Professor Cocktail

Cocktail of the Day: Cherry Daiquiri

Cherry Daiquiri

2 oz Shellback Silver Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup
2 Maraschino Cherries
1 tsp Maraschino Cherry Syrup

Muddle the cherries in the bottom of a mixing glass along with the juice and syrups. Add the rum and shake vigorously with ice. Strain into a glass filled with crushed ice.

I used Shellback Silver Rum for this because it has a sweet, vanilla taste that really complements the cherry. But you can substitute any silver rum.

Cocktail of the Day: Eastern Sour

Eastern Sour

2 oz Bourbon
2 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat

Shake with ice, then strain into a double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice.

Adapated from a recipe by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Originally created by Trader Vic as a Tiki attempt to persuade whiskey drinkers to join the party. 

Cocktail of the Day: Scorpion (a la Trader Vic)

Scorpion

2 oz Light Rum
1 oz Brandy
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat

Shake with a lot of crushed ice and then pour unstrained into a large glass.

A version of Trader Vic's classic Scorpion Bowl, a drink served in a large bowl for 2-4 guests to enjoy, rejiggered to an individual size. This was originally a blended drink, but I've found it still tastes great when made with crushed ice.

(If you want a large version, as seen in the picture, just double everything.)

Cocktail of the Day: Miehana

Miehana

1 oz Gold Rum
1 oz Coconut Rum
1 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Juice

Shake with ice, then pour unstrained into a Collins glass. Add more ice if necessary.

It's Tiki time, baby! Adapted from a recipe by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry.

Aquavit Review: Krogstad Aquavit

Krogstad Aquavit
Aquavit
Final Grade: A
Price: $26 (750ml)

Aquavit (or Akvavit) is a traditional Scandinavian distilled spirit. It begins life as a neutral grain (or potato) spirit, just as vodka and gin do. It is then infused with various herbs and spices, notably star anise and caraway seeds. In that sense, it's similar to a Danish/Swedish/Norwegian version of gin.

Krogstad Aquavit, however, is made in the United States, by the distilling wizards at Oregon's House Spirits. They have crafted their aquavit based on a traditional Scandinavian recipe, and distilled it to perfection, recently winning a double gold medal and being named "Best of Class" at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

It's easy to see why Krogstad Aquavit has won such acclaim. It's a beautifully pure and viscous spirit; very interesting just swirling in the glass. It has a wonderful aroma of licorice (anise), with dill lurking underneath it.

The flavor matches the smell -- mostly sweet licorice, but not cloyingly so. There's a little dill in there as well, and some spice. (I assume that's from the caraway seeds.) Although it's 80 proof, it's not overly hot. It has a long, spicy finish that really dances around your tongue, without being overpowering.

Aquavit is an unfamiliar spirit to most Americans, but it's one that's well worth exploring -- and Krogstad makes a perfect place to start. It's tasty and well balanced, with flavors that are familiar, yet presented in a new way.

With the exciting work being done by various craft bartenders around the country, it should come as no surprise that aquavit is finding its way into the mixing tins of inventive mixologists. Naturally, I wanted to try it in a cocktail.

I didn't feel creative enough to create one out of whole cloth, so I turned to the expertise of Martin Cate, owner and bartender at Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco's acclaimed rum bar. Martin mixes up an aquavit cocktail called the Norwegian Paralysis, based on an old drink called the Polynesian Paralysis. Here is my version, a minor variation of Martin's.

 

Norwegian Paralysis

1 oz Aquavit
1 oz Rum
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/4 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, then strain into an ice-filled collins glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Skål! 

Report Card

Quality Grade: A
Value Grade: A-
Final Grade: A

The $100 Mai Tai

Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, archaeologist of lost Tiki drinks, once proposed a recipe for what he called the "$100 Mai Tai." (The sobriquet was earned because the ingredients would run around a C-note when purchased.)

His recipe included Saint James Hors D'Age Martinique rum and Appleton Estate Extra Jamaican rum as the featured ingredients. This undoubtedly makes for one helluva good cocktail, but I've never tried it, as I don't have any Saint James.

The Bum subsequently proposed a variation on the recipe, which includes the Appleton Estate Extra (again), but subs in Rhum Clément VSOP for the Saint James. This combination has also found favor with Matt "RumDood" Robold, who had the insight to make a further variation, replacing the orange curaçao with Clément Créole Shrubb (an orange liqueur made with a rum base).

