Boozehound - Jason Wilson [83]
1 ½ ounces aged rum
¾ ounce dry vermouth
¾ ounce Cointreau
½ teaspoon homemade grenadine
Orange peel twist, for garnish
Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full with ice. Add the rum, vermouth, Cointreau, and grenadine. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange peel twist.
RUM MANHATTAN
Serves 1
There are many versions of a Rum Manhattan floating around, but I like this one because it calls for aged rhum agricole, which is rum distilled from pure sugarcane juice in Martinique or Guadeloupe, such as Rhum Clément VSOP, Neisson Réserve Spéciale, or Rhum J.M. VSOP.
2 ounces aged rhum agricole
1 ounce sweet vermouth
½ teaspoon maraschino liqueur
1 dash orange bitters
Orange peel twist, for garnish
Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Add the rum, vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and bitters. Stir vigorously for at least 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange peel twist.
Recipe by Derek Brown of the Passenger and the Columbia Room, Washington, D.C.
Now for a couple of offerings to the tiki gods.
Done right, tiki drinks seem to make the summer last just a little bit longer. So, what makes a tiki drink a tiki drink? They all have several common elements. The most obvious is that they have very complicated, multi-faceted recipes, some with as many as twelve ingredients. “With these drinks, you’re getting a complex culinary creation. It’s really easy to mess up and make these drinks badly,” says tiki expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry.
Most tiki drinks are rum-based and have a citrus component, and a hallmark is the blending of numerous rum styles. You’ll often find three or more types of rum—a light, a dark, an aged, a smoky Guyanese Demerara—all in the same recipe. Berry says, “When I first looked into these recipes, I thought, ‘Why do I have to buy thirty different types of rum?’ One recipe called specifically for a 94.1 proof rum. I mean, why did it have to be exactly 94.1? It’s crazy. But it works. There’s almost a scientific formula behind all these recipes.” Tiki, for instance, is just about the only cocktail genre that calls for 151-proof rum. Berry says he’s tried to maneuver around the overproof rum, but the drinks just don’t have the same zing. “If you try to make a Zombie without the 151, it doesn’t fly,” he says. I concur.
Beyond the rum, good tiki drinks always balance flavor with some kind of sly flavoring agent, often a unique spice or secret-recipe syrup. “There’s a strange, teasing layer of flavor that you can’t quite put your finger on,” according to Berry. “You’re getting pushed and pulled in different directions.” Berry has spent many years trying to decipher the mysterious recipes of Don the Beachcomber, which Don kept in code so his bartenders couldn’t steal them. One example: An ingredient in the Zombie is “Don’s Mix,” a blend of fresh grapefruit juice and cinnamon-infused simple syrup. A more common tiki flavoring agent is orgeat, an almond-flavored syrup with hints of orange flower and rose water, another long-forgotten but essential ingredient in a Mai Tai.
Finally, the presentation and novelty factors are high. And we’re talking about more than little umbrellas. Classic tiki drinks come out elaborately flaming, sometimes adorned with flowers, sometimes in a ceremonial bowl. “They wanted you to talk about these drinks over the watercooler on Monday,” Berry says. “The Zombie was the Cosmopolitan of its day.” I find that amazing, almost unbelievable, considering how high-octane the Zombie is.
ZOMBIE
Serves 1
Be warned: Even Don the Beachcomber limited his customers to two Zombies a night, and that was during an era when very strong drinks were commonplace. The original 1934 Zombie recipe is a beast. Don’s more refined 1956 version is included here.
1½ ounces pineapple juice
1½ ounces gold rum
1 ounce