Autumn and I have recently been tinkering around the bar, trying to create some new cocktails. Although we’ve come up with some amazing rum-based drinks recently, we thought we would switch things up and try our hand at the lesser-used alcohol of the tiki world: Tequila.
We asked ourselves, “how can we tikify a margarita, while still staying true to its roots”? We ended up landing on a drink we call “El Escondite”. It contains the basic ingredients of a Margarita (tequila, orange, lime), plus some tropical additions (fresh orange and pineapple juices, Liquor 43, and honey simple syrup). The following post provides the necessary ingredients and steps for making this drink at home. Let us know what you think in the comments - cheers! Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Any Glass Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, and shake with ice for 10 seconds. Strain into a glass with crushed ice, and add bitters (optional step) Garnish: Garnish with a salt rim and lime wedge Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score - 4.5 “El Escondite” is a refreshing take on a standard margarita, while adding layers of complexity and tropical flavors (and still staying true to recipe). It’s an especially good replacement for those of you who are not huge fans of the flavor of tequila (full disclosure: I’m one of those people), because the fresh juices and honey help mask the alcohol just a tad. Next time you are serving up a round of margaritas, surprise and delight your guests with this unique twist! Cheers!
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Do you ever get the “lime in the coconut” song stuck in your head out of nowhere? We do. A lot. For too often in fact... If you don’t know what we’re talking about, check out the song “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson here or watch the video directly below:
This song gets stuck in our head so often that it finally inspired us to create a tiki drink in its honor: the Ode to Harry Nilsson And just like the song, this drink might just be one of our favorites here at Wayward Spirits - using lime and coconut (obviously), allspice dram, pineapple juice and multiple rums. The following post provides the necessary ingredients and steps for making this drink at home. Let us know that you think in the comments - cheers! Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Any Glass Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, and shake with ice for 10 seconds. Strain into a glass with crushed ice, and add bitters (optional step) Garnish: Garnish with a lime wedge Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score - 5 The Ode to Harry Nilsson is so good that it might be just as addictive as the song. To summarize: It’s quintessentially tropical, light yet substantial, and flat out tasty. It’s certainly a crowd pleaser, and sure to appeal to almost any self-proclaimed tiki fans (and even fence sitters who don’t usually go for tiki cocktails...). Give the drink a try, and let us know that you think! Pro tip: play the Coconut song by Harry Nilsson while drinking it for the full experience!
Keeping with the fall-themed tiki recipes we have recently been posting, we present another Wayward Spirits original cocktail: “The Phoenix”
The Phoenix strikes a unique balance between bitter and sweet -- blending guava, citrus, cinnamon, Campari and Rhum Agricole. The results is a light-yet-complex tiki cocktail that tastes like a distant cousin of the Jungle Bird. The following post provides the inspiration for the drink, necessary ingredients and steps for making it at home. Let us know what you think in the comments - cheers! Inspiration for The Phoenix The Phoenix was created by Wayward Spirits founder John Enoch after soaking up some sun pool-side in Los Angeles. When choosing between bitter and sweet cocktails, John has always leaned slightly more towards bitter - often opting for Campari, Aperol, or Gin-based cocktails in summer time. Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Collins glass Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a collins glass with crushed or chipped ice. Swizzle with a bar spoon or swizzle stick. Add orange bitters. Garnish: Garnish with a pineapple frond or lemon wedge. Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 5 "The Phoenix" is tiki’s answer to the Aperol Spritz or Negroni -- balancing all of the major tasting preferences: bitter, sweet, fruity, citrusy, savory, boozy and complex. It’s also a fantastic drink for friends or family members who say they are not a fan of traditional tiki drinks (i.e. they imagine overly-sweetened resort drinks or poorly made Mai Tais). Give the drink a try, and let us know that you think! It’s an especially tasty cocktail for those warm fall days that still feel like summer.
Happy first day of fall from Wayward Spirits! To kick off one of our favorite seasons, we present a new fall-themed cocktail: the Tropic of Virgo.
This drink was created by Wayward Spirits founder John Enoch, and inspired by his girlfriend Autumn. Autumn is the founder of CoffeeMate, a coffee blog based in LA, where she writes coffee and coffee shop reviews, product reviews, industry thought pieces, and more. Check out her blog here. The Tropic of Virgo incorporates some of our favorite autumn tasting notes: cold brew coffee, coconut, allspice, and orange. The result is a tiki-themed cocktail that is a bit heavier and richer than usual, while still maintaining a tropical flavor profile. Inspiration for the Tropic of Virgo The Tropic of Virgo was inspired by the short period of time between summer and autumn, when the weather begins to turn cold, and summery tiki cocktails feel somewhat out of season. For months, John and Autumn looked for ways to join the world of tiki and coffee, both being heavily influenced by tropical climates, cultures and flavors. We chose to name the drink the Tropic of Virgo because:
Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Brandy Snifter Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake for 10 seconds. Pour over crushed ice, and top off with additional ice until the glass is full. Add bitters. Garnish: Garnish with grated nutmeg and a dehydrated orange wheel. Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 4.5 The Tropic of Virgo is truly the perfect fall-themed tiki drink, combining autumn flavors (coffee and allspice) with tropical tastes (orange, coconut, and rum). If you are looking to make your Halloween or Thanksgiving holidays feel a bit more tropical this year, the Tropic of Virgo might be just the drink for you. Plus, it’s a nice in between if you can’t decide between a night cap or post-dinner coffee. The only reason this drink falls shy of the full 5-star rating is because it is a bit rich, and hard to drink more than one or two at a time.
