Post #575905 by telescopes on Sun, Feb 13, 2011 10:52 AM

On 2011-02-13 10:22, telescopes wrote:
Is just me, or is the spindrift entirely too strong? I usually blend mine without ice, divide the amount and blend one portion with ice for a full sized drink. The spindrift as a full-sized drink as written takes on every other drink in terms of being the champion of getting people dui's.

I hate to quote myself, but I just made a discovery. I was reading the original recipe for the spindrift in Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide. It is called a Rum Keg and is acknowledged by the Beachbum to be the source for the Spindrift. The biggest difference - and the differences were very small - is that Vic used Navy Grog Rum.

I had been thinking that the drink could be improved by the addition of a Pimento Dram. However, because I prefer my drinks made properly and because Pimento is so damn expensive, I didn't add it. But when I saw that Vic used Navy Grog Rum, I thought, hmmm, perhaps Vic did believe an under note of spices was necessary.

So, I added a gentle splash of Pimento Dram (Berry Hill) to my second portion of Spindrift and voila... a beautiful drink was born.

I encourage you to do likewise. Just as Pimento Dram enhances Berry's Navy Grog recipe (see Ancient Mariner) the Pimento lifts the citrus notes in the Spindrift and makes a great drink a perfect drink.

Try it. You will thank me later. I added only a teaspoon or so to the second half of the recipe that I had previously split so I don't have exact recommendations for how much it will need. Call it a Jamaican Spindrift or whatever. It is an improvement.