Post #159310 by KuKuAhu on Mon, May 16, 2005 12:51 PM

On 2005-05-13 23:37, TikiJosh wrote:

Let me know what you think, or if you make any improvements.

"Sweet Leilani"
2oz light rum
1oz coconut rum
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz banana liquer
1/2 oz orgeat
1/2 oz passionfruit syrup
1/2 oz grenadine
2oz guava nectar
5oz pineapple juice
blend with several ice cubes, serve in any type of "wahine" style mug, garnish with either orchid or plumeria flowers.

I'm going to recommend that you focus it a bit better by tuning down the number of ingredients and going for a more pointed approach.

For instance, I could eliminate a few of your ingredients, up the amount of one, and maybe try this combo:

"Sweet Leilani"
2oz light rum
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz passionfruit syrup
3oz guava nectar

Add in:

3/4 oz Fresh squeezed Lemon juice

Shake with ice.

Now I don't have my gear and my bar in front of me to try this one, but that is a much more balanced concoction that will still come across as rather sweet, and the flavors will be more... apparent.

Here is a rough "educated guess-timate" break down of your drink as it stands:

2.5 of strong
4 of sweet
6 of weak

I think what might help you is to practice all of your mixology ventures under the umbrella of the classic code for balance:

1 of sour
2 of sweet
3 of strong
4 of weak

Try this simple one for example:

1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
2 oz sugar syrup
3 oz decent rum
4 oz cold soda water

Shake the first three with crushed ice and strain into two tall glasses with a scoop of crushed ice each. Top equally with soda and give it a stir.

Now that is the most basic rum drink there is. Bearing in mind that the ice acts as a "weak" should be something you notice here, so you might try it with a stir only to see the difference.

Next try one with the same formula, but a little change to the ingredients:

1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
2 oz sugar syrup
3 oz decent rum
4 oz. orange juice

Shake with crushed ice and pour into two rocks glasses along with the ice.

Notice here that the "weak" component of OJ is both sweet and watery, so this drink is much sweeter than the previous cocktail. The OJ adds sugar that the soda water did not. It also adds a bit of acid, so both the "sweet" component and the "sour" component would need to be adjusted slightly to compensate.

Dig?

Once you get that basic balance down, you can really mix it up with the addition of items that bring depth such as bitters, spice liqueurs, fruit syrups, exotic juices, etc. And you can begin to change the amounts around to get a sour drink or a dry drink as you wish. But nail the balance first as a starting point and you'll always be golden.

Hope that helps man, and don't forget to have fun with it all.

Aloha,

Ahu

(Edited to fix a confusing typo)

[ Edited by: kukuahu on 2005-05-16 16:17 ]