should be. So I was able to make it a white rum Mai Tai and not completely waste my rum. Once fixed,it was ok,but Mai Tais really need to be made with dark rum. At least I was able to finish it.

    So listen to your Uncle Giltron,follow my mixings and you won’t have any regrets….other than a hangover.

  • Indeed,why not both?

    I’ve previously posted gin drinks and apricot brandy drinks,so here’s a pair of recipes that use both.

    Mix #58 Paradise Cocktail

    1.25oz gin
    3/4oz apricot brandy
    1/2oz orange juice

    Shake with ice.

    This didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped. Very tart. If I were to make it again I would switch to tangerine juice and maybe add either some simple or passionfruit syrup.

    Mix #59 Maneater

    1.5oz gin
    1/2oz apricot brandy
    1/2oz curacao
    1.5oz mango juice
    1oz pineapple juice
    3/4oz lime juice
    1/2oz orgeat
    3 dashes bitters

    Shake with ice and pour into tiki mug.

    This was quite nice with an excellent sweet/tart flavor and an apricot finish. Would drink again.

    Don’t stay thirsty my friends,drink a tiki cocktail.

  • Cheating.

    Well,it’s Labor Day weekend. This is supposed to be Summer’s last hurrah,with folks just hanging out and doing as little as possible. So I’m going to take the weekend off from mixing,and instead cheat with just putting rum in stuff. Here’s my two ‘cheats’,which by the way are actually quite good. Enjoy!

    Mix #56 The Cloudy Horizon

    2oz Kraken Dark Label rum
    12oz good vanilla soda*

    Pour soda into Tiki mug with ice. Add rum. Stir. Add a couple swizzles and an umbrella so it looks legit.

    *I used Natural Brew soda.

    Ok,it’s just rum and soda. But it tastes really good. Dark Label is more vanilla-y than the regular Kraken and really mixes well with vanilla soda. Also does well with Dr Pepper.

    Mix #57 The Fiji Mermaid

    2oz light rum
    1.5oz Skinny Syrups Mermaid syrup
    club soda

    Pour everything into a tall glass with ice so you can see the cool color. Add mermaid swizzle and stir.

    I’ve started playing with some of the Skinny Syrups because they’re sugar free(and cheap at TJ Maxx). Their Mermaid syrup tastes very ‘tropical’ with pineapple and coconut flavor. This is a sweet,touristy drink,but it is very low cal and the low sugar helps reduce the chance of a hangover.

    Well that’s about all the effort I’m putting out this weekend. Time to sip a Mermaid and watch Hawaii Five-0. Cheers!

  • It’s Mai Tai Day!

    Happy Mai Tai Day everyone! And today is the correct Mai Tai Day. Proof:

    As I said in my first post,the Mai Tai was created in 1944 by Trader Vic. Here’s the story in his own words:

    “I was at the service bar in my Oakland restaurant. I took down a bottle of 17-year old Jamaican J. Wray Nephew rum, added fresh lime, some Orange Curacao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle flavor. A generous amount of shaved ice and a vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went in for color, I stuck in a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took on sip and said, “Mai Tai – Roa Ae”. In Tahitian this means “Out of this World – The Best”. Well, that was that. I named the drink “Mai Tai”.

    The Mai Tai is probably the best known Tiki drink,and with good reason. It’s just plain delicious. Follow the original recipe,and you can’t go wrong:

    An interesting thing about Mai Tais,is that despite being created in California,most people think of Hawaii. This is because of all the tourist bars in Hawaii which made their versions of the Mai Tai. Kevin Crossman,Mai Tai enthusiast and Tiki historian,wrote an excellent article on the subject on his blog,The Ultimate Mai Tai. From his article,we get a chart of Mai Tai recipes:

    And here’s the one I tried:

    Mix #54 1972 Royal Hawaiian Surf Room Mai Tai

    1oz light rum
    1oz dark rum
    1oz Demerara rum
    1oz orange juice
    1oz pineapple juice
    1/2oz lime juice
    1/4oz lemon juice
    1/4oz orange curacao
    1/4oz orgeat
    1/4oz simple syrup

    Shake with ice and pour into double rocks glass.

    Definitely a tourist drink. Lots of rum for punch,and very ‘tropical’ tasting. Surprising they used ten ingredients though,that’s gotta be tough to mix when there’s a rush at the bar. I think I’ll just stick to the original. Or Kevin’s custom blended version:

    Mix #55 Ultimate Mai Tai

    1oz Fresh Lime Juice
    1/2oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
    1/4oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds or Liber)
    1/2oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao or Clement Créole Shrubb)
    1/2oz Appleton 12 Rum
    1/2oz Smith & Cross Rum
    1/2oz Plantation OFTD Rum
    1/2oz Plantation Xaymaca Rum

    Shake with ice and pour into double rocks glass.

    This does make for a very nice Mai Tai.

    Cheers folks!