MAI TAI – DON THE BEACHCOMBER`S

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.

MY FAVORITE COCKTAILS FROM THE TDN

There were many many nice cocktails at last nights TDN (Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum) which took off right after the garnish chat was over, A wrap up of the garnish chat and the TDN will soon be posted both here, at KaiserPenguin and the Mixoloseum blog. In the meantime i want to share the recipes of the 2 drinks that were my favorites of those i was able to make from this TDN.

The first is a drink made by Stevi at Two at the Most. The recipe calls for absinthe which i don`t have so i made it without, it was still very tasty.

THE KENTUCKY RUM RUNNER

1 oz dark rum
1 oz gold rum
1/2 0z Bourbon
1 oz grapefruit juice
1/2 oz honey-mix
2 dashes absinthe
Top with Ginger Beer

I used some Limequats here for garnish. Limequats look like some little mini limes, they are of course, a cross between kumquat and lime.

The next was a tropical dream..the Exotic Passion, recipe by Nathan:

EXOTIC PASSION

1 oz lime juice
1.5 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz ginger syrup
2 oz gin

Shake and strain.

And starting up with these two nice drinks i had of course to make a third, so i made up a little coconut punch with rhum agricole:

LE PUNCH

1.5 oz rhum agricole blanc
1 oz passionfruit juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz vanilla syrup
1 oz coconut milk

Blend with crushed ice.

This drink has a garnish i just tried so here is how to make it:

Use a channel knife and cut a long spiral around a third of the orange, then carefully slide the channel knife out from the spiral. Then cut a slice of the orange leaving the spiral attached. make a cut near the rind and place the wedge on the rim, then loosely wrap the spiral around the glass.

GARNISH SESSION, COCKTAIL GARNISH CONTEST AND TDN AT MIXOLOSEUM

This thursday two exciting events will happen at Mixoloseum.

First there will be a cocktail garnish chat hosted by Rick “KaiserPenguin“ Stutz, a fabulous garnisher and photographer, me and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, as you know author of several famous and outstanding books on Tiki cocktails.

Everything from the simplest lemon twists to the most crazy/funny ideas and elaborate ice moulds and dramatic fire displays will be discussed. It starts at 6pm EST.

Right after that a Tiki-themed TDN takes off! can it get any better?

And to quote KaiserPenguin: “If you are at work during the chat, bring in a lemon, lime, and a vegetable peeler.There’s nothing like spritzing your monitor with citrus oil in the afternoon.”

COCKTAIL GARNISH CONTEST

We also want to announce that we have a Mixoloseum cocktail garnish contest!

From today and until oct 30, make a nice cocktail with appropriate garnish. Be creative, be crazy and dont be shy..Best garnish wins a bottle of this years limited release of Blossa Swedish Glogg.

These Gloggs are only sold in a very limited quantity and mostly finish very very fast .They are only sold once to never come back again.

Here you can see how they look and this years release which is Blueberry flavored.

http://www.bvd.se/en/news-28-01.htm

http://www.bvd.se/en/news-28-02.htm

When you have made your drink, take a pic and upload it somewhere, like flickr or picasa and then in true MxMo fashion write a comment with a link to the pic and your blog or/and e-mail under this post about this garnish chat.

We pick the winner during the week after prior to the next TDN – oct 30 to be announced at the TDN, and our blogs The pricebottle will be sent out as soon as its out for sale which will probably be in mid november.

So take the chance and win a bottle of this elusive Glogg which bottles are award winning design. A good start is to be active here tonight in the garnish chat!

So get ready for garnishing and whip up a Tiki drink and join the fun!

DR FUNK AND DR FUNK`S SON

Dr Funk´s Son encased in a tower of crushed ice.

Who is Dr Funk and who is Dr Funk`s son?

Dr Funk is a classic Tiki drink named after a a German doctor who practised in Samoa treating among others the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson, sometimes in the beginning of the 20th Century, maybe even earlier. Most likely he created the drink as a medicinal tonic for his patients.

The German Dr Bernard Funk was employed in 1867 to practise privately in Apia, Samoa in the eighteen-nineties. So how did a German doctor in Samoa wind up getting an Absinthe cocktail served in a Fu Manchu mug named after him? That question remains to be answered..

HOW TO MAKE THE VAHINE DELIGHT

After i had the Vahine Delight posted at flickr i have got some e-mails with requests to make a little tutorial with pictures for making the drink at my blog. The Vahine Delight is the cousin to the Pineapple Delight, which in turn is a cousin to Mahikis Mango-Pineapple Float. The difference between them is that in the Mango-Pineapple float there´s a spoon of Mango sorbet on top and some JWray overproof rum is added to the honey cream mix.

In the Pineapple Delight there is no sorbet and in this one there is no JWray or Ting either but Sanpellegrino Limonata and 2 rhum agricoles, a white and a vieux instead of just a white. The Pineapple Delight also has dash of grapefruit bitters.

TIKI DRINKS WITH A TWIST

There are no other drinks like the Tiki drinks when it comes to ingredients, they are many and often hard to find, some are not made anymore. They are also time consuming to make, and you need to frequently use that blender… but oh how lovely they are! a well made Tiki cocktail with fresh ingredients served over ice cold crushed ice with a lush tropical fragrant garnish is really something of a treat. They are often strikingly elaborate and colorful displays and a wonder of balanced flavors if made the way they should.

MIXOLOGY MONDAY – NEW ORLEANS!

This months Mixology Monday hosted by The Cocktail Chronicles has a great theme for July 2008…New Orleans! Thanks Paul for hosting.

New Orleans…i have never been there but its been on my wish list for places to see, and now i really wish i could have been there to attend the Tales of the Cocktail…but maybe next year is my turn? Its seems to be a fantastic city, full of creativity and vibrant life, good music, fantastic food, and of course..The Tales of the Cocktail event.

EXPERIMENTING WITH ICE MOLDING

Reading through the Bums book Sippin`Safari there is one thing that has always been fascinating me and that`s all those gorgeous ice molds in the drinks..they are really from another time..

PENANG AFRIDIDI AND A FRIED FISH

PENANG AFRIDIDI #1

This drink is from Beachbum Berry`s book Sippin Safari, and as i don`t have all the exact ingredients, this is my version:

¼ oz Fresh Lime Juice
½ oz Unsweetened Pineapple Juice
½ oz Orange Juice
½ Passion Fruit Syrup
1 ½ oz Havana Club Blanco
1 ½ oz Lemon Hart Jamaican
Rinse the glass with Pernod
¾ cup crushed ice.

Put everything in a blender saving ice for last. Blend 5 sek and pour in a tall glass and add more ice to fill. And i couldn`t resist to add some of the liquid from my jar of homemade Maraschino cherries..

COCONUT AND COCONAUT

The Coconaut is a very tasty Tikidrink which i like a lot. This evening i was going to let some friends taste this drink and i wanted a nice garnish. So what would fit better than some toasted shaved coconut?