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

H heylownine Grand Member (1 year) Agoura Hills, CA Joined: Oct 05, 2008 Posts: 978	H heylownine Posted posted on Sun, Mar 3, 2013 7:45 PM On 2013-02-25 06:56, Little fragrant Tiare wrote: On 2013-02-22 19:54, heylownine wrote: You know, I was on the fence about buying the concentrate, and due to procrastination the choice was made for me. Oh well. On the other hand, using other threads in Tiki Drinks and Food, I've been able to come up with a spice syrup (sans HFCS) that when combined with fresh lime and grapefruit juice, comes really close to the Trader Vic's Navy Grog taste (and thereby the Tiki Puka Puka taste). So that'll help temper any disappointment I may have felt. Thanks for the reports from those that obtained the concentrate! kevin I missed the grog concentrate..but most likely they didn`t ship outta the states anyway... Kevin, do you have a recipe for your spice syrup to share? http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com [ Edited by: Little fragrant Tiare 2013-02-25 06:57 ] Sorry, it's been a busy week and I've been meaning to post to this thread. This is a funny, circular topic. I found the spice syrup recipe on Sloshed! in a post detailing their attempts to piece together a Tiki Puka Puka. The author of the piece wanted to replicate not just the Tiki Puka Puka, but also just the Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix in general. The article itself (keep in mind this was written in 2008), referenced this 2007 thread on Tiki Central which was started by PiPhiRho and his attempts to replicate the Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix. :) Clearly this is a topic that has managed to captivate these here forums for many years. Anyway, the author on Sloshed! settled on this recipe for spice syrup: "Using a hammer or other blunt object, break up 3 sticks of cinnamon, 2 whole cloves, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds and 2 generous tablespoons allspice berries. Add the broken up (but not completely pulverized) spices to 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. Boil vigorously until reduced by half, then strain out the spices. Return the spiced water to the pan and add 1½ cups of sugar. Simmer over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly. Cool before using." I follow this recipe pretty much as written, except that I double the cardamom. This spice syrup is then combined as follows into makeshift Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix: 1/3 cup spice syrup 1/3 cup lime juice 1 1/2 oz grapefruit juice I use this mix when I make Tiki Puka Pukas at home, and I feel it comes pretty close to a good Trader Vic's version (the LA Live Trader Vic's has varying success with their own recipe). I also use this mix when I'm making Navy Grogs from the "Trader Vic's Tiki Party!" book, though my typical Navy Grogs are not that recipe. kevin

On 2013-02-25 06:56, Little fragrant Tiare wrote:

On 2013-02-22 19:54, heylownine wrote:
You know, I was on the fence about buying the concentrate, and due to procrastination the choice was made for me. Oh well.

On the other hand, using other threads in Tiki Drinks and Food, I've been able to come up with a spice syrup (sans HFCS) that when combined with fresh lime and grapefruit juice, comes really close to the Trader Vic's Navy Grog taste (and thereby the Tiki Puka Puka taste). So that'll help temper any disappointment I may have felt.

Thanks for the reports from those that obtained the concentrate!

kevin

I missed the grog concentrate..but most likely they didn`t ship outta the states anyway...

Kevin, do you have a recipe for your spice syrup to share?

http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com

[ Edited by: Little fragrant Tiare 2013-02-25 06:57 ]

Sorry, it's been a busy week and I've been meaning to post to this thread. This is a funny, circular topic.

I found the spice syrup recipe on Sloshed! in a post detailing their attempts to piece together a Tiki Puka Puka. The author of the piece wanted to replicate not just the Tiki Puka Puka, but also just the Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix in general. The article itself (keep in mind this was written in 2008), referenced this 2007 thread on Tiki Central which was started by PiPhiRho and his attempts to replicate the Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix. :) Clearly this is a topic that has managed to captivate these here forums for many years.

Anyway, the author on Sloshed! settled on this recipe for spice syrup:
"Using a hammer or other blunt object, break up 3 sticks of cinnamon, 2 whole cloves, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds and 2 generous tablespoons allspice berries. Add the broken up (but not completely pulverized) spices to 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. Boil vigorously until reduced by half, then strain out the spices. Return the spiced water to the pan and add 1½ cups of sugar. Simmer over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly. Cool before using."

I follow this recipe pretty much as written, except that I double the cardamom.

This spice syrup is then combined as follows into makeshift Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix:
1/3 cup spice syrup
1/3 cup lime juice
1 1/2 oz grapefruit juice

I use this mix when I make Tiki Puka Pukas at home, and I feel it comes pretty close to a good Trader Vic's version (the LA Live Trader Vic's has varying success with their own recipe). I also use this mix when I'm making Navy Grogs from the "Trader Vic's Tiki Party!" book, though my typical Navy Grogs are not that recipe.

kevin

Post #669618 by heylownine on Sun, Mar 3, 2013 7:45 PM