This year for Samhain season I’ve dug out my Lovecraft Film Fest DVD’s. And with the Search For Tiki taking a hiatus from their 13 Nights of Tiki Frights this year,I’ve decided to dig up some Cthulhu-themed drinks. Here’s one that will have you seeing other dimensions. Ia,ia!
Mix #232 Cthulhu Waits Dreaming
4oz gold rum 1/2oz dark rum 1oz brandy 1/4tsp absinthe 3.5oz grapefruit juice 1oz lemon juice 1oz cinnamon syrup 1oz orgeat fresh seawater***
***(don’t actually use seawater,dissolve sea salt in tap water)
Rinse drinking vessel with saltwater. Shake other ingredients with ice and strain into vessel over fresh crushed ice.
From Lovecraftian mug makers Horror in Clay comes a drink that should really be shared. I halved it for one. There’s a lot going on with this. The cinnamon comes forward with citrus and absinthe flavors and a salty finish. A very complex drink. Good enough to make it again,but I’d actually advise skipping the salt water rinse,unless you’ve got family from Innsmouth.
Remember folks: That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die. Ia! Ia!
Well,it’s that time of year again. Halloween season. Time to carve a pumpkin,watch scary movies,and have some spooky cocktails. Let’s start things off this year with a pair of Zombie riffs. They’re coming to get you Barbara…
Mix #230 Undead Gentleman
1.5oz blended aged Jamaican rum 1oz Demerara 151 rum 1/2oz velvet falernum 1/2oz grapefruit juice 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz cinnamon syrup 1tsp absinthe 1 dash Angostura bitters
Rinse glass with absinthe. Shake other ingredients with ice and strain into glass.
A Zombie riff from Smuggler’s Cove,this is cinnamon forward with an absinthe finish and a bit of citrus and spice. Very nice with plenty of kick.
Mix #231 Lost Lake Zombie
1oz Appleton Signature rum 1oz Don Q Anejo rum 1/2oz Plantation OFTD rum 1oz lime juice 1oz pink grapefruit juice 1/2oz falernum 1/2oz cinnamon syrup 1/4oz grenadine 4 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake with ice and pour into glass.
Resurrected from the former Lost Lake bar in Chicago,this is sweet with a cinnamon burn and has a good kick.
After a couple of these cocktails,you won’t be afraid of anything in those spooky movies. And to really get you in the mood,here’s an episode of one of my favorite zombie shows. Unpleasant dreams…
So it’s been raining all week,and looks like it will rain most of next week as well. As your Uncle Giltron is a cyclist,this pretty much sucks. So here’s a cocktail that might make it better.
Mix #229 Foul Weather
1oz dark Jamaican rum 1oz light Puerto Rican rum 1oz orange juice 1/2oz lemon juice 1/2oz passionfruit syrup 1/2oz simple syrup dash vanilla syrup
Pour into tall glass with ice and swizzle.
From Trader Vic’s 1972 Bartender’s Guide,this is sweet and fruity with a vanilla finish. Nice and light and easy to drink,this will hopefully improve my mood.
Aye,be it that time o’ year a’gin. The day where we speak the tongue o’ the buccaneers. ‘n t’ save ye seadogs from scurvy,I’ve a pair o’ grogs t’ make ye merry. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Sink me,t’is a beauty of a riff on the traditional grog/daiquiri. Birthed by a landlubber named Kyle Davidson,a barman in the former tavern Blackbird in Chicago,this will send you t’ Davey Jones if ya have t’ many. Blackbeard hisself would’a drank dis.
Mix #228 Capt Vadrna’s Grog
2.5oz spiced rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz white grapefruit juice 3/4oz Demerara syrup 1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake wit’ ice ‘n pour inta mug.
That ‘ol seadog Beachbum Berry made dis t’ honor his matey Cap’n Stanislav Vadrna. ’tis a bit tart,but then mayhap so was his heartie? The ‘ol pirate Hemingway would’a toasted Calypso with this’n.
‘n here be some more pirate drinks I’ve done,t’ keep ye smilin’.
