Cocktail #47: The Twenty Seventy Swizzle

I decided to change things up slightly this week by trying out a contemporary cocktail, which I found in the wonderful Smuggler's Cove book by Martin and Rebecca Cate. Cate describes how he and one of the "Masters of the Cove" created this cocktail in the quest to make the ultimate swizzle cocktail. The name of the drink was inspired by numbers contained in the names of two of the rums Cate used to create this drink: Angostura 1919 and Lemon Hart 151. Alas, I didn't have Angostura 1919 rum, nor did I even have any other column still aged rum on hand (this obviously needs to be remedied in short order!), so I did my best with what I had. I used Mount Gay Eclipse, a rum somewhat similar in color, and with some of the same flavor notes that Cate describes the 1919 of having - particularly the vanilla, which is also present in the Mount Gay.

Here's the recipe:

0.50 oz. fresh lime juice

0.50 oz. Demerara syrup

0.50 oz. honey syrup (I used equal parts water and a wonderful macadamia honey a friend got for us)

0.25 oz. St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

1.00 oz. column still aged rum (I used Mount Gay, which is not the type of rum specified)

1.00 oz. black blended overproof rum (I used Lemon Hart 151)

1 dash Herbstura (equal parts Herbsaint or Pernod and Angostura bitters)

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Add all the ingredients to a Collins or highball glass, then add crushed ice until the glass is 3/4 full. Use a bar spoon or lele to swizzle. Top up with additional crushed ice as needed to fill the glass and garnish. I garnished with mint, a lime wheel, and cocktail cherry.

Cate also recommends using a swizzle napkin wrap, which I used back on cocktail #24, the Chartreuse Swizzle. He learned how to do this when he worked at Trader Vic's and made the Queens Park Swizzle. Basically, you unfold a cocktail napkin, fold it in half diagonally making a right triangle, then fold over in about 1.5" sections. Then, wrap around the glass, and knot. This gives the drinker something to hold other than a very cold, frosty glass. 

This is a really wonderful cocktail. It hits all of my favorite notes - first, the bouquet of mint as you pull the glass up for a sip, then the richness of the black rum, a hint of vanilla from the lighter rum, a savory spiciness from the Herbstura, allspice dram, and nutmeg, all kept in check by the sweetness of the syrups, and citrus of the lime. Absolutely wonderful. This ranks up there in my Top 10 for sure. I found that it got even more enjoyable as the ice diluted a bit, taking away the slight burn of the 151 that was there on the first sip. I can only imagine that using an aged rum would only improve this drink. Give it a try!

This week I leave you with some very interesting footage from 1956 - vacation footage from someone's trip to Bermuda! Ok, so maybe other people's vacation films can be boring, but this is actually worth a skim if, for nothing else, the cars, Bermuda short-wearing sailors, and lots of people who, on a tropical vacation, are dressed better than most people dress to go to work in 2017. I really wish I had a reason to purchase and wear a white dinner jacket ... sigh. Enjoy!

Cocktail #3: Puka Punch

A couple of weeks ago I tried my hand at making a small batch of falernum, so I came to this weekend's cocktail looking for a drink which called for falernum so I could try it out. Thumbing through Beachbum Berry's Intoxica!  I came across the recipe for Puka Punch. Berry credits the drink to the Tiki-Ti, a classic tiki bar in L.A., circa 1960s. Ray Buhen opened the place in '61 after three decades of working in some of L.A.'s original tiki bars including Don the Beachcomber's (starting in '34), the Seven Seas, and The Palms. The others have long since closed, but the Tiki-Ti is still going strong. I've never been, but the next time I'm in L.A. it'll be a must see.

The Puka Punch is a cocktail to be reckoned with. Weighing in with nearly 4 ounces of rum (including 3/4 oz of 151), this drink can pack a punch. Some of the old time Polynesian Palaces used to print "Limit: 2 per customer" next to some of their supposedly stronger drinks on the menu and this one falls into that category. Here's the setup:

The recipe is as follows:

1 oz. fresh lime juice
.75 oz. orange juice (I had some clementines on hand so I just juiced those)
.75 oz. pineapple juice
.75 oz. passion fruit syrup
.75 oz. honey
.25 oz. falernum
dash Angustura bitters
1 oz. white Puerto Rican (I used Virgin Islands) rum
1 oz. dark west Indies rum
.75 oz. Myers's Rum
.75 oz. 151 Demerara rum

For the honey, I actually used a honey simple syrup I made a couple weeks ago - basically heating equal parts honey and water until combined. I added a splash of vodka to the honey mixture to make it last a little longer - it should keep in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

Combine all the ingredients except the 151 rum into a blender with one cup of crushed ice. Blend thoroughly (I made the mistake of blending only for a few seconds with the result of chunks of ice left that were too big to make it through my straw, so make sure you really blend it).

The original recipe calls for serving this in a clear chimney glass, but I chose to pour this sucker into my vintage black Maoi tiki mug that I found for $5 at an antique store in Minnesota (apparently it's from an establishment call the Fireside in Ft. Atkinson, WI - so says a label on the back of the mug). Float the 151 on top of the slushy goodness, and garnish however you like - I speared a clementine wheel, lime wheel and maraschino cherry to a paper umbrella.

What really comes through in this drink is the passion fruit syrup - be careful to use the correct amount. And despite the hefty pour of rum present, it's not at all overly boozy. It is a big drink, however, so nurse it and make it last and savor every drop! Cheers!

Since this weekend is the venerable Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekender, I've been listening to a lot of 50s-60s rockabilly and surf music, so I recommend checking out The Astronauts, a great surf band from the 1960s. Here's about an hour's worth of their instrumentals to get you going: