My Fruity Drink Experimentations

Although I love me some orange bitters, I wouldn't count them as a suitable substitute for Curaçao. That's not to say they might not work but typically the bitters are a bit more astringent (like orange zest) whereas a Curaçao or triple sec would add orangey flavour but not the bitter zesty flavour.

Someone will probably correct me if I'm wrong, Curaçao is triple sec from a particular type of orange or area; so you can sub regular triple sec for Curaçao - in the past I have used:

Cointreau
Bols Triple Sec
Santa Teresa Rhum Orange

I've tried Pyrat XO & that would also be suitable sub.

Cheers :)

xxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:32 ]

xxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:32 ]

xxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:32 ]

Maybe you know this one already, but a good starting ratio "rule of thumb" is...

One of sour
Two of sweet
Three of strong
Four of weak

(the weak generally being ice/water)

xxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:34 ]

On 2015-10-12 19:15, bkrownd wrote:
Thanks, I like the simplicity and straightforwardness of that.

Which, exactly, is the Pimm's?

I'd start by letting it be part of the "strong" portion. YMMV

xxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:34 ]

xxxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:32 ]

To me, the term "fruity" drink, it's a bit derogatory. To me, a fruity drink refers to the lame sweet syrupy messes created by ignorant bartenders/restaurants that are passed off as Tiki drinks, they're not legitimate, and if that's all there is, it's a good reason to stick to beer, even cheap beer. Referring to Tiki drinks as fruity drinks just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My favorite Tiki cocktails are a balance of sweet and sour and a bit boozy and I would never consider them a fruity drink. Of course, that's just me.

Have you picked up any of the Beachbum Berry books?

I concur, Karl!

xxx

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:34 ]

On 2015-10-19 03:11, bkrownd wrote:
I don't have any of the books. I'm really just interested in doing a tiny handful of simple drinks right.

The suggestion to get the Bum's books is a good one you should consider heeding - immediately. If you're looking for good AND simple drinks, the Bum's books are full of them along with plenty of material which is more advanced as you grow your mixology knowledge and experience. And they are very reasonably priced. I highly recommend following the suggestions of those here who have also walked the path which is ahead you.

Mixology is an art and a science. Its a science in that rules apply and an art in that the more you do it the better you get. --Ace Explorer

After finishing today's noon Mai Tai I extended the lime peels in the bottom of the glass with 2 large large ice cubes, 1/2 oz Caffo Solara, 1/2 oz Appleton VX rum and 3 drops Angostura bitters. What a great way to fix the disappointment of an empty glass. :wink: Meanwhile I took some cruisers out in "World of Warships" and blew some of the new German and Russian cruisers up. Rum and cannons...hey, what can go wrong? :wink:

There is only ONE Mai Tai, and it does not contain Angostura Bitters nor lime peel, so please stop calling your drink that.

On 2015-10-19 03:11, bkrownd wrote:

I don't have any of the books. I'm really just interested in doing a tiny handful of simple drinks right.

So instead of aspiring upwards, you choose to aspire sideways with minimal effort? :lol:

On 2015-10-19 22:41, swizzle wrote:
There is only ONE Mai Tai, and it does not contain Angostura Bitters nor lime peel, so please stop calling your drink that.

No.

On 2015-10-19 03:11, bkrownd wrote:

I'm really just interested in doing a tiny handful of simple drinks right.

I find this hard to believe since you seem determined to ignore the constructive feedback of several here who have tried to steer you toward an accurate mai tai.

Bkrowned, I think you have come a long ways since you first posted here and eventually you will find a recipe that you will like. I am not sure if anyone has posted the actual Mai tai recipe for you.

Trader Vic Mai Tai,

1 Ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce orange Curaccao
1/4 ounce orgeat syrup
1/4 ounce sugar syrup
1 ounce dark jamaican rum
1 ounce amber Martinique rum

Keep on trying

An "accurate mai tai" is one that you enjoy. I don't understand why people insist on being so hostile about a subject that is supposed to be FUN and CREATIVE. I drop a bit of lime peel in my drink and people start lecturing me? Why be so offended by an inch or two of peel that isn't in your drink? The important thing is that I found it to be an improvement, and as the consumer I reserve the right to enjoy it.

No one is telling you what to enjoy. It's great you're sharing your cocktail experiments, just don't call it a Mai Tai if it ain't one. Because if you can call just anything a Mai Tai, then you can call just anything Tiki. And don't even get people here started on that.

