What AreYou Drinking- Right Now?

Wizzard419, I'm thinking the same thing -- adding cinnamon oil (or esters) would bring up the punch in store-bought cinnamon syrup. But how was the syrup made in the old days when our cocktails were invented? Home method? Did they have cinnamon oil and esters back then? My home-made cinnamon syrup packs a good punch flavor-wise, so I'm not unhappy with it. And it frees up more cash to buy good rums and other things for my bar.

No cell service last night at the bar deep inside an old downtown building.

At The Volstead we finished off Independence Day celebrations with a delicious drink called a "Sliced Bread" which I really enjoyed. It was light and flavorful, more of a "girls" drink, but that's what I needed after a long day in the sun. I also drank at least two full glasses of ice water while I was at the bar. I must have been dehydrated.

Next I ordered an Old Fashioned and really enjoyed it. Can't remember that drink from my past, the Luxardo cherries were interesting in a good sort of way.

Both are whisky/bourbon based. They currently have a very tiny selection of rums and are more of a whisky/bourbon bar. But they have been very willing to listen to suggestions. I suggested they consider a Beachcomber's Punch for their menu, and they didn't know what Demerara rum was. Sometimes it's fun to help a bar learn and perhaps even evolve beyond their original (sometimes narrow) focus. They didn't even have a bottle of Myers's on the shelf and every trad bar has a bottle of that around!

I did chide a cocktail waitress for serving Pabst Blue Ribbons to an entire table behind me. She said, "It's the Fourth, so we'll cut them some slack." Good for her, bummer for the PBR drinkers, though, who missed out on many good things.

On 2014-07-05 06:28, AceExplorer wrote:
Wizzard419, I'm thinking the same thing -- adding cinnamon oil (or esters) would bring up the punch in store-bought cinnamon syrup. But how was the syrup made in the old days when our cocktails were invented? Home method? Did they have cinnamon oil and esters back then? My home-made cinnamon syrup packs a good punch flavor-wise, so I'm not unhappy with it. And it frees up more cash to buy good rums and other things for my bar.

Well, there probably wouldn't have been a "home method" since people would not have that well stocked a bar with a large selection of mixers. But, since we are talking about the 20th century or so, the bartenders who would have made such products would have had access to it. It depended on the effect they were going for, without the concentrated part they would get a warm apple pie note. With the essential oil/ester they would get the heat similar to cinnamon candies.

I would also say, probably best to use the fake cinnamon (which most of the stuff on the market is) rather than the true stuff since it packs more punch.

That's what I meant by "home method." Donn Beach and Vic Bergeron were not working in a commercial lab, didn't have access to modern flavorings and esters, and may not have had access even to cinnamon oil. But it is my assumption that they did have access to their home and restaurant kitchen stoves. I'm sorry that was not clear in my post.

Oh, they would have access to the esters, aside from mail order, stores have always carried things like essential oils and extracts. They may have had to look a bit, but they would find them.

They may have also, when finding out if they wanted the hot cinnamon flavor, started with a candy like red hots or atomic fireballs (depending on the year)and dissolved them in boiling water to make a syrup.

@wizard419 & AceExplorer: my Monin cinnamon label is:

I'm putting it to good use in a Aku Aku Zombie from Remixed:

The Zombie mix is equal parts curaçao / pernod / grenadine / falernum ~ it is genius stuff & mixing up a mini provides for plenty of Zombies!

:)

Ace will have to tell us if that brand is as good as the one he is gunning for. What is the intensity? Is it more cozy fire or atomic fireball?

http://youtu.be/tUWF1Yralu8

Pina Coladas!

I realize that the blender may be a bit sacrilege to some here, but I am using a recipe from Moon's Islander in Titusville, Florida.

howlinowl

(tried to embed the video, but to no avail......0

Hey Wizzard & AdOrAdam, thanks for the great comments. I'll keep an eye out for the Monin and see if I can pick up a bottle and compare with my home-made syrup. I don't use the cinnamon syrup stuff much, so don't hold your breath please. But it's always great to compare notes and learn from others experiences.

Too bad I didn't have a web site like this when I was in college -- "Wow, man, a cool booze-centric web site!"

:wink:

Yeah, with flavored syrups it is weird. What it usually ends up being for me is that I might know what I want to make at the start of the day so I will give it a day or so to start soaking if needed. It will have some of the flavor but not as much punch as expected.

Though, when I need vanilla vodka, that usually ends up being the soaking liquid I use when I have a dried out vanilla bean that needs resurrection.

