Ray's Mistake

It's time for us to reverse engineer this marvel.
Tough call though.

It's got a hint of coconut in it but not much.
Also - something rather vanilla-ish. Perhaps Licor43.

There are several juices in there. Maybe a bit of pineapple and maybe...uhhh... apple?
The rum would be light if there is any in there at all. I couldn't pull it out enough to tell.

Dang - I only had one when I was at the Tiki Ti last month and I knew it was going to be a tough one.
I guess I could kidnap miles and get the recipe that way... but that would be a crime I think.

Ohhhh, why did it have to be so good? I've thought about that blasted drink almost every day since I had it.
I need some hot buttered rums to help me forget.

Ah, now you've gone and made me thirsty.

The Ray's Mistake is made with rum & gin. For a few years there, the younger Mike didn't know it was supposed to have gin in it, and he was just making it with rum. Now you can order it either way.

I can't really say without having tasted one in a while (sniff!), but I don't recall any coconut flavor. Pineapple is likely, and I think perhaps orgeat? That might be the vanilla-ish flavor you're getting. Some lime juice wouldn't surprise me. God, I've watched them both make them a thousand times, but my only thought at that moment is a combination of "GIMME!" and "THANK YOU!"

Weirduncletiki's thoughts would be great to hear -- I know he's taken tasting notes on the Ray's Mistake.

Beachbum Berry wrote:
In 1968, the Tiki-Ti's signature drink was born ... by accident. Ray put the wrong syrups in an Anting Anting ("Witches' Brew" in Tagalog), caught the error, and was about to dump it when the customer said he'd take it anyway. The happy mishap was Christened "Ray's Mistake."

any way to track down the "anting anting?" i googled it and got lots of filipino culture but no recipes.

AFAIK, the Anting Anting is another Ray Buhen concoction, and its recipe is likely just as difficult to track down as Ray's Mistake.

The Anting Anting tastes very similar to the Ray's Mistake. You can tell that it differes by only one or two ingredients. The Anting Anting is more tart then the Mistake, and if you are used to drinking Mistakes then the Anting Anting tastes like IT is the mistake; like a Ray's Mistake that is missing whatever it is that makes it so good.

Gin explains it. That is probably where that floral quality comes from: the botanicals in the gin. It definitely has citrus (lime and maybe a little orange), passion, pineapple, dark rum (Coruba) and an unidentified syrup and liqueur. I was also thinking maybe Licor 43. It's a tough nut to crack, that's for sure.

If I'm not mistaken I think I have seen them put some kind of powder in the the drink as well. I always wondered if it is crystal light or kool aid I think it is what gives it a hint of something like a pixie stick. Next time your there watch them carefully. Damn I wish they were open tonight cause I am headed to a show over in that area right now.

[ Edited by: The Sperm Whale 2005-12-21 17:13 ]

I'm pretty good at the reverse engineering but I think Basement Kahuna is better.
Jerk. Kid. Punk.

Maybe I should fly him out there in an overcoat and dark glasses and he can figure it out.

By the way, the proprieters of Tiki Ti were extremely courteous to me when I mentioned Tiki Central and Humuhumu in particular.
I guess that Mike is the elder of the 2 hard-working talents behind the bar. He was engaging and personable and I look forward to meeting him again.

At which time I will demand the recipe at kinikini point.

On 2005-12-21 13:05, Humuhumu wrote:
Ah, now you've gone and made me thirsty.

The Ray's Mistake is made with rum & gin. For a few years there, the younger Mike didn't know it was supposed to have gin in it, and he was just making it with rum. Now you can order it either way.

I can't really say without having tasted one in a while (sniff!), but I don't recall any coconut flavor. Pineapple is likely, and I think perhaps orgeat? That might be the vanilla-ish flavor you're getting. Some lime juice wouldn't surprise me. God, I've watched them both make them a thousand times, but my only thought at that moment is a combination of "GIMME!" and "THANK YOU!"

Weirduncletiki's thoughts would be great to hear -- I know he's taken tasting notes on the Ray's Mistake.

So without Gin it's a "Mike's Mistake"?

Mike's Ray's Mistake

:wink:

Perhapse the powder mentioned is Coconut Snow, which would explain the coconut flavor mentioned earlier.

I had one last night and I don't particularly remember a coconut flavor, nor do I remember them putting any powder in it. However... I did see mike putting powder in some drinks as they were being made, but I did not pay attention to what they were.

