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Eperimenting with Ice Molding

Reading through the Bums book Sippin`Safari there is one thing that has always been fascinating me and that`s all those gorgeous ice molds in the drinks..they are really from another time..

I wanted to make a drink that looked like that, but didn`t really know how as i had no ice shaver that crushes the ice to a snowlike consistence which makes it easy to mold. But one day i decided to try to make an ice shell as pictured at page 128 and 155.

So i took my old manual ice crusher, crushed a lot of ice and then i took my hand mixer, mixed hard to try to get it as fine as possible as quick as possible.

I placed the crushed/mixed ice in a large and wide glass, spread the ice along the bottom and sides of the glass gently tapped it pushing the ice up, and then finally pushed the whole ice shell up a bit on one side of the glass, secured it and then into the freezer to stay there for 1 hour or until it`s time to pour.

Actually, the ice mold i got didn´t get as fine as in the book..the texture of the ice is not really what i wanted but this have to do for now…

I wanted to use the ice mold for a drink called Mystic Lamp…mainly because of the drinks name…which intrigued my imagination. But the drink tasted so damned good that i spent half the night imbibing Mystic Lamps..It was served at the Kon-Tiki Restaurant 1962.

I also added some of the liquid from the jar of my homemade Maraschino cherries. (can`t resist that) I can really recommend trying out this drink with the addition of a ice mold, its a very special feeling to drink with all this sparkling ice in the glass, its like drinking from a ice grotto.

Plus it really keeps the drink cold long. I`ve been playing with ice shells the whole night…its fun but its tricky too as i don`t have a ice shaver and you must work fast, the ice is melting.

The tricky thing is to get the ice shell to be thin..and not fall apart. I think i failed in getting it to be thin..you can count on more posts about ice molding.

Mystic Lamp

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz orange juice

1 1/2 lychee juice

1 1/2 oz gold Puerto Rican rum ( I used Appleton VX)

3 drops almond extract

Shake well with lots of crushed ice.

At the Tales of The Cocktail events there will be a seminar about drink garnishing called “The Cocktail Garnish From Functional to Fabulous presented by Cherry Heering, KegWorks.com, Oregon Cherry Growers and Wild Hibiscus Syrup. Led by Martin Cate and panelist is Jeff Berry.

Its an overview of the origin and history of the cocktail garnish, from its simplest elegant forms to the elaborate lush tropical garnishes of the Tiki era. And there will also be demonstrations on ice molds..i wish i could be there.

I need to learn more about this interesting and fascinating subject that can be useful for special occasions or for your own and your friends pleasure. I also made 3 more drinks and used different ice molds to go with them.

Cuba Kula

2 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz honey

1 oz orange juice

1 oz dark rum, the recipe in Sippin Safari calls for Myers but i used Coruba 12 yo

1 oz Lemon Hart demerara

1/2 oz Bacardi 151, i used Lemon Hart 151

Dash Angostura bitters6 drops Herbsaint or Pernod ( i used a bit less)

Dissolve the honey in the limejuice and then place it all in a shaker and shake with plenty of ice. To serve this with a ice mold is not part of the original recipe but i like to experiment.

The company to the Cuba Kula was the Lady of Singapore who became the Lady of Rangoon with the addition of some strawberry honey, maraschino juice and a dash of Lemon Hart 151.

Lady of Rangoon

Juice from 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp Cream of coconut

1/2 oz cream 1 oz pineapple juice

1 1/2 oz Coruba 12 rum

1 tsp Grenadine

1 tsp Strawberry honey

1 tsp Maraschino juice (from the jar of homemade Maraschino cherries)

Blend with 4 oz crushed ice.

And the last drink is also from Sippin Safari, its the Guatemala Cooler served at theKon-Tiki Restaurant in Cleveland in 1961. I added a splash of Grenadine to add some color.

Guatemala Cooler

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz unsweetened Pineapple juice

1oz Coco Lopez coconut cream (i used Cream of Coconut)

1 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum

3/4 oz Gold Jamaican Rum 6 oz crushed ice Blender, add the crushed ice for last.

Blend at high speed for 10 sec.

Enjoy!

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Penang Afrididi and a Fried Fish!

PENANG AFRIDIDI #1

This drink was served by Don the Beachcomber and there´s also Penang Afrididi #2 which simply cuts the same ingredients by half.

From “Sippin’ Safari” page 95 by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry

  • 1 1/2 oz. Light Puerto Rican Rum
  • 1 1/2 oz. Amber Virgin Islands Rum
  • 1/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/2 oz. Unsweetened Pineapple Juice
  • 1/2 oz. Orange Juice
  • 1/2 oz. Passion Fruit Syrup
  • 1/8 tsp. Pernod or Herbsaint

Put everything into a blender and add six ounces of crushed ice. Blend it at high speed for five seconds.

And i couldn`t resist to add some of the liquid from my jar of homemade Maraschino cherries..and that´s what gave the drink the drink the wonderful shades of red.

So what goes with this tropical Tiki drink? well, i made a fried fish today – i found a red grouper in our Asian store and fried it in my wok with some vegetables, coconut milk and hotpepper. The spicy food goes well with this tropical and refreshing drink.

I first cleaned the fish and then sprinkled it with fresh lime juice, rubbed in some salt and some ginger and leaved it to rest for a while. Then i fried it with some fresh veggies, a habanero hotpepper and coconut milk, sprinkled some fresh lime juice over it and served with basmati pulao rice.

To make the pulao rice, wash the basmati rice and leave in water for 30 min. Then strain and add to a pan with spices ( cardamom, ginger, salt, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric or indian yellow egg yolk powder) fry until the rice has become translucent.

