The Right Drink for the Right Mug
I've started a new project recently, which involves going through my Tiki mug collection, researching which drinks were served in each mug, then recreating the recipes as closely as possible, and photographing the results for my Exotic Cocktails and Tiki Mugs Flickr Pool.
So far, it's proving to be a fun and delicious task. I've already recreated the Stockton Islander Mai Tai, the Trader Vic's Honi Honi, and the Mark Thomas Outrigger Sneaky Tiki. Tonight, I decided to tackle my namesake, the Mr. Bali Hai cocktail from the Bali Hai Restaurant in San Diego, CA, served in their signature mug, which happens to be the first Tiki mug I ever bought, hence my nom-de-Internets.
This drink no longer appears on their menu, but I found the recipe in Beachbum Berry's Intoxica!. It was excellent, a fact I attribute in no small part to using my own sweet & sour mix, and better rums than the recipe called for.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Sweet & Sour Mix (I made my own from 1/2 part fresh lime juice, 1/2 part fresh lemon juice, and 1 part simple syrup)
1/2 oz. Hiram Walker Coffee Brandy
3/4 oz. White Puerto Rican Rum (I used 10 Cane because I don't like PR rum)
1 oz. Myer's Dark Rum (I used Cruzan Blackstrap)
Shake with large scoop of crushed ice and pour into MBH mug or other large tiki mug. Fill with more crushed ice.
Comments
I've been lurking here for a while now without feeling the need to comment, but seriously, 10 Cane?
My rule is, never mix with anything you wouldn't drink straight. Ever try 10 Cane neat? I can't speak for you, but, ... bleargh.... Never again.
My suggestion: Substitute Cane Syrup for the simple syrup (I have a bottle of Petite Canne Traditional Martinique Sugar Cane Syrup that's lasted quite a while now) for any simple syrup called for in the recipe, and then replace any amber Puerto Rican rum with nice, dry Pusser's. It's a blended rum, but that's okay, because you're not using the amber rum for character, but for body.
10 Cane is a nasty, nasty shortcut. IMO, that is. You may not care for Pusser's. Tastes differ. But try it my way, or you're wrong. :-)
Posted by: Howard | July 15, 2008 11:24 PM
Sorry you don't approve of my choice of rum, Howard, but as you say, tastes differ.
I think 10 Cane is perfectly adequate for use as a mixer, particularly as a substitute for the bland, white Puerto Rican rums called for in a lot of the Grog Log recipes. Is it as good as say, an Agricole Blanc? No, but it worked just fine in this cocktail, and I'd use it again.
As for your rule, I have several excellent sipping rums that, quite frankly, suck as mixers and totally overpower any drink you put them in (Sea Wynde comes immediately to mind). I'm more interested in crafting a well-balanced drink that lets all the flavors shine through, and premium sipping rums usually don't work too well for that purpose.
If I could find sugar-cane syrup around these parts, I'd use it, but simple syrup is what I have, and what I can easily make at home. One of the reasons I used 10 Cane in this recipe was to give the drink a bit of cane flavor.
Pussers, yes, I have it, I use it, and I like it a lot, particularly in Painkillers.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | July 16, 2008 5:48 AM
As long as you like the rum in your glass everything is fine.
Posted by: Tiare | July 17, 2008 11:46 AM
Exactly, Tiare. I don't like Bacardi, but I don't go around telling everyone not to drink it.
As long as no one is forcing me to drink something I don't like, everything is cool.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | July 17, 2008 12:11 PM