Happily I do have these ingredients, so recently I mixed one up. Here is a picture of the result:

It was very tasty, one of the best drinks I've had. (My wife liked it so much she had me make her one, too.) It has a slightly different flavor from the version made with Appleton Extra and El Dorado demerara rum that I discussed previously -- a little more robust, maybe.

Rhum Clément VSOP is a rhum agricole, a variety of rum made (mostly) in Martinique that is distilled from fresh sugar-cane juice, rather than the more common molasses. The Clément VSOP has a more rustic, spicy taste that I find marries very well with the Appleton Extra.

I definitely liked this version better than the one I made a while back using a different rhum agricole, Depaz Blue Cane, instead of the Clement VSOP. Those are the only two rhum agricoles I have, but I still have other combinations, including a couple more demeraras, to try.

So many rums, so little time...

Planter's Punch - The Original Tiki Drink

The Planter's Punch is one of the oldest rum cocktails, a classic combination of rum, lime juice and sugar that dates back to 18th-century Jamaica. There the drink was originally made according to a recipe with the rhythm of a nursery rhyme: "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak." (That would be: lime juice, sugar, rum, and water.)

The first recorded appearance of Planter's Punch in the United States was in a New York Times article from 1908. (They ran a gussied up version of the traditional Jamaican ditty.) Although punches of all sorts had been very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, it's hard to determine how popular the drink was by the 1900s. Rum-based cocktails in general tended to find little favor with most of the public.

After Prohibition ended, however, things began to change. The great Donn Beach had discovered Planter's Punch during his travels and brought it back to the States with him. When he opened his first Tiki bar/restaurant in 1934, not only was the drink on the menu, it also served as the inspiration for many of the other rum concoctions he invented. As the Tiki craze grew in popularity, so did the thirst for Planter's Punch.

There are as many recipes for this drink as there are bartenders and cocktail books. Some have lime or lemon juice; some have pineapple or orange juice (or a combination of all four). Some have light rum, gold rum, dark rum or all three. They often have grenadine, and some add triple sec or orange Curaçao. I even have a recipe that calls for crème de cacao. (I don't think I'll be trying that one.)

Don the Beachcomber served at least five different versions of Planter's Punch. His most popular recipe called for three different types of rum, lime juice, simple syrup, grenadine, falernum and Angostura bitters. This makes a very good drink, but I was looking for something a little simpler.

In The Gentleman's Companion (1939), Charles H. Baker Jr.'s story of his spirituous travels around the world, the author discusses ten different methods for making Planter's Punch. He pronounces all of them excellent, but advises, "Get decent well-aged rum...[And] don't try to use canned fruit juices of any kind." Solid advice for this, or any, cocktail.

Most of Baker's recipes are variations on the basic theme, although some of them call for Cognac or bourbon, which I don't think would work very well at all. (I didn't even try it.) He piqued my interest, though, with his suggestion of using grapefruit juice.

As Wayne Curtis points out in his excellent And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the World in Ten Cocktails, Planter's Punch is less a specific drink than it is a class of drinks, and that's a good way to think of it. This is a cocktail that cries out for experimentation. It's like a melody that a jazz musician can take and improvise on -- based on such a solid foundation, there are unlimited directions in which it can go.

So that's what I did, trying out several different variations in an attempt to come up with a cocktail that tastes great, but doesn't require too many ingredients or too much work to make. The recipe I've settled on (for now, anyway) has quickly become a favorite in our house.

 

 Planter's Punch

2 oz Rum
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Grenadine
1 tbsp Sugar Cane Syrup
1/2 oz 151 Rum (optional) 

Shake all the ingredients (except 151 Rum) with ice until well-chilled. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass, or use something pretty if you've got it. Float the 151 Rum on top.

 

If you don't have cane syrup, you can use regular simple syrup, although the cane syrup gives it a richer flavor. Try to find some decent grenadine -- Rose's should only be used in an emergency.

You can use whatever type of rum you have on hand, although it's going to change the flavor of the drink quite a bit depending on what you use. I prefer a gold or dark Jamaican rum, like Appleton or Myers's.

