Post #790948 by kkocka on Mon, Nov 5, 2018 11:44 AM

On 2018-11-01 18:06, mikehooker wrote:
Thoughts on the gardenia mix?

I love it! Though I'm no connoisseur, I thought the taste of it was fantastic – very rich, but fun with a steady climax of flavor...at least that's what I recall when I tasted a small amount before mixing. I've actually tried every version of the Pearl Diver but the one I'm "supposed" to, which is the one listed on the back of the bottle and on the outside of box from Jeff Berry's Pearl Diver glasses. That particular "finalized" version is a bit more refined with reduced amounts of everything.

Otherwise, I've made a Pearl Diver's Punch, Deep Sea Diver, and Skin Diver (which was the worst and actually doesn't call for gardenia mix but instead vanilla extract and heavy cream). The one thing I'll say is that I don't get the creaminess that I expect(ed) of the gardenia mix once all the ingredients are batched and blended together. But, prior to this I've only ever made a Deep Sea Diver tribute with the butter/honey mix and I can't recall my thoughts. I've had a Pearl Diver from Tiki Ti but also didn't have that creaminess I expected, but I don't even wanna guess what they use to substitute the gardenia mix. So there's definitely the factor that maybe Keith doesn't drink enough anymore to compare – if I had a Zombie or Mai Tai beforehand, then went to Pearl Diver, I might have noticed the vast contrast in profiles.

Also it's important to remember this is a coconut-base and not butter, so that's different too. One thing's for sure, I'm very excited to use more of it and play around!