"Cranberry House Mixer" - Tiki Drinks and Food

A AceExplorer Grand Member (8 years) Deep in the Jacksonville Flori-duh jungle. Joined: Apr 03, 2008 Posts: 2564	A AceExplorer Posted posted on Thu, Jun 4, 2015 7:41 AM On 2015-05-15 11:34, AceExplorer wrote: Nautilus Recipe adapted from diffordsguide.com. Original recipe by Trader Vic Bergeron. 2 oz reposado tequila 2 oz cranberry juice 1 oz Freshly squeezed lime juice ½ oz simple syrup Ace recommends: Always use a good tequila - no Cuervo crap. For example, Don Julio.) Glass: Collins Garnish: Mint sprig Shake with ice and strain into an iced Collins glass. Garnish. Drink. Enjoy. Follow-Up: I made this for the first time last night, it has a nice red/pink color. I used Don Julio Anejo (I am out of the Reposado) and made these to taste-test with a friend. We found it to be an interesting and "pretty good drink." It was very easy to make with very easy ratios. More specifically: The tequila is nicely blended in this drink. At first this was a more cranberry-forward drink, and it mixed nicely with the lime juice. But then my taste buds alternated back and forth between the lime, cranberry, and smooth tequila. While not a top-notch favorite, we both came away liking this drink since we don't drink tequila very often. I used 1.5:1 simple syrup, and it definitely made the drink too sweet. I have concluded long ago that simple syrup is not at all "simple" in today's world. There are advocates in the newer recipe books for 1:1, 1.5:1, and 2:1 ratios for simple syrup. Some here on TC have entirely embraced 1.5:1 for all tiki drinks, but my 1.5:1 simple syrup definitely made this drink too sweet. I dialed back the sweetener by a third for the 2nd round and we both agreed it made an improvement. Based on my personal experience, I am committed to stocking all three ratios of simple syrup at my bar. For purposes of balancing a drink, I have come to consider this essential. I cannot see making drinks with just one simple syrup on hand anymore. Suggestion for cocktail recipe authors: Start telling us the ratio when you call for simple syrup. So, was this a "balanced" drink? I could not decide because the various flavors played with my palate back-and-forth in both rounds. I need to make more of these, and I need to try a different Don Julio tequila (the reposado) and possibly also a different brand of cranberry juice. We strained the first round, then strained the second round over ice. It was good both ways, so relax if this is currently the greatest worry you have in your life. Our Conclusions: We thought that more tests are needed, and we agreed that we'd enjoy making more of these. Big surprise was that we deemed this a "party-worthy" drink and it is best made with good and smooth tequila. Not only is the flavor of the drink likely to appeal to most (as long as they enjoy cranberry) but it's also very easy to mix in batches. We noted that you can make these in large cocktail beakers and stir instead of shaking, although this would reduce immediate dilution and aeration of the drink and would not have the same ice crystals floating on top after shaking. And the drink would be darker red by stirring instead of more pinkish if you shake and aerate. While I don't drink tequila very often, I do like Don Julio better than Patron. For purposes of this cocktail, I think the two brands are interchangeable, so use Patron if you have it. If no tequila is around, then I personally recommend that you consider buying Don Julio. We think it's possible to use crappy Cuervo tequila (Yuck!) if our crowd is not very discriminating and can tolerate the Cuervo "burn," although the price difference between Cuervo and Don Julio may not make this a worthwhile substitution. I think that Cuervo is so popular that it may be overpriced, but we're not certain how much more the superior Don Julio costs. We're going to look this up later for our own curiosity sake. This cocktail was an excellent accompaniment to the movie "Hot Tub Time Machine" which we watched while we were drinking. That's just a good all-around tequila drinking movie... Our next set of tests may have us watching "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" to stay in that same tequila and craziness mindset. Think about it -- A hot tub as a time machine. Doesn't that just scream out for a night of tequila-based cocktails? I think it does. heh... (Edited to correct some BBcode, and to fix a missing word.) [ Edited by: AceExplorer 2015-06-04 07:57 ]

On 2015-05-15 11:34, AceExplorer wrote:
Nautilus
Recipe adapted from diffordsguide.com. Original recipe by Trader Vic Bergeron.
2 oz reposado tequila
2 oz cranberry juice
1 oz Freshly squeezed lime juice
½ oz simple syrup

Ace recommends: Always use a good tequila - no Cuervo crap. For example, Don Julio.)

