Post #707302 by Hurricane Hayward on Sun, Feb 9, 2014 1:34 AM

Aloha to Destro100 and all who follow this thread. I'm way overdue to join the festivities and chime in from time to time. First off, a huge pat on the back to Destro for this endeavor. It reminds me of my never-ending journey through all of the Bum's books.

Wow, this brings back memories. Like they were for many others, Grog Log and Intoxica! were a revelation for me. Finally, I found many of the secrets to making cocktails similar to those amazing concoctions I was enjoying at The Mai-Kai. It kick-started an obsession that, if anything, has only gotten stronger.

I will also echo Swanky's comments: The Grogalier is your friend. It's a great resource and easy way to search and find the Bum's drinks without leafing through all the books (or the app, which is also essential when you're on the go). FYI, I'll be starting a new thread that will detail upcoming updates to The Mai-Kai cocktail guide, which will include adding all the tribute recipes to The Grogalizer in the coming months.

Around 10 years ago, when I first dove head-first into Tiki cocktails, I picked up Grog Log and Intoxica (along with a Trader Vic book) and followed a very similar routine, knocking out as many drinks as I could and studying what made them work. I even rated them on a similar 1-5 scale, which I later adopted to rating The Mai-Kai's drinks. (Later, when I added my ratings to The Grogalizer, I just doubled the numbers.)

But I admire Destro100 for bringing his analysis to another level here on TC, and for taking on Remixed from start to finish pretty much in order (if you pull off four Fog Cutters in a row, god bless you). I'm just wondering if you'll also be tackling the appendixes. The second appendix was the most problematic for me. For instance, should I go to all the trouble to make "sage gomme" to sample that one drink from Trailer Happiness?

The ingredients in Beachbum's first four books were daunting, but still manageable. I would always jump around, sampling those that shared the ingredients I had on hand, stocking up on new stuff along the way. Now, my bar runneth over, but I still keep lists of missing ingredients and the drinks still to be tasted, including the dreaded Remixed appendix II.

The Grogalzier made it competitive. I sought to have the most ratings and comments and to fully stock my bar. At last count, my Grogalizer bar includes 175 of the 185 ingredients (still no Stroh, Sauternes or Van Der Hum Liqueur). Here's my current count of drinks completed and those still to try. (I don't count non-alcoholic drinks and many of the party punches; note that some of the punches can be scaled down to single servings) ...

• Grog Log: 73 down, 4 to go.
• Intoxica: 67 down, 7 to go.
• Taboo Table 11 down, 5 to go
• Sippin' Safari: 66 down, 4 to go
• Remixed (previously unpublished recipes): 62 down, 30 to go (note: I've eliminated some from appendix II that I know I'll never bother with)
• Potions of the Caribbean (in progress): 25 down, unknown number to go (still halfway through book, eliminating some of the more obscure drinks as I go; pretty sure I'll never come across guaiac wood shavings or acid phosphate)

What's great about Jeff's books is that for the most part (appendix II and some of Potions excepted), there's just a handful of drinks in each that have hard-to-find or burdensome-to-make ingredients. It's much more efficient to repurpose ingredients in multiple drinks, like most great Tiki bars do.

One other thing I've noticed looking back on all my ratings is that tastes change over the years, especially as I became more aware of the nuances of cocktails. Some of the drinks I initally panned are now much more palatable. I've gotten e-mails from Swanky to the effect of, "Are you sure about your 151 Swizzle rating?" I've since revisited many of them and changed my ratings. In fact, before the arrivial of "Potions," I went through all my low rated drinks in "Sippin' Safari" and found a few that have since grown on me. I'll admit, however, that I'm pretty rigid about sticking to the printed recipes. If I'm going to change it, I'd rather make it an entirely different drink, in the Tiki tradition.

Back to Derek's grand undertaking: I'm enjoying the photos as well as the rundown of the exact brands used in the drinks. This will surely spur me to revisit some of these classics.

Keep up the great work. Okole maluna!