Recently I made a batch with Pyrat XO Reserve Rum and it was delicious. (This makes sense, as the Pyrat XO Reserve has more than a hint of orange flavor to it.) My wife had a Planter's Punch at the Columbia Room that Derek Brown mixed up for her with Banks 5 Island Rum and it was amazing.

The 151 Rum float gives the drink a nice kick and a delicious accent of burnt caramel. If you'd like a lighter cocktail, however, you can omit it and the drink is still a delight.

So the next time you feel like trying something new, mix up a Planter's Punch and put your own twist on it -- and then share the results with the rest of us.

Holiday Gift Guide: Rum

Over on Liquor.com, Julie Reiner, owner of New York's famed Tiki Bar Lani Kai, shares her holiday gift suggestions for the rum lover in your life.

Her picks:

• El Dorado 15 Year Old
• Mount Gay Extra Old
• Rhum J.M. White
• Ron Zacapa XO
• Santa Teresa 1796

 

I have four of these five rums in my cabinet, although the only one I've tried so far is the Mount Gay. Mount Gay Extra Old is an excellent sipping rum, dry and spicy. Not only is this a good pick for rum drinkers, but it would also make a great gift for someone who usually drinks whisky. (It's always struck me as the most whisky-like of the finer rums.)

I haven't opened my bottle of El Dorado 15 yet, but their 12-year-old rum is one of my favorites: smooth, sweet and delicious. El Dorado makes excellent rums.

All in all, some excellent suggestions.

Recipe: A Day at the Races

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece recently on Tiki drinks for the fall season. The article included three recipes, one of which immediately caught my eye. Naturally I had to try it out, and my instinct was correct: it's a very tasty cocktail.

The drink is called A Day at the Races and it was created by mixologist Bill Codman of Storyville in Boston. Tiki drinks get an often justified rap as being sweet, but this one isn't. The use of gin instead of rum, and the small amount of syrup (in this case, grenadine), take care of that.

Here's the recipe:

 

A Day at the Races

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces Beefeater 24 Gin
1/2 ounce Velvet Falernum
1/2 ounce Grenadine
1/2 ounce Lemon Juice
Champagne

Shake all ingredients except Champagne with ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with crushed ice. Top with Champagne. Garnish with an orange twist.

 

The flavors blend together nicely in this drink. It has excellent balance and is very refreshing -- the Champagne topper is a great touch. Gin doesn't appear in very many Tiki drinks -- the best known exception being the Singapore Sling -- but it works well here.

A definite keeper!

Recipe: Oh, Mai - a delicious variation on the Mai Tai

You know that the Mai Tai is my favorite drink, so I won't go into that again. Instead, I want to tell you about a variation of the Mai Tai I just discovered -- that doesn't have any rum in it.

"But Professor," I hear you crying. "Rum is the cornerstone of the Mai Tai! How can you make it without rum?"

That's a good question. In this case, the answer is: you make it with Bols Genever Gin and rye whiskey. Sounds crazy, I know. But it works! Here's the recipe:

 

Oh, Mai
Recipe by Elizabeth McElligott and Jacob Grier

Shake with ice:

1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz rye whiskey
1/2 oz Combier
3/4 oz orgeat
1 oz lime juice

Strain and serve on the rocks or straight up. (I recommend on the rocks.)

 

At first sip, the flavor is reminiscent of a less sweet Mai Tai. But then the other flavors start to poke their heads up. There's a malty flavor, sort of like cereal grain. And there's also the spice of the rye, but it's subtle. It's definitely not rum, but it's not completely different from rum either.

Genever is the original gin, made in Holland centuries ago and only recently resurrected. It has a milder, slightly sweeter flavor than London Dry gin. It reminds me a little of fresh bread, while still maintaining the juniper and botanical flavors we typically associate with gin. A very interesting spirit.

It turns out that the Genever marries very well with the rye. (I used Rittenhouse 100-proof.) This kinda makes sense, as one of the grains Genever is made from is rye, along with corn and wheat. It's not a combination I'd ever have thought of -- especially not as a substitute for rum -- but it works.

Combier is a high-end triple sec. If you don't have it you can substitute Cointreau or a good, basic triple sec (like Bols). There's really no substitute for orgeat in this recipe, so get some.

A very tasty drink. I'll be making this one again.