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Thanks for putting up with me moving again.
T
Following my post on Trader Vics Mai Tai and the rum combos i also would like to present the recipe of the other Mai Tai which is the one that was made by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt aka Don the Beachcomber or simply Don Beach.
The never ending discussion as to who it was who really made the first original Mai Tai is a discussion that seem to be endless..There`s some interesting info on the subject involving a drink named QB Cooler that you can read in Beachbum Berry`s book Sippin Safari. Page 162.
Don Beach did invent a drink that he called Mai Tai but it never reached that fame and shortly dissapeared from his menu.
The conclusion might be that Trader Vic invented the drink that would be world famous under the name Mai Tai, but not based on Don Beach Mai Tai, while Don Beach is the man who invented many of the classsic tikidrinks like the Zombie, the Navy Grog and Missionary`s downfall, (one of my fav tiki drinks) as well as the whole concept of exotic polynesian style restaurants, known as tiki bars. I personally tend to believe that both drinks were original concoctions, the recipes are too different.
Furtermore, in Jeff Berry´s new upcoming book - Beachbum Berry Remixed, there will be a whole six-page discussion about the “Mai Tai Wars,” sorting out the tangled history….Looking forward to read the new book!
I`m quite fascinated by how much can be written and debated about one drink, and which also is one of those that has been the most bastardised along with for example the Daiquiri and the Margarita which you can read about here.
As for Don Beach Mai Tai – here is the recipe:
1.5 oz Myer’s plantation rum (you may sub Appleton)
1 oz Cuban rum ( sub British navy-style rum, like Pusser’s or Lamb’s)
0.75 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz fresh grapefruit juice
0.25 oz falernum
0.5 oz cointreau
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 dash pernod
Shell of squeezed lime
1 cup of cracked ice
Shake for 1 minute. Serve in a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with four sprigs of mint. Add a spear of pineapple. Sip slowly through mint sprigs until desired effect results.
I find this drink just a tad sour so i add 1/4 oz simple syrup to it, but that can also have something to do with how tart your grapefruits and limes are.
But among the two Mai Tais i really prefer Vic`s Mai Tai, there is a reason why it was the one that gained such popularity and now is one of the classics. It has such a balance and yet is very simple. That doesn`t mean that i consider Don Beach Mai Tai a bad drink, oh no, its tasty too.
Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite painting artists, so when i received samples of the Van Gogh label with its artistic bottles my curiosity got sparked. Little did i know that Van Gogh features so many different flavors and some, like the double espresso are quite unusual in that its a colored caffeinated, espresso−infused vodka, with a robust coffee flavor. Van Gogh Vodka produces premium vodka, flavored vodka and gin at the Royal Dirkzwager Distillery in Schiedam, Holland.
It is handcrafted in small batches using wheat, corn, barley and other grains. Its distilled twice in a column still and then a third time in a copper pot still thus creating a smooth spirit. The handcrafted bottles that captured my interest are really beautiful and of course, collectors items. Each flavor has a unique design which incorporates Van Gogh`s brilliant artwork.
I`m for the use of fresh ingredients when it comes to mixing so fresh fruits and homemade syrups and grenadine accompany these cocktails made with a few of Van Gogh`s many flavored vodkas.
PINA PEPPER CRUSH
2 oz Van Gogh Pineapple vodka
5-6 fresh pineapple chunks
8-10 black pepper corns
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz honeywater (1:1 honey+water, warmed up to liquid then cooled)
Top with lemon soda
Coarsely bruise the black pepper corns in a shaker, add pineapple chunks and honeywater and muddle. Add vodka, pineapplejuice and shake hard over ice. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with lemon soda.
Garnish pineapple leaves.
ACAI-BLUEBERRY vodka
This is a bluish colored vodka made from blueberries and acai fruit, so it looks a bit different depending on what you mix with.
ACAI DELIGHT
1.5 oz Van Gogh acai-blueberry vodka
0.5 oz raw sugar syrup
Sprinkle of fresh lemon juice
2 oz fresh ruby grapefruit juice
3 ginger slices
Lemon soda to top
Muddle ginger with the syrup in a shaker. Add the rest of ingredients except the lemon soda. Shake over ice and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice, top with a little soda. Garnish ruby grapefruit wedge and a few blueberries in the glass and strewn over the ice.
