What AreYou Drinking- Right Now?

Getting into the spirit of the season with PKNY's Guyanese Zombie featuring Hamilton 86 and 151 ...

An upcoming Cocktail of the Week on The Atomic Grog.

Sam's Shrunken Head mug by Sam Gambino for Tiki Farm, 2005.

UPDATE: Here's the recipe if anyone's interested:
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2015/10/19/the-week-in-tiki-oct-5-18-2015-tiki-mondays-with-miller-2015-finale-hulaween-at-the-mai-kai-worlds-best-bars-honored/#cocktail

The Week in Tiki * Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

The official blog of The Hukilau

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2015-10-20 18:54 ]

Leilani Volcano’s. Just got back from a visit to Cuba where I drank fresh guava nectar every morning. Here in SoCal I use Kern’s brand nectar (refrigerated) which to me taste just as good until I made the error of reading the ingredients. yup,top of the list was fructose.
Cheers

were u really in cuba, or euphemism for miami?

Porp, I was in both. Mojitos are mo betta in Miami-Cuban Mojitos are light with the mint and lime. Some places set the bottle of Havana Club 3 next to your drink so you can add as much as you can stand (not for long).My Mojitos are better than either Cuba’s or Miami’s,imho.
Cheers
Btw, the “welcome” mojitos served to the tours at the Hotel National in Havana were very tasty although I was disappointed to have observed later on that they are served from a pitcher that is refilled from a 5 gallon plastic bucket kept under the bar top. Sigh.

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2015-10-16 14:32 ]

A Cochon September Sun!

Ordered some Chinese food, mixed up a couple - a Nui Nui vs Three Dots & A Dash
:)

FOR REAL !!!

From a few days ago Blackbeard's Ghost, Beachbum Berry remix

today, Lady in blue, combination of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, orange flower water, creme de violet, blue curacao.

very nice.

The Mayhaw Bar, St. Roche Market True Daiquiri!

Gin martini, extra olives.

On 2015-10-19 09:52, The Below Decks wrote:
The Mayhaw Bar, St. Roche Market True Daiquiri!

Hey Bd, What’s in that Daiquiri? Might be the pic but the color seems off.
Cheers

It might be the lighting. I think it was a straight daiquiri with aged rum.

May Bailey's Hurricane!

Clifton's Golden Globe!

Single serving Vic Scorpion

My wife recently bought a bottle of gin to make Ramos Gin Fizz. We've never kept gin in the bar so I was excited about the prospect of adding Saturns, Suffering Bastards, Fog Cutters and of course Scorpions to the repertoire, which of course meant I had to find a Brandy as well. I don't have a clue about Brandy so asked a guy at my local liquor store for a recommendation and ended up with Romate.

I made a Luau Scorpion last week and it tasted pretty one dimensional so I added a little more orgeat and some passion fruit. Better. Still not great. Tonight I made Vic's version and it also fell flat. So I added more orgeat and some passion fruit. Better. Still not great. This time I used Plantation 3 Stars instead of Flor de Cana thinking it would add a little pizazz but alas I'm not blown away.

I've had good scorpion bowls at bars. Anyone have a recipe that knocks it out of the park? Or is this just the wrong Brandy?

My orchid is blooming, which makes for the perfect opportunity to whip up The Mai-Kai's Mai Tai with the correct garnish (including powdered sugar) ...

Review and recipe: http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/08/24/mai-kai-cocktail-review-trade-in-vics-mai-tai-for-this-classic/

On 2015-10-20 21:06, mikehooker wrote:
Single serving Vic Scorpion

My wife recently bought a bottle of gin to make Ramos Gin Fizz. We've never kept gin in the bar so I was excited about the prospect of adding Saturns, Suffering Bastards, Fog Cutters and of course Scorpions to the repertoire, which of course meant I had to find a Brandy as well. I don't have a clue about Brandy so asked a guy at my local liquor store for a recommendation and ended up with Romate.

I made a Luau Scorpion last week and it tasted pretty one dimensional so I added a little more orgeat and some passion fruit. Better. Still not great. Tonight I made Vic's version and it also fell flat. So I added more orgeat and some passion fruit. Better. Still not great. This time I used Plantation 3 Stars instead of Flor de Cana thinking it would add a little pizazz but alas I'm not blown away.

