Post #756978 by AceExplorer on Fri, Jan 8, 2016 2:45 PM

On 2016-01-08 14:19, kkocka wrote:
Which is the Bum's recipe? I think it's titled "Falernum No. 8" or something.

Over the years I've had several discussions with The Bum about this. His preferred recipe for the general public is Kaiser Penguin's #8. When I specifically discussed the differences between KP #8 and KP #9 we concluded that #9 had a few more steps than #8 because you have to extract the almond flavor from fresh almonds. In the end this most likely has minimal impact for most of us at home, however #9 clearly has a higher risk of "under almonding" the Falernum due to the variations in how you extract the almond oils and flavors at home, the freshness/brand/quality of the almonds used, and a few things like that.

Mike, if you were to ask The Bum, I am confident (based on my discussions) that he would also tell you to just make Kaiser Penguin's #8 and you'll be pleased with the outcome. A few more tips and comments:

Use a Microplane grater to harvest as much of the green from your limes and as little of the white pith as you can.

Do not grate your ginger - I've done that and it goes way too much toward ginger. Follow the recipe and slice your ginger as described.

Taylors vs home-made Falernum are two completely different flavor profiles. Taylors is much more subtle than the KP #9, however the KP #9 (per the Bum) gives results which are very close to the actual flavor profile of the original Falernum which was typical of the mid-century tiki era. That's reality - there is no debate - they are two completely different flavor profiles. Which one you should use IS a personal decision which in my opinion should be weighed based on the time period of the cocktail recipe or on personal preference.