Grog Log | Rum, Tiki & Exotic Cocktails

2013-05-292013-05-29

5 Minutes of RUM!

If you love rum you need to listen to “5 Minutes of Rum” – which is notes of rum, 5 minutes at a time. It`s a great podcast that is just starting out and episode 5 is just out. You can find it on the web – here – and then you can also find it on itunes if type in “5 minutes of rum”.

It`s made by Kevin Upthegrove aka heylownine and itÂ´s a great podcast and who doesnÂ´t have five minutes for rum?

The five episodes are these and talks about:

Episode 1 -Â

BarbadosÂ (wikipedia)Â Plantation rumÂ -Â Â Plantation Grande Reserve 5 yearsÂ -Â Ministry of Rum

OXO citrus squeezerÂ -Â Beachbum BerryÂ -Â Grog LogÂ -Â Beachbum Berry Remixed

Episode 2 -Â

Regional variations of rumÂ -Â Don Q CristalÂ -Â Syrup bottles (Cost Plus)

Google search for history of the Daiquiri

Episode 3 -Â

Regional variations of rumÂ -Â SoleraÂ -Â Coruba rumÂ -Â Coruba Dark Jamaican rum: Ministry of RumÂ –

A Mountain of Crushed Ice passion fruit recipeÂ -Â BG Reynolds passion fruit syrup

-Â Monin passion fruit syrupÂ -Â Beachbum Berry RemixedÂ -Â Trader Vic’s Tiki Party

Episode 4 -Â

Microdistillery (wikipedia)Â -Â Portland’s Distillery RowÂ -Â House Spirits

Photos of House Spirits (Flickr)Â -Â Smuggler’s Cove Triumverate Rum

Old Fashioned Glass (wikipedia)Â -Â Aeration of wine

Episode 5 -Â

Rhum Agricole (wikipedia)Â -Â Rhum AgricoleÂ -Â Martinique (wikipedia)

Martinique AOC specificationÂ -Â Rhum JMÂ -Â ‘Ti Punch @ RumDood.com

So go and check it out! it only takes 5 minutes per episode! and you learn a lot plus thereÂ´s recipes on the website.

2013-03-102013-03-10

The Boo Loo – Beware of it`s quiet strength

Here` s a quick post on one of the more well known tiki drinks the Boo Loo. A while ago i had a Boo Loo weekend together with a few people on instagram, yes really…thereÂ´s quite a bit of tikiphiles and other tropical drink lovers out there..and itÂ´s fun when everybody post up their Boo Loo pictures.

The Boo Loo is usually served in a pineapple but i think it also looks fantastic in a goblet a la Forbidden island style – or other cool glass. I made a traditional one served in the pineapple and then another in a glass that night and only switched out some of the rums for variety and thereÂ´s quite a lot of rum in this drink…

Speaking of which – as in all rum forward drinks make sure to use good rums!

This is a Lapu Lapu type of drink, and it`s Â enough in the pineapple or glass to be shared by two but can of course be good for one as well, heck i had two myself… ItÂ´s a polynesian restaurant style drink and similar to theÂ Chief Lapu Lapu, Aku Lapu Lapu and the lesser known Kikuya Lapu ( all are on page 61-63 in BB Remixed)

These three are all different incarnations of the Chief Lapu Lapu which got itÂ´s name after the Filipino chief Lapu Lapu who defeated Magellan in 1521 (you can read about the legend in Remixed) and how a rum drink served in tiki bars can get itÂ´ name after that event is part of the mystery..

And so the Boo Loo is that kinda drink, boozy in a quiet way…and very relaxing.

Try it!

BOO LOO

A few small fresh pineapple chunks
2 1/2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
1 1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz honey
1 1/2 oz club soda
1 1/2 oz Demerara Rum
1 1/2 oz gold Purto Rican rum
3/4 oz dark Jamaican rum
3/4 oz 151 Demerara Rum

Put pineapple chunks, honey and lime and pineapple juices in blender and blend without ice until liquefied. Pour unstrained into a hollowed out pineapple filled with crushed ice (or goblet) Add rums and soda and stir until well chilled.

As for the honey – heat until liquid and lightly cool it before adding to the blender. I always use liquid honey to make it even easier to mix.

I know the drink was created around 1965 but by whom i have no idea but it`s on the menu at the Fobidden Island. The Boo Loo is in Beachbum Berry`s Grog Log and Remixed.