Ahoy tiki aficionados! John here, following up on my previous post where we began featuring our favorite drink recipes from our recent trip to Palm Springs.
As a second installment to this series, we’ll be reviewing the Après-Ski Swizzle from Easy Tiki. This drink was a nice change of pace from the Mai Tais and Zombies we enjoyed on our getaway and utilizes one of my all-time favorite cocktail ingredients: green Chartreuse. If you are looking for a unique twist on a tiki cocktail, look no further than the Après-Ski Swizzle. The following feature will provide the origins of the drink, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home. Cheers! Après-Ski Swizzle - Brief History: The Après-Ski Swizzle was created by Nathan Hazard from the Coconut Club in Los Angeles. According to Easy Tiki, “Nathan Hazard’s Après-Ski Swizzle reads like tiki on vacation in the alps. The familiar tropical flavors are all there – rum, orgeat, pineapple, lime – joined by the 130 botanicals that make up Chartreuse’s signature profile.” Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Any glass (but Easy Tiki calls for a tiki mug or Zombie glass) Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a glass and top with crushed ice until full. Swizzle with a swizzle stick or barspoon for ten seconds until chilled. Garnish: Garnish as you see fit. We recommend a dried orange slice and flower (but a pineapple wedge is also a popular choice) Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 4.5 The Après-Ski Swizzle is a tasty and refreshing take on the swizzle. It has the tried-and-true flavor profile of a tiki drink (with lime, orgeat, and rum), while introducing the unique complexity of green Chartreuse. As a huge Chartreuse fan, this drink was easily one of my favorite drinks of the trip. However, the botanicals do tend to overpower the other ingredients, so try scaling up the other flavors to make the drink feel “more tiki” if you’re looking for a more tropical taste. Give the drink a try and let us know what you think in the comments! Cheers!
Aloha fellow tiki enthusiasts! John here, finally getting back to the swing of things and sharing some of our favorite drink recipes from our week away in Palm Springs!
We dabbled with over 20 recipes on our trip, and the Siboney from Easy Tiki was one our favorites. It’s relatively simple to make, and contains heavy flavors of pineapple, passion fruit, and lime. This was especially refreshing in the 115-degree weather we were having on our trip. The following feature will provide the history of the drink, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home. Cheers! Siboney - Brief History: The Siboney first appeared in Rum Cookery & Drinkery, published by Trader Vic’s in 1974. Easy Tiki features an adaptation of the drink created by Antonio Martinez from Bootlegger Tiki in Palm Springs (one of the reasons we chose this recipe for our trip – see our guide to Palm Springs here). This adaptation of the Siboney is a bit more rum-forward than the original recipe and amplifies the pineapple flavors through the use of Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy pineapple rum. Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Collins or Double Old Fashioned (but the Easy Tiki recipe calls for a coupe glass) Ingredients:
Demerara syrup recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake over ice for 10 seconds. Strain into a glass over crushed ice and garnish. Garnish: Garnish with a half-lime “island” and cocktail umbrella. Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 5 The Siboney is a delicious and well-rounded cocktail. Nice and boozy, while bursting with tropical flavors of pineapple and passion fruit. It is especially refreshing for hot days, and very easy to make. Try adding El Guapo Polynesian Kiss bitters to give it a small bit of “spice” that is lacking. Otherwise, this drink is close to perfect as-is. Cheers!
Recently while visiting Autumn’s family, I decided to break out my traveling bar kit and whip up some batch cocktails.
Faced with a very limited supply of rums and juices, I threw together the following drink using leftover ingredients from a round of piña coladas. Interestingly, this drink was the absolute hit of the night, and officially crowned “John’s PCP” as it is just THAT addictive. The following feature will provide the necessary ingredients and steps for making it at home. Let us know what you think in the comments. Cheers! Wayward Spirits Recipe: Glassware: Any glass Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a glass with ice, and swizzle with a bar spoon. Add bitters once drink has been mixed. Garnish: Garnish with an edible hibiscus flower or lime wheel. Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 4.5 This recipe is a good example of a happy accident when it comes to cocktails – refreshing, fruity, boozy, and well-balanced without an initial recipe. Autumn claims it’s one of her favorite drinks that I’ve ever made, but I feel like there something missing (preventing the ever-so elusive 5-star rating) Give it a try and let us know what you think!
You may (or may not) have noticed that it’s been some time since my last blog post. In full disclosure, I’ve been trying out a new diet that has been kicking my butt, and I’ve felt a little bit tired of rum the last couple of weeks.
To get out of this “rum funk”, I decided to dabble with the lighter side of tiki cocktails, and try the Max’s Mistake recipe from Smuggler’s Cove SF. It’s a gin-based tiki cocktail, with passion fruit, citrus, and honey. Certainly lighter than the coconut cream drinks I’ve been whipping up recently, and a delicious option for those hot summer days when dark alcohol just doesn’t sound appealing. The following feature will provide the origins of the drink, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home. Cheers! Max’s Mistake - Brief History: According to Smuggler’s Cove, the drink was created while Martin Cate was bartending at Trader Vic’s and named after the “Ray’s Mistake” at Tiki-Ti (one of my personal favorites here in LA). Max’s Mistake was an accidental combination of two other drinks. Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Brandy Snifter or Pearl Diver Glass Ingredients:
Honey syrup recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients (except the sparkling lemonade