Oops, my bad. I got too caught up in the experience and forgot to take notes. I guess that is how they have kept their recipies so secret for so many years. :wink:

-T.J.

I'm a big fan of the Anting Anting...love that one. I've been trying to figure that one out for a long time, but haven't quite got it yet. Not that I'm trying to put the Tiki Ti out or anything, I just want to see if I can make one.

Curly commenting on Ray's Mistake.

Could the mystery flavour be Galliano? Just a guess.

On 2006-01-19 12:38, Tikiwahine wrote:
Could the mystery flavour be Galliano? Just a guess.

Not in a Ray's Mistake. No licorice flavor in the mistake. Maybe in the Space Pilot, though. It kind of tastes like a mistake with a licorice infusion.

I made another attempt to reproduce the Ray's Mistake last week. It was a failed attempt, but the drink did taste similar and was actually pretty good. Needs more lime and less Benedictine, but it still probably won't taste like a Ray's Mistake. I am guessing that it uses a syrup that they make themselves, much like Donn Beach used to do.

I was at Swanky's Hapa Haole Hideaway the other night and he handed me a SpinDrift.
I sipped it and immediately tasted the hint of the same thing I tasted in the Ray's Mistake.

It was vanilla extract.

That was the vanilla essence I caught in the RM.

I'll need some more research.
Do they Fedex drinks?

:wink:

Published in Colorado, from here to you, is a recipe that you may or may not consider authentic. I've done quite a bit of research on this drink and it appears to me that the essential elements as described by others are all here. However, I know a secret is a secret and you're probably wondering how the Hell this recipe got published in some obscure recipe list found in the little southern Colorado Mountain town of Pagosa Springs. Well, I don't know? Maybe someone did a little bit too much talking one night.

RAY'S MISTAKE (from LA)

1oz lime juice,
1oz passion fruit juice
1oz sweet 'n sour
1 oz rum,
1 oz gin,
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz coconut milk,
1 oz guava juice.
Shake vigorously, garnish with pineapple.

I have some serious doubts that this is the authenic Ray's Mistake recipe. Where is the Coruba float? I never detected the coconut milk in the drink and at 1 oz I think you would.

I have watched the Mike's mix this drink many times. It is always mixed from unmarked bottles, except for the coruba. the recipe is this:

• a pour of clear stuff from an unmarked bottle
• a pour of yellow stuff from an unmarked bottle
• a pour of red stuff from an unmaked bottle
• maybe something secret down below the counter
• a splash of soda water (as with almost all the drinks they make)
• Shake, pour and strain into a highball glass
• float with Coruba

Of course, I am absolutely going to make this recipe, just in case.

I am dubious about it being authentic as well: except for the fact that when I read about people discussing this drink, they seem to all agree that it has hints of coconut, gin, and some of the other "notes" listed in the ingredients. With the guava and passion fruit, I believe the final coloration would be correct. I noticed the float of Coruba is missing, but that is an easy thing to rectify. Try googling plaza liquors in pagasoa springs colorado and you will find the recipe lists for many different drinks. What is strange to me is that the one included above is listed as "Ray's Mistake from LA." I plan to eventually call them and get the story on this recipe.

Here's the address: http://www.plazaliquorstore.com/id17.html

[ Edited by: telescopes 2007-07-16 17:40 ]

I actually mixed this drink today and it was not too bad. It was not a Ray's Mistake at all. Like Phil said, it was coconut flavored. the color was a little similar.

I thought this blurb from an internet list might be of interest:

10 Best Exotic Drinks
The Insider's List With Julie Moran : Episode FLINS-308

Here are 10 of the country's most fantastic and unusual drinks — including their secret ingredients.

PHOTO
#10: "Ray's Mistake"

A unique taste experience, the Mistake is made with lime juice, botanic liqueurs, passion fruit and "Super Secret Flavor," and floated with dark Coruba rum.

Featured at:

Tiki-Ti
Los Angeles, California
323-669-9381
http://www.Tiki-Ti.com

Tiki-Ti's signature drink originated in 1968 and is named after Ray Buhen, one of a handful of Filipino bartenders who help start the tropical drink craze in the early 1930s.

Well, that settles it. I'm headed to the store now to buy a bottle of "Super Secret Flavor". Can't believe it was so easy.

