I`ve said it before and i say it again – Nothing made with Ting can go wrong – Ting is the universal cocktail redeemer. Its actually more than that – have you ever drunk island sunshine from a bottle?
And for once..its not a soft drink from Italy..this one is from Jamaica.
Since i heard the rumours on FaceBook that they want to stop the import of Ting to the UK i`ve been wondering if that really is going to happen? If it did it would be a national catastrophe for England and also for me as the Ting we can buy here sporadically is imported from there. So if you want to support Ting :
Join the group “No more Ting for Britain. Not if I can bloody help it” on FaceBook.
First time i heard about Ting was many years ago when a few friends came back after a long holiday in Jamaica speaking about Ting in such a way that i really wanted to try it. But it wasn´t until years later i all of a sudden saw a case of Ting in our Indian shop. I didn´t believe my eyes. I bought the whole case.
That proved to be a good move as it took very long until they had it in the shop again and now they have it sporadically so when its there its best to stock up.Ting also proved so popular at home that if i don´t hide the case on a very secret place it would finish in a day.
As it contains fruit pulp, i find it similar to the San Pellegrino sodas – my other favorite soft drinks. And when i cannot find Ting i use San Pellegrino limonata or pompelmo (grapefruit)
Ting also comes in a pink variety, that one contains an addition of lemon juice as well. I haven`t tried it but one of my friends says it tastes quite similar to the regular but that the regular is best. So as a cocktail mixer its perfect, it mixes with most things – anything that goes well with citrus flavours and I think its especially good with gin, tequila, mezcal, cachaca, other rums, Aperol and Campari.
Its special companion though is Jwray overproof rum – they are made for each other and nothing beats ice cold Jwray and Ting – period.
Mixed with lemon flavored vodka its called Ving..and is appr 1 part Smirnoff Citrus Vodka and 2 parts Ting.
And here you get the rest..
* Ring: A mix of Bacardi Limón rum and Ting
* Ging: A mix of Gin and Ting
* Jing (pronounced Ying): A mix of Jägermeister and Ting
* Ming: A mix of Ting and Midori
* Wing: Whiskey and Ting
THE CLASSICAL JWRAY & TING IS HEAVEN IN A GLASS
1.5-2 oz Jwray overproof rum
Sprinkle of fresh lime juice
Top with Ting (about 4oz)
Cracked ice
That´s it! It cannot get any better.
My favorite gin for the moment is Martin Miller´s and so i decided to mix a Gin & Ting – simple and tasty:
GIN & TING
2 oz Martin Miller`s gin
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
Dash grapefruit bitters
Top with Ting
Garnish grapefruit rose
Shake and strain into a glass with crushed ice and garnish with a grapefruit rose. Perfect for the summer!
One of my favorite cocktails with Ting apart from the obvious is the Pineapple Delight and a 1000 variations of it – and one variation is to grill the pineapple and throw everything in a blender instead of muddling.
GRILLED PINEAPPLE DELIGHT
2Â fresh pineapple wedges or rings (one for garnish)
2 oz white rhum agricole
0.5 oz caramelized honey-cream-mix
juice from ½ lime
0.5 oz Jwray overproof rum
¼ oz orgeat
Ting to top
Grill 2 fresh pineapple rings, set aside and cool.
Make honey cream mix just before you are going to use it – heat up equal parts unsalted butter, honey and raw sugar until you get a sauce and boil it a bit until the sugar gets slightly caramelized – it turns brown. Let cool to just above room temp.
Pour everything except Ting in a blender – honey cream mix first and ice last and blend for exactly 20 sec. Strain through a fine-mesh-wire-sieve.The procedure is exactly the same as it is with the mix for the Pearl Diver`s Punch (Sippin`Safari p 76)
Pour into a large glass and fill with fresh crushed ice and top with Ting. Garnish with a grilled pineapple wedge and a leaf. If you feel like it you may add a extra float of Jwray too.
Eating the grilled pineapple garnish when the drink is finished is heavenly…Try to make variations of this, use tequila instead of agricole, or mezcal, cachaca..add some fresh mango slices..add homemade vanilla syrup..
And as long as you top it with Ting everything`s gonna be alright.
A lovely pic of the two beauties from SeanMike over at Scofflaw`s Den.
