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Here's another fix for you grill-junkies out there: 4 bacon-wrapped Filet Mignons, brushed with Sesame oil, and sprinkled with Lemon Pepper and fresh Rosemary. Served with locally-grown, organic salad fixin's, mushrooms fried in olive oil, and Pomme Frites, accompanied by an unpretentious 2005 Diablita Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Sirah mix.
Dinner tonight included lamb chops, brushed with olive oil, fresh rosemary, and lemon pepper, then grilled over mesquite, and served with garlic Naan bread, Basmati rice, and green beans with mustard and ginger. An excellent bottle of 2005 Viña Borgia Campo De Borja Grenache was uncorked to accompany our feast.
Okay, I know I've been posting a lot of Tiki-related stuff lately, and that's not all this 'blog is about, so I'm going to upload one more batch of Tropical cocktailia, then move on to more general linkage for a while (or not, as the mood strikes me).
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.
I've created a new Flickr pool called, Exotic Cocktails and Tiki Mugs, dedicated to the worship, admiration, and consumption of exotic tropical cocktails, as well as the multitude of vintage Tiki mugs that were filled with these classic libations.
The pool is currently invite-only to keep things on topic, so if you like to photograph tropical cocktails and/or Tiki mugs, get yourself a Flickr account, add me as a contact, and send me an e-mail along with a sample of your work.
See you there!
[Link: Exotic Cocktails and Tiki Mugs]
Doctor Funk is a classic tropical cocktail served in practically every Tiki bar and Chinese restaurant on the planet. Like most Tiki drinks, the recipe varies wildly depending on the establishment, but one thing that seems to remain constant is the fact that it's almost always served in some variation of a Fu Manchu mug. The only exception to the rule I've found is Trader Vic's Doctor Funk of Tahiti, which is served in a chimney glass.
The creation of the Doctor Funk was attributed to a 1937 Don the Beachcomber recipe by Beachbum Berry in his 2nd cocktail guide Intoxica!, but Sven Kirsten, author of The Book of Tiki and Tiki Modern, has revealed that its origins go back much further, all the way to the beginning of the 20th Century, and perhaps even earlier, when he came across the following paragraph in a 1919 narrative of Polynesia called, White Shadows in the South Seas, describing not only a much earlier version of the Doctor Funk cocktail, but also revealing that Doctor Funk was in fact a real person...a German doctor living in Samoa, and the personal physician of author Robert Louis Stevenson.
A general description of the Doctor Funk cocktail recipe appears in the 1921 book, Mystic Isles of the South Seas:
"I had been introduced to a Doctor Funk by Count Polonsky, who told me it was made of a portion of absinthe, a dash of grenadine,—a syrup of the pomegranate fruit,—the juice of two limes, and half a pint of siphon water. Dr. Funk of Samoa, who had been a physician to Robert Louis Stevenson, had left the receipt for the concoction when he was a guest of the club. One paid half a franc for it, and it would restore self-respect and interest in one's surroundings when even Tahiti rum failed."
So that's sorted, but the question remains: how did a German doctor in Samoa wind up getting an Absinthe cocktail served in a Fu Manchu mug named after him? Unfortunately, no one has figured that one out yet, but you can ponder the sublime mystery of Doctor Funk while enjoying Don the Beachcomber's delicious version of his eponymous cocktail:
2 1/2 oz. Dark Jamaican Rum (Cruzan Blackstrap)
2 1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/2 oz. Club Soda
1/2 oz. Grenadine
1/4 oz. Absinthe (Mr. Jeykll)
Shake all ingredients except club soda in a cocktail shaker with 1 cup of crushed ice. Pour into Fu Manchu mug or 12 oz. chimney glass. Top with soda and more crushed ice to fill.
[Link: The Real Dr. Funk]
[Link: White Shadows in the South Seas (ebook)]
Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
During today's frantic rush to get the sweet corn shucked, the watermelon carved, and burgers and bratwurst barbequed for our Independence Day feast, I set aside some quality time to make this fantastic Pineapple Delight cocktail.
