Ray's Mistake

On 2010-07-22 10:24, jingleheimerschmidt wrote:
Do rum and gin even go together???

Yep, Fog Cutter!!

Hiltiki, that sounds delicious and I can't wait to try it!

I've only been to the Ti once, but that flavor does stick with you. I've pondered that a cross between a Spindrift and Puka Punch would get close (or at least be pretty dang tasty!)

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!

You're probably right - but think about this, what string of coincidences occurred to have the Ray's Mistake become a drink of renown in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. On top of that, someone put together a recipe so that this drink could be replicated by others. Notice from the title that the drink is called Ray's Mistake from LA.

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!

I agree that the Colorado recipe is way off, but I drink Ray's Mistakes on Wednesdays at the discounted rate. In fact, last week I watched them make 10 of them for me. And yes, it is Barton's Gin all day, with a Coruba Rum float. But I've also seen them use Vodka and/or well rum as the base. Could be that at the five dollar price point, I think they pour off surplus or grab whatever's there.

I'd really like it if people who have had the drink could describe the taste more. Can you taste passionfruit or does it just taste vanilla? How strong is the drink if you discount the float? I'm guessing they use 2oz alcohol in the drink. I'm pretty convinced the drink is derived from the Singapore Sling, so the ingredients list is probably rather short and simple:

2oz gin
1oz lime juice
1oz passion fruit syrup
.5oz pineapple juice
.5oz Liqor 43
drops of vanilla extract
club soda
float Coruba

I would start using the above as a base when trying to find the correct taste. Hopefully you guys with access to Tiki-Ti can crack it for us.

Went to LA on vacation a couple of weeks ago, and of course I hit up the Tiki Ti! First drink I had was the Ray's Mistake, all because of this forum :)

I don't have what you would call a refined palate unfortunately (my allergies ruin my sense of smell/taste), so unfortunately I'm not very good at pinpointing flavors. I will however say that this could very well be a gin drink instead of rum...it didn't have that rum kick as other tiki drinks do.

Now I know what you're saying..."but it's on the rum list part of his menu!" Maybe that's just part of their evil plan to throw us off the trail? Can I take my tinfoil hat off now? :D

I thought the drink was superb, but what really caught my attention was the Space Pilot. They told me what was in it, but unfortunately by that time my brain was so full of rum I forgot what he said LOL. I do remember 151 and Passionfruit, but that's it. Anyone know the recipe for it? :D

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081202344.html

Okay, so what do these guys in the Washington Post know that we don't.

[ Edited by: telescopes 2010-08-22 21:44 ]

From a different tiki bar-- Los Angeles's Tiki-Ti -- comes the wonderfully Polynesian Ray's Mistake. Passion fruit, guava and pineapple juices, coconut milk and dark rum are suitably tropical. The "mistake" -- a shot of gin -- adds depth to the taste.

The above printed incase the link fails to work.

So does this mean that this "Majestic" serves the same top secret "Ray's Mistake" as Tiki-Ti? Someone's got some s'plainin' to do.

I don't know. The owner makes a big deal about authenticity, especially regarding Don the Beachcomber, but the Zombie he's serving looks to be the Patrick Gavin Duffy version.

On 2010-08-23 08:36, arriano wrote:
I don't know. The owner makes a big deal about authenticity, especially regarding Don the Beachcomber, but the Zombie he's serving looks to be the Patrick Gavin Duffy version.

Excellent point, Arriano! Beachbum Berry somewhat makes the point - and Trader Vic absolutely emphatically states, that when you keep a recipe a secret, others are free to interpret it and decide what the "official" recipe is. So far, it looks like the "LA's Ray's Mistake" recipe published by the Pagosaa Springs, Colorado booze store is the same one being used by this restaurant on the East Coast.

It also means that the Ray's Mistake is taking on a life of its own. I wouldn't be surprised to see it start appearing at Bars across the USA. And as the Trader warned, the reinterpretations will be sweet syrupy drinks that make everyone gag. When the Washington Post publishes the ingredients for Ray's Mistake, the drink is about to "Jump the Shark".

On 2008-01-30 12:13, Bargoyle wrote:
Vanilla + sweet + botanicals might be Ti-Toki liquor. Was 43 commercially available when Ray made the mistake?

According to the Licor 43 website, it was the top seller in Spain in 1950, so it's got a long history.

Jeff Berry's review of The Majestic’s "Ray's Mistake"

"..we must report that Ray’s secret is still safe. The Majestic’s version — an acidic construct of rum, gin, coconut milk, guava, passion fruit, pineapple, and house sour mix — is a mistake, but not Ray’s."

