Post #719415 by Destro100 on Fri, Jun 6, 2014 9:28 AM

Fang you very much!
Drink 67: Sidewinder's Fang

Ingredients I used:

Fresh Lime Juice
Fresh Orange juice
Passionfruit syrup (Goya frozen pulp based - ratio of parts: 1.5 pulp to 1 sugar)
Appleton Extra 12 year dark rum
Smith & Cross Rum
El Dorado 8 year Demerara Rum
Club Soda (soda stream)

This drink wants to be a Chief Lapu Lapu, but it isn't. It is a nice pleasurable drink, that just misses the ascendent qualities necessary to elevate it into the highest tiers of tiki-dom. Who am I kidding? Maybe it's just missing an additional ounce of rum?

To begin with, the drink lacks strength. I added a quarter ounce of Smith & Cross to 3/4 of an ounce of Appleton, and still found the flavor and strength of the rum to be too concealed. This is connected to the 3 ounces of club soda the recipe calls for. On the one hand, the club soda adds body while mellowing the drink's sweetness, yet at the same time, it is directly diluting and muddling the rum.

Let's break it down further in comparison to the transcendent Chief Lapu Lapu:

If you do the math, the Chief has about 10 ounces of liquid. The breakdown is nearly even with 3 ounces of rum, 4 ounces of sweetness, and 3 ounces of sour.

While the Fang has about 9 1/2 ounces of liquid. The breakdown is 2 ounces of rum, 3 ounces of sweetness, 1 and 1/2 ounces of lime, and 3 ounces of club soda. That is entirely too much soda for this amount of rum.

While in the Chief Lapu Lapu the sweetness and sour are balanced by rum, in the Fang, the water is completely out of proportion and dilutes all the other flavors. Additionally, they make me regret using great rum. Mediocre rum would work just as well here as the flavors are significantly dulled.

The large amount of lime does help balance the sweetness of the orange juice and passionfruit. The drink does maintain the classic tiki-profile that is very easy to enjoy. I also like the fact that it is a larger drink and therefore lasts longer (theoretically). You can definitely nurse this drink slowly while enjoying a good movie, sporting event, or reading. It dilutes nicely, and should please the tastebuds of most sweet-tooths.

My personal rating: *** 1/2 (3.5) out of ***** (5)

SCORECARD:

4.5 ALMOST PERFECT - 3 drinks so far
Chief Lapu Lapu / Kikuya Lapu / Mai Tai (Trader Vic)

4 - EXCELLENT - 12 drinks and counting
Colonel Beach's Plantation Punch /Aurora Bora Borealis / Outrigger / Bourbon Special / Beachcomber's Gold (Hollywood and Palm Springs) / Hell in the Pacific / Krakatoa / La Florida / Tortuga / Mai Tai Swizzle / 151 Swizzle / Port Light

3.5 - VERY GOOD - 20 drinks and counting
Beachcomber's Punch / Coronado Luau Special / Hawaii Kai Treasure / Coconaut / Castaway (slightly modified) / Don's Special Daiquiri / Banana Daiquiri / Captain's Grog / Viking Fog Cutter / Navy Grog / Hurricane / Lani-Honi / Mariposa Fizz / Mai Tai (Stuft Shirt) / Never Say Die / Pago Pago / Painkiller / Q.B. Cooler / Shark's Tooth / Sidewinder's Fang

3 - GOOD - 18 drinks and counting
Eastern Sour / Astro Aku Aku / Kapu Kai / Western Sour / Beachcomber's Gold (Waikiki) / Red Tide / Samoan Fog Cutter / Gold Cup / Headhunter / Fogg Cutter / Noa Noa / Aku Aku Lapu / Mai Tai (Royal Hawaiian) / Missionary's Downfall / Strip and go Naked / Polynesian Paralysis / Happy Buddha / Shrunken Skull

2.5 - ABOVE AVERAGE - 4 drinks and counting
Jasper's Jamaican / Derby Daiquiri / Carioca Hawaiian Cocktail / Hawaiian Room

2 - AVERAGE - 8 drinks and counting
Beachcomber's Gold (Chicago) / Lychee Nut Daiquiri / Fog Cutter / Von Tiki / Planet of the Apes / Rum Runner / Pieces of Eight / Polynesian Spell

1.5 - BELOW AVERAGE - 2 drinks and hopefully not too many more
Boo Loo / Royal Daiquiri