Lol.

So I talked with Mike Sr. at Tiki Ti about this tonight. He laughed and said there was no coconut in the Mistake. No guava, either. He didn't tell me what is in the Ray's Mistake, just what is not in it.

So, of course, I had one. Nectar of the tiki gods!

Phil why don't you ask him different ingredient questions every time you go there of what is NOT in it. That way we can iliminate stuff and maybe narrow it down to what is in there. You know?

Process of elimination. Hmm... interesting idea. It should only take about 20 years or so.

I say one year max, if you go in every Wednesday. That is 52 times two or three ingredients. We should be down to the wire by next year...

On 2006-01-19 13:09, PiPhiRho wrote:

On 2006-01-19 12:38, Tikiwahine wrote:
Could the mystery flavour be Galliano? Just a guess.

Not in a Ray's Mistake. No licorice flavor in the mistake. Maybe in the Space Pilot, though. It kind of tastes like a mistake with a licorice infusion.

I made another attempt to reproduce the Ray's Mistake last week. It was a failed attempt, but the drink did taste similar and was actually pretty good. Needs more lime and less Benedictine, but it still probably won't taste like a Ray's Mistake. I am guessing that it uses a syrup that they make themselves, much like Donn Beach used to do.

I tried making one last night. I'm sure its missing something also, but here's what I put in it:
1 1/2 OZ Lemon Juice
1 OZ pineapple juice
3/4 OZ passion fruit syrup
1/2 OZ Benedictine and Brandy
1/2 OZ Gin
2 OZ gold rum (Tiki-Ti usually uses Flor De Cana or Castillo, I used the former)
Slight Dash grenadine
Float Coruba

It tasted like a Tiki Ti drink, but the difference between one and the next over there is so subtle, as noted in tasting the Space Pilot next to the Mistake.

From what I've seen at Tiki Ti, the juices aren't hard to figure out. You can watch 'em actually pour the containers of lime juice into their speed pourers. Lemon and pineapple are pretty obvious, the passion fruit looks orange-red and the grenadine looks dark red. I belive the real magic happens in all those little dropper bottles of bitters/pernod/syrups/what-have-you.

Looking at this list of ingredients, perhpas the mistake was the Anting-Anting confused with a Singapore sling? Take away the rum and passion fruit, that's what you got, more or less depending on what recipe you follow. I use B&B in my slings.

[ Edited by: Registered Astronaut 2007-07-21 12:02 ]

I Just visited Tiki-Ti's for the 1st time (from NY) and it was sweet! We sadly don't have anything like this in NY (sans Otto's), and I have to say the drinks were as good as the Mai Kai (until now the only place the drinks were worth making a special trip for).

As for Ray's Mistake, it was the 1st drink I had there, and I immediately tasted the vanilla (without reading an posts on the subject).
I tasted no Coconut, and it was more sweet than tart. So, whatever the "base" ingredients are, vanilla should be on the list, IMHO.

I will try this at home using lime juice, pineapple, grenadine (a touch), passion fruit juice or syrup (since it was sweet, but the juice may suit it better with simple sugar), simple sugar, vanilla extract or vanilla syrup (depending on sweetness), a squeeze of lemon (or a touch of sweet n' sour), white rum, demerara, gin, rum floater, splash soda. I didn't sense any spiciness of pimento liquor or cinammon syrup, but there may be a touch of one or the other...

What do you guys think?

Vanilla + sweet + botanicals = Licor 43 in my mind. Jeff Berry's a fan of it too.

Vanilla + sweet + botanicals might be Ti-Toki liquor. Was 43 commercially available when Ray made the mistake?

This sounds more like 43, which has been around a while - apparently since 1924.

We (who have been trying to reporoduce this drink) have used Licor 43 in many different attempts. It gets close, but does not produce a Ray's Mistake. Plus, was Licor 43 available in 1968? I don't know. This all makes me doubt that Licor 43 is the secret.

I need to look into Ti Toki. I don't think that is one I have ever used.

Also the rumor that the difference is gin: Wrong. The "mistake" was made when making an Anting Anting. The Ray's Mistake is sweeter than the Anting Anting. The difference is a syrup or liqueur that is sweet. That rules out Gin. If the Anting Anting is a Gin drink, then why is it on the Rum menu?

The Anting Anting is the key. Figure out what is in it, and then maybe you have a shot at decoding the Ray's Mistake. The difference is likely to be a single ingredient.

