Fassionola?

Maybe this stuff?

On 2012-05-03 09:43, Swanky wrote:
Maybe this stuff?

Yep, same seller on eBay that gave us his only comment ever on TC. Here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5331&forum=10&vpost=472517

And three bottles have been purchased since you posted the link Tim!

[ Edited by: WestADad 2012-05-03 10:51 ]

On 2012-05-03 09:43, Swanky wrote:
Maybe this stuff?

I ordered a bottle last week. Arrived today, will be trying it tomorrow.

On 2012-05-03 10:48, WestADad wrote:

And three bottles have been purchased since you posted the link Tim!

One of those bottles landed at The Atomic Grog, where we've incorporated it into our Cobra Kiss tribute:
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/20/mai-kai-cocktail-review-cobra-kiss-is-an-exotic-taste-explosion-guaranteed-to-strike-your-fancy/

Here's an excerpt:

There’s a huge difference between real fassionola and Pat O’Brien’s mix, which we subsequently dumped down the drain. It’s thicker, richer and has a darker color. It also tastes much less artificial, like a real fruit syrup. The flavor is cherry/raspberry with a hint of orange. If you can find a good fruit syrup that has this same flavor, I would try that. Or use Pat O’Brien’s in a pinch. But I would now recommend using the powdered version and making it twice as strong as suggested on the label.

Or keep checking eBay for Jonathan English's fassionola. It appears to be the real deal.

I bought a bottle too. I'll try the Atomic Grog recipe this weekend.

I've used it in a few recipes that call for passion fruit syrup, using half passion fruit syrup and half Jonathan English.

I'm tempted to get a bottle of the gold just to see if it's a different flavor than the red.

Cheers!
Chris

I have purchsed bottles of all three, red, gold and green and while they share a similar profile they are quite distinct.

A bottle of red is now coming my way....

Can someone who's used the fassionola say how the flavor compares to passion fruit syrup? I've been theorizing that fassionola may be to passion fruit syrup as Rose's is to real grenadine.

On 2012-05-18 09:15, arriano wrote:
Can someone who's used the fassionola say how the flavor compares to passion fruit syrup? I've been theorizing that fassionola may be to passion fruit syrup as Rose's is to real grenadine.

Check out Mai Tai's first post on page three of this thread.

On 2009-07-14 14:32, Mai Tai wrote:
...
So, to recap, Fassionola is basically a fruit punch concentrate that doesn't have any passion fruit juice in it.
...

So in a way, yes, Fassionola has no passion fruit in it, just like Rose's has no pomegranate in it. :lol:

Hurricane Hayward, on the Atomic Grog blog says this about Fassionola; "The flavor is cherry/raspberry with a hint of orange."

[ Edited by: Hakalugi 2012-05-18 09:31 ]

I just received a bottle of the English brand - Yikes! It is extremely concentrated and SWEET.
I made all three of the Atomic Grog recipes using Fassionala and couldn't even finish one drink - they were all just too sweet for my taste. I'm going to have to tinker with the recipes and scale down the "sweetness" and see if I can find a nice balance with the suggested rums. Did I mention SWEET?

Yes, you really do have to use the stuff sparingly. It is almost a candy syrup.

Another recipe using Fassionola is posted ... The Mai-Kai's Tahitian Breeze.

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2012/05/19/mai-kai-cocktail-review-tasty-tahitian-breeze-is-packed-with-tropical-flavors-history/

As pointed out, this is sweet stuff. Makes sense that it's mainly used in very sweet drinks.

I've got a theory that perhaps it was also used as a coloring agent to make drinks look pretty, as opposed to being a crucial flavor ingredient. The color is just as concentrated as the flavor.

That could also explain why it was left out of old recipes that have been recently revived. With many drinks now served in Tiki mugs, it's just not that crucial, unless you're a professional bar that needs very attractive looking drinks. The only one so far that I think really benefits from the flavor is the Cobra Kiss.

Another theory is that The Mai-Kai doesn't use Fassionola straight out of the bottle. My guess is it's combined with a few other things into a proprietary mix. There's something in old recipes called "No. 7" that remains a mystery.

You can stop trolling eBay. Thanks to an Atomic Grog reader, we may have a very viable fassionola substitute:

A 50/50 mix of Fee Brothers grenadine and Smucker's Red Raspberry Syrup (left) is very close in color and taste to Jonathan English brand fassionola.

