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:

Falernum: To Buy or To Make?

Once you start getting into making tiki drinks, you'll undoubtedly notice that many recipes call for falernum. Falernum is a cordial made from infusing water with almonds, cloves, sugar, and spices. There are many recipes for falernum. You can also buy bottled falernum at your better liquor stores or online. I decided I would take a shot at making my own.

I largely stuck to this recipe from Imbibe Magazine. I made some modifications. First, I made about 1/3 of the amount that the recipe calls for, resulting in a small bottle, or about 1.25 cups of falernum. I  also omitted the star anise. There are a few steps to it, but it's pretty easy. From my limited research on making the stuff, I did see that several recipes called for lime juice. However, there were usually comments that followed saying something along the lines of, "No! You should never add lime juice -- just the zest -- to falernum. Fresh lime juice will make it spoil!" Not wanted my work to go bad within a couple of days, I omitted lime juice (the Imbibe recipe calls only for zest).

The resulting concoction was a fragrant, sweet batch of goodness that I look forward to using in the weeks to come. Got any tricks for making falernum? Let me know!

1. Buy some pre-blanched, pre-skinned, and pre-chopped almonds from a place like Whole Foods. Throw them in a glass jar (I used a pint-size mason jar) and cover with water. Shake occasionally. Let sit for 30 min, then strain and discard the water. Wash jar.

2. Give the wet almonds a rough chop, put them back in the jar, cover again with water, seal up, shake, and let sit for about 4 hours. Shake occasionally.

3. In a sauce pan on medium heat, add a Tbsp. of whole cloves, a Tbsp. of allspice and toss frequently for a minute. Then, add the contents of the jar to the sauce pan.

4. Add a quarter-cup of peeled, roughly cut fresh ginger and about 3/4 cup of sugar to the sauce pan. Stir continuously until it boils, then turn down the heat and let simmer for 15 min, stirring every so often.

5. Remove from heat and let cool. When it cools, add the zest of one lime and stir. Clean the glass jar, and then add the contents of the sauce pan back into the jar. Seal, and refrigerate overnight.

6. The next day, use a strainer and cheese cloth to strain the contents of the jar into a large measuring cup. This takes a few minutes. For every 5 ounces of resulting liquid, add 1 oz. of 151 rum. Stir.

7. Once combined, use a funnel to pour into a swing top bottle and store in your fridge.