confusion around authenticity of grog log and don beach book

So i finally got the three books.
Grog log, Intoxica and Hawai'i tropical drinks & cuisine by Don the Beachcomber.
As i was quickly running through the books, i couldn't help but noticing the differences between same recipes in both books. For example:
The honey mix
-Jeff Berry calls for honey and water
-Arnold and Phoebe(Don's widow) colls for honey and sweet butter
Like most of u out there, i am a little of an authenticty freak when it comes to concoctions, what book should we reference to?

Well, honey syrup and honey mix are two different things. The honey syrup is easy to make and work with. The honey mix with the butter is kind of nasty and leaves your shaker oily. Worth trying, but I found it too messy to work with.

My feelings on this subject are as follows:

Read as many bartending books as possible, and try to mix and sample as many drinks as possible.

In time you will become skilled enough to make your own decisions regarding what is right and wrong in a good mixed drink. Authenticity is great for both reference and to experience the old cocktails as they were, but you have to learn to perfect them in your own right.

I have gone through six recipes for a Singapore Sling before settling on the current one that I prefer and serve. I still like the Grog Log version as well though and truth be told, the version I mix is not at all far from Berry's.

I know this wasn't the a or b answer you asked for and I apologize, but it makes the most sense to me.

Hell, you may be a highly skilled bartender for all I know.

Mahalo!

Ahu

On 2004-12-15 17:03, Ku Ku Ahu wrote:
My feelings on this subject are as follows:

Read as many bartending books as possible, and try to mix and sample as many drinks as possible.

Good call! There's a school of thought that the only way to make a 'proper' cocktail is to follow the instructions to the letter. The reality is that there isn't a proper way to make any cocktail - it's down to the bartender's skillful use of ingredients.

As an example, one of the world's simplest drinks, the martini, has been the subject of debate for decades. Even after all these years, it's still difficult to get a decent martini.

Trader Woody

Well, I enjoy having old and new books that offer the most accurate versions possible, but as those of us who have tried many of the drinks from these volumes will tell ya, oftentimes it is impossible to tell if what we are making is even still remotely the same as the original in spite of having followed the recipe.

For instance, any drink with falernum in it is subject to the question of "What type of falernum?".

This is the best example of where authenticity must give way to trial and error, for no one knows for certain what brand or type of falernum Don was using. Probably Sazeracs in later years, possibly something more akin to the Taylor's in the early days.

I believe that part of the "lime problem" (as I refer to it) that keeps popping up on these forums is frankly due to limes having changed since the forties and fifties.

What is the lime problem you ask? Well, it has occured on a reasonably regular basis that someone tries some recipes from the Grog Log and then posts about the tartness and overwhelming lime flavor of the drink.

Granted, as has been mentioned here, tastes have changed away from tart cocktails toward sweeter drinks since the inception of these recipes, but I still can't imagine that many of these drinks would have enjoyed the widespread popularity that they did for as long as they did if some other factor was not at work related to lime flavor.

My guess (and I am not the first one to propose these here) is that todays commercial limes are much more tart, generally larger, less ripe, and possibly an inferior variety for mixology. Like much grocery store produce, the "shipability" and shelf-life of limes is more of a factor in their genetic profile than their flavor for producers.

So one can imagine that even with an "authentic recpe", it is possible to make an inaccurate drink.

That said and to return to the original question of this thread, when you have two recipes for any drink, the correct and most authentic recipe is the one you like better.

Heh heh heh!

Besides, I'd rather have to try two versions than just mix one up and down it. That's the fun part!

Ahu