THE ACAI-BLUEBERRY
The Acai berry or fruit (pronounced ah-SIGH-ee) grows on a palm tree (L. Euterpe oleracea)in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The Euterpe are tall, slender palms growing to 15–30 meters and the genus is named after the muse Euterpe of Greek mythology. Euterpe means “rejoicing well” or “delight” from Ancient Greek.
Acai looks like purple grapes about the size of a blueberry, growing on slim stems hanging down from the top of the tree. Acai has a tropical berry flavor , some say it tastes like a blueberry with a hint of chocolate.
ICED VANILLA
I cannot pass the opportunity to make yet another vanilla cocktail as i really love vanilla.
2 oz Van Gogh vanilla vodka
0.5 oz vanilla syrup
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
Top with lemon soda and a splash grenadine for color
Shake all except soda and grenadine over ice and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish vanilla bean and mint.
VAN GOGH ESPRESSO CREAM
2 oz van Gogh double espresso vodka
1 oz Amarula cream
0.5 oz cold espresso coffee
Shake over ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Dark cocoa rim.
VAN GOGH GIN & TONIC
0.5 oz simple syrup
0.5 oz lemon juice
Build in highball glass with ice, stir and top with tonic.
Here is a link to a excellent homemade tonic.
For more info on this product, visit Van Gogh website.
Our third sponsored TDN took place thursday the 22 jan – 09 and was sponsored by Mata Hari absinthe. At the same time as most of us participated from all around, Sean-Mike and Marshall from Scofflaws den, Rick from Kaiserpenguin, Nathan, and Sam Harrigan from the Brand Action Team attended the TDN live from Tabard Inn in Washington, D.C where bartender Chantal mixed up the recipes that kept coming in from the rest of us mixing it up in our homes.
As usual in the mixoloseum chat room there were an almost never ending range of drinks, discussions, jokes and tweaking of recipes. For those of you who don`t know what the TDN is, its the “Thursday Drink Night” at the mixoloseum chat room where cocktail enthusiasts, bartenders and spirit writers suggest recipes, makes drinks, tweak them, discuss them after a given theme. I think the video very well explains what TDN is all about:
The TDN went for more than 6-7 hours and there were many people partaking. Here are a few very random comments from the mixoloseum chat room that night, when i think some 30 cocktails in all were made:
User TabardInnCrew has entered this room.
[BonzoGal] Hi, all y’all at Tabard Inn Crew!
[Sam Harrigan] Hello from DC!
[cocktailnerd] We ready for TDN to begin ladies and gentlemen? We have our first drink from Erik Flannestad
[cocktailnerd] Green Pearl Cocktail: 2 oz Dry Gin, 1/2 oz Lime Juice, 1/2-3/4 oz orgeat, dash Absinthe. Shake, strain, up.
[cocktailnerd] keep the welcomes coming and hopefully we’ll have Gerry Fischer, the master distiller joining us soon.
[Sam Harrigan] SeanMike & Marshall from Scofflaw’s Den are with me…Rick Stutz (kaiserpenguin) and Nathan (oysterschnapps) should be joining soon.
rhesuspieces00: I have to confess, i still have no intuition for how to use absinthe as a primary ingredient. its easy to throw a dash or two in anywhere, but any drink that uses more than 1 oz of absinthe and turns out good seems like a small miracle to me.
rumdood: The absinthe is – to me – typically too strong of a flavor.
[steveraye] So from a mixology POV, what’s the solution when using a powerfully flavored ingredient?
rumdood: Finding other strong flavors to balance or temper it.Egg can be good because it’s a great tempering agent.
rhesuspieces00: typically, if i have a really strong ingredient, i try to find other nice things to reduce its potency whil providing a nice back drop to showcase the primary.
[stevideter] peeps ready?
[stevideter] The Dancer Who Loved Me: 1 oz MH, 1 oz Lillet, 1 oz Apricot Orchard, stir over ice, strain into glass filled with cracked ice.
[jayhepburn] that one sounds very interesting.
[steveraye] Gerry just landed at 6:25 from Austria, may not be able to join us till later.But if anyone has any questions, I can answer some of them, but it would be good to wait till Gerry gets on.
[cocktailnerd] Why is there resistance to the Bohemian-style? “Czech-style” I understand given it’s sordid and craptastic history, but this seems a legitimate expression of the form…
[steveraye] That’s the point…all the other products we brought back were super heavy on licorice. Gerry had resurrected this one bec of the lower anise and felt it would work well in cocktails. He was right…AMH outsells his regular Absinthe Montmartre throughout Europe. And the recipe is original…I saw the actual recipe which he keeps in Great Grandpa’s safe.
rhesuspieces00: i’ll confess a preference for marteau, but a low-anise absinthe is useful for a lot of reasons, both for mixing and as a gateway for people trying to learn to appreciate absinthe.
[steveraye] The issue is there are two definitions of “Bohemian”. In acuality, Bohemia is a region of what used to be Czecoslovakia (the west). But Gerry used the word Bohemian as a descriptor of style, not a designation of Geographic origin. But because “czechsinthe” has such a bad rep in the US, people sometimes lump Mata Hari with them, even though when we say Bohemian we mean “reduced anise flavor style”
[Meade] steveraye for me, czech absinthe is traditionally horrible because of bad distilling methods. that isn’t always true, but that’s valid for any generalization.
[steveraye] Meade, youre right. Czechsinthe generally is bad GNS mixed with wormwood flavors and food coloring. AMH is macerated, distilled, and the color comes naturally. from wormwood pontica.
User geraldfischer has entered this room.
[TabardInnCrew] Hi Gerald and welcome to TDN!
[geraldfischer] I heard the question about bad reputation of bohemian absinthe and if it should be called wormwood bitter
[cocktailnerd] Yeah,we were discussing earlier how the Bohemian style of absinthe compares to “more traditional” Swiss and French styles, what can you tell us about the Bohemina style’s development and history?
[steveraye] We were talking about the origins of Bohemian=lower anise. I explained two definitions, bohemian style, and Bohemia the region which unfortunately is associated with czechsinthe here in the US
[geraldfischer] I would like to start by stating that wormwood and absinthe is the same word ,first in english and then latin.So weare talking about a spirit made out of wormwood ! I found out that wormwood ( already used by the romans ) was used first for psychic reasons by Hildegard of Bingen a Benedictine in the 12th century as medicine against Melancholism and depression.
[geraldfischer] Are we using wormwood in a spirit because of its taste ( bitter ) or because of its effect ?
[tiare] I would think taste yes, and then effect.
[geraldfischer] In the countries of the former Austrian Hungerian Monarchy ( Germany/Italy/Hungry/Czech ) we like Bitterspirits and we never had a problem with the bitter taste of wormwood.
[dietsch] My wife and I both enjoy our cocktails more bitter than sweet.
[geraldfischer] The only spice that can cover a bitter taste is aniseed / licorice
[camper] here is my question: paul pacult says MH is “sweeter than most” absinthes. yet i think we all think of it as the least sweet absinthe. do you think that anise gives a perception of sweetness?
[geraldfischer] Aniseed makes it milder if you like licorice taste.
[camper] it’s almost like anise has a coating effect, as you say negating the bitterness. i am wondering if we confuse it with sweetness.
[geraldfischer] the bad reputation of czech absinthe results because of two reasons. Absinthe was reborn in the late 80´s by small company called Hill´s selling their bohemian absinthe to the clubs in London.The small distilleries in Europe had mostly disapeared and the remaining bigger ones were not interested in the small absinthe market.
But a lot of former pot smoker thought that theyfound the LEGAL drug and mixed their absinthes in the cellar of their homes. Mid of the 90´s we had 350 different absinthe of producers that nobodyknew before !
Please choose the absinthe that tastes best to you either in the french way if you like licorice or in the bohemian way if you prefer a bitter spirit.I would like to point out to you that Mata Hari is the only not licorice tasting Absinthe that has a Louche Effect with ice & Water.
[cocktailnerd] what oils, outside of wormwood, are causing that?
[geraldfischer] Secret, kept next to the Coca Cola recipe 
[samuraibartender] geraldfischer – When you’ve a moment; I swear I get a slight flavor not dissimilar to cinnamon in the taste of Mata Hari. Anything you can tell us about that?
[geraldfischer] Yes we use a kind of cinnamon, we call CASSIA.
[TabardInnCrew] i’ve got a drink when people are ready.
[TabardInnCrew] The Sum of the Derivative: 1 1/2 oz bourbon, 1/2 oz Mata Hari, 1/2 oz Dolin blanc vermouth, dash of angostura.
[cocktailnerd] how did your opinion of Mata Hari change as a result of this evening?
[samuraibartender] It’s good, in cocktails – different and I don;t think I;d throw it at every cocktail what calls for a quantity of absinthe, but not bad for mixing overall
[rumdood]: I’m enjoying what I’ve mixed tonight. It’s definitely a mixer and not a traditional absinthe.
