Yuzu-Cherimoya Mai Tai 1oz lime juice .5oz yuzu curaçao .25oz orgeat .25oz cherimoya syrup 1oz dark Jamaican rum (Plantation Jamaica 2007) 1oz Martinique rum (Clement VSOP) Garnish: fresh mint from the garden, ground dried orange peel This one hits a bit different, with a definite lift from the added fruit flavors. The yuzu curaçao plays with the lime, brightening the lime flavor bolstered by the citrus. Not having a usual taste for yuzu, your taste buds pick it up as a delightful surprise. The cherimoya syrup is light (and we only have a little bit in here) but there is a nice sweetness accompanying the usual orgeat and there is a subtle gourd/cucumber flavor that pairs nicely with the more vegetal qualities of the Clement. #experiencecardinalflight #maitairiffs #maitai #rumcocktails #startofsummer
A roadside is frowned upon, I guess 2oz dry white rum (Charanda Blanco - Uruapan) .75oz bitter orange liqueur (Capitoline Tiber) .25oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo) 1oz lime juice .5oz orgeat .5oz chai tea syrup (Liber & Co) Garnish: submerged lime shell, ground dried orange peel, cut lime peel Combine all ingredients into shaker with crushed or pellet ice. Put lime shell into a tall glass. Shake mix and pour into glass. Fill with ice. Top with ground orange peel and cut lime. Starts sweet with the citrus and orgeat commingled with the spices. Tempered by the maraschino and some earthiness from the chai, the sour lime, bitter orange liqueur, and the drier rum flow in with a nice sour and bitter end. As the ice melts, the bitterness fades and the refreshment continues. Shout out to @kimberlyhannan22 for the completely random name that stemmed from an autocorrect fail while writing about this drink. #experiencecardinalflight #endofwintercocktails #rum
Subtle Variations on a Theme 1.5 oz Agricole rum (@Hiltonheaddistillery Panela Rum) .5 oz Smoked Cinnamon bitters (Old Forester) 1 oz red grapefruit juice .75 oz lime juice Garnish: grapefruit peel, pineapple leaf, fresh ground cinnamon. Combine all into mixing tin with crushed ice. Blend with spindle blender on low for 5 seconds. Pour into highball glass and garnish. —— Appearance: classy glass and garnishes makes for a classy drink. Honey colored drink that frosts up nicely from the crushed ice. Nose: cinnamon and grapefruit. Taste: the cinnamon bitters and grapefruit play together well. The grassy rum finishes up nicely with a bit of smoke and cinnamon flair to the drink. Asks for repeated sip; invitation gladly accepted. —— This is a riff off a Donga Punch, one of my favorite simple tiki drinks. That drink calls for Don’s mix, which is a 2-1 ratio of white grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup, neither of which I had at the moment. What I did have was a freshly peeled red grapefruit, which should make this a tad bit sweeter, and this awesome smoked cinnamon bitters that I use on occasion. I used the smoked cinnamon bitters in place of the syrup, and being a .5oz add, it became part of the liquor profile. I love Donga punch; it’s one of my go-tos for seeing how a rum might play with other flavors. The cinnamon bitters really subtle changes the flavors here with the long smoke finish. Really enjoy this one. #tikidrinks #rumcocktails #cinnamon #experiencecardinalflight
In the Froze of Passion 1oz white rum (Plantation Three Stars) 1oz aged rum (The Scarlet Ibis) .5oz passion fruit liqueur (Chinola) .25oz grapefruit liqueur (Giffards Pamplemousse) .25oz falernum (The Bitter Truth Golden Falernum) .25oz vanilla liqueur (Licor 43) 1/4 teaspoon Liquore Strega 1/4 teaspoon Pastis (Pernod) 1oz passion fruit syrup 1oz strawberry syrup (Liber & Co Pacific Strawberry syrup) 1.5oz passion fruit juice 1oz lemon juice .5oz orange juice 4 drops J Thomas Decanter bitters (Dashfire) 4 drops grapefruit bitters (Fee Brothers) 8 drops smoked cinnamon bitters (Old Forester) Add all to blender except for bitters. Fill with ice and blend until smooth. Pour into tiki mug and fill with ice. Go overboard on the garnish; after all your are in the “froze” of passion. Appearance: So tiki. The color of the drink was a deep yellow tempered with pink from all the passion fruit and then the strawberry syrup. Always love seeing a tiki mug frost up on the outside too. But… garnishes! I went with: palm frond straw, paper umbrella, pineapple leaves, strawberries, and a very aggressive grapefruit peel. Added fresh ground cinnamon and nutmeg to top it all off. Nose: Fresh strawberry