The secret ingredient is...Cough syrup! Nothing but plain, ordinary, over-the-counter children's cough syrup!

On 2010-12-08 15:08, arriano wrote:
The secret ingredient is...Cough syrup! Nothing but plain, ordinary, over-the-counter children's cough syrup!

Purple Drank!!! o_O

I HOPE no tiki drink ever contains "sizzurup" (or Lil' Wayne is gonna become an outspoken proponent of tiki bars!)

I love mysteries, and though I've never been to Tiki-Ti, I'll bring the various experiments to my local tender and see what he makes of 'em.

I've never been to Tiki-Ti (or L.A. for that matter) but this drink topic is fascinating. Googling around, looks like the bar itself describes the drink as being created when Ray grabbed "the wrong two syrups" while making an Anting Anting. If this is true, then it seems the base spirits and juices are the same in the two drinks. Everyone describes a vanilla flavor, and the pictures of the two drinks on the web show the Mistake is much redder, so it seems logical that the "mistake" = vanilla syrup and passion fruit syrup. Solve the Anting Anting and you'll have the rest.

meantime, I tried out the two recipes above: the "Colorado" mistake, and the "Hiltiki" mistake. These both made nice drinks, with similarities and differences to each other, but nothing that struck me as a memorable showcase drink for a bar to hang its hat on as the Ray's Mistake has apparently become. Hiltiki's recipe tasted like a balanced Spindrift (or a vanilla Fogcutter). The Colorado drink tasted like a more tart, less coconutty Leilani Volcano. Liked them both. (Coconut milk has a very light flavor, i could see where one might interpret that from a lightly vanilla drink)

Has anyone tried the recipe below sans the coconut and guava? Forgoing the proportions, could these ingredients form the basis of the Mistake?

• 1 oz Fresh lime juice,
• 1 oz Passion fruit juice
• 1 oz Sweet 'n Sour Mix
• 1 oz Light Rum
• 1 oz Gin,
• 1 oz Pineapple juice

With a float of Coruba

Yes. I think without the light rum

By the way, a friend of mine was at the Tiki Ti and asked what made the foam. Mike told him it was the club soda.

I promise to crack this drink when i make it to L.A.

A clue from our city's top food/drink critic Jonathan Gold.

"a wholly proprietary blend of fruit juices, strong liquors and something with a lingering taste of almond"

OK - on Saturday I have one Mistake and one Anting. I use the Shirow666 recipe and add a small amount of vanilla and two drops of almond extract.

I fail miserably in making a Ray's Mistake, but I do make something that tastes a little like an Anting Anting.

http://www.laweekly.com/2011-03-03/eat-drink/l-a-s-best-cocktails/4/

[ Edited by: Redcoltken 2011-03-07 20:57 ]

The Washington Post article described the Zombie with the wrong ingredients and served in a large bowl... They obviously didn't have a clue.

I kinda hate to bring this topic back up but I was messing around in the home bar last night and I used a drink that called a healthy dose of Creme de Noyaux (Hiram Walker Brand).

The drink when completed reminded me distinctly of a Ray's Mistake with that sweet almondish flavor. Which is noticeably different from anything you would get with orgeat.

The Creme de Noyaux could also account for the reddish hue we get form the drink.

Once again sorry to dig up the dead horse, but I was just shaken by the flavor memory as soon as I took a sip of the drink last night.

So now I figure rum, passion fruit, creme de noyaux and maybe some other modifiers.

-Rawim

So could Ray's mistake have been a 'Singapore Sling' with Creme de Noyaux (Cream of Almond) used in place of another ingredient? Hence the mistake...

So, perhaps...

2oz Barton's gin
1oz lime juice
1oz passion fruit syrup
.5oz pineapple juice
.5oz Liqor 43 - (Substitute Creme de Noyaux here)
drops of vanilla extract
club soda
float Coruba

Hmmm... It seems possible after reading all the posts above and the flavors that are described in the drink.

And it fits within Tiki-Ti's website's description of the Ray's Mistake which states that it is made with Super Secret Flavor (Vanilla Extract and Creme de Noyaux), Botanic Liqueurs (Gin), Passion Fruit and Floated with Dark Corub Rum.

This might be close???

[ Edited by: ickytiki 2012-01-10 23:07 ]

I really don't think it is made with gin at this time, but I will give this recipe a try tonight using silver rum.

Hey Rawim,

I think you're right about the drink not being 2oz. of Gin. I think that the difference between a 'Singapore Sling' and an 'Anting Anting' might be that an 'Anting Anting' has 1oz. White Rum and 1oz. Gin... It makes sense for the name change and it fulfills the drink being listed in a Rum category.