[Meade] honestly, i didn’t have one prior to me tasting it. forever ago i read about it containing diviner’s sage, which intrigied me, but i took it as it was and it was delicious.
[tiare] Its really enjoyable as mixer i think.
[Meade] mata hari fits into “absinthe” to be, but i just wouldn’t call it an absinthe francaise.
[camper] i found the statement that absinthe, since it means wormwood, means it should taste like wormwood, to be an intriguing idea and has caused me to reconsider my thoughts about it.
Here is a link to the wrap-up of the Mata Hari TDN.
LA LIMONATA
1.5 oz tequila
1 oz Mata Hari absinthe
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup
Lemon soda to top.
Shake and strain into glass filled with crushed ice.
Garnish a lime wedge and mint.
What`s your opinion on Bohemian style absinthe?
Cherry Heering has been produced in Denmark since 1818 to an original secret recipe handed down through five generations, and is the original “Cherry Brandy.”
The cherries – a special strain of cherry is used – the small, dark Stevens Cherry which has been evolved from an ancient variety still to be found growing wild in parts of Denmark, are pressed together with stones to create a unique cherry taste, and then placed in wooden casks with more spirit added together with spices. No artificial flavours or colouring is used. In order to ensure that the rich taste of the cherries is maximized, the blend needs to rest and circulate for several months. 3-5 years later the product will be bottled.
As i really love cherries it isn`t hard for me to like this product especially since it really is of a very good quality. I find the taste just sweet enough, its deep,warm and rounded with a very pleasant cherry flavor. It`s an essential ingredient in the Singapore Sling and Blood and Sand cocktails. And Blood and Sand is a cocktail which is a favorite of mine, so here it is :
BLOOD AND SAND
This drink has got its name from the film starring Rudolf Valentino as a bullfighter,in 1922. Its served at Tiki Ti with a top pouring of tequila while the crowd led by one of the Mikes yells toro toro tooooorooo..
I wanted to try that (the tequila part) but if I sit here at home yelling toro, toro, toro while pouring a drink I`m not sure how the people here would react. I could be thrown out head first.
For my Blood and Sand I decided to try my Yamazaki 10, wonderfully inspired by my friend Chris who used Yamazaki 12 in his version of this drink. And blood oranges…I just love them! and of course I want to use them as much as I can while they still are in season.
* 1 ounce Yamazaki 10
* 1 ounce fresh-squeezed blood-orange juice
* ¾ ounce Cherry Heering
* ¾ ounce sweeet vermouth
* splash tequila
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with a little splash of tequila. Garnish with pineapple and a brandied cherry.
It tasted great with the Yamazaki and the tequila topping, very interesting. I will definetily make more of these. For garnish I used a pineapple/brandied cherry garnish lazily strewn on top of the foam, mmmm…
Inspired by Blood and Sand i made another little cocktail that i call Cherry and Sand which also was a part of the float themed TDN a while ago.
CHERRY AND SAND
1 oz Bourbon
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
¾ oz Cherry Heering
0.5 tsp simple syryp
Top with Lemon Soda
Float Lemon Hart 151
Shake over ice and servi with crushed ice in a highball glass, garnish with fresh mint.
To round it up i made a tiki drink, a version of the Aloha cocktail:
ALOHA COCKTAIL #2
This cocktail is based on the Aloha cocktail page55 in Sippin Safari.The original recipe uses 151 Bacardi rum and light Puerto Rican rum. I switched the Angostura bitters for their orange bitters, used hibiscus grenadine and upped the orange juice to 1 oz from 0.5. Apart from that its the same recipe as in the book.
0.5 oz white rum
0.5 oz JWray overproof
1.0 oz fresh orange juice
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
0.5 oz hibiscus grenadine
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters
Shake and strain into a ice filled glass. Garnish cherry and pineapple leaves or pineapple slice. This cocktail went down way too easily, its really tasty.
Visit Cherry Heering.
A MAI TAI A DAY…
As a part of the Mai Tai rum combo cocktail-blog coverage i have made a couple different Mai Tais, mostly from demerara rums.I know the Mai Tai had dark Jamaican rum first, and then was paired with a Martiniqan rum, but i think demerara rums makes awesome Mai Tais and the whole idea of this rum combo coverage is to, well, try different rum combos..