We put it to the test in our Cobra Kiss and Jet Pilot tributes, with excellent results:

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/20/mai-kai-cocktail-review-cobra-kiss-is-an-exotic-taste-explosion-guaranteed-to-strike-your-fancy/#fassionola

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2012/02/07/mai-kai-cocktail-review-jet-pilot-soars-over-its-ancestors-with-flying-colors/#tribute

On 2012-07-03 00:44, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
You can stop trolling eBay. Thanks to an Atomic Grog reader, we may have a very viable fassionola substitute:

A 50/50 mix of Fee Brothers grenadine and Smucker's Red Raspberry Syrup (left) is very close in color and taste to Jonathan English brand fassionola.

We put it to the test in our Cobra Kiss and Jet Pilot tributes, with excellent results:

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/11/20/mai-kai-cocktail-review-cobra-kiss-is-an-exotic-taste-explosion-guaranteed-to-strike-your-fancy/#fassionola

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2012/02/07/mai-kai-cocktail-review-jet-pilot-soars-over-its-ancestors-with-flying-colors/#tribute

You, my friend, have hit the ball out of the park once again :tiki: BRAVO!

I just had a funny thought: Any chance that Hawaiian Punch syrup IS fassionola?

Refrigerate after mixing? Self life? Add a little 151 to extend shelf life?

Shelf life is probalby the same as the Smucker's and Fees, which is quite a while if you keep them in the fridge ... though the interaction of the two long-term is unknown. I would just keep the Smucker's on hand (it could be good in other drinks, and it's cheap) and mix up small batches with the grenadine when needed.

HH

A new fassionola recipe has surfaced, thanks to Colin Powers, who writes the Cocktail Hour column for The Oregonian in Portland. He's also involved with events at Trader Vic's and Tiki Kon, and recently helped bring the Cobra Kiss to a special Vic's menu. Here's his full article:
http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2013/07/time_for_a_tropical_adventure.html

And the fassionola recipe:

Fassionola: This tropical fruit syrup is hard to find but you can approximate it by bring together raspberry, cherry and orange flavors. Mix 1/4 cup Smucker's raspberry syrup (or raspberry puree), 1/4 cup grenadine or cherry syrup and 1/2 teaspoon orange extract. Grenadine traditionally has a pomegranate flavor though many today use a cherry flavoring. For this recipe, I made a homemade grenadine using a cherry-pomegranate juice blend cooked down with an equal part sugar and a splash of orange flower water. If you have dried hibiscus flowers, they're a lovely addition.

On 2012-07-04 10:58, arriano wrote:
I just had a funny thought: Any chance that Hawaiian Punch syrup IS fassionola?

WalMart carries a Rival brand Fruit Juicy Red Hawaiian Punch Snow Cone Syrup. As I remember, it taste very similar to the HP concentrate of the 60s ~ maybe not quite as tangy? It was marked down to a buck which probably means there are not going to carry it anymore.

this is one of my favorite zydeco songs of all time.

"Faaaaa-sha-no-la... Be my little cajun queen...
to stand beside you, sweet Fassionola
I'd even swim the Pontchartrain...!"

An interesting recipe just surfaced from a rum bar in London that not only riffs on the Jet Pilot, but also includes an alternative recipe for fassionola.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10923466/Cocktail-of-the-week-the-Autopilot.html

The fassionola recipe is 1 part orange extract to 10 parts Monin grenadine and 10 parts Monin raspberry syrup. I haven't tasted the Monin syrups, so I can't necessarily recommend this, but it seems like it should be a decent enough replica. Especially if you don't have access to Smucker's Red Raspberry Syrup (I understand it's not available in the U.K.) The article refers to fassionola as a "red-fruit syrup that was hugely popular with bartenders in Florida during the Tiki craze, but is no longer in production." Hmmmm, I can think of one particular bar and bartender this may be referring to.

The drink itself is decent enough as well. The mixologist has obviously been studying Donn Beach. It seems like a large amount of fassionola, but it actually balances pretty well thanks to the rums. If anyone's interested, I worked out the proportions in ounces and tweaked a few ingredients:

Autopilot (Sean Fennelly, Portside Parlour, London)

• 1 ounce silver rum
• 1 ounce Appleton Estate VX
• 1 ounce Lemon Hart 151 (or Gosling's 151)
• 1 3/4 ounce grapefruit juice
• 1 1/4 ounce lime juice
• 3/4 ounce fassionola
• 1/2 ounce demerara syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 2 dashes absinthe (or 1 dash Pernod)

The recipe calls for shaking with lots of ice and straining into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. I just pulse blended in a spindle mixer with lots of crushed ice.

If you're looking for another recipe to use fassionola, this isn't a bad one at all.