Also, the 'Ray's Mistake' is still described as "botanical"... So Gin is in there for sure. I believe this is the difference.

I think the above recipe is the key to the puzzle... Just a couple of tweeks. Substitute one of the two ounces of Gin with White Rum and substitute the Creme de Noyaux for the Licor 43.

Please keep us informed!!!

RAY'S MISTAKE (from LA)

1oz Lime Juice,
1oz Passion Fruit Juice
1 oz Rum,
1 oz Gin,
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Sweet ‘n’ Sour
1 oz Coconut Milk,
1 oz Guava Juice.
Shake vigorously, garnish with pineapple.

RAY’S MISTAKE (from Tiki Central)

1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1 oz White Rum
1 oz Barton’s Gin
½ oz Pineapple Juice
½ oz Crème de Noyaux
2 Drops Vanilla Extract
1 oz Club Soda
Coruba Rum Float

Hmmm... Both recipes kinda similiar too!!!

Rawim and IcyTiki
I think you're onto something with the Creme De Noyaux. When I watch them make the drink at tiki-ti I never see a creme de noyaux bottle come out, but then there is this whitish looking syrup/liquid which I originally presumed was simple syrup or orgeat, but perhaps this is actually white creme de Noyaux. I think this makes sense because I always thought that 2 syrups seemed excessive. A syrup and a liquer however is more in tune with a proper balance. I think the drink gets the red hue from the passion syrup because the red creme de Noyaux makes a drink that looks aggressively red like hawaiian punch.

Gin is a definite, and the cheaper the better if we're going for accuracy. A good gin may be a bit to bold in the mix. Coruba is mandatory for the float. I'm on the fence about the pineapple but I think a half ounce is the right measurement if it is indeed in the mix. The only thing I think is not in there would be vanilla extract because I don't see the Buhens dash anything out of a special bottle.

Rays mistake was my very first drink when I went to the Tiki Ti for the first time. It was awesome!!!!! But my favorit is the 151 rum swizzle. I think about the Ti and that drink. :D

Yeah, I think the Creme De Noyaux is in the mix.

I typically don't use Creme De Noyaux but I had an occasion to and I bought a bottle.

I made the drink (I think it was a creation for one of the tiki claientes) and as soon as I tasted the drink immediately I tasted something that reminded me of the Ray's Mistake.

I have often read or heard that the Ray's Mistake contains a hint of almond. And I think we just all assumed it was orgeat, completely forgetting Creme De Noyaux. Which I think was much more popular back in the day when the ray's mistake was created than today, where we obsess over hand crafted orgeats.

So conclusion: Creme De Noyaux in one of the syrups that goes into the mistake. I know we have confirmed passion fruit is a flavor. But the question is how is that flavor introduced. Is it with a passion fruit syrup or some passion fruit juice/concentrate.

And finally, we know coruba is floated, but the primary spirit is poured out of a clear bottle. I am not quite sold on gin being in the drink, and I believe others have asked and confirmed it is not, but you do read about "Botanicals" in the description. So I suppose the clear spirit poured for the drink rather then being the "well" white rum could be a mix of rum and gin. I am not sure. Maybe if I can bribe the wife I can do research Saturday.

are any amber or yellow liqueurs used in the Mistake?

On 2012-01-27 12:01, Rawim wrote:

And finally, we know coruba is floated, but the primary spirit is poured out of a clear bottle. I am not quite sold on gin being in the drink, and I believe others have asked and confirmed it is not, but you do read about "Botanicals" in the description. So I suppose the clear spirit poured for the drink rather then being the "well" white rum could be a mix of rum and gin. I am not sure. Maybe if I can bribe the wife I can do research Saturday.

Rawim- Gin is definitely in the drink. In the past I have posted definitively that it is. There is no mystery here and I encourage research. I usually go to Tiki Ti wednesdays when they're running the 6 dollar rays mistake special and they pour really cheap (bartons or Taaka or Krista) Gin by the caseload into those Mistakes. What is interesting is that in this particular cocktail it lends a very nice note to the drink and encourages the other flavors rather than cutting through them. But I've been tracking/lurking this thread for a long time and I feel like the Noyaux discovery is as close as anybody has come to a long time to cracking the recipe so congrats on that.

Astronaut,

I defer to you good sir on the Gin question and will now include some Gin in all future endeavors. Thank you for the thoughtful and kind correction.

I figure I probably miss the gin use since I am normally just so happy to be in the Ti, and it is almost always the first drink I have.

And then do we assume that the white rum is the base spirit and a only some gin is added?