I've had good scorpion bowls at bars. Anyone have a recipe that knocks it out of the park? Or is this just the wrong Brandy?

Mike - bravo on the gin! Explore and have fun with it.

With regard to the brandy, they are all over the place, unique creations, and I don't have much advice because the amount of brandy is usually so small in my drinks that I emphasize exact measurements over brandy brand name. I'm sure you were meticulous, so you may just have an unimpressive recipe.

I make scorpion bowls at home once in a while, and the classic recipes in the Bum's books don't taste too much like the ones I have in bars. My impression is that scorpion bowls and volcano bowls are customized by each restaurant, similar to what they do with Mai Tais. To date I have only used the Bum's recipes from his books, so you may need to start there and tweak as you go along and hit upon something you like.

On 2015-10-21 07:15, AceExplorer wrote:

I make scorpion bowls at home once in a while, and the classic recipes in the Bum's books don't taste too much like the ones I have in bars. My impression is that scorpion bowls and volcano bowls are customized by each restaurant, similar to what they do with Mai Tais. To date I have only used the Bum's recipes from his books, so you may need to start there and tweak as you go along and hit upon something you like.

Ace, the recipes I used for the Luau Scorpion and Vic individual serving came from the Total Tiki app. Kelbo's recipe is also listed and calls for passion fruit syrup which is why I decided to tweak the other two with the addition of that. Kelbo also uses a dark Jamaican rather than a silver or gold Puerto Rican so I'm anxious to try that one next.

[ Edited by: mikehooker 2015-10-21 09:36 ]

On 2015-10-21 09:35, mikehooker wrote:
Ace, the recipes I used for the Luau Scorpion and Vic individual serving came from the Total Tiki app. Kelbo's recipe is also listed and calls for passion fruit syrup which is why I decided to tweak the other two with the addition of that. Kelbo also uses a dark Jamaican rather than a silver or gold Puerto Rican so I'm anxious to try that one next.

Sounds good, thanks Mike. This makes me want to look up the history and pedigree of the scorpion and volcano bowls in the app and in the books. Truly these are quite different across the board out there, obviously I will have to follow in your footsteps and try some more variations. (Cheap booze leads to higher profits, and I'm sure that's what a lot of today's restaurants do, excepting of course the true tiki establishments.) The last bowl I made was not impressive, and I followed the recipe exactly. So I can see why you would tweak things. A nice thing about that is when you land on a winner, it's YOURS to call your own and serve to friends.

Felix's Pimm's Cup!

I've had good scorpion bowls at bars. Anyone have a recipe that knocks it out of the park? Or is this just the wrong Brandy?

had to google it, but you used a spanish brandy-- i would use a french, st. remy or raynal will do for mixing (or paul masson from usa). dunno anymore if my recipe is traced to a particular bar or whether its an almagam of everything out there but here's how i do it and it goes over well at parties:

2 oz white rum, 1 oz brandy, 1 oz gin, 1 oz white wine or Lillet blanc;
2 oz OJ, 1 oz lemon, 1 oz orgeat.

this serves two-- i shake it up with ice, and strain over ice in a communal glass/bowl.

its still Oktoberfest... in America! so a Paulaner wiesn for me right now...

mikehooker: Re gin and brandy and Scorpions ... I prefer Kelbo's Scorpion over Trader Vic's, so definitely give that a try. If I were to choose a rum/gin/brandy drink, I'd actually go for a Fog Cutter. Most of the Fog Cutter recipes seem to be a step above the Scorpions.

In Remixed, the Bum recommends Gran Duque D'Alba from Spain as the best brandy, but I've never tried it. I'm guessing not all Spanish brandies are created equal. I use one of his other recommendations, E&J (California), and haven't had any complaints. Christian Brothers (California) is the other. I seem to recall reading in one of his books that California brandies are the best for mixing in cocktails.

Interesting side note: Apparently Trader Vic's original 1940s Scorpion recipe called for Peruvian Pisco brandy. I'll have to give that a try some time. I have several bottles of Pisco that don't get much use.

