The Summer of Tiki

That's the headline on the July/August issue of Imbibe Magazine that showed up in my mailbox today. Includes a good story on the original ingredients for a Singapore Sling, recipes for new tiki drinks including a Bitter Mai Tai, an article on different brands of coconut water, a recipe for making falernum, among lots of other good reads.

"I am Lono!" -- Hale Ka'a Tiki Lounge

[ Edited by: arriano 2011-06-25 13:46 ]

Got mine in the mail also, my favorite magazine. Very excited to give some of these drinks a try. Previously featured recipes have never disappointed.

On 2011-06-25 13:42, arriano wrote:
....including a Bitter Mai Tai.....

Is that the one with Campari?

On 2011-06-27 11:30, jingleheimerschmidt wrote:

On 2011-06-25 13:42, arriano wrote:
....including a Bitter Mai Tai.....

Is that the one with Campari?

Yeah. Never tried it, have you?

Yeah. Never tried it, have you?

Nope. Sounds hideous....but who knows? I have a lot of respect for Imbide but I get twitchy when people make new drinks and use old names (appletini).

FWIW, Gran Classico Bitter blows the doors off of Campari.

Last night, I tried 3 of the drinks listed in this issue. The bitter Mai Tai was way, way too bitter. They called for 1 1/2 oz of Campari, which is more than you put in a Negroni for pete's sake! Also hardly tasted like a Mai Tai in any way, shape or form.

Next was the Wicked Wahini. Not a bad drink, but more of what I call a "girl's drink". Sweet in a way that women like drinks but that most guys don't. I will have to try it again when I get around to making some homemade grenadine.

The last was the London Burning. Now THIS is a damn fine drink! All the ingredients really play well together. I can heartily recommend it.

I'll see if I can get around to the rest of them over the weekend.

I love Imbibe, but based on this issue and others in the past, I just don't think that they "get" Tiki Cocktails. They fundamentally don't understand how the rums work together, and the interplay between the rums and the spices, liqueurs and syrups. That Bitter Mai Tai is an abomination.

On 2011-07-01 14:28, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
I love Imbibe, but based on this issue and others in the past, I just don't think that they "get" Tiki Cocktails. They fundamentally don't understand how the rums work together, and the interplay between the rums and the spices, liqueurs and syrups. That Bitter Mai Tai is an abomination.

I think I'll have to agree with you here. A couple of things in this issue jumped out at me. First, in the editor's column she writes how since she first tasted a pina colada she's been hooked on tiki drinks. I think most people wouldn't think of a pina colada as a tiki drink, but that aside.... In the article about falernum, one of the first sentences states "you can't make a mai tai or a zombie" without falernum. Since when does a mai tai include falernum? I assume the writer confused it with orgeat.

On 2011-07-01 14:36, arriano wrote:

On 2011-07-01 14:28, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
I love Imbibe, but based on this issue and others in the past, I just don't think that they "get" Tiki Cocktails. They fundamentally don't understand how the rums work together, and the interplay between the rums and the spices, liqueurs and syrups. That Bitter Mai Tai is an abomination.

I think I'll have to agree with you here. A couple of things in this issue jumped out at me. First, in the editor's column she writes how since she first tasted a pina colada she's been hooked on tiki drinks. I think most people wouldn't think of a pina colada as a tiki drink, but that aside.... In the article about falernum, one of the first sentences states "you can't make a mai tai or a zombie" without falernum. Since when does a mai tai include falernum? I assume the writer confused it with orgeat.

Hey, I enjoy a good, well made Pina Colada once in a while. However, to me, a Pina Colada is to Tiki as Jimmy Buffett is to Tiki. Which is to say, it ain't Tiki!

Will this issue still be available in August in California?

Has anyone tried Martin Cate's recipe?

Center of the Galaxy
Smuggler’s Cove owner Martin Cate drew inspiration for this drink from a news report suggesting that a chemical compound at the center of the galaxy smells like rum and tastes like raspberries.

2 oz. Demerara rum
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. rich simple syrup (2:1 Demerara sugar to water)
1/2 oz. honey syrup (equal parts honey and water)
1/4 oz. raspberry liqueur
1 small pinch cinnamon
Ice cubes
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: raspberry and lime wheel

Combine ingredients in a shaker and fill with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled glass. Spear a raspberry in the center of a lime wheel and float in the center of the glass as a garnish.

Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco