Post #729722 by Hurricane Hayward on Wed, Oct 15, 2014 10:31 PM

Wow, Mike that's great dedication. But I'm afraid you'll find out that it will be difficult to make something at home (unless you have a chemistry lab) that's as highly concentrated as the Jonathan English fassionola. Not to say that what you're making isn't great and won't work fine in many cocktails. It just won't impart the same flavor and color into those Mai-Kai cocktails that call for it. I'm certain that it was included in several drinks mainly to enhance the color. Brown drinks just aren't as sexy.

By the same token, the flavor combination of rich grenadine and Smucker's red raspberry syrup might be something that can be duplicated, but those products probably contain enhaners and flavor boosters that also add extra punch.

So while your experiments are noble, I'm afraid you're going to fall a little short, at least if you're trying to duplicate cocktails that rely on the syrup's intensity in small doses. You're pretty much trying to replicate a substitute for the real thing, so it may be too far from the original flavor.

I would be very intrested to see how the Jonathan English brand compares, if you do pick up that bottle on eBay. I'd say it's worth the $19.

Okole maluna!

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[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-10-15 22:34 ]