Philadelphia Fish House Punch, the stuff that General Washington had served up to the troops, biznitches...

I subbed LH 151 for plain ole jamaican rum, cause you know the founding fathers loved the smoky gun-powdery rums...

also, subbed in a shot of rye whiskey for some of the brandy, cause ole GW loved him some plantation whiskey making...

happy 4th!

El Dorado 12 year.

Planter's Punch (Stephen Remsberg) ala Total Tiki.

A tiki drink with three ingredients? Sign me up!

Edit: Four ingredients. Despite my Irish heritage, three ounces of rum is plenty! :wink:

"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron

[ Edited by: TikiTacky 2014-07-06 19:33 ]

On 2014-07-05 21:46, thePorpoise wrote:
Philadelphia Fish House Punch, the stuff that General Washington had served up to the troops, biznitches...

I subbed LH 151 for plain ole jamaican rum, cause you know the founding fathers loved the smoky gun-powdery rums...

also, subbed in a shot of rye whiskey for some of the brandy, cause ole GW loved him some plantation whiskey making...

happy 4th!

The founding fathers were lushes!

"Indeed, we still have available the bar tab from a 1787 farewell party in Philadelphia for George Washington just days before the framers signed off on the Constitution. According to the bill preserved from the evening, the 55 attendees drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, eight of whiskey, 22 of porter, eight of hard cider, 12 of beer, and seven bowls of alcoholic punch."

http://reason.com/archives/2014/02/22/george-washington-boozehound

Bad enough he (and family) had slaves, but to welch on a bar tab is just unforgivable.

Tiger Shark (double batch)

1 oz DonQ Gold
1 oz DonQ Crystal
1 oz Lemon Hart 151
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup
8 oz Crushed ice

Add all to blender, saving the ice for last, blend for 5 seconds.
Pour into a tall chimney glass.

From Sippin Safari page 21

That is one thing I have always wondered, what exactly is "unsweetened pineapple juice"? The only juice I see at the stores is all just pineapple (some from concentrate some not) but none of it has added sugars. Considering how sweet fresh pineapple is on it's own, I can't imagine anyone wanting to add sugar to it.

In defense of the Founding Fathers, drinking the booze back then was less dangerous than the water!

Wizzard, I think unsweetened pineapple juice simply means that it was not processed the same way that other juices are processed - with sweeteners and/or other additives to offset the negative effects of the concentration and pasteurization process. I can't confirm this, but I think pineapple juice is pretty much the by-product of coring and slicing fresh pineapples. The juice which comes out of this operation gets canned. But it is also possible that the juice is first sterilized (by pasteurization) and therefore canned juice is not as good as fresh-from-pressed fruit. Maybe someone else knows how unsweetened pineapple juice is actually made and processed?

I remember the "old days" when I saw pineapples being cored and sliced at the former Dole plant in Honolulu. That was cool.

I don't think you can sell (outside of a farm stand) juice that isn't pasteurized because it would immediately start to ferment and while even more alcohol (all soft-drinks contain trace levels) would be nice, having your juice containers burst from all the CO2 would probably not be so cool.

The juice industry apparently is quite weird. OJ, for example, is rumored to use "flavoring capsules" (or some other term) where the juice basically starts out like water with no flavor and then the sugars, pulp, oils, etc are added back in tiny particles that burst open as the product degrades so the fresh flavor remains. This isn't limited to the cheap brands either, this is done for every brand, creating unique flavor profiles that can be consistently produced all year round. Which is also why you never say "I won't drink OJ in the summer because it doesn't taste good".

Even bottled water apparently has a similar process for spring water. Since they need a consistent level of dissolved salts and minerals (and also just in case of well contamination) they distill the water then add back the correct levels.

Yeah, good points, I have heard of micro-encapsulation but never in fruit juices. All "from concentrate" orange juices taste bad to me. So when I get good and balanced fresh fruit I try to squeeze-and-freeze whenever possible.

With water, I don't know anyone who uses a real distillation process because it uses too much energy. From first-hand experience with Dasani, I know high-volume reverse osmosis is used to purify the water. Then they add powdered minerals and salts. But the reason is entirely to ensure consistency of batches all year round AND so they can patent their formula for their flavor. Adding minerals and salts back into the purified water is required because plain reverse osmosis water just doesn't taste "good enough" without some minerals and salts. No micro-encapsulation for "freshness" is involved for that water product.

Interesting info.

It might be RO that I am thinking of, at the same time distillation might have been the way to go when they did that special on Sparklets.