Then i add water (0.5 inch) and put to a rolling boil and leave to boil until you see small “holes” in the rice. Then i turn off the stove and put the lid on and leave to steam finish. when done i take off the lid and put a clean kitchen towel over and leave to set for 10 min.

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Coconut and Coconaut

The Coconaut is a very tasty Tikidrink which i like a lot. This evening i was going to let some friends taste this drink and i wanted a nice garnish. So what would fit better than some toasted shaved coconut?

Usually the only coconuts that can be found here are those brown ones…but that is ok as the brown edge is nice on the coconut shavings when used for garnish. To crack open one of those brown coconuts is easier than most people think. All you need is a coconut, a bowl and a large cleaver.

Hold the coconut over a bowl in one hand such that the middle of the nut rests in the middle of your palm, with the tip on one end and the eyes on the other. Now, whack the coconut with the back (that is to say the blunt side) of the cleaver a few times all around the center until it cracks open cleanly into two nearly equal halves. Make sure you use the blunt side of the cleaver. Catch the juice in the bowl as it drains from the cracks.

After the nut was cracked, (it took 1 minute), i shaved the flesh with a potato peeler making sure to get a little bit of the brown shell. The shaved coconut pieces can be toasted to a golden brown so they become crispy and have more flavor. Let toasted nuts cool completely before using. They can be stored, covered, in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks.

OVEN: Spread the coconut pieces evenly in shallow pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 5 – 7 minutes or until golden brown. Stir frequently and don´t leave unchecked.

MICROWAVE: Spread nuts evenly on microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high 1 minute; stir.
Microwave on HIGH, checking every 30 seconds, until nuts are fragrant and browned.

Now the coconut was sorted out, so on to the drink, the Coconaut!

The recipe in Grog Log calls for Lopez coconut cream and of course that`s one of those things i cannot find here so i used the only thing available, Opies “cream of coconut”. Its very sweet so i used a bit less. This is blended with dark Jamaican rum, i used Appleton VX. I could have used the Extra or Reserve but i have more of the VX left.. And then the fresh lime juice, i LOVE fresh lime Juice!

And in the blender with crushed ice until slushy…

COCONAUT from Beachbum Berry`s Grog Log, serves 2-4.

8 oz Lopez Coconut Cream
2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
7 oz Dark Jamaican Rum

The toasted coconut pieces proved to be a excellent garnish as it was not only nice to look at but also very very yummy to snack on right out of the drink.

COCONUT CHIPS WITH SEA SALT

The leftover coconut chips will last about 2 weeks in the fridge and can be used as a snack, or bar snack (well..if you drink or serve something else than coconut drinks…) or if you want to make just the snack:

1 coconut, butter, sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a baking sheet by rubbing with butter. Open the coconut and shave into thin slices and bake them as described above. Then sprinkle with sea salt and serve in an empty coconut shell.

As this is a coconutty post i finish with a coconutty drink…i was lucky to find a fresh green coconut and sometimes the simple things are the best..

To easily open a fresh green coconut all you need is a cleaver and a chefs knife. You first cut off a piece from the bottom to make the nut stand steady and then you “shave” the upper part of the nut to form a top which you cut off. Then pour some rum in the nut and chill it in the freezer for a while before adding a straw and maybe squeezing some fresh lime on top.

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Trinidad Especial and Fragrant Vanilla Bean

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

In this blog i`m going to write about tiki drinks, cocktails, rums and other spirits and occassionally throw in a food recipe in the “pages”. Its going to involve quite a bit of rum and tikidrinks…but also the making of syrups, bitters and infusions…and whatever else i may come up with.

I do this for fun and i hope you`ll have fun too!

Its something special about vanilla..maybe its the warm sensual fragrance and flavor of this beautiful exotic tropical climbing orchid…or the beauty of the flowers which only are open for a few hours in the morning. Maybe its the rich fragrant and oily darkness of the cured beans which at first are green. Vanilla flowers once a year in a period of about two months.

I love vanilla and i always have my favorite beans at home which are the Tahitian beans, from vanilla tahitensis. They have a very special floral aroma and flavor.

I`ve made my jar of vanilla sugar with these beans since about 10 years now. I mix 1 pack each of Tate&Lyles – or Billingtons dark and light Muscovado sugars with 3-4 Tahitian beans which i split on the length and scrape out all those lovely tiny black seeds which i mix with the sugars.

The longer they stay in the sugar the more flavor the sugar takes on from the beans. When the sugar is finished i just add some more and it goes on and on..

I also make my vanilla syrups using 1:1 ratio sugar and water and add a couple of split beans to the pan, let it simmer and then cool before i discard the beans (rinsing them and moving them to the sugar jar that is) and bottle my syrup.

A friend to me did mention that the Trinidad Especial cocktail, made by Valentino Bolognese who also won the European Angostura Cocktail Competition 2008 with this unusual cocktail – which indeed is a very special cocktail – using no less than 30 ml of Angostura bitters – is nice poured over vanilla ice cream..

Such a brilliant idea is one i cannot resist trying out. So i made both the cocktail and the vanilla ice cream with some of the cocktail poured over it..sounds a bit crazy but that´s how it was supposed to be done…and indeed this cocktail tastes good!

It wasn`t that bitter as i first expected but rather aromatic and spicy with a heavy dose of clove flavor. On the ice cream it was a treat.

TRINIDAD ESPECIAL

10 ml. Pisco Mistral
20 ml. fresh lime juice
30 ml. barley syrup
30 ml Angostura Aromatic Bitters.
Shake hard and long, and strain in a Martini glass.