The official blog of The Hukilau

Featuring The Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-07-13 01:45 ]

I recommend the Monin syrups, they are made from natural sugar & flavors
no artificial crap or High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
they can be on the sweet side, I use a few of them in my cocktails.

Hayward, thanks for the great info. Can you comment on the Absinthe/Pernod ingredient and why two dashes absinthe but only one dash of Pernod? Do you find Pernod stronger than absinthe? I have both at home, but thought I'd ask for the benefit of others here (and myself) rather than do a side-by-side test. Thanks.

I don't have a drinking problem - I'm just an alcohol enthusiast!

On 2012-07-04 12:49, MadDogMike wrote:
Refrigerate after mixing? Self life? Add a little 151 to extend shelf life?

With regard to shelf life, I never use any 151 as a preservative because it comes with some flavor regardless of brand. I have been using grain neutral spirits (Everclear) for years with great success. When I make Falernum, for example, I add 4 ounces of Everclear as the very last step before I bottle it. Many have told me in the past to just "add an ounce of Everclear" but I have through the years found that for most syrup recipes you need to add much more to achieve enough alcohol content to act as a preservative. Additionally, in my Falernum, this much additional alcohol prevents the "extra" Falernum from solidifying in my freezer and therefore instantly available when I need to pull from long-term storage.

The flavor impact in a cocktail is negligible. I have been making Falernum #8 instead of Falernum #9 because the differences between #8 and #9 are negligible and using fresh almonds in #9 does not make a huge difference to me despite potentially being "more authentic."

Hope this info is helpful to others out there.

To address a question asked above, it's curious that the recipe calls for 2 dashes of absinthe or 1 dash of Pernod.

The "amount of flavor" (so to speak) in absinthe and pastis is approximately the same, while absinthe is generally higher proof.

So this makes no sense to me.

While not necessarily stronger in proof, I've always thought Pernod was stronger in that distinctive licorice flavor that you taste in cocktails than is absinthe (at least the bottle of Absente that I have). I suppose it's possible that there will be some variation in different absinthes, and the Pernod brand of absinthe may have that same strong licorice flavor as its pastis. But in my experience, Pernod is much less forgiving and more likely to overwhelm a drink, so I always recommend being more cautious with it. Herbsaint seems to be somewhere in the middle, less intense than Pernod but not as smooth as absinthe. Of course, this is all very unscientific and perhaps just personal taste.

Perhaps someone more scholarly should do a scientific head-to-head comparison of the three. Professor?

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-07-13 11:23 ]

People seem to forget that taste is incredibly individual, and is largely determined by genes. There are "super taster" test strips you can order online from places like Amazon that you can use with your friends to show how varied it can be. To a super taster, the strips taste unbearably bitter. Normal tasters think it's bitter, but manageable. Non-tasters won't taste anything but paper. Then there's the super smellers, who will get nuances from food and drink that others don't. People who dislike cilantro tend to be super smellers—they get a component from the cilantro that is often described as "soapy."

With so much variation, it's no surprise that there's so much disagreement about what tastes "the best."

Except that a super-taster also prefers blander food (typically) since they get overstimulated too easily. Unlike other enhanced senses, theirs does not offer a practical application in modern society (such as if they were a flavor designer). The theory behind STs is that the trait is a left over evolutionary mechanism that allowed the species to survive during the foraging years. Since toxic plants tended to be bitter, those with stronger aversions to the plants were better suited to survive.

On 2014-07-13 05:25, AceExplorer wrote:

On 2012-07-04 12:49, MadDogMike wrote:
Refrigerate after mixing? Self life? Add a little 151 to extend shelf life?

With regard to shelf life, I never use any 151 as a preservative because it comes with some flavor regardless of brand. I have been using grain neutral spirits (Everclear) for years with great success. When I make Falernum, for example, I add 4 ounces of Everclear as the very last step before I bottle it. Many have told me in the past to just "add an ounce of Everclear"

The goal of proofing a syrup/flavoring/creations is to get it up around approximately 10% alcohol content by volume. That is a high enough proof to kill off most things that would grow in there that would turn your creation bad. It gives your creation several weeks of storage under your bar (if you keep it capped and relatively stable in temperature) or several months of storage potential in the chill-box.

Using 151 makes the math a bit easier because it is 75% alcohol. Everclear is pretty close in proof, generally, so that works too. To do the math you need 10% of your total volume times the amount of alcohol in your proofing choice. If you made 20 ounces of Fassinola and you want it shelf-stable you need at least 2 ounces of alcohol. Divide the volume needed by the ABV (151 proof is 75% alcohol by volume) as a percentage and you get 2.6 ounces, 2 ÷ .75 = 2.6. Round up for easy pouring and you would add 3 ounces of Everclear/151 to your mix.