The coverage on the other 3 blogs will contain enough rum combos to cover most needs for tasty Mai Tais…rumdood alone have some 118 rums to choose from…So together we will all hopefully cover enough various rum combos to keep most thirsty Mai Tai lovers happy regardless of where you live, we hope there will be something for everyone. Keep an eye on these blogs as their posts are on their way and rumdood is going to post more on the Mai Tai.
Our best rum combos will also be posted in a wrap-up on the mixoloseum blog. The whole january and into february has been and continues to be Mai Tai month for us, we are working with various rum combinations in our search for the tastiest Mai Tais all based on Trader Vics recipe, as well as attempting to set the recipe for a real Mai Tai straight.
This months Mixology Monday is hosted by A Mixed Dram, thank you for hosting! We get a good portion of freedom of imagination and also a challenge here when we are supposed to do something we haven`t done before.
There were a few suggestions: “Try a new base spirit.”, “Use a technique you’ve never used before”, “Been reading about those really cool and wacky purees infused with spices and herbs and other flavourings, or some other cool culinary technique? I challenge you to bring it here next month.”
After some thinking i finally have choosen to make a Indian style cocktail (which i haven`t done before) using some spices i haven`t used before in cocktails, which is fresh turmeric and cumin syrup.
The fragrance from the shaker when everything was muddled was so fresh! the drink tasted fruity-earthy-spicy and fresh. I´m not sure if i felt the taste of the cumin syrup or not, but overall i was pleased with this drink and the bright yellow color was needed in this darkness of the winter that is now. It was really interesting to make a indian style spiced cocktail and i want to make more.
INDIAN SUNSHINE
1 oz gold and 1 oz white rum
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
0.5 oz cumin syrup
1 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
A small splash mango juice
A very small piece of fresh turmeric, be careful so it doesnt overpower the drink.This also will stain everything yellow including your stomach..so use not your nicest wooden muddler. This is what imparts such a lovely yellow sunshine color to the drink.
A small amount fresh cilantro, like a small sprig.
Garnish with fresh curry leaves and a sprig of peppermint.
Muddle a very small piece of fresh turmeric ( remember this spice is strong) with cumin syrup, fresh cilantro and lime juice in a shaker and add the rest of ingredients. Shake over ice and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Sprinkle dark cocoa and chilipowder on top.(i used Santa Marias cocoa and chili powder)
CUMIN SYRUP
1 tsp cumin seeds
Equal parts water and raw cane sugar, 1 cup each
Heat cumin seeds in a hot skillet until fragrant. Add the cumin seeds to a pan and add the water and bring to a boil. Then simmer for a little while, about 4-5 minutes and then add the sugar and stir until it`s dissolved.
Remove from heat, cool, strain, bottle. Keep in fridge.
When smelling the roots of the turmeric you can really see that its a member of the ginger family -
( Zingiberaceae), just as the cardamom plant. They all have that same sort of delightful “raw” and “earthy-peppery-citrusy” fragrance. When i used to work in a tropical greenhouse i quite often replanted large cardamom plants and i remember how i enjoyed the fresh smell of their roots.
Time for dessert!
While waiting for the MxMo and the following Mai Tai rum combo posts i have this little dessert to squeeze in between, enjoy!
In this second part of my series on demerara rums i`m going to write about BanksXM, Old Vatted and Samaroli Port Morant 1990.
Many of these demeraras and other tasty rums are going to be used in the big Mai Tai rum combo coverage that will take place on jan 26 involving 4 cocktail blogs: Rumdood, Trader Tiki, KaiserPenguin and this blog. Our best rum combos will also be posted in a wrap-up on the Mixoloseum blog. The whole january is a Mai Tai month for us, we are working with various rum combinations in our search for the tastiest Mai Tais all based on Trader Vics recipe, as well as attempting to set the recipe for a real Mai Tai straight. Presented to you on jan 26!
How often have you had a real Mai Tai in a bar?
 | Sylvia on DEMERARA RUMS Part Two |
| Sylvia on A MONTH OF MAI TAIS |
 | ellena307 on VAN GOGH – A PALETTE OF… |
 | allene on MXMO XXXIV SPICE |
 | Adam on CHERRY HEERING |
 | Miguel on MAI TAI – DON THE B… |
 | armando on TEQUILA XQ REPOSADO |
 | rm on ELEMENTS EIGHT [e]8 RUMS |
 | Capital Drinks on DEMERARA RUMS Part Two |
| Colonel Tiki’s… on MXMO XXXIV SPICE |
