Does Anyone Have the Recipe for Mai-Kai's Cobra Kiss or K.O. Cooler? - Tiki Drinks and Food

PD P. Duarte Member Joined: Oct 17, 2015 Posts: 9	PD P. Duarte Posted posted on Mon, Oct 19, 2015 10:55 PM *UPDATE: after my 5th Cobra's Kiss on Sunday night, I had fully committed to memory the taste, color and consistency of the drink. Departing from BH's rendition, I took as my new baseline (upon much pressuring and cajoling) Mr. Hayward's 'Tribute' version from his Atomic Grog blog: Tribute to the Mai-Kai Cobra's Kiss 3/4 Fresh lime juice 1 oz Orange juice 3/4 oz Falernum (Fee Brothers) 1/2 oz Fassionola (the oft-mentioned 50/50 method - that is, 50% grenadine and 50% Smucker's Red Raspberry syrup) 1 oz Gold Jamaican rum 1 oz Dark Jamaican rum (Kohala Bay) 1/4 oz Grenadine 2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters 1/4 Teaspoon of Pernod I admit that Mr. Hayward's version DID taste more authentic to me, however, the color was totally off and the result was slightly too 'intense' - somewhat too sweet. I still had the original taste fresh on my palate. The inclusion of the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine worried me greatly. It should also be pointed out that I performed the tasting in the 'actual' authentic Mai-Kai glass which they use to serve the Cobra's Kiss in. I really wanted to eliminate any distraction I might encounter while making this drink. I don't agree with the inclusion of the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine; for the record, I used Rose's. However, having said that and having made the drink without the extra amount, it tasted even worse. So while I know it doesn't taste right with it in it, it also doesn't wash well when removed either. My conclusion is that it must be something else. The inclusion of the extra grenadine makes the drink far too sweet and red looking. If you notice, the original has that slight orange hue to it and has a subtle 'creeping' flavor. I even tried BH's trick of using 1.5 oz of orange juice (within the framework of the 'Tribute' recipe, without the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine, but that too was off - it was not as full-bodied. The color, however, was perfect. In fact, I would say 99.9% spot on. So where we have color, we don't have taste. Where we have taste, we don't have the correct color. I typically use John D. Taylor's falernum, which many contest to being a superior product, however, in this case, the sugary, richer and 'tangy' tasting notes of the Fee Brothers variety, really does seem to work well in this drink. NOTE: I am still divided as to whether or not the Mai-Kai Cobra's Kiss includes passionfruit syrup (PFS as Swanky calls it) as there is much evidence to support either way. It seems to me, color is the overriding factor here. Also, Swanky suggests using cinnamon syrup (Don's Spices #4) which I've yet to experiment with. In summary, Mr. Hayward's 'Tribute' version is indeed the best baseline I've encountered thus far. However, I respectfully disagree with the inclusion of the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine. [ Edited by: P. Duarte 2015-10-19 22:57 ]

*UPDATE: after my 5th Cobra's Kiss on Sunday night, I had fully committed to memory the taste, color and consistency of the drink.

Departing from BH's rendition, I took as my new baseline (upon much pressuring and cajoling) Mr. Hayward's 'Tribute' version from his Atomic Grog blog:

Tribute to the Mai-Kai Cobra's Kiss

3/4 Fresh lime juice
1 oz Orange juice
3/4 oz Falernum (Fee Brothers)
1/2 oz Fassionola (the oft-mentioned 50/50 method - that is, 50% grenadine and 50% Smucker's Red Raspberry syrup)
1 oz Gold Jamaican rum
1 oz Dark Jamaican rum (Kohala Bay)
1/4 oz Grenadine
2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
1/4 Teaspoon of Pernod

I admit that Mr. Hayward's version DID taste more authentic to me, however, the color was totally off and the result was slightly too 'intense' - somewhat too sweet. I still had the original taste fresh on my palate. The inclusion of the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine worried me greatly. It should also be pointed out that I performed the tasting in the 'actual' authentic Mai-Kai glass which they use to serve the Cobra's Kiss in. I really wanted to eliminate any distraction I might encounter while making this drink.

I don't agree with the inclusion of the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine; for the record, I used Rose's. However, having said that and having made the drink without the extra amount, it tasted even worse. So while I know it doesn't taste right with it in it, it also doesn't wash well when removed either. My conclusion is that it must be something else. The inclusion of the extra grenadine makes the drink far too sweet and red looking. If you notice, the original has that slight orange hue to it and has a subtle 'creeping' flavor.

I even tried BH's trick of using 1.5 oz of orange juice (within the framework of the 'Tribute' recipe, without the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine, but that too was off - it was not as full-bodied. The color, however, was perfect. In fact, I would say 99.9% spot on. So where we have color, we don't have taste. Where we have taste, we don't have the correct color. I typically use John D. Taylor's falernum, which many contest to being a superior product, however, in this case, the sugary, richer and 'tangy' tasting notes of the Fee Brothers variety, really does seem to work well in this drink.

NOTE: I am still divided as to whether or not the Mai-Kai Cobra's Kiss includes passionfruit syrup (PFS as Swanky calls it) as there is much evidence to support either way. It seems to me, color is the overriding factor here. Also, Swanky suggests using cinnamon syrup (Don's Spices #4) which I've yet to experiment with.

In summary, Mr. Hayward's 'Tribute' version is indeed the best baseline I've encountered thus far. However, I respectfully disagree with the inclusion of the extra 1/4 oz of grenadine.

[ Edited by: P. Duarte 2015-10-19 22:57 ]

Post #752834 by P. Duarte on Mon, Oct 19, 2015 10:55 PM