As with all homebrew and homemade creations, your mileage will vary. I've had batches last for months and I've had batches turn sour in just a couple of days. Cleanliness is next to godliness, wash your hands, sterilize your bottles, hope for the best, and a dozen other helpful cliches and tips.

Chip and Andy - great follow up and advice! I don't see many folks mentioning the need to sterilize bottles before bottling homemade syrups, so that's a great reminder to me and others. I have in the past been baffled by simple syrup sometimes having a very short shelf life in my fridge despite the low temperature. Bottle contamination must have been involved. As a result of that experience I haven't completely bought into the belief that high enough sugar content in a syrup will prevent spoilage.

I've had an unwavering craving for a Special Reserve Daiquiri since trying it for the first time at the Mai Kai a couple weeks ago. I contemplated purchasing the $19 John English Fassionola off ebay but figured I might as well give the homemade version a shot. And since the only grenadine I can seem to find in my area is Rose's or others loaded with HFCS I figure I might as well make my own of that too. So I hit a couple local markets for supplies and realize Smucker's red raspberry syrup is not as common as I figured it would be. I scoured the ice cream topping and preserves/jam sections but no trace of it. Have others run into this problem? I'm wondering if I just need to try some more stores or if this is an uncommon product that will have to be ordered online. If that's the case I'll probably just splurge on the English mix.

Alternatively, is it possible to use the raspberry preserves instead and obtain the proper consistency, assuming the flavor is the same as the syrup?

Mike I have no problem finding the Smucker's raspberry syrup on Publix shelves in FL.

I think trying to use preserves instead of syrup you will run into two problems. First, the flavor won't be as concentrated so you will need to use more of it. Second, with all the pectin in the preserves I think you will have a challenge getting it to dissolve and I think you'll have clumps and chunks that won't want to go into solution. If you do go that route, let us know how it works.

I ran into the same thing and I think I ended up finding it someplace you'd never think to look for it. I'm thinking the coffee flavorings aisle.

S&R: Thanks for the advice, I'll continue my search for the syrup. Don't want to over-complicate things. I sure do miss Publix and wish we had them here in Texas.

THB: I checked the coffee section as well and they only some some Torani-type products, nothing fruity.

Check the breakfast aisle where the pancake syrup is, that's where it it is here. I just checked today to be sure.

Our local Kroger affiliate doesn't have it, nor does the local Wal-Mart. Must not be much demand here.

I did find a non-Smuckers brand at a local grocery that specializes in health/organic food, but it contained seeds and didn't work out well.

I was discussing it with my son and he said "They have it at IHOP, why not just go over there and ask for some?"

He's much wiser than me. Gets that from his Mom.

OK, so I checked the pancake syrup section of a couple places and they both had strawberry and blueberry but no raspberry. Looking at the ingredients on those bottles I noticed there was HFCS and preservatives. So I'm thinking I should try and make my own syrup from fresh raspberries, which will hopefully result in a better product, albeit one with a shorter lifespan. But since I'm making my own grenadine with real pom juice, the shelf life will be limited anyway. Sooooo.... any suggestions on how to go about making homemade raspberry syrup? I'll google it but wondering if anyone here has gone to that extreme and if this is worth all the effort when a $18 bottle of fassionola is an ebay click away...

It's starting to sound like a lot of trouble... :)

But to make the syrup, I think you just combine the fruit with sugar and a little water and cook it. Maybe some citrus to brighten it up, and a thickener, if necessary

Alright, last night I made my first batch of homemade grenadine (left) and raspberry syrup (right), then I combined equal parts to make fassionola.

The process took maybe an hour including cool down time and it was streamlined with assistance from my better half (OK, she pretty much took control of this operation). We followed the raspberry syrup recipe below:

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2013/08/homemade-raspberry-syrup/

It came out real thin (better for cocktails than pancakes) and full of flavor. Since I've never tried fassionola before I can't say whether this blend is as good, better or worse than the bottled kind but it made a for a very interesting ingredient that I look forward to experimenting with in cocktails.

Since I had some leftover grenadine I went ahead and compared my pomegranate, sugar and orange flower water concoction to the Rose's I had on hand. Since I don't know how to properly dissect the intricacies of these flavors, I'll just say that the homemade version seemed to have more "bite" to it and none of the cough medicine flavor that the HFCS laced variety possesses. I also did a side by side blind taste test comparison of the two in identically mixed cocktails. The difference wasn't overwhelmingly apparent although I did choose the one with homemade grenadine as the better drink as I felt it was a bit smoother and didn't have a bitter aftertaste.