And that the listing of the drink under rum is just a diversion?

Much experimenting must be done tonight in preparation for a hopeful trip tomorrow to the Ti.

Okie dokie.

One thing I did notice during my last trip to the Ti was that the booze is seemingly dispensed out of much used bottles. Which leads me to think that the drink calls for a proprietary mix of white rum and gin. Where I think the gin is light, but enough to give that botanical edge.

I got to this tonight:

1 oz white rum (I was using Don Q)
1/2 oz gin (something not too overpowering, I used new Amsterdam)
1 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (I was using trader Tiki, all I had on hand) .
3/4 oz rich simple syrup
3/4 lime juice
1/4 oz creme de noyeux (Hiram walker)
3 drops vanilla extract (Mccormick brand)

Shake or mix

Add one ounce club soda to thin and add some bubbles then pour into tall glass

Top with 1/2 oz coruba

It isn't a mistake but I think I am in the same country. It is far darker due to the creme and it is probably too sweet, but I think it is progress. Give it a try folks let me know what you think. I am going to keep tweaking then when I go back to the Ti on the 25th for my birthday I will take more notes.

Have a good night all.

I had an epiphany today… I was thinking about the “Ray’s Mistake” today at work and remembered PiPhiRho’s post:

I have watched Mike 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 unmarked 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

It seems to me to be the best account of how the drink is made. And my thought that Creme de Noyaux might account for the almond flavor might be wrong. Then it hit me… Couldn’t Tiki Ti’s orgeat simply have almond extract in it? Why not, right?

So this would eliminate the Crème de Noyaux all together and bring back the right color to the drink as well!

-Red Stuff:
1 oz Passion Fruit Juice
-Clear Stuff:
1 oz White Rum
1 oz Barton’s Gin
-Yellow Stuff:
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orgeat (with drops of almond extract in the recipe)
1 oz Simple Syrup
-Splash of 1 oz Club Soda
-Float Coruba Rum

Plus this seems even more close to the only known recipe (from LA) that has been posted previously. However, you are replacing 'simple syrup' for the sweet 'n' sour and 'orgeat' for the coconut milk. I would guess that the average Joe wouldn't know about simple syrup and orgeat and would have innocently made those substitutions.

Man, I think this is getting close!

[ Edited by: ickytiki 2012-04-22 18:51 ]

This is great fun. Thanks to everybody for their sleuthing. Some of the recipes I've tried have been pretty darn tatsy. I've only had 2 Ray's Mistakes & really can't begin to decipher the recipe. I honestly hope we never get it right. I don't want to diminish the allure & mystery of the Tiki-Ti. Have you all noticed that Sven has been conspicuosly absent from this thread? He's probably Tiki-Ti's best & most knowledgeable TC customer. I'm sure he knows more than any of us, but is, respectfully, keeping his knowledge to himself, which can't be easy for Sven to do! :)

Yea, I always enjoy when this topic gets brought back up.

Plus I was down at the Ti Saturday and had another Mistake to further my ongoing research.

ickytiki:
In regards to PiPhiRho’s post I was vigilant in watching mistakes being made this last trip, and what i saw:

there is a pour from a well used liquor bottle

I assume this to be the special gin/white rum mixthey used

there is a pour of yellow/cream-ish colored stuff

I am actually thinking this is the passion fruit flavoring, the reason i say this is that I have been wondering where the Ti gets their passion fruit/mix/flavoring/juice from? I notice they use Finest Call products fairly openly. Their bloody mary mix, the grenadine, etc. So I am wondering then if they use the Finest Call Passion Fruit puree as their passion fruit flavoring. I don't think they use it at full strength as the stuff is much thicker and a bit darker then what is in the Ti's bottles but perhaps a 1:1 puree to water ratio. Just my current thoughts

there is a pour of red/browinsh liquid

this is a pretty common ingredient in a lot of tiki ti drinks the bottle gets called for a lot. the contents have laways looked more brown to me than red, but i am also partially color blind so I can't be held accountable. the question is what is in this flavoring? Is this where the almond flavor comes from? Is this maybe almond flavor comes from? also is this possibly where the lime flavor comes from too? is the lime juice mixed with other ingredients to make this mix? the main thing is that I don't think this is the passion fruit mix, as most passion fruit mixes and purees are yellow in color and not red with the exception of fee brothers and i don't think the ti uses fees

i am also pretty sure there is another pour of clear liquid from one of the mix bottles

I am guessing just simple syrup

mix with ice (They have four nice new mixers down there now, very nice and easy to clean.)

pour in glass, healthy float of coruba.