and grapefruit flood the nose, followed by hints of cinnamon, and then the passion fruit. The grapefruit returns to clear everything out until the next sip. Taste: Passion fruit all the way down, but then hints of vanilla and the pastis’ anise. Finally the fruit flavor of fresh strawberry jam and lemons. This one is dangerous since you can’t taste the overproof rum and it goes down like an easy fruit cocktail (over 3oz of booze) Summer vacation is ending (for the kids, mine never felt like it happened!) and I was feeling in the tiki mood on this 93 degree sunny day. I then thought of all the passion fruit flavors I’ve got and how those were very summer feeling, so let’s overload it. Yeah, just go all out tiki. With so much passion fruit, I thought of “in the throes of passion” which then of course led to “in the froze of passion”, and we arrive at the frozen drink (of sorts). #tikidrinks #summercocktails #rumcocktails #passionfruitcocktails #experiencecardinalflight
An Ever-Intrepid Guest 1.75 oz vodka (Reyka) .25 oz falernum (Bitter Truth Golden Falernum) .5 oz amaro (Capitoline Tiber) 1 oz lemon juice .5 oz tonic syrup (Liber & Co) 2 oz club soda 8 drops grapefruit bitters Garnish: blistered tarragon and juniper berries Mix all but the club soda and bitters into shaker with ice. Shake and pour unstrained into highball, adding extra ice as necessary. Top with soda. Blister your tarragon with flame, blow out quickly to get the smoke and oils without destroying the whole thing. Put 8 drops of bitters on top of drink and garnish with tarragon and berries. —— Appearance: pale orange from the falernum and amaro. Looks crystalline in the glass. Nose: juniper berry, grapefruit, and smoky anise from the blistered tarragon. Taste: the tarragon’s anise has hints at the beginning before slipping into the falernum’s lime, ginger, and almond. Then the quinine and bitter orange amaro play out. The club soda gives a lift to the tonic flavors and the juniper berry and grapefruit finds space to sit at the end. I like the dance of the sweetness at the front that gives way into that vodka and tonic feel at the end. Summer side porch swings in my head. —— My family really loves a good gin/vodka tonic during the summer time. Coming off the beach, it’s one of the first things to grace my dad’s hand. I wanted to keep experimenting with the tonic syrup and thought it might be interesting to see how it plays off some amaro and falernum, one of my favorites. I don’t normally go for vodka, but have always been impressed by Reyka (probably because I’ve visited Iceland) and it’s my go-to vodka. This drink left me feeling very summer-spirited. Enjoy. #vodkacocktails #summercocktails #experiencecardinalflight
A Last Light before the Storm 2 oz Gin (Caorunn) .5 oz Tonic Syrup (Liber & Co) 1.5 oz Lemon Lavender Cordial (Liber & Co) 8 blueberries Muddle blueberries and tonic syrup. Add remaining ingredients, shake with ice, and double strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with three dried lavender buds. —— Appearance: The lavender cordial is a lemon yellow and combined with the muddled blueberries produces a soft deep pink that fades out towards the top of the glass. The placed lavender buds barely break the surface of the drink and seem to float just above. Nose: Not much, subtle lavender from the garnish Taste: sweet flowery lemon and botanicals of the gin. Soft blueberry that doesn’t present heavily as the zip from the quinine in the syrup says hello. The lemon and quinine linger long after the sip has passed. Refreshing in the heat of the day. —— Having received Liber and Co’s (@liberandco) tonic syrup and lemon lavender cordial, I thought it might be interesting to riff on the Summer Rose by Andy Whitehead (@liquorary), replacing his lavender syrup and lemon juice for the cordial and tonic syrup. The tonic was sure to give this bite that the former wouldn’t have. It ended up being quite a new take on a gin and tonic #gincocktails #lavendercocktails #summercocktails #experiencecardinalflight