Last night in The Atomic Grog, it was the long-awaited Daiquiri showdown between Lemon Hart 151 (yellow label), Lemon Hart 151 (red label), and Hamilton 151 ...

The results of this clash of the titans will be announced soon.

The Week in Tiki * Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

The official blog of The Hukilau

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2015-10-22 00:08 ]

Commander's Palace Oops! (The only to-go cup they've ever made, and I appear to have started consuming it before taking the photo!)

A little background on the Commander's Palace Oops!

The Oops!
Maker's Mark, Grand Marnier, Fresh Lime Juice, Peychaud's Bitters and a dash of Cherry Heering. Watch your step after a couple of these! 9.75

Commander's Palace has always advertised, branded and bragged about being founded in 1880, but some recent research by Tonya Jordan of Living History NOLA proved that's not the case. The restaurant actually opened it's doors in 1893! Emile Commander purchased the property in 1891 and American Brewing Company hired builders Thomas and William Attaway to construct a wood frame that is the core of Commander's Palace today. To celebrate the NEW anniversary of Commander's Palace, the restaurant is offering a special cocktail called the "Oops!" It comes in a limited edition go-cup decorated for the occasion. When co-proprietor Lally Brennan was asked about the discrepancy, she replied, "What gal of a 'certain age' wouldn't be happy to find out she's 13 years younger!?"

nice! didn't realize til now that you're in Nawlins.

Whatttt

DAGG n wife in Vegas

Ok

Let's start wit

Waitin for em at banger

Off to container park
Oak n ivy

Couple drinks at da laundry room

LVs only speakeasy

Dinner stop

Walk in to da downtown cocktail room

Oh yea

Commander's Palace Brandy Milk Punch! (The Below Decks visits NOLA 2-3x a year!)

Pod Thai

SelvaRey white rum,Thai basil, cardamom-lemongrass syrup, coconut creme.
Bootlegger Tiki, Palm Springs.

The Barrolito. Tonga Hut Palm Springs.

Herradura margarita.

you knocked back a school of sculpins...

Royal Hawaiian Cocktail.

Commander's Palace Ramos Gin Fizz!

a Vienna Lager, in honor of Austria's Flag Day...

A Latitude 29 Planter's Rum Punch!

Brennan's Hibiscus Pimm's Cup!

I figured I liked the Campari in the Jungle Bird & Boulevardier so I'd try another amaro - anyone tried Fernet Branca?

I tried some neat... wowee!

Perhaps the wierdest thing I've ever drunk!

But it makes much more sense in this drink, the Toronto:

On 2015-10-28 12:54, AdOrAdam wrote:
I figured I liked the Campari in the Jungle Bird & Boulevardier so I'd try another amaro - anyone tried Fernet Branca?

I tried some neat... wowee!

Perhaps the wierdest thing I've ever drunk!

A craft bar near me overused Fernet Branca for quite a while. It sure is an unusual taste to the typical American palate. I do have a bottle of it now, but can't remember what I bought it for... My take is that it's good when used right, and overpowering when overused. (The same is true for Pernod and Stroh 80)

A Bitter Storm is the first and only drink I've used Fernet Branca, give it a shot - this is a little sweet so adjust after your first drink accordingly.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/02/this-bitter-storm-at-napa-rose-at-will-warm-you-right-up-at-disneyland-resort/

¾ ounce Bulleit Bourbon
¾ ounce Fernet-Branca
½ ounce Cherry Heering liqueur
½ ounce Poire William brandy
½ ounce Orgeat syrup
¾ ounce lemon juice
Grapefruit peel, for garnish

Pour all ingredients into a shaker; fill with ice and vigorously shake for 30 seconds.
Strain into a tall chilled glass filled with ice. Garnish with grapefruit peel.

Fernet is a lot different than Campari. The only drink I have had it in that I liked was the Swizzled Monk at Napa Rose on the outskirts of Disneyland, which was amazing.

I have a bottle of Fernet, but I don't ever use it. Bartenders like it and do straight shots of it all the time as their last drink of the night. I was just at El Dorado last Thursday, and they have a tradition of taking Cynar shots. I like this tradition better than Fernet. I joined in and it was tasty.

Now, if only I could find a bottle of Cynar 70...