Post #742518 by kkocka on Thu, May 7, 2015 2:08 PM

On 2015-05-07 12:43, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
GROG is the new mix that started at Trader Sam's in Disneyland. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the consensus is that it's probably grapefruit, orange and guava. I'll have to play around with it to determine the exact proportions.

See below.

On 2015-05-07 12:43, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
I'm a fan of B.G. Reyolds, so that's definitely not a bad thing. I believe they use the falernum, cinnamon and orgeat syrups. You can't expect a bar like Trader Sam's to make its own syrups, or squeeze its own juice for that matter.

Again, related to what I say below, Sam's in CA have been making certain syrups of their own such as ginger syrup. If you have the staff that lives the Tiki scene, it can definitely happen. In addition to the cinnamon, falernum, and orgeat, I believe Sam's is also using the Hibiscus Grenadine. That's probably the one you could substitute and receive the least amount of change to your drink.

On 2015-05-06 19:15, mmaurice wrote:
I have been here for a week and have had several (or more) drinks every night.

1. They won't tell you what's in the Grog
2. They use BG Reynolds syrups
3. They don't squeeze their juices but do use "fresh" squeezed.
4. The rum selection is pretty weak
5. The bar/wait staff know nothing beyond the drinks on the menu or anything about tiki
6. IMO the outside patio with the live entertainment is better than inside and it does have a great view of the evening fireworks
7. Inside they only let people in for the number of seats they have, no standing room. Once you get in, its all communal, meaning, I waited all this time to have to find my own seats, hopefully there are a couple together.

1. Gorilla Grog is pretty much POG juice + pineapple juice + lemon juice + falernum + something else that I can't recall and don't know. Saw it listed online, though the exact ingredients and amounts are unknown. Basically I make a small batch at home with even parts of pog and pineapple, then one part lemon, and sorta throw some falernum in at whatever my judgement is at the time. I've done just half pog and half pineapple and it was good enough for me in a quick fix. Try it and lemme know what you think.

2. They primarily use BG Reynolds, but for the common drinks (off menu/common bar drinks) they tend to use Finest Call, Monin, etc. This is just my assumption based on what they do in CA.

3. Yeah nothing is actually fresh squeezed on site, but I've seen giant gallons of Odwalla lime before.

4 & 5. The rum selection definitely is stronger in CA - they have Smith & Cross, Zaya, Cruzan Single Barrel, and some others currently. This is absolutely due to the staff who is very much into the scene and into craft cocktails (unlike #5). They've made a push for products because they're often the right tool for the job, and I believe are behind the push to replace Bacardi 151 with Gosling's 151. But, keep in mind that the change is also largely in part because of the benefit of time. They weren't acting as independent right off the bat: there were lots of battles and slow ground gain.