Carry it with Me .75 oz spiced blackberry syrup 1 oz lemon juice 1 oz orange juice 1 oz Agricole style rum (Hilton Head Panela Rum) .5 oz dark rum (Myer’s Reserve Dark) .25 oz Averna Garnish: thin orange wheel, lemon peel, four whole cloves, dusting of nutmeg. Shake all together with ice. Strain into glass with crushed ice. Garnish as you will. —— Appearance: beautiful red-purple blackberry color. Nose: the fresh orange wheel mixed with the clove and nutmeg is inviting while you get the scent of spice coming from within the drink Taste. Crisp, oh so crisp. Our spiced blackberry syrup has some zing to it. The grassy rum (in this case Panela Rum by @hiltonheaddistillery) is clean and clear under the spices playing over top with the citrus. The Averna and molasses of the dark rum help round out a full flavor that keeps the drink refreshing. —— #rumcocktails #blackberry #spices #cocktailrecipes #experiencecardinalflight
In Fair Warning .5oz raspberry vanilla honey syrup .75oz lemon juice 1.5oz Dark Pineapple rum (Hilton Head Distillery) .25oz Aperol .25oz Averna Garnish: lemon wheel, sprinkling of Caribbean Citrus Chile Rub (from @thespicehouse) Chill your coupe and ring a side with Caribbean Citrus Chile Rub. Add all liquid ingredients to shaker and shake with plenty of ice. Double strain into coupe. Add lemon round and sprinkling of the Caribbean Citrus Chile Rub. — Appearance: Garnet red from the red tinge on all the liquid: syrup, Aperol, Averna. Even the rum has a red-brown to it. The orange and yellows of the spice rub and the yellow lemon wheel pop nicely against the red. Nose: honey, lemon, with faint candied raspberry. Edged with the dried citrus rinds of the rub. Taste: drinking from the spiced side gives you a little citrus heat with some saltiness. Smooth pineapple flavors with the Aperol’s orange and Averna’s herbals create a nice sweetness. The swallow continues to have the salt and spice from the chile rub. After the sip, you can feel the chilies gently lingering on your lips. — Continuing with my @hiltonheaddistillery finds, I wanted a non-ice drink to try. I love Averna and was hanging out with a friend that doesn’t like Aperol (hi Nicole!) so I whipped this up at dinner the other night and snuck the Aperol in. I think she liked it! I refined it a bit today and added the additional spice/heat kick, which really took this off nicely. Sweet but not a sugar-bomb, this would make a nice after-dinner treat. #rumcocktails #pineapple #spice #cocktailadventures #experiencecardinalflight
You’re an Open Book, Selene One stem-worth of tarragon leaves One quarter peach, no skin .25oz orgeat .75oz peach syrup .25oz lemon juice .5oz white grapefruit juice 1.5oz white rum (Hilton Head Panela Rum) .5oz port (Cockburn’s Special Reserve) Garnish: Slapped, leafy tarragon Tear tarragon leaves before dropping into shaker. Lightly muddle with the orgeat. This is important as the tarragon can get lost with the peach if not already incorporated. Drop in evenly sized chunks of the peach and muddle lightly again. Add syrup, juices, and rum. Shake with ice. Strain and pour over fresh ice. Layer the port with bar spoon and serve with garnish. — Appearance: faintest milky peach with flecks of green topped with the deep ruby red of the port.It’s like you turned a ripe white peach inside out. Nose: herbaceous anise from the tarragon, subtle peach blossom and dried raisin bouquet. Taste: creamy anise and almond to start. The panela rum is vegetal and raw and couples with the peach overtones. The grapefruit leaves a lingering sourness and finishes out smooth waiting on the port to arrive. As the port filters down, a smokey, raisin taste mingles with the peach and grass. — The panela rum is a new one from one of my other favorite American rum distilleries, Hilton Head. It’s somewhat in the style of a Agricole coming from the sugars of the canes first press. It’s not a shy rum, coming through as a star flavor; it’s navy strength at 114 proof (57% ABV). At first, I thought it might be too much as you don’t expect this flavor from the appearance of the drink. However, as the drink rested it played off the sours and the tarragon really well. #rumcocktails #portcocktails #peachcocktails #summercocktails #cocktailadventures #experiencecardinalflight
