Post #526605 by TikiByrne on Tue, Apr 27, 2010 9:12 PM

Three falernum taste off! Featuring the Hawaiian Eye.

I have been using Fee Brother's falernum for a while now. It was recommended in Sippin Safari and I just stuck with it. Walking around Hi-times yesterday I saw two other falernums and decided it was time for a taste off! I looked for a drink I figured would really showcase the falernum and decided on the Hawaiian eye because of what appeared to be a clean flavor profile and a reasonable (i.e. small) size.

Just so everyone is clear I'm using the Hawaiian Eye recipe from Tiki+. (1/2 oz. Fresh lime juice, 1/2 oz. falernum, 1/2 oz. simple syrup (using 2:1 mix this time), 1/2 oz light rum [I don't have any Hawaiian Rum], 1/2 oz gold Puerto Rican Rum, 8 oz crushed ice. Blended for 5 seconds with a drink mixer.

Drink grade: B+. Too sweet, but that's nothing to do with the falernum. In the future I'd use a 1:1 simple syrup. I enjoy the small size of the drink, as it goes down quickly while still very cold and the taste remains consistent. Also, you can have a few without getting hammered. No way I could do this test with a Zombie! The Hawaiian Eye would be a terrific pre-dinner amuse bouche.

First falernum up: Snug Harbor. The falernum comes in a small, clear, glass bottle. The falernum is dark in color and there's a fair amount of particulate matter floating in the bottle. No worries there for me, I make a bunch of syrups and particulate matter floating stuff is part of using natural ingredients. 3% alcohol.

The drink tastes completely natural. No plastic-ness too it at all. The primary taste of the falernum is clove. There's just a hint of all spice and maybe, at the edge of my perception, a bite of cinnamon. Snug Harbor's bottle claims there's almond extract in their falernum, but I can't taste it.

Second falernum up: John D Taylor's Velvet Falernum. The falerum comes in a large, clear glass bottle. The falernum is a very light pale yellow, absolutely crystal clear. 11% alcohol.

After the first drink this is a real disappointment. The complexity of the flavor has almost completely disappeared. There's a vague, clove and allspice taste, but it seems unnatural, as the drink now has a mild astringic taste which I always think of as "cheap mixer from plastic bottle" flavor. There was no plastic bottle involved, so now I know that unpleasant flavor is something else. If I paid for this drink I'd be disappointed and wouldn't really believe that there was fresh lime juice in it. The clove taste became stronger as the ice melted, but became sharp and charming.

Third falernum up: Fee Brother's West Indies Style Falernum. The falernum comes in a large, clear plastic bottle. The falernum is a cloudy yellow, almost light orange-ish, but with no clear particulate matter floating in the bottle. Non-alcoholic.

The drink is still too sweet, but the mild astringic taste is gone replaced by a not un-enjoyable note of bitterness. The cinnamon is much more prominent than in the Snug Harbor, but there's definitely some clove there. Still not tasting any almond. The drink is light and pleasant again, but lacks the complexity that characterized the first drink. Maybe the rum is affecting my taste buds. I'd order this drink again, but wouldn't rave about it. None of the taste I think of as "cheap mixer from plastic bottle", so now I'm totally confused as to what that taste really is.

Overall Snug Harbor is the big winner, with Fee Brother's a reasonable second. I'll give Doctor Taylor's another chance, but not in this drink. I've heard it goes nicely in a Corn n' Oil.

Falernum is one of the few syrups (orgeat being the other) that I haven't made myself yet, so perhaps it's time to give it a shot. Or maybe I'll just run over to Don the Beachcombers and beg Marie for half an ounce to take home with me!

[ Edited by: TikiByrne 2010-04-27 21:26 ]