Mix #10 Traditional Grog
1.5oz navy strength rum 1oz lime juice 1/2oz Demerara syrup
Shake with ice and pour into glass or mug.
Mix #11 Navy Grog
1oz light rum 1oz dark rum 1oz Demerara rum 1oz honey syrup ¾ oz lime juice 3/4oz grapefruit juice 2oz club soda
Shake everything except soda with ice. Pour into double rocks glass and top with soda.
Mix #12 Sailor’s Grog
1.5oz spiced rum 1/2oz 151 Demerara rum 3/4oz lime juice 3/4oz orange juice 1/2oz falernum 1 dash Angostura bitters 1.5oz ginger beer
Shake everything except beer with ice and pour into double rocks glass. Top with beer.
Mix #15 Black Beard’s Ghost(mine)
2oz light rum 2oz orange juice 1oz lemon juice 1oz blackberry brandy 1/2oz orgeat
Shake with ice and pour into mug.
Mix #14 Pirate’s Parley
1oz Demerara rum 3oz pineapple juice 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz apricot brandy 1/2oz orange curacao
Shake with ice and pour into mug.
Mix #13 Corsair Punch
2oz Appleton Estate 8yr Reserve 2oz orange juice 2oz pineapple juice 3/4oz lime juice 3/4oz grenadine 1/2oz orgeat
Shake with plenty of ice and pour into mug.
Mix #51 Blackbeard’s Ghost
1.5oz white rum 1/2oz demerara rum 1.5oz orange juice 1oz lemon juice 1oz falernum 1/2oz apricot brandy 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake with plenty of ice.
Mix #84 Mariner’s Ghost
3/4oz dark rum 3/4oz light rum 1oz mango juice 1oz grapefruit juice 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz allspice dram dash of simple syrup
Shake with ice and pour into mug.
Mix #94 Skull & Bones
1.5oz Lemon Hart 151 rum 1/2oz Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz passionfruit syrup 1/2oz grenadine 1/8tsp Pernod 1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake with ice and pour into your spookiest mug.
Mix #124 Tortuga
1oz Demerara 151 rum 1oz gold rum 1oz sweet vermouth 1/2oz orange curacao 1/2oz white creme de cacao 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz lemon juice 1/2oz orange juice 1/4oz grenadine
Shake with plenty of ice and pour into classic style Tiki mug.
Mix #116 Buccaneer’s Bounty
1oz Navy rum 1oz dark rum 1/2oz Demerara 151 rum 1oz honey syrup 3/4oz grapefruit juice 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz cinnamon syrup 2 dashes bitters
Shake with ice and strain into glass with fresh ice.
Mix #130 Yellowbeard’s Grog
2oz Pyrat XO Reserve rum 1oz lime juice 1/2oz Pierre Ferrand Yuzu 1/2oz Small Hand Foods orgeat 1/4oz Demerara syrup
Shake with ice,stagger-stagger-crawl-stagger,then pour into upturned skull of someone you don’t like. Garnish with Mr Prostitute’s moustache and a speared piece of Spam.
Pleasant seas me hearties,’n here be a pirate’s blessin’:
May your ANCHOR be tight, Your CORK be loose, Your RUM be spiced, And your COMPASS be true.
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!
Mango is a tropical fruit that features in many Tiki recipes. It’s very sweet and a bit pungent,so a little goes a long way,and it’s good to use sour and bitter to even your drink’s balance out. Fun facts: Mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan,and the Philippines,and the mango tree is the national tree of Bangladesh and considered to be holy by Buddhists. India also has a drink called Aam Panna,a mango drink that is said to be a health tonic and summer thirst quencher,but I haven’t made it since it’s not really Tiki and sounds more spicy than what I’d like. You can click the Wiki link for the recipe if you want to try it. So without further ado,let’s get mixing with mango.
Shake with ice and strain into mug with fresh ice.
*I used Coruba. **I used Angostura.
