How Not To Make a Mint Julep - Tiki Drinks and Food

T TorchGuy Member Renton, WA Joined: Apr 24, 2008 Posts: 242	T TorchGuy Posted posted on Fri, Apr 30, 2010 7:45 PM Mint Julep aficionados are more serious about their Juleps than any TCer is about his Mai Tai. They all but wage war over the specifics of mixing. One very old quote I've read is to the effect of "Anyone who would (insert any step in mixing that can be done in multiple ways) would put rattlesnakes in a baby's cradle" I, for one, am annoyed by many things done in the cocktail world. Martinis: Any cocktail in a martini glass is NOT a martini. Vodka or gin, vermouth. There are a few ways to tweak it. But chocolate 'tinis and apple-tinis are NOT martinis. Period. Margaritas: No mango, or coconut, or other fruity flavors please. And no frozen slush. Some tiki drinks are great with cracked or crushed ice. Margaritas are not good this way, generally. And lay off the canned sour mix. And as much as I do like sweet liqueurs like St. Germain, Benedictine, Limoncello, Ouzo etc., the drinks with 10-15 super-sweet things (99-anything, Pucker, schnapps, etc. etc. plus Sprite and/or sour mix) fall into the category so cheerily described by the three female tenders in that one vid, known as panty-droppers. AKA, to paraphrase another poster here, "You're gonna get date-raped later". I DO like some of the bartending inventiveness. And even sour mix has a place. But there are horrors, too. Best use of sour mix I've found: a drink at a Seattle bar that serves lots of Long Islands and the like, the name of which I can never remember (something "...del fuego") uses sour with St. Germain and habanero/poblano-infused tequila and cucumber. Amazing stuff. Not tiki, but very good. What IS Rose's lime juice good for? Anything...? I'll take a freshly-squeezed lime over that any day - preferably with the lime husk in the drink to add to the aroma. That lime smell coming off a good rum cocktail adds to the effect. I'm honestly curious as to whether it has a proper place in a certain drink(s). Oh, and... If I ever start talking like the guy in that Mojito vid who seems to want to take the "little baseball bat" home for "his own kitchen", somebody bash me over the head with the largest tiki they can lift. Please. I don't care what anyone says, that level of "flaming" is about ten miles beyond being cute. Not that I'm flaming at all - ANY level of that annoys ME. [ Edited by: TorchGuy 2010-04-30 19:48 ]

Mint Julep aficionados are more serious about their Juleps than any TCer is about his Mai Tai. They all but wage war over the specifics of mixing. One very old quote I've read is to the effect of "Anyone who would (insert any step in mixing that can be done in multiple ways) would put rattlesnakes in a baby's cradle"

I, for one, am annoyed by many things done in the cocktail world.
Martinis: Any cocktail in a martini glass is NOT a martini. Vodka or gin, vermouth. There are a few ways to tweak it. But chocolate 'tinis and apple-tinis are NOT martinis. Period.
Margaritas: No mango, or coconut, or other fruity flavors please. And no frozen slush. Some tiki drinks are great with cracked or crushed ice. Margaritas are not good this way, generally. And lay off the canned sour mix.
And as much as I do like sweet liqueurs like St. Germain, Benedictine, Limoncello, Ouzo etc., the drinks with 10-15 super-sweet things (99-anything, Pucker, schnapps, etc. etc. plus Sprite and/or sour mix) fall into the category so cheerily described by the three female tenders in that one vid, known as panty-droppers. AKA, to paraphrase another poster here, "You're gonna get date-raped later".

I DO like some of the bartending inventiveness. And even sour mix has a place. But there are horrors, too. Best use of sour mix I've found: a drink at a Seattle bar that serves lots of Long Islands and the like, the name of which I can never remember (something "...del fuego") uses sour with St. Germain and habanero/poblano-infused tequila and cucumber. Amazing stuff. Not tiki, but very good.

What IS Rose's lime juice good for? Anything...? I'll take a freshly-squeezed lime over that any day - preferably with the lime husk in the drink to add to the aroma. That lime smell coming off a good rum cocktail adds to the effect. I'm honestly curious as to whether it has a proper place in a certain drink(s).

Oh, and... If I ever start talking like the guy in that Mojito vid who seems to want to take the "little baseball bat" home for "his own kitchen", somebody bash me over the head with the largest tiki they can lift. Please. I don't care what anyone says, that level of "flaming" is about ten miles beyond being cute. Not that I'm flaming at all - ANY level of that annoys ME.

[ Edited by: TorchGuy 2010-04-30 19:48 ]

Post #527282 by TorchGuy on Fri, Apr 30, 2010 7:45 PM