And from Scofflaw´s Den you can also samplethis great drink that was made by Marshall for the ginger MxMo.
Now i`ve spoken about Ting, i never get tired of that actually..but what about the rum that is so perfectly suited to mix with Ting? this is a rum like no other as it has a very different flavour that really stands out and i would like to know what it is that gives it this smoky kerosene-gasolene– like punch.
JWRAY OVERPROOF RUM – TING`S NATURAL COMPANION
First i want to say – this is by far the most versatile rum in the world..its good for everything! well…almost. Used with common sense of course, its a strong rum. Apart from mixing with it i use it in falernum and syrups and also in cooking and try sometimes to place a few pineapple chunks in a pan, adding a splash of JWray and bake, then muddle and mix into a cocktail. Thanks Paul for that tip!
It has a very special flavour – i believe you will either like it or not, its a bit like kerosene. Its distilled by J. Wray & Nephew Limited – Jamaica.
Its an unaged clear molasses based rum and the most popular rum in Jamaica by a large margin – it currently accounts for more than 90% of all rum sold in Jamaica. Its also merely the top-selling high strength rum in the world. The aroma and body of this overproof rum are typical of the overproof Jamaican rums.
Its bottled at 62.8% alcohol by volume. Its distilled in copper pots in small batches to capture the unforgettable flavor that has come to be known as the real spirit of the island. In Jamaica Wray & Nephew is part of the culture, tradition and every day living. I`ve heard that there´s a 131 proof version on the island but i don´t know if this is so, if anyone knows i would appreciate to hear it.
- There are 13 sugar cane spirits distilled by J. Wray & Nephew Limited.
- Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum
- Appleton Estate 250th Anniversary Rum
- Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old Jamaica Rum
- Appleton Estate Extra Jamaica Rum
- Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy
- Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaica Rum
- Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum
- Appleton Special Gold
- Appleton Special White
- C.J. Wray Dry Rum
- Coruba
- Wray & Nephew Coconut Rum
- Wray & Nephew White Overproof
So now, how many of you have tried to mix JWray or other spirits with Ting and how do you like it?
Oh yes Japhet, Ting and tequila goes well together!
Hector, i would choose the cognac..
Also, try at your own risk:
Cha-Ching: Louis XIII Cognac and Ting
SomTing SomTing: A shot of Ting mixed with whatever’s leached into the bartender’s bar mat.
Sling: Slurry and Ting
My father’s from Trinidad and I grew up drinking Ting. Along with ginger beer, it’s something I always tend to keep on hand as mix. I’ve not tried it with the JWray (sounds potent!) but I love it with El Jimador.
DRC – you won`t be disappointed, but you might get addicted, try it.
Shirow66 – Its a bit of an aquired taste JWray and Ting, but have you tried to mix Ting with other light rum, gin or tequila? its nice.
KP – Your drink look dangerous..this weeks TDN sounds ridiculously fun.
Cheers!
T
I love how passionate you are about Ting, Tiare! I find that the pink variety has more of a grapefruit flavor, but both are quite nice. JWray and Ting is definitely an acquired taste, but that’s due to the intensity of the rum.
I just made up a drink for this week’s TDN using Ting, JWray, Tecate, and Tabasco.
Ting is a great beverage, i first had it in jamaica.As for the overproof Jwray its true that people loves it there, its everywhere and is an important part of life, they even drink it neat.
I dont like it neat though but its a fantastic rum to mix with giving the drinks a good kick.
Nice post! makes me want to go back to Jamaica.
I only ever found 1 bottle of Ting in the same shop as Tiare. I saved it for a long time, but I finally opened it a couple of weeks ago.
It was good but I can’t say I liked JWray and Ting much, mostly because JWray as sole spirit in a drink is much too dominant for my taste.
To me, JWray tastes and smells almost exactly like cachaca, (or at least the crappy one I got, it’s the kerosene taste Tiare talks about)
which makes me wonder if they aren’t using sugarcane juice in the manufacturing. It does work well for making falernum though.
I’ve yet to try it myself but Ting got a real reputation in the UK because it was championed by a “love him or hate him” radio DJ called George Lamb.
If I can find a UK supplier I think I’ll give it a go.