If you're bothered by people trying to preserve the proper history of these drinks, you may be on the wrong board.

On 2015-10-20 10:49, bkrownd wrote:

An "accurate mai tai" is one that you enjoy. I don't understand why people insist on being so hostile about a subject that is supposed to be FUN and CREATIVE. I drop a bit of lime peel in my drink and people start lecturing me? Why be so offended by an inch or two of peel that isn't in your drink? The important thing is that I found it to be an improvement, and as the consumer I reserve the right to enjoy it.

Another example of "ignorance is bliss".

Also a passion for accuracy & the truth is not the same as hostility, as no one is telling you what you can & can't do
I would say it is more frustration towards someone who just doesn't want to listen or learn, despite the fact that it was "you"
who solicited us for advice.

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2015-10-20 12:19 ]

On 2015-10-20 10:49, bkrownd wrote:

An "accurate mai tai" is one that you enjoy. I don't understand why people insist on being so hostile about a subject that is supposed to be FUN and CREATIVE. I drop a bit of lime peel in my drink and people start lecturing me? Why be so offended by an inch or two of peel that isn't in your drink? The important thing is that I found it to be an improvement, and as the consumer I reserve the right to enjoy it.

i just made a rum & coke with tequila and ginger ale, i love my rum & cokes and am telling all my friends about my recipe for rum & coke. Nuthing wrong with that, right?

On 2015-10-20 12:44, HarryAnise wrote:
i just made a rum & coke with tequila and ginger ale, i love my rum & cokes and am telling all my friends about my recipe for rum & coke. Nuthing wrong with that, right?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

On 2015-10-20 12:18, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

I would say it is more frustration towards someone who just doesn't want to listen or learn, despite the fact that it was "you"
who solicited us for advice.

I did not solicit anyone for advice. I shared an experience, with the idea that someone might produce a constructive positive comment. Instead what I got was criticism for something that wasn't even the subject of that post. So, now I'm at the conclusion that there's no point in sharing.

I'm still at a loss for how a little bit of lime peel is so controversial, and the recent replies have continued to become even more insulting by blowing that out of proportion.

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-20 14:54 ]

I was remembering something that I just checked on, and found my memory to be correct. So I'm being told to purchase Beachbum Berry's book, presumably to make drinks "properly". Now I just looked at Beachbum Berry's eponymous web site, under "How to make a Mai Tai". I won't claim the book and web site agree, but it IS the Beachbum Berry web site. The last sentence of the Mai Tai recipe begins "Sink your spent lime shell in the drink..."

mic drop

Lime SHELL. Not peel. Muppet.

eponymous?

Dear Santa, I would like one of those word a day calendars
Thank you.

I used to just blend up a bunch of fruit and booze to make drinks.
Then I would do that whole need every booze, book, juice, bitters thing.
Now I just make easy Rum and coke maybe some lime, ect.

I try not to excogitate when making drinks these days as I need the booze fast.
Sorry excogitate is a bit sesquipedalian of me.

On 2015-10-20 14:53, bkrownd wrote:

On 2015-10-20 12:18, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

I would say it is more frustration towards someone who just doesn't want to listen or learn, despite the fact that it was "you"
who solicited us for advice.

I did not solicit anyone for advice. I shared an experience, with the idea that someone might produce a constructive positive comment. Instead what I got was criticism for something that wasn't even the subject of that post. So, now I'm at the conclusion that there's no point in sharing.

I'm still at a loss for how a little bit of lime peel is so controversial, and the recent replies have continued to become even more insulting by blowing that out of proportion.

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-20 14:54 ]

From your very first post:

On 2015-09-01 23:08, bkrownd wrote:

Having spent far too much money on fruity bar drinks that only occasionally satisfied, I decided to try mixing my own Mai Tai after browsing this forum for a few days. I'm posting my results - feel free to comment and criticize because I don't have a test subject to bounce these off of at home.

Asking for criticism is for all intensive purposes, asking for advice
and we don't even have to go into semantics here.

Why do you seem so argumentative? on this subject, history has defined what is an authentic "Mai Tai"
it is not subjective, if you want to do a variation on a Mai Tai, you really need to learn what makes this cocktail so unique
in the first place, then build on the taste profile, but be "advised" you're really just screwing around, which is why you are not making
a real Mai Tai and is why you are evoking harsher criticism by continuing to argue with experts on the subject matter.

