Post #778540 by Hurricane Hayward on Sat, Aug 5, 2017 9:24 AM

This month's Flashback Friday cocktail: Dr. Fong (with absinthe!)

From The Mai-Kai:

Every Friday Night in the Molokai Bar we feature a vintage cocktail from The Mai-Kai recipe vault and for the month of August you can come in and get the infamous Dr Fong. Created as far back as the 1880s, the Dr Fong cocktail, originally called the Dr Funk, after Dr Bernard Funk of Germany, was originally served as a medicinal tonic by the Doctor himself during his practice in the South Seas.

The original tonic prescribed by Dr Funk contained absinthe, which was often used medicinally at the time. Decades after Dr Funk passed away, Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber got a hold of the recipe and turned it into the rum cocktail that we know today, replacing the absinthe with Pernod, a similar anise flavored spirit, most likely due to the turn of the century bans on absinthe in many countries including the US. Absinthe has since seen a modern revival and a resulting resurgence in popularity and availability; after it was proven that its psychoactive properties were exaggerated.

For the month of August, we are honoring Dr Funk's mixology prowess and making our Dr Fong with absinthe, just like the good doctor prescribed.

Here's some more history, plus ancestor and tribute recipes on the blog ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2013/02/03/lost-cocktails-of-the-mai-kai-the-late-dr-fong-has-a-funky-and-famous-history/