This drink is quite rum forward and don`t be tricked by the honey and pineapple smoothness – this drink will creep up on you. But i like boozy drinks especially if the booze is rum…

If you add some coffee and mole bitters you get aÂ Princess KalakauÂ which is a twist i made and you can call it the Boo Loo`s spicier cousin.

2011-06-16

MIXING THROUGH GROG LOG 21 â€“ Eastern Sour

Here`s and old favorite…the Eastern Sour. Orange and lemon juices, sugarcane syrup, orgeat and then rye or bourbon.

ItÂ´s drink number 20 in Grog Log and is also featured in Remixed where i also found the Western Sour which contains grapefruit juice and falernum. I find yellow grapefruit juice much tastier in mixed drinks than the pink one, itÂ´s simply fresher and has that sourness which balances so well with sweeteners yet still contains that sour freshness.

The Eastern Sour was made sometimes in the 50s by Trader Vic. He also made the London Sour (sub scotch for the bourbon) and Munich Sour ( cognac) These sours were made for the various Trader Vic`s restaurants.

The Western Sour was featured at Steve Crane`s Kon-Tiki restaurant chain operating in Sheraton hotels across the U.S. Steve Crane and Trader Vic did really compete and in the end Vic did outlast Steve and the Kon_Tiki`s.

So…bourbon or rye?

I like both..but shame on me! -Â i`m out of bourbon…so itÂ´s rye to go in both drinks, and i`m using Rittenhouse bonded.Â Also i found a few fresh kalamansi limes so i`m gonna use them in both drinks to see what happens.

EASTERN SOUR

Juice of 1/2 orange

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 oz orgeat syrup

1/4 oz rock candy syrup (well, i didnÂ´t have that, so i used Petit CanneÂ´s sugarcane syrup)

2 oz rye or bourbon

Now i added: juice of 1 kalamansi lime and garnished also with a sugared rim

Shake well with plenty of crushed ice. Pour unstrained into a double old fashioned glass or short stemmed goblet. Sink spent orange and lemon shells into the drink.

Since the kalamansi is both sweet and sour but a bit more on the sour side i decided to make a sugared rim on the glass to add some extra sweetness. I think it was very tasty with some tangy kalamansi juice in the Eastern Sour even though it doesnÂ´t make itself very much noticed in this drink – just subtle. That said it was very very tasty.

WESTERN SOUR

1 oz white grapefruit juice

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

0.5 oz falernum

0.25 oz sugarcane syrup

2 oz Bourbon (or rye)

Shake well with ice cubes and por unstrained into a double old fashioned glass.

As i suspected, white grapefruit juice and kalamansi limes like each other and plays together very well..and here the two together is da bomb! this drink is so tasty!

The kalamansi transforms the drink from quite average to one step higher. Otherwise the Eastern Sour is in my opinion better than the Western but when kalamansi is in the game it`s slightly the contrary.

Interesting how the addition of just one thing can change things around!

I think i need to go and get me a kalamansi plant so i can have fresh kalamansi limes and make theseÂ drinks all summer!

2011-06-082011-06-08

MIXING THROUGH GROG LOG 20 – DonÂ´s own PlanterÂ´s

Time for a planterÂ´s again! drink number 20 from Grog Log is Don`s own PlanterÂ´s. These are what i would call comfort drinks.

The history of the old PlanterÂ´s punch has been told many times and itÂ´s not that long ago i did a post on it with eight different variations where Don`s own is one of them. Now i`m back with the planter`s again since it`s one of the drinks i need to try and post from Grog Log since i`ve taken upon myself the task to do that inspired by Erik`s stomping through the Savoy – a real heroic effort since that book is not a small one.

Well, mixing through Grog Log is both great fun and educational!

This Planter`s punch was made by Don the Beachcomber in Honolulu in the 50s. It must have been nice to be around in the great tiki era when it comes to tasty drinks.

DONÂ´S OWN PLANTER`S

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 oz soda water

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 oz honey-mix (equal parts honey and water, heated up to dissolve and mix, then cooled to room temp. Can be stored in fridge and will stay liquid)

1.5 oz dark Jamaican rum

1 oz Light Puerto Rican rum

Shake with ice cubes and pour everything into a pilsener glass and garnish with mint, cherry and pineapple finger.

I didnÂ´t have any pineapple at home, so i used an orange peel for garnish instead plus a cherry and some fresh mint. Then i topped with a few extra dashes Angostura bitters on the ice.

This drink is what you put in it, you can play with various rums and get different flavors. For example i made one with 1 oz aged cachaca and 0.5 oz Smith & Cross. An aged rhum agricole would make it yet different and add some grassy notes.