The "mistake" might be gin AND something else. Even 2 or 3 other ingredients.
Some people make really big mistakes.
Mine was tasting that turkish delight in the first place.

OK, here's my recipe... I think it's pretty close tasting from what I remember (months ago). I didn't get any coconut flavor when I tasted the original, so I ruled that out. I remember my drink had a reddish color, so I assumed Grenadine for this, but I added a touch. I still find the recipe below a bit too sweet, so an suggesstions are welcomed. This could also be the result of the homemade syrups I used.

1/2 Oz Lime Juice
1/2 Oz. Pineapple Juice (unsweetened of course) or try OJ or Grapefruit Juice instead if you want.
1/2 Oz. Licor 43 (this gives the vanilla essence that is there + sweetness)
1/4 Oz. Cinnamon Syrup (I make homemade which is not too spicy, so if your syrup is strong, use less)
1/4 Oz. Passion Fruit Syrup (homemade is best, I find the commercial syrups are not tart enough)
1/8 Oz. Grenadine / Pomegranate Syrup (I used Monin Pomegranate Syrup I got at TJ Maxx/HomeGoods)
1 Oz. Lemon Hart Demerara
1 Oz. Gold Jamaican Rum
1/4 Oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin
Dash Angostura Bitters

Coruba float

I would try different rums above, and I will let you know which combos work best.
I like to use botanical syrups instead of simple sugar wherever possible in my own recipes, for more unique flavored drinks.

Let me know what you think.

[ Edited by: tikichaser 2008-02-19 09:41 ]

Hmm.

What's your recipe for Cin. syrup?

My recipe for Cinnamon Syrup is right out of Jeff Berry's "Sippin' Safari"
Just take 3 cinnamon sticks and crush them then best you can (I use the cinnamon sticks that are about 3" long). Then boil them with 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar, stirring occasionally. I let this sit overnight to get more cinnamon essence. The commercial syrups I found to be quite strong and overpowering, and making your own is pretty easy.

I still found my recipe for the "mistake" a bit too pineapple-flavored, so I am trying different combinations of juices to see what is best. Maybe drop the pineapple juice to 1/4 OZ. and add Grapefruit Juice 1/4 OZ. to the recipe. This may help counter-balance the sweetness of all the syrups.

well after watching Mike Jr. make about 20 of these drinks last night and taking notes this is all I can say.

half a jigger of a creamy color (orgeat color) thing
half a jigger of a reddish purplish color (watered down grape juice color) thingy, this one was thick, he kept on tapping it in order to pour it
half a jigger simple syrup
one jigger white alcohol
splash of soda
Coruba on top

he said there is vanilla flavoring in the drink.

After reading through Sippin' Safari and this thread, along with Tiki-Ti's online menu, I feel I have enough clues to give this a shot.
First of all, I live in Sweden and I have never tried any of the drinks I'm about to mention, but I hope someone out there who can visit Tiki-Ti can try it out.

Starting with what hiltiki says above:

half a jigger of a creamy color (orgeat color) thing
half a jigger of a reddish purplish color (watered down grape juice color) thingy, this one was thick, he kept on tapping it in order to pour it
half a jigger simple syrup
one jigger white alcohol
splash of soda
Coruba on top

Looking at the Dr Wong recipe in Sippin' Safari and comparing it to the above, you can notice the similarities. It seems that Tiki-Ti now uses gin instead of rum in their Dr Funk which would result in a recipe looking close to this:

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Tonga mix
1 ounce gin
1 teaspoon herbsaint/pernod
+other possible ingredients

It seems to me that the first three ingredients of the Dr Wong are most certainly included in the Ray's Mistake.

I have no idea how their Dr Funk is in relation to the Anting Anting, obviously there is rum included, and some kind of syrup is involved in order to have been mistaken by Ray. What I do know is that the Ray's Mistake has vanilla flavoring in it. This lead me to Donn's Spices #2, which is a mix of vanilla syrup and pimento liqueur. The pimento liqueur fits into the "botanical liqueurs" description on the drink menu. It seems to me that using a half ounce Donn's Spices #2 would result in a sweeter drink than if the syrup was just regular simple syrup or honey mix, which could explain the Mistake being sweeter than the Anting Anting. Since I have never tasted a drink with pimento dram, I have no idea if in fact it's easily detectable or not so I could be way off on this, but I urge the people who have tasted or can taste Ray's Mistake to try making the following at home, or at least use as a starting point.