Another drink card recipe from Ken Holewczynski of House Tabu,this is a drink you want to serve in a mug. It comes out an ugly olive color,but don’t worry,it tastes great. Sweet and melon-y with a touch of cinnamon burn on the end,just close your eyes and savor the flavor. It’s fairly low octane so it would make a good dinner cocktail.
Mix #222 The Den of Iniquity
1oz Hamilton Pot Still Jamaican rum 1/2oz apricot liqueur 1/2oz Aperol 1oz cinnamon syrup 1oz mango juice 1/2oz lime juice
Shake with ice and strain into Mai Tai glass with fresh ice.
Created by Tim Harnett at Tiki Underground,and featured in issue 23 of Exotica Moderne,this is another sweet drink with a combination mango/cinnamon flavor. The Aperol and lime cut the sweet down and reduce the cinnamon burn so it’s not too sweet or strong. It’s also low octane,so it would be good for lightweight drinkers.
Mix #223 Maneater
1.5oz gin 1/2oz apricot brandy 1/2oz orange liqueur* 1.5oz mango juice 1oz pineapple juice 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz orgeat 3 dashes bitters
Shake with ice a strain into mug with fresh ice.
*I used Cointreau.
From Yvonne Langen of the Taste & Tipple blog,this is sweet and citrus-y with a touch of tart on the end. A nice drink if you want a change of pace with some gin.
Mix #224 Mangonada Tiki Cocktail
1oz light rum 1oz dark rum 1oz triple sec 1.5oz mango puree* 1/2oz lime juice 2 dashes bitters
Shake with ice and pour into glass rimmed with Tajin spice.
*I used mango juice.
Uftda. So for the other drinks,the mango’s sweetness really came forward. A full ounce of triple sec is quite a lot,but I figured that it would blunt the mango. But instead it overwhelms it,to the point that all you taste is triple sec. I wound up adding another ounce of mango juice just to finish the drink. I did not spice the rim with Tajin,because that stuff messes with my tummy,and good thing because that just would’ve made the drink even more of a hot mess. I found this drink searching the web for another mango recipe so I could finish off my can of juice. It was on the blog Taryn’s Tasting Table,which is not a tiki blog,and that should’ve been my warning not to waste my rum. Well,at least I can keep you from wasting your rum;stick to proper Tiki blogs and follow your Uncle Giltron’s advice and you’ll be fine.
So get yourself a healthy dose of vitamin C,with a little rum to make it fun,and do a little mixing with mango. Enjoy!
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.
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!
So your Uncle Giltron finally did it;after a year of searching,I finally found a bottle of Green Chartreuse at one of my local liquor stores:
Ta-da!
Now you may be wondering why this is such a big deal. Well the fact is,you can’t just walk into any old store and pick up a bottle of it like it was Bacardi. This liqueur is actually made by monks who only produce a certain number of bottles a year in the monastery La Grande Chartreuse near Grenoble,France. Because of this,it can be very hard to find,as well as expensive.
(the actual monastery)
The story goes that in 1084,St. Bruno of Cologne traveled to the Chartreuse Desert(not really a desert,it was just really isolated) with six companions and created a silent order of Roman Catholic monastics known as the Carthusians. In 1605 François-Annibal d´Estrées,the King of France’s Marshal of Artillery,handed over to the Carthusian monks of Paris a document of mysterious origins which supposedly contained the recipe for an “elixir of long life". Time passed,the monks studied the document,and finally in 1737 the manuscript was transferred to the monks of the Grande Chartreuse. They in turn studied it and experimented(one of their early formulas was actually red) and finally in 1764 created a seven page manuscript entitled,Composition of the Elixir of Chartreuse. This elixir is what is today known as Green Chartreuse. Fun fact,the color chartreuse is actually named for this liqueur. Later in 1838 they would also come up with another liqueur,Yellow Chartreuse,which is much easier to find,but not as potent(Yellow Chartreuse is supposed to use the same ingredients,just in different proportions).