But to entirely change things around i decided to make a PlanterÂ´s punch with bourbon instead of rum,

PLANTERÂ´S BOURBON PUNCH

0.5 oz lemon juice

0.5 oz sugarcane syrup

1.5 oz Bourbon

0.5 tsp hibiscus grenadine

0.5 tsp falernum

1 dash Angostura bitters

6 oz crushed ice

Blend everything in blender for no more than 5 sec. Pour everything into a tall glass and garnsih with pineapple and cherry.

It was tasty with bourbon too! and very refreshing. Yeah me loves me some Bourbon!

This is a lazy drink..meant to be sipped and savored in a rocking chair on the porch..watching the tropical sun go down.

2011-05-25

MIXING THROUGH GROG LOG 18 & 19 – Derby Daiquiri and Don`s Daiquiri

I love the daiquiri! itÂ´s so simple and tasty and the base of so many cocktails..

Since thereÂ´s two daiquiris in the Grog Log with just one drink in between (the Don`s own Planter`s) i put them together here in the same post.

The first is the Derby Daiquiri – a tasty daiquiri that also contains orange juice. It was created by Mariano Licudine from Mai Kai who also had been bartender at Don the Beachcomberâ€™s in Chicago and Hollywood before being hand-picked for Mai Kai.

He created this drink for a Rums of Puerto Rico cocktail competition in 1959 and the drink has also been named the signature drink of the Gulfstream Racetrackâ€™s Florida Derby.

Originally it was served with crushed ice and an ice shell, (must have been fabulously stunning) but since i recently did a post on ice molds i`m not into making an ice shell right now and so i make the drink the way itÂ´s described in Grog Log – which goes just as well and is something you can serve daily if you wish.

DERBY DAIQUIRI

1 oz orange juice

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

0.5 oz sugarcane syrup

1.5 oz light Puerto Rican rum (didnÂ´t have that so i used Havana Club blanco)

Blend with a handful of crushed ice for 15 sec. Serve in small wine goblet.

I really like the daiquiri and this version with orange juice is tasty. I had such a large glass that i made a double. Its simple, tasty and easy to make.

The next daquiri is DonÂ´s daiquiri which uses honey-mix as sweetener.

DON`S DAIQUIRI

0.75 oz fresh lime juice

0.75 oz honey-mix

2 0z light Puerto Rican rum

Shake like hell with ice cubes and strain into saucer champagne glass.

Made by Don The beachcomber in Honolulu, Hawaii cirka 1950.

Clean, tasty…and very nice! yep the daquiri is one of the cocktail icons and forefather to many great cocktails. One of my absolute favorites together with the Mai Tai, Sazerac and Julep.

2011-05-212014-09-13

MIXING THROUGH GROG LOG 17 – Cruzana

Cruzana is the 17th of the drinks in Grog Log and the name does of course come from the rum that the recipe calls for, Cruzan Gold rum.

It also says “or use Barbados rum” – and since i have no Cruzan but do have a rum from Barbados (Plantation) i`m using that instead. So maybe it should be called Barbadiana..

When it comes to maraschino cherries i prefer to use real cherries and let them soak in maraschino liqueur, brandy or mezcal – rather than using the commercial cherries which are stripped of all flavor and dyed bright red. (or green or black) the dyed ones does look good in drinks but they arenÂ´t tastier! I only use them when there`s no fresh cherries to get and my jar is finished.

This drink was created by the Cruzan rum company in cirka 1960s.

CRUZANA

2 oz grapefruit juice

0.75 oz syrup from maraschino cocktail cherry jar

2 oz Cruzan gold rum or Barbados rum

Shake with ice cubes and pour into collins glass.

Tastes nice but itÂ´s nothing special..

In my twist of this drink i decided to punch up the strength a bit, i happen to like strong rum drinks, so i also added a float of Lemon Hart 151 and used Pusser`s red label and some coffee liqueur and hazelnut orgeat instead of maraschino syrup from the jar.

Now this entirely changes flavor profile of the drink of course. I took away the maraschino cherry syrup mainly because i believe mine is a tad too old, it`s fully usable but have lost its spark.

Freshness of ALL ingredients is important! apart from aged alcohol..to an extent..but even that becomes not so good after too long a time. So when you open your bottle of rum you better drink it..

In this drink, the pineapple juice gotta be a good one, either fresh or a good quality juice, NOT from the can! a bad pineapple juice will ruin this drink.

SCOONER