Tiare from A Mountain of Crushed Ice shared the recipe with me a few days ago, and I was immediately intrigued by its unique variety of flavors, particularly the honey-cream mix with 151 rum. I also though it would be fun to add some pyrotechnics in honor of the holiday, so I whipped up a Flaming Fruit Flip garnish from Matt Maranian's book, PAD: The Guide to Ultra-Living. Believe me, it tastes as good as it looks, and I'll be using the leftover honey-rum mix to spread on my toast tomorrow morning.
Here's the recipe. If you don't have one of those fancy pineapple corers, check out these helpful instructions from Dr. Bamboo, showing you how to core it with a knife and spoon (and after you've finished off the Pineapple Delight, you really should try the Pina Pineapple recipe that goes with the instructions).
Ingredients:
1 cored pineapple
Juice of 2 small limes
2 large chunks of pineapple
1 Tsp. Orgeat syrup
1 3/4 oz. Rhum Agricole Blanc
1 can of Ting Jamaican grapefruit soda (I subbed a mixture of 1 oz. grapefruit juice and 1 cup of club soda)
2 Tbsp. Honey-cream mix
Flaming Fruit Flip garnish
Honey-cream Mix:
Add 1 Tbsp of each to a small bowl: honey, fine sugar, and butter). Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds at low power. Stir, then heat again until butter has completely melted., then mix in 1 Tbsp. of Lemon Hart Demerara 151 rum. Keep warm until ready to use.
Flaming Fruit Flip Garnish:
Cut a bamboo skewer so it just fits across the top of the pineapple, Then skewer the top of a lemon, maraschino cherry, lime wedge, another cherry, a scooped-out orange wedge, and a thick twist of orange peel. Rest a crouton soaked in lemon extract in the orange wedge.
Directions:
Muddle the pineapple chunks in a cocktail shaker, then add all other ingredients with a 1/2 cup of crushed ice. Shake until well chilled, then pour into pineapple shell. Add Ting and more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with pineapple leaves, and flaming skewer.
While your sipping it, have a gander at Tiare's gorgeous cocktail photos.
Okole Maluna!
Yeah, they're trendy as hell right now, but a well-made Mojito is still a thing of beauty. This variation adds lemon rind to the classic recipe, and a dash of aromatic bitters, which I've seen Cuban bartenders do when I've had Mojitos in Spain. The Agricole Blanc is very funky and earthy, similar to Cachaça.
Ingredients:
12 mint leaves
Rind of 1 small lemon (without the white pith)
Juice of 1 small lime (about 1 1/2 oz.)
1 teaspoon sugar or simple syrup
1/2 cup crushed ice
2 ounces Rhum Agricole Blanc (I used Neissen from Martinique)
Dash of aromatic bitters (I used Fee Bros)
Club soda to taste
Directions:
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint leaves, lemon rind, and lime juice. Combine with the sugar, rum and ice, then stir. Pour into a tall glass, then top with sparkling mineral water and crushed ice to fill. Add a dash of aromatic bitters on top. Garnish with mint sprig.
After months of late-night research and seemingly endless experiments in basement mixology, I'm proud to announce the Official Cocktail of my home Tiki bar, The Hai'deaway Headhunter, always on the menu, and always made with the freshest and finest ingredients. Bring this 'blog post with you, and receive a dollar off the regular price, or use the following recipe to make one at home:
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz. Freshly-squeezed Orange Juice
1 oz. Freshly-squeezed Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Freshly-squeezed Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz. Kalani Coconut Liqueur
1/2 oz. Señor de Curaçao Curaçao Liqueur
1/4 oz. Trader Vic's Macadamia Nut Liqueur
1 oz. 10 Cane Rum
1/2 oz. Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
1/2 oz. Appleton Estate V/X
1/2 oz. Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva
1/8 oz. Absinthe
1/2 oz. Lemon Hart Demerara 151 Rum
1/4oz. Trader Vic's Maraschino Syrup.
Combine all ingredients, except the Lemon Hart 151 and Maraschino syrup, in a blender with 1 cup of crushed ice, and blend for exactly 5 seconds. Pour into a Hurricane glass, and fill with more crushed ice. Float 151 and Maraschino syrup on top. Garnish with the biggest mint sprig you can find.
Suck 'Em Up!