The weather's finally starting to warm up here in da Nort'woods, and I've been feeling the need for an exotic summer cocktail; something a little sweet, a little tart, and very aromatic. Basically, I wanted a Mojito that didn't suck, so I whipped up the following drink, based around Pisco, a Peruvian grape brandy, and AGWA, an herbal liqueur made from Bolivian Coca leaves. The result was, if I may toot my own horn a bit, proof positive that I have a certain knack for concocting well-balanced tropical libations (having interesting ingredients to work with sure doesn't hurt).

By the way, Tezcatlipoca was the Aztec god of night, the North, temptation, sorcery, beauty and war. Seemed apropos somehow...

8 fresh mint leaves
1.5 oz. Peruvian Capel Pisco Reservado grape brandy
3/4 oz. AGWA de Bolivia Coca Leaf liqueur
1 oz. 10 Cane Rum
1/2 oz. Trader Vic's Passionfruit syrup
1 oz. Fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/8 tsp. Absinthe or Pernod
Dash of Fee Bros. Grapefruit Bitters

Muddle the mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker, then add all the other ingredients. Shake with 1 cup of crushed ice, then pour into a double Old-Fashioned glass and fill to the top with more crushed ice.

Update: I made a delicious variation of this drink tonight by substituting an ounce of Cachaça Ypioca for the 10 Cane Rum. Since this made it overwhelming South American in content, I decided to name it after the Incan Moon goddess: Secret of Ka-Ata-Killa.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Mucho Mahalos to Trader Tiki for including my Scorpion Rising cocktail in his Mixology Monday: Rum roundup, featuring 34 ultra-sophisticated rum-based libations, and one cheap and tawdry kitchen experiment (mine). I want to try them all, but with my self-imposed 1-drink-per-week limit, I won't be done until sometime next year!

[Link: MxMo Rum Wrap-up]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 5:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After officially shedding 20 pounds, and shaving almost 20 points off my blood pressure to boot, I decided it was time to celebrate by treating myself to a tropical libation this afternoon.

In a recent e-mail discussion with my friend, Kosmonaut, regarding what would constitute an appropriate tiki drink for a large group of people, I'd suggested going with a classic bowl drink like the Scorpion, and multiplying the ingredients to serve the requisite number of imbibers.

Consequently, I had Scorpions on the brain all day today, so I opened up my copy of Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari to the Kelbo's Scorpion recipe, and started tweaking away down in the basement bar. The result can be seen there on the left, and I have dubbed it "Scorpion Rising". No, it's not a tribute to the films of Kenneth Anger, just the cleverest play on words that I could come up with in my semi-inebriated state.

As I said, the Scorpion is a bowl drink, meant to serve 2. Unfortunately, I have yet to locate a Tiki bowl to add to my collection, so I pulled my large Disney World Polynesian Village goblet down off the shelf to serve in it's place.

I've doubled the Bum's recipe, and added several additional ingredients (I'll let you guess which ones). With the addition of a bit more ice, this could've filled a small bowl quite nicely and served 3-4 aloha-shirted, fez-bedecked hipsters (like me!) equipped with long straws.

1 1/2 oz. Fresh-squeezed Lime Juice
1 1/2 oz. Fresh-squeezed (or not) Orange Juice
1 1/2 oz. Brandy (V.S.O.P.)
1 oz. Gin (Hendrick's)
2 oz. Dark Rum (Cruzan Blackstrap)
1 oz. Trader Vic's Passionfruit Syrup
1 oz. Orgeat Syrup
2 tsp. Pimento (Allspice) Liqueur (Berry Hill)
1/8 tsp. Absinthe (Mr. Jekyll)
2 dashes of Fee Bros. Peach Bitters

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker half-filled with crushed ice. Shake vigorously, then pour into a large goblet or bowl. Add more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with beak flower.

The resulting drink is smooth, light, and thanks to the Absinthe and bitters, quite aromatic, but it has a serious bite that sneaks up on your about a half-hour later, so don't go making 3 or 4 of these and pounding them all by yourself!

Okay, celebration's over. I've got another ten pounds to lose...

Posted by MrBaliHai at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)