An interesting fragrant spice and an old favorite tiki drink
The fragrance of nutmeg is very special, i cannot even really describe it – its spicy-woody and fresh, nutty and very satisfying.
Most often i connect nutmeg with either christmas drinks or libations from the caribbean both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Nutmeg and carrot juice is a common combo for instance among the non-alcoholic drinks. Nutmeg pairs well with drinks containing milk and cream, maybe that´s the reason its so common around christmas. Its also often use to top various punches.
The nutmeg spice itself is often ground – its a brown nut encased first by the red mace which is sweeter and then by a yellowish shell.
Nutmeg is one of the oldest spices known. It comes from an evergreen tree (myristica fragrans) native to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, near Indonesia. This tree is bearing a nut with two separate flavors. Nutmeg is one flavor and the mace another, achieved by grinding the lacy outer covering surrounding the nutmeg.
It has a warm spicy flavor and as heat greatly diminishes its flavor its best added towards the end of cooking and should be grated fresh. Mace is often preferred in light-coloured dishes as it gives a saffron-like bright orange colour.
When i experimented with a drink for the Tiki TDN – the weekly thursday drink night by the Mixoloseum -Â i wanted to play with my – oh so beloved – Old New Orleans Cajun Spiced Rum. I found that this rum pairs well with aged agricole as well. I have kept talking about how well it pairs with demerara, especially El Dorado 12 yo and there is El Dorado rum in this drink too, the 15 yo.
For that drink i used one of my favorite agricoles which is Cl̬ment VSOP Рa smooth rum with good flavour.
The drink Po`aha Punch ( in Hawaiian Po`aha means Thursday) was dusted with nutmeg powder on top of crushed ice – a common way to crown many tiki (and other) drinks.
To my delight the Po`aha Punch also delighted the palate our beloved Bum! may it delight you too?
PO´AHA PUNCH
1oz Old New Orleans Cajun Spiced Rum
1oz El Dorado 15yo
1 oz Clemènt VSOP, 0.5 oz fresh lime
¼ oz simple syrup
0.5 oz coffee liqueur
1t cream of coconut,
Fresh pineapple juice to top.
Run in blender until smooth with crushed ice. Pour in tall glass, top with fresh pineapple juice and more crushed ice to fill,dust nutmeg on top and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Makes an outstanding swizzle without the coconut and pineapple. ok, I don’t actually have any coconut cream.
Cheers,
Chris
Thank you so much Tiare. I’m including your link and your recipe in tomorrow’s post (Sunday:) When things calm down, drop by for the round-up July 1st. It’s looking good!!!
I actually did do the Pineapple Delight back when I was a quiet lurker on the site. Sans grapefruit bitters, because ironically I can’t find them in Florida.
I now have a rhum agricole blanc called Rhum Bologne from Guadeloupe that has some rough edges but makes a memorable ‘ti pucnh. I’ll have to revisit the pineapple delight with that one. Any excuse to make drink with J Wray works for me!
I`m lookin forward to hear how you liked it! i very much like tiki drinks served in pineapples, its just something so lush and tropical about it – and yummy!
Did you ever try my Pineapple Delight?
http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com/?p=15&page=2
Cheers!
What a wonderful sounding drink — and a rare occasion where I have EVERY ingredient (even the ONO Spiced) and don’t have to go off-script.
This one will be mixed up very soon. I came home with a fresh pineapple because I still haven’t mixed up my Boo Loo since your Grog Log post, but I might just have to make it a Po’ Aha in a pineapple!
Hi Louise, thanks for the invitation, it looks like a fun game;-) but unf i can`t play, we have a national holiday here this wekend and i`m not at home at that time.
But i can give you a good summer picnic cocktail suggestion:
Aperol Spritz
2 oz. Prosecco
1 1/2 Aperol Orange Liqueur
1 dash(es) Soda or Seltzer
Prepare in wine glass: Add ice, Prosecco, dash of seltzer and top with Aperol.Garnish with a slice of orange.
Have fun!
Hi Tiare,
I was just thinking. We’re “playing” a Picnic Game over at my blog in celebration of National Picnic Month in July. Any ideas for beverages? You’re more than welcome to play if you have the time. Hope to “see” you there, and thanks for the birthday wishes, Louise
Tony, yes! an aged cachaca..brilliant! and of course, you have some to choose from! well i know i have at least one that you also have, Rainhas das Gerais…it should make for a real tasty drink.
Louise, happy birthday! and why not..maybe there`s some kinda nut-cake that could take whipped cream, crushed almonds and a dust of nutmeg on top?
Mr Manhattan, that was some reallty interesting info, thanks for sharing! who knew?? well, i might try to invent a Banda Punch..name sounds cool to me;-)
FYI: nutmeg is originally from the very small island group of Banda, which is actually rather far from the Mollucas but is today considered part of the same administrative state (or province) within the nation of Indonesia. The Dutch maintained a worldwide monopoly on nutmeg production for about 200 years, actively (read: violently) defending the plantations on Banda. In the early 19th century, after the dissolution of the Dutch East India Trading Company (VOC), the English temporarily occupied Banda and nutmeg trees were brought by the Dutch to Zanzibar and Grenada. (Super cool historical note: to secure its original monopoly on nutmeg, the Dutch traded some property it had in the new world with the English for the island (called Run) where nutmeg was first discovered. That property was New Amsterdam—AKA the island of Manhattan.)
You are just a wealth of information and tasty drinks! Who doesn’t adore a “dusting of nutmeg?”
Thank you so much for sharing…I can definitely see me sipping this drink for my birthday tomorrow!!!
This sounds terrific!
I gotta try that, but I’ll have to sub the VSOP Martinique for a smooth aged cachaça.
I think I might have to dial down the proportions a bit.
Results are probably not going to be the same but it still sound pretty tasty.
Do you think this might work?