As far as my hypothesis on the creme de noyeax, the only reason i propose that over the orgeat, is that I just thought the drinks almond tasted more my it had the creme in it rather than orgeat. But after thinking through more, I do have to concede they probably do just use orgeat. In fact Finest Call does make an orgeat, I have not tried it yet, but i think something may reside there, perhaps a passion fruit/orgeat/water mix is the yellow/cream color mix?

Otherwise I like where you have gone with your recipe, but I really don't think there is any pineapple juice in the drink. I myself don't taste it, and most drinks with pineapple really foam up (Like the piankiller) and I don't see the Mistake foaming up that way.

The research continues!

Big Kahuna:

I completely agree. It is fun to just guess at what goes into the fabled drink. It certainty must be mysterious as even beachbum berry has not been able to reproduce the drink and that is pretty much what he does for a living now. Although there is rumor that there is one bartender who used to work in new york and now works here in LA that makes a very very close approximation of a Ray's Mistake. I have not been able to contact him yet, but I am trying.
In a way I don't think we will ever get it right, but it is fun to try and gives something to do in our home bars sunday through tuesday when we can't be at the tiki-ti.

Okole Maluna!

fwiw, the commercial passionfruit syrups i've seen are all either red or orangey.

Hmmm...

So maybe:

1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (Finest Call)
1 oz White Rum
1 oz Barton’s Gin
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Orgeat (with drops of almond extract in the recipe)
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Club Soda
And a Float of Coruba Rum

Has a lot of 'classic' tiki ingredients and sounds delicious to me!!!

thePorpoise:

true, most are orange or red. The red ones I have tried are pretty ghastly though. And admittedly from my mildly color blind perspective the Finest call passion fruit puree is pretty orange, so I can only guess it is watered down or mixed with something else. or yes they could be using a red passion fruit based syrup and passion fruit flavor comes from the brownish/reddish liquid.

ickytiki:

we may be close. if i remember the proportions of all the ingredients are pretty close. it think it is just a matter of figuring out the ratios in the mixes.

also have to be careful not to make the drink too sweet. which i think 1 oz of passion fruit syrup, orgeat and simple syrup may do.

hmmmmmm.

Finest Call Passion Fruit Puree is a light orange color. Very similar to OJ, in fact. Also, I find it to be on the tart side, despite the sweeteners in it.

Is there such a thing as white/clear Creme de Noyaux? I've never seen or heard of any. (No, I'm not going to claim that's definitive.) One of the main features of Creme de Noyaux is its bright red color -- so you can make Pink Squirrels, etc.

It seems more likely they're using orgeat of one type or another.

One ounce of orgeat and one ounce of simple syrup sounds like a heavy pour. Although the passion fruit puree and lime juice would offset that.

I think those amounts are likely smaller. But I've never been to the Ti. Is this a really big drink?

if they use Finest Call orgeat, then they definitely wouldn't need to add any simple syrup.

djmont

No it is not a big drink, just served in a tall collins glass and it even includes a splash of club soda to lengthen it out a bit. Also to be taken into consideration is the fact that it is the cheapest drink on the menu for Wednesdays when it is on special, so that means it can't been to expensive to make.

porpoise

my thoughts are that if they are using finest call ingredients they are being cut with water to reduces viscosity, sweetness, and to lengthen the use of the product, which makes sense.

Okay... Okay... I just made the following recipe and it's pretty darn good. But it's not the right color and it's missing something:

1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (Finest Call)
1 oz White Rum
1 oz Barton’s Gin
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Orgeat (with drops of almond extract in the recipe)
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Club Soda
And a Float of Coruba Rum

It turned out a "Tang" orange color. So I adjusted the recipe:

1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (Finest Call)
1 oz White Rum
1 oz Barton's Gin
1/2 oz Creme de Noyaux (Almond) Hiram Walker
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Orgeat (No drops of almond extract)
1 oz Club Soda
And a Float of Coruba Rum

Man, oh man! Yummy!!!

It looks the right color too... Somebody, please try this out and give me some feedback.

~ickytiki

sounds like a good tiki drink, but from further research, I have deduced that the drink is simply
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce passion syrup
1ounce simple syrup
1 generous ounce of gin
splash club soda
shake, pour, top with coruba

The white syrup that we all thought was orgeat or creme de noyaux is just plain simple syrup. Follow the simple syrup bottle with your eyes at the tiki ti and will see it can't be orgeat or Creme De Noyaux because they use it in drinks that call for neither of those things.

I encourage further research but for me at least the case is closed. I've watched too many of them get made at this point.

egads, it's a gin rickey with a rum float!

ha!