So what is Green Chartreuse? It’s an herbal liqueur made up of 130 ingredients. The exact recipe is a closely guarded secret,known to only three Carthusian monks. Supposedly,there are two monks who each have half the formula,with the Father Superior being the only living person to have the full recipe. The monks produce about 1.2 million bottles a year,which sounds like quite a lot,until you look into companies like Bacardi,which produce 100,000 liters of rum a day(my bottle of Chartreuse is ¾ of a liter). Green is stronger tasting and 110 proof,yellow is sweeter and only 80 proof. The taste is very,um,‘herbal’. It’s really hard to describe other than that. And at 110 proof,it has about as much punch as Navy rum. Back in the ’70’s there was a popular cocktail called Swampwater which used Green Chartreuse,but it fell out of favor,and today there are only a few Tiki drinks that use it,mostly because of its rarity,but also because the complex flavor isn’t to everyone’s taste(it really comes forward in the drink). So below you will find a coterie of Green Chartreuse recipes. I hope you enjoy them.
Mix #213 Chartreuse Swizzle
1.5oz Green Chartreuse 1oz pineapple juice 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz falernum
Swizzle all ingredients with ice in glass and top with grated nutmeg.
Woo! Boy howdy! The first thing that hits you is a strong burst of herbs. The Chartreuse really comes forward. Then you get some spice from the falernum and nutmeg. Then one and a half ounces of 110 proof liqueur hit you. If you like herbal drinks you’ll love this. This was created by Marco Dionysos at Tres Agaves in San Francisco and has become a Tiki staple with Chartreuse.
Mix #214 The Last Word
3/4oz Green Chartreuse 3/4oz gin 3/4oz maraschino liqueur* 3/4oz lime juice
Shake with ice and strain into chilled glass.
*I used Cherry Heering.
This other Tiki Chartreuse staple was born at the Detroit Athletic Club around 1915. It’s believed it was created by bartender Frank Fogarty. Its claims to fame are the fact that it uses equal measures of all the ingredients,and is a Prohibition-era drink that has survived into modern times. The Chartreuse and gin combine to create a very ‘botanical’ flavor with a cherry finish. I used Heering which is more sour than maraschino,but it turned out well. Again,if you like herbal flavors,you’ll like this.
Mix #215 Swampwater
1.5oz Green Chartreuse 6oz pineapple juice 1/4oz lime juice
Pour into mason jar with ice and stir.
So Green Chartreuse is a rare liqueur consisting of 130 ingredients and crafted by monks who have taken a vow of silence. So of course here in ‘Merica we’re gonna mix it with juice,give it a silly name,and serve it in mason jars. Yee-haw! No,actually,you can’t blame us for this. This drink was created by the Chartreuse company back in the 1970’s to get Americans to drink it. We had free love and disco and simple but potent cocktails were popular in clubs,so the French figured this would be right up our alley. And it was,for a time. But just like disco,it faded into memory until your Uncle Giltron dropped a bunch of dosh on a fancy bottle of liqueur and then started trolling the waters of the internet looking for recipes to use it in. You can ask your parents if they remember this,but they probably won’t,or won’t want to(insert winky emogi). It’s actually not bad. It starts sweet and pineapple-y,then gives an herbal finish. It’s easy to make,easy to drink,and has some kick,which actually makes it a good summer BBQ drink. And if you use the whole bottle,you can scale up the juices and batch it for your cookout. Remember folks,if you hold your pinky up it makes drinking out of a jar classy.
Mix #216 Amazonian Paralysis
1 3/4oz Appleton 12yr rum 1/2oz Green Chartreuse 1/2oz sloe gin 1/2oz velvet falernum 1oz pineapple juice 1/2oz lemon juice 4 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.
Created by Disneyland bartender Melissa Erin Nickoloff,this is a complex Tiki drink Vic and Donn would have appreciated. It starts sweet,then you taste spices,and then there’s an herbal finish. It also has plenty of kick. A proper Tiki drink and good for introducing people to Chartreuse. And of course the name gives me an excuse to use a Lynda Carter gif(insert second winky emogi).
So if you’re looking to broaden your palette,and can find it,pick up a bottle of Green Chartreuse and get a taste of a rare liqueur with tons of history behind it. Enjoy!
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.
Giltron's Mixings 