I'd be surprised if any company would patent their formulas since it would place it on record and a patent is one of the shortest lived protections you can place on your property. This is why KFC, Coke, etc. don't file patents and opt for trade secrets.

@ wizard419 & AceExplorer:

You are some knowledgeable guys about flavouring & preserving processes! :)

Wizzard - thanks for pointing out the difference between patents and trade secrets - I honestly never thought of that and the differences between the two. I think you are right on target that the formulas would be out in the world if they were to be patented. That's good to know.

AdOrAdam - about being "knowledgeable" - I'm just a drunk making s**t up as I go along! hahahaha...

Patents are very weird, but it is good that they have such short lifespans otherwise things like medication would constantly stay high in the US (other first world countries force the drug makers to lower prices) forever. I think the only reason they even file patents instead of sticking to trade secrets is that the FDA requires the formula be open to scrutiny from outside groups.

This has actually led to a huge problem for drug makers too, India has become a hotbed for the production of unauthorized generics for meds still under protection. Same formulas, purity, production standards, etc. being sold for pennies. Where it starts to get really sticky though is that they aren't knocking off Viagra, Vicodin, etc. they are doing it with things like AIDS medication and selling it in Africa where a month's supply of the brand name stuff costs thousands and the generics costs tens.

I am drinking a Rum Punch in the BVI.

get to the Soggy Dollar and get us a full report-- stat!

I think Willie T's is first but Soggy Dollar is on the agenda. Getting this thread back on track soon. Too dark to take a picture of my Painkiller right now, all the pictures are crap.

Taking a break from Tiki/tropical and drinking Vieux Carre. No fancy rye tonight, just good reliable Old Overholt. Tasty drink.

Is Sazerac considered "fancy" as ryes go? Usually when I make any NOLA cocktails that call for it I go with that brand.

I don't think so wiz. I drink Vieux Carre's regularly, but I usually try to stick to tiki drinks on this thread.

Anyway, this is from a couple weekends ago...

Vieux Carre from Vesper in Vegas.

Sazarac 6 Year and Rittemhouse Bonded would be my go to premium mixing ryes for classic cocktails if I could get them readily where I live. A step above Old Overholt all around, but I think Overholt is still a great introductory rye for newcomers to the spirit.

"If you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel."
Robert Louis Stevenson

[ Edited by: Sunny&Rummy 2014-07-09 19:26 ]

Aloha
Well we were on the Big Island for 2 weeks
I didn't post while on vacation/ 15th Anniv
So these are not "what are you drinking now" photos
But rather "what have you been drinking for the last 2 weeks"
And a few other pics
Hope you enjoy...we did

Landing

Great beach, worst drink

Leaving, sad day

And I tip my hat to all the beers and Hawaiian style Mai-Tais
That didn't make it here because I didn't have my camera on me...
:)

Very nice, hang10! Uh, what made you decide to vacation in Hawaii? :P

Looks like a great time! Jon.

congrats, hang10tiki!

The Legendary Pusser's Painkiller.

Welcome home Jon. Congratulations ,Wish you guys many, many more.
Btw, Dat hat wid you , the Spousal unit and the xylophone makes you look a little older den you are.
Cheers

Rum Swizzle

Love them painkillers!

Thanks guys
We had a blast

David- what do you mean? I look great behind the vibes. :)

Luna- tag, you are it. Have fun...

Jon

On 2014-07-12 14:41, hang10tiki wrote:
Thanks guys
We had a blast

David- what do you mean? I look great behind the vibes. :)

Jon

you don't look good; but, you look better than usual...

On 2014-07-12 14:41, hang10tiki wrote:
Thanks guys
We had a blast

David- what do you mean? I look great behind the vibes. :)

Luna- tag, you are it. Have fun...

Jon

I said that the hat made you look older- I didn’t say you didn’t look great.
Good to see your posts again.
Later Amigo, old and not so great David

The Autopilot, an interesting take on the Jet Pilot, recipe courtesy of a rum bar in the U.K.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10923466/Cocktail-of-the-week-the-Autopilot.html

It's also notable for its use of fassionola, which you don't see very often in bars today outside of The Mai-Kai. I translated the recipe into ounces and posted it over on the fassionola thread:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=5331&forum=10&start=last&68

Hayward, your efforts are truly a service to all of tikidom! :)

Porpoise :)
David :)

Baths Mai Tai

Not the original recipe... :)

The Baths are amazing, I loved the intimate beaches and the amazing rocks. Are you going to Pusser's across the channel in Tortola?