So that's my two cents for what it's worth. I'll continue to play around with this stuff for the next couple weeks (assuming that's roughly my shelf life), but I'll probably still buy the English stuff to compare it and see if homemade is worth the effort.

mike hooker from hialeah, maybe the ice cream toppings section of your grocery store has raspberry syrup.

also Target probably has it on their coffee aisle.

Yeah I checked the ice cream topping section of a couple stores and no luck. I did find some Torani raspberry syrup at the World Market after I already made my own. Like Smuckers it has HFCS. I figure if I continue to make my own fassionola I might as well do it all natural. Otherwise I'll just use the bottled stuff. At any rate, I just made a Cobra's Fang subbing Coruba for Myers and tangerine for OJ. Tasty.

Wow, Mike that's great dedication. But I'm afraid you'll find out that it will be difficult to make something at home (unless you have a chemistry lab) that's as highly concentrated as the Jonathan English fassionola. Not to say that what you're making isn't great and won't work fine in many cocktails. It just won't impart the same flavor and color into those Mai-Kai cocktails that call for it. I'm certain that it was included in several drinks mainly to enhance the color. Brown drinks just aren't as sexy.

By the same token, the flavor combination of rich grenadine and Smucker's red raspberry syrup might be something that can be duplicated, but those products probably contain enhaners and flavor boosters that also add extra punch.

So while your experiments are noble, I'm afraid you're going to fall a little short, at least if you're trying to duplicate cocktails that rely on the syrup's intensity in small doses. You're pretty much trying to replicate a substitute for the real thing, so it may be too far from the original flavor.

I would be very intrested to see how the Jonathan English brand compares, if you do pick up that bottle on eBay. I'd say it's worth the $19.

Okole maluna!

The official blog of The Hukilau

Featuring The Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-10-15 22:34 ]

BTW, you suggest the red, how did you decide the red was best vs the gold and green?

Swanky, I don't really know much about the gold and green. I'm guessing it's the same flavor, but definitely not the color we're looking for. It seems like fassionola's boom in popularity can be traced back to the distinctively red Hurricane. Has anyone heard of gold or green fassionola being used in cocktails? Perhaps there are other uses for it, like sno-cones.

The Mai-Kai Hurricane ...

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2014/07/15/tales-of-the-cocktails-signature-drink-packs-a-wallop-but-can-it-tame-a-hurricane-inspired-by-the-mai-kai/

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-10-18 00:00 ]

I use the gold. I feel like somebody over there told me the gold was actually the one used in the tiki bars of old. But I don't remember now. I concur it's definitely worth the price. I've had that bottle forever.

It's still a rich red color btw

I'm a bit confused as to which version of Fassionola (red-gold-green) is the proper one to use in Tiki drinks. Most of this thread refers to the red version but the Jonathan English website suggests the gold (passion fruit?) is what was used back in the 40's.

Here is the Jonathan English description of each of the products:

Fassionola Red Syrup (Tropical Gold Fruit):
Fassionola Bar Mix for tropical drinks comes in three colors: Red, gold and Green. Each has its own special tropical flavor, it is not just a color difference. Tropical Red is somewhat similar to hurricane mix with its complex mixture of tropical fruits and candy-like sweetener. Available in 12/32oz PET Bar Bottles.

Fassionola Gold Syrup (Tropical Gold Fruit):
A complex mixture of tropical fruit and unusual candy-like sweetener. It is a lesser known mix found in tiki type tropical drinks first popularized in the Pacific Islands nearly 100 years ago. The product had its hey day in the 1940's but still has its afficianados today from Chinese restaurants, tiki bars and individual enthusiasts. We kept this product alive, made the same way since 1914. Thanks to you bartenders at the Tiki bars for helping keep this excellent product alive.

Fassionola Green Syrup (Tropical Gold Fruit):
Here is a unique product, originally formulated under the Fassionola label in 1914. A Tiki bar favorite; also used in Chinese Restaurant bars to make conconctions such as the "Volcano" drink. A unique mix which has a candy-based sweetener, and natural, fresh green guava fruit flavor. Packed shelf stable for long bar shelf life in 12/32oz PET bar bottles.

The flavors sound very different and recipes do not differentiate.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for pointing that. Now I'm very curious to know if Gold is the way to go. I ordered the red a few days ago assuming that was what everyone was using and didn't bother reading the descriptions of the others....