Trader Vic's Grog Concentrate-Aye or Nay? - Tiki Drinks and Food

T TropicDrinkBoy Member Joined: Feb 27, 2011 Posts: 277	T TropicDrinkBoy Posted posted on Sun, Feb 24, 2013 5:36 PM I had a Navy Grog at Trader Vic's Friday night to calibrate my palate. They used 1 oz. of Trader Vic's Silver, Gold and Dark rum. I've never ever seen them use Meyers for their dark rum and I highly doubt they've ever done that. I think the San Francisco recipe was more accurate in using 0.6 oz. Lemon Hart 151 since that approximates the 1 oz. of standard proof Lemon Hart the Trader probably had in mind when he specified 1 oz. of demerara rhum in his 1972 bartender's guide. Blue Kahuna, you mentioned that you have Trader Vic's Silver and Gold. Where did you buy it? I've only seen the dark at retail (Bevmo). Not that they are anything special. Their amber rum might be worth getting (but not sold at retail) since it is funky like an un-aged Martinique amber rhum (i.e. Saint James Royal Amber Rhum). That's what they used for their special Mai Tai at my dear departed Palo Alto Trader Vic's. Today I tried the recipe included with the grog concentrate (the official recipe), Trader Bill's recipe (which used 1/2 oz. lemon juice and 1/4 oz. lime juice) and Martiki's recipe (as served at Trader Vic's San Francisco around 2005). That's 9 oz. of 80 proof so I did my due diligence. In each case I used 1 oz. of Eldorado Silver, 1 oz. of Coruba, and 1 oz. of Lemon Hart 80 proof (for the demerara), top shelf rums. Trader Bill's recipe was definitely sweeter, at least to begin with. Martiki's was maybe the best balance between sweet and sour as the recipe supplied with the concentrate was a little sour heavy with 1 oz. of lime juice (1 lime). I must say the grapefruit juice does add an essential flavor component to the drink as I was making it with the Grog Concentrate using the 1972 bartender's guide recipe, which referenced the retail Navy Grog mix and didn't mention grapefruit juice. Blue Kahuna, I don't know if I have it in me to try your optimized recipe tonight but thanks for sharing the fruits of your labor. The Navy Grog served on Friday was maybe a little heavy on the Grog Concentrate, probably since they knew I love the Tiki Puka Puka! But in any event, all of them are great drinks and really can't be made without the Grog Concentrate. Thank you Trader! Yum!

I had a Navy Grog at Trader Vic's Friday night to calibrate my palate. They used 1 oz. of Trader Vic's Silver, Gold and Dark rum. I've never ever seen them use Meyers for their dark rum and I highly doubt they've ever done that. I think the San Francisco recipe was more accurate in using 0.6 oz. Lemon Hart 151 since that approximates the 1 oz. of standard proof Lemon Hart the Trader probably had in mind when he specified 1 oz. of demerara rhum in his 1972 bartender's guide.

Blue Kahuna, you mentioned that you have Trader Vic's Silver and Gold. Where did you buy it? I've only seen the dark at retail (Bevmo). Not that they are anything special. Their amber rum might be worth getting (but not sold at retail) since it is funky like an un-aged Martinique amber rhum (i.e. Saint James Royal Amber Rhum). That's what they used for their special Mai Tai at my dear departed Palo Alto Trader Vic's.

Today I tried the recipe included with the grog concentrate (the official recipe), Trader Bill's recipe (which used 1/2 oz. lemon juice and 1/4 oz. lime juice) and Martiki's recipe (as served at Trader Vic's San Francisco around 2005). That's 9 oz. of 80 proof so I did my due diligence. In each case I used 1 oz. of Eldorado Silver, 1 oz. of Coruba, and 1 oz. of Lemon Hart 80 proof (for the demerara), top shelf rums. Trader Bill's recipe was definitely sweeter, at least to begin with. Martiki's was maybe the best balance between sweet and sour as the recipe supplied with the concentrate was a little sour heavy with 1 oz. of lime juice (1 lime). I must say the grapefruit juice does add an essential flavor component to the drink as I was making it with the Grog Concentrate using the 1972 bartender's guide recipe, which referenced the retail Navy Grog mix and didn't mention grapefruit juice.

Blue Kahuna, I don't know if I have it in me to try your optimized recipe tonight but thanks for sharing the fruits of your labor.

The Navy Grog served on Friday was maybe a little heavy on the Grog Concentrate, probably since they knew I love the Tiki Puka Puka! But in any event, all of them are great drinks and really can't be made without the Grog Concentrate. Thank you Trader! Yum!

Post #668646 by TropicDrinkBoy on Sun, Feb 24, 2013 5:36 PM