Voodoo Grog by Trader Vic, 1972 .25 ozhoney .75oz lime juice 1oz gold PR rum (Bacardi Reserva Ocho) 1oz rhum agricole vieux (Clement VSOP) .75oz grapefruit juice .75oz pimento dram (Cotton & Reed Allspice Dram) .5oz passion fruit syrup (homemade) 1 egg white 8oz crushed ice Dissolve honey in lime juice in shaker. Blend for 20 seconds with the rest. Garnished with pineapple leaves, mint, nutmeg, and pinkglow pineapples. Hadn’t made a “traditional” tiki drink in a while and wanted to show off the flavor of rhum Agricole (Clement might be one of my all time favorites, certainly Agricole style). I also love showing that Tiki drinks are not really meant to be totally sweet all the time. so here we go with a good cap to the weekend. Appearance: quintessential tiki style. The garnishes and glass make the party. nose: nutmeg, mint, and pineapple Taste: the grassy notes of the Agricole Vieux hits first with fresh cut grass softness accented by the passion fruit then the honey dissolved in lime. Next comes a bit of woody molasses from the gold rum, Barcardi Ocho is my go-to gold and my recommended Bacardi. The passion fruit syrup is through the whole sip giving a sweetness tempered by the grapefruit. The egg white is subtle, rounding out the pimento sharpness that sometimes comes through. Then the Agricole comes back to finish up. All around a great taste to enjoy at the end of a summer afternoon. #tikidrinks #summercocktails #rum #agricole #experiencecardinalflight
Saturn By “Popo” Galsini, 1967 On today, the evening of my youngest’s third birthday and one of the hottest days of the year, we’re turning to a little remembered Tiki classic perfect for the overly warm weather. The Saturn is gin-based that pairs with some awesome tiki flavors that I love. And on a hot day like today, it’s overly refreshing and just goes down so easy. 1.25oz gin (Caorunn Gin) .5oz lemon juice .5oz passion fruit syrup (homemade) .25oz falernum (Bitter Truth Golden Falernum) .25oz orgeat (Liber & Co) All together blend with plenty of crushed ice until smooth. Top with extra crushed ice. Garnished with lemon twist, cloves, and green cardamom pods. Appearance: milky yellow, like fresh custard. Looks very summertime even with the baking spice garnish. Nose: the cardamom and clove play off the falernum and gin’s botanicals. Mostly I’ve seen garnishes with space kitsch so we amped up the spice element instead. Taste: what can I say, no one is ever prepared for how good this tastes. The orgeat and falernum give a breadth to the gin. I used a more (interesting) floral/botanical gin than a London dry that this typically calls for, but with a heat index of 108 at the time, this kept the drink so light to the taste and feel. #tikidrinks #gincocktails #summercocktails #experiencecardinalflight
What’s the Number? An interesting combo of herbal Cardamaro (basically a wine-based artichoke liqueur), floral gin, and honeydew. I’ve never used Cardamaro, having just found my first bottle, and honeydew as a drink flavor is new for me too. So an experiment, a pretty experiment. The drink name comes from a great down tempo song by Heights of Abraham off of their album, Electric Hush. The song was playing as I finished up the drink. Seemed to fit the hot summer night mood. 1.5oz Gin (Gray Whale) .25oz Cardamaro .5oz Peach Syrup (Turbinado sugar) 1oz Fresh muddled honeydew 2 drops of bergamot extract Muddle enough honeydew to produce about 1 oz of juice and pulp. Mix with peach syrup, gin, and Cardamaro. Shake with ice and double strain into a chilled coupe. 2 drops of bergamot extract and big basil leaf for garnish. Appearance: Slightly cloudy medium golden yellow that captures the light to a glow. The yellow brings out the deep green of the basil leaf. Nose: the bitter orange of the bergamot comes first followed by slight basil from the garnish. The clean honeydew is around the edges Taste: orange and herbal at the forefront merging into the floral gin. The honeydew sits on the top of the tongue and the gin surges around the sides with slight peach coming in to follow. The orange bergamot stays in the mouth and you can feel the gin last. I would lessen the syrup by a quarter ounce as it’s mainly featuring itself as a thickener. It seems like it’s the heaviest feel in the drink. #experiencecardinalflight #meloncocktails #summercocktails #cocktailrecipes
Stoned Love So Sour 1oz Cachaça (Velho Barreiro) .5oz Pineapple liqueur (Giffards Caribbean Pineapple) .25oz Maraschino liqueur (Luxardo) .75 Lemon juice 1oz Spiced Peach Honey syrup 2 dash Grapefruit bitters Add all but bitters to shaker with crushed ice. Shake and pour unstrained, filling with extra crushed ice. Dash grapefruit bitters on top. Garnish with peach fan (better with smaller peaches!) and crushed cinnamon. There is a lovely late summer, early fall flavor with the peach and pineapple and the autumnal baking spices. The Maraschino is more nutty than most realize and plays well off the stone fruit base. The nose is all peach and cinnamon, the taste starts with the peach, pineapple, and honey before the honey warms with the nutty maraschino. #cocktailadventures #experiencecardinalflight