Glass: Collins
Garnish: Mint sprig

Shake with ice and strain into an iced Collins glass. Garnish. Drink. Enjoy.

Follow-Up:

I made this for the first time last night, it has a nice red/pink color. I used Don Julio Anejo (I am out of the Reposado) and made these to taste-test with a friend. We found it to be an interesting and "pretty good drink." It was very easy to make with very easy ratios. More specifically:

The tequila is nicely blended in this drink. At first this was a more cranberry-forward drink, and it mixed nicely with the lime juice. But then my taste buds alternated back and forth between the lime, cranberry, and smooth tequila. While not a top-notch favorite, we both came away liking this drink since we don't drink tequila very often.
I used 1.5:1 simple syrup, and it definitely made the drink too sweet. I have concluded long ago that simple syrup is not at all "simple" in today's world. There are advocates in the newer recipe books for 1:1, 1.5:1, and 2:1 ratios for simple syrup. Some here on TC have entirely embraced 1.5:1 for all tiki drinks, but my 1.5:1 simple syrup definitely made this drink too sweet. I dialed back the sweetener by a third for the 2nd round and we both agreed it made an improvement. Based on my personal experience, I am committed to stocking all three ratios of simple syrup at my bar. For purposes of balancing a drink, I have come to consider this essential. I cannot see making drinks with just one simple syrup on hand anymore.
Suggestion for cocktail recipe authors: Start telling us the ratio when you call for simple syrup.
So, was this a "balanced" drink? I could not decide because the various flavors played with my palate back-and-forth in both rounds. I need to make more of these, and I need to try a different Don Julio tequila (the reposado) and possibly also a different brand of cranberry juice.
We strained the first round, then strained the second round over ice. It was good both ways, so relax if this is currently the greatest worry you have in your life.

Our Conclusions:

We thought that more tests are needed, and we agreed that we'd enjoy making more of these.
Big surprise was that we deemed this a "party-worthy" drink and it is best made with good and smooth tequila. Not only is the flavor of the drink likely to appeal to most (as long as they enjoy cranberry) but it's also very easy to mix in batches. We noted that you can make these in large cocktail beakers and stir instead of shaking, although this would reduce immediate dilution and aeration of the drink and would not have the same ice crystals floating on top after shaking. And the drink would be darker red by stirring instead of more pinkish if you shake and aerate.
While I don't drink tequila very often, I do like Don Julio better than Patron. For purposes of this cocktail, I think the two brands are interchangeable, so use Patron if you have it. If no tequila is around, then I personally recommend that you consider buying Don Julio.
We think it's possible to use crappy Cuervo tequila (Yuck!) if our crowd is not very discriminating and can tolerate the Cuervo "burn," although the price difference between Cuervo and Don Julio may not make this a worthwhile substitution. I think that Cuervo is so popular that it may be overpriced, but we're not certain how much more the superior Don Julio costs. We're going to look this up later for our own curiosity sake.
This cocktail was an excellent accompaniment to the movie "Hot Tub Time Machine" which we watched while we were drinking. That's just a good all-around tequila drinking movie... Our next set of tests may have us watching "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" to stay in that same tequila and craziness mindset. Think about it -- A hot tub as a time machine. Doesn't that just scream out for a night of tequila-based cocktails? I think it does. heh...

(Edited to correct some BBcode, and to fix a missing word.)

[ Edited by: AceExplorer 2015-06-04 07:57 ]

Post #744202 by AceExplorer on Thu, Jun 4, 2015 7:41 AM