Altering the classics

I understand most hold the classic drink recipes somewhat sacred, but I'm curious what changes members make to classic recipes and the results. My personal favorite slight alteration is on the Mai Tai, using more Orgeat and very little simple syrup. If my willpower is strong, I also wait 5 minutes to start drinking. For some reason I find when the ice melts slightly it enhances the taste, not sure why. Lately I've been experimenting with many rum combinations, and my current favorite is Clement Hors D'Age and Trader Vics Dark Rum. Kind of strange an expensive and cheap rum pair so well, but it works for me!

Hale Pele modifies their Mai Tai in a similar fashion - .75 oz orgeat and no simple syrup. I believe they also use 1.5 oz of rum with .5 oz of J Wray & Nephew white overproof rum.

On 2016-10-17 12:11, kkocka wrote:
Hale Pele modifies their Mai Tai in a similar fashion - .75 oz orgeat and no simple syrup. I believe they also use 1.5 oz of rum with .5 oz of J Wray & Nephew white overproof rum.

I recently noticed on the BG Reynolds bottle that their Mai Tai recipe calls for 3/4 oz orgeat, so I tried one with that and it was off balance. I usually do mine with 1/2 oz orgeat and no sugar and find that to have a very nice balance with the rums I use (usually Appleton 12/El Dorado 12 or Appleton 12/Clement VSOP). Perhaps that bold overproof J Wray works well with the 3/4 ounce pour, or maybe they're just trying to sell more product by calling for so much in each drink. Guess I'll have to do some more experimenting.

On 2016-10-16 08:29, tiki-riviera wrote:
I understand most hold the classic drink recipes somewhat sacred, but I'm curious what changes members make to classic recipes and the results. My personal favorite slight alteration is on the Mai Tai, using more Orgeat and very little simple syrup. If my willpower is strong, I also wait 5 minutes to start drinking. For some reason I find when the ice melts slightly it enhances the taste, not sure why. Lately I've been experimenting with many rum combinations, and my current favorite is Clement Hors D'Age and Trader Vics Dark Rum. Kind of strange an expensive and cheap rum pair so well, but it works for me!

Pushing the orgeat and using little or no simple syrup works well because what is actually called for in the classic Mai Tai is not simple syrup, but "rock candy syrup." RCS is twice as sweet as simple syrup. The orgeat is also sweeter than simple syrup, so you are much closer to the amount of sugar ol' Vic intended to balance out the lime. You are also on to something about letting your drink dilute a little more. The amount of ice used to mix a Mai Tai plays a role. Ol' Vic gives some good guidance there too. The size of a Trader Vic Mai Tai glass is purposely larger than the average double old fashioned. An average double old fashioned glass is around 12 oz. The TV double old fashioned is a 15 oz glass. It holds 25% more crushed ice. At Trader Vic's they start off with a full to the brim glass of crushed ice, they build the drink in the glass over the ice, then give it a decent shake. The added ice and a proper shake gives a little more melt up front, helps meld the ingredients, and will actually help the remaining ice last longer in your drink.

Now you may have come to enjoy the ritual of letting your Mai Tai sit a bit, ritual can be an ingredient too, but if you'd like to start sipping sooner, use a larger double old fashioned and be sure to fill the glass at least to the brim with crushed ice. The extra melt will get you in the zone you enjoy.

At home, I'm using a little less than 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime and a little over 1/2 oz of orgeat (1.5 oz total between the lime and the orgeat), skipping the rock candy syrup altogether. My favorite rum combo at the moment is 1 ounce Coruba and 1 ounce El Dorado 5. When I feel a little more extravagant, my rum combo is 2 ounces of Zacapa 23.

Cheers and enjoy tinkering with the classics.

Wow.. That's some great info above.. Thanks!

This is a great thread! One drink that I alter to my tastes is the Painkiller. I find the original recipe too pineapple juice heavy so I alter it by using just two oz pineapple juice and two oz OJ. I also use about 1/2 to 3/4 oz fresh lime juice to help with the brightness of the flavors. So maybe it's not a Painkiller anymore I don't know. But I like it.

Tiki Phil, this is interesting I make my Pain Killers exactly like you do and I like it better.

I've sort of abandoned Don's Mix as an ingredient. Not many recipes in my rotation besides the '34 zombie call for it, and I prefer to keep my precious fresh white grapefruit juice free for other purposes. When I make a zombie now it's usually with a 1/2 oz of juice an 1/4 oz strong ceylon syrup.

I make a limited quantity of Don's mix and keep it frozen.

As for "altering the classics," that happens all the time. It's called, "Crap, I ran out of and I need to make a Or -- "Hey, let me try and see what I get." That's just what home bar folk do. But hey, now we have a thread for it. lol!

On 2016-10-16 08:29, tiki-riviera wrote:
I understand most hold the classic drink recipes somewhat sacred, but...

I'm thinking out loud here... For the "classics" I think it's more about their successful balance and flavor. Any "sacredness" may come from their history or backstory - their originator/inventor, time period, impact on the cocktail scene, derivative cocktails they may have inspired, and any number of other things.