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Tonga mix (4 parts Grenadine to 1 part passion fruit juice according to Sippin' Safari, might be more concentrated at Tiki-Ti)
1 ounce gin (possibly light rum)
1/2 ounce Donn's Spices #2 (or possibly another vanilla syrup variant)
splash of soda
Coruba float

Please let me know how it compares.

Might be a good drinnk, but it will not be a Ray's Mistake. There is no pimento (allspice) in a Ray's Mistake.

There is also something yellow in there that Hiltiki missed. I think that the red stuff is probably the passion fruit, and Tonga Mix might be right although there is not nearly that much grenadine in a Mistake, if any at all (which I doubt).

But I think you are on the right track. The ingredients that Ray used at Tiki Ti no doubt had the same origins as the ones Don used at the Beachcomber.

[ Edited by: PiPhiRho 2009-02-04 23:16 ]

I think I would feel a bit let down should someone actually crack the secret recipe. It has so much more mystique by not knowing exactly what's in it. This whole thing reminds me of the Da Vinci Code / Indiana Jones Last Crusade. Just sayin'.

I hear ya jingleheimer, but since I probably won't have a chance to taste the real thing, it would be nice if I could make it at home. I just want to taste it you know? At least I've eliminated allspice now.

On 2009-02-05 21:48, Shirow66 wrote:
I hear ya jingleheimer, but since I probably won't have a chance to taste the real thing, it would be nice if I could make it at home. I just want to taste it you know? At least I've eliminated allspice now.

Well, maybe one of us can smuggle a mug full into a vacuum-sealed container and ship it overnight :)
Or we can submit a sample to a lab that does mass spectrometry fingerprinting.

Anyone else think they've come close? "Close enough" would do for me.

Or...what recipes out there do folks find are similar to Ray's Mistake?

Not quiet like the original but a little close. We actually brought a small amount home one night and tried to get as close as we could.
My version I call it

Hiltiki's Mistiki!!! thanks Boris :)

1 oz OJ
1 oz Lemon juice
1/4 oz vanilla liquor or Liquor 43, I use vanilla liquor
1/2 oz orgeat
1/2 oz vanilla syrup, I used Monin
1/2 oz passion fruit syrup
1/8 oz vanilla extract (optional)
1 oz white rum, I used Bacardi
1 oz dark rum, I used Dark Myers
splash of soda
Coruba

We made a few variation of this and this one was the closest.
The original has a strong vanilla flavor and it is a fairly sweet drink.

[ Edited by: hiltiki 2010-07-20 20:03 ]

[ Edited by: hiltiki 2010-07-20 20:51 ]

[ Edited by: hiltiki 2010-07-22 19:29 ]

I prefer the name Hiltiki's Mistiki !! :)

For what it's worth: Obviously, the folks in Colorado believe this question answered.

RAY'S MISTAKE (from LA)

1oz lime juice, 1oz passion fruit juice
1oz sweet 'n sour
1 oz rum, 1 oz gin,
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz coconut milk, 1 oz guava juice.
Shake vigorously, garnish with pineapple.

As found on the following link: RAY'S MISTAKE (from LA)

http://plazaliquorstore.com/id17.html

Maybe the people from Colorado who have never been to Tiki Ti and never had a Ray's Mistake believe that the question is answered, but those of us from LA that have had many Ray's Mistakes know that recipe is NOT the Ray's Mistake from Tiki Ti.

• The Ray's Mistake at Tiki Ti does NOT contain any coconut
• The Ray's Mistake at Tiki To does NOT contain guava
• and despite the rumor, the Ray's Mistake contains rum and does NOT CONTAIN GIN!

On 2010-07-21 22:39, PiPhiRho wrote:
Maybe the people from Colorado who have never been to Tiki Ti and never had a Ray's Mistake believe that the question is answered, but those of us from LA that have had many Ray's Mistakes know that recipe is NOT the Ray's Mistake from Tiki Ti.

• The Ray's Mistake at Tiki Ti does NOT contain any coconut
• The Ray's Mistake at Tiki To does NOT contain guava
• and despite the rumor, the Ray's Mistake contains rum and does NOT CONTAIN GIN!

Do rum and gin even go together???