Why are you going back to a post made weeks ago? The post I made on Sunday is about something entirely different. The two are completely independent. But of course the intended subject of my recent post was quickly buried in this flood of hostility starting with "swizzle"s patronizing comment.

Just to reiterate and be clear, the subject of Sunday's post was NOT a mai tai. It was a different drink: "AFTER finishing today's noon Mai Tai I extended the lime peels in the bottom of the glass with 2 large large ice cubes, 1/2 oz Caffo Solara, 1/2 oz Appleton VX rum and 3 drops Angostura bitters. What a great way to fix the disappointment of an empty glass." Discussion of this drink would have been welcome...but alas....

Why am I touchy? Because people have ruined a thread where I was trying to share something fun. Moreover, I'm being insulted in my own sharing thread. This is NOT fun. If you don't understand why I'm upset then I think you are correct, this community is not right for me.

[ Edited by: bkrownd 2015-10-21 13:47 ]

bkrownd, you should consider chilling out a bit. You saw from the very beginning of your thread that you were approaching mixology in a completely more relaxed, more casual, and more fun way to yourself than what many others here have become fond of doing. Can you just come to grips with that and continue sharing what you're doing and discovering in your home bar? Please?

Allow me to point out that I was one of the early posters in your thread to encourage you to do your own free-wheeling thing and just enjoy it. Subsequent posts began sharing other more historically and/or more technically correct approaches -- and there is nothing wrong with that, I think folks were just trying to help you out, since that's what so many who join TC end up doing. You did not head in that direction, and seemed to continue in your personal style and preference, and there is NOTHING wrong with that except that you never really came out and told others to back off and just let you share while rolling forward with your own more casual, less historical, and less technical style.

Again, there is really NOTHING wrong with what you are doing. However you have chosen to share on a system with an audience of generally very experienced and fairly well-versed mixologists. Please get your mind around this and then continue posting to your heart's content.

If I am ever a dick to you, please call me out for it. I have no desire to cause you grief, and I want to share what you're doing even if I have a different style. So have fun in your bar --- you know what you like, and that's perfectly fine with me.

Don't let us discourage you, but please come to understand the reality of the others here who read your posts and who may comment on your approach, myself included. Otherwise you're just pissing into the wind and getting frustrated and mad. Cultivate friends here through sharing your unique personal perspective. We here can probably learn something from you because often it is us who need to be pulled out from some of our silly ruts.

I hope you understand the spirit of what I tried to convey in these paragraphs... Now go have fun in your bar!!!
:drink:

I think that there should be better drinks in Hilo. I agree with you that all of the "fruity" Mai Tais are gross and undrinkable. People (especially on this forum) get mad at all of the bastardized versions of the Mai Tai. In fact even in Southern California, it is almost impossible for us to order an original Mai Tai at any bar, that is why most of us have our own home bars. We can make the original 1944 recipe at home. The original recipe calls for NO fruit juice besides the lime. Nowhere in Hawaii can you get a Mai Tai without pineapple. Trust me, I have tried.

On 2015-10-20 10:23, hiltiki wrote:

Trader Vic Mai Tai,

1 Ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce orange Curaccao
1/4 ounce orgeat syrup
1/4 ounce sugar syrup
1 ounce dark jamaican rum
1 ounce amber Martinique rum

Keep on trying

I think that you are on the same page as us in wanting to make a drink that tastes good. I think the only issue anyone has had is that you called one of your experiments a Mai Tai. So many people have called chain resturants drinks "Mai Tais," even though the only ingredient that is the same as the original is rum. This gives the Mai Tai a really bad name. I want people to think of a Mai Tai as a tasty and strong drink, made by the original Trader Vic recipe.

I am glad to hear that you made your own Orgeat! I think that you are already getting into bigger and better ingredients, which will yeild you better quality drinks. Don't get discouraged and feel free to experiment. If no one ever tried something new we wouldn't have the Trader Vic's Mai Tai today.

[ Edited by: lunavideogames 2015-10-21 17:14 ]

On 2015-10-21 17:13, lunavideogames wrote: So many people have called chain resturants drinks "Mai Tais," even though the only ingredient that is the same as the original is rum. This gives the Mai Tai a really bad name.

The worst I had was at a very expensive restaurant here, which was mostly mango-pineapple nectar. Horrid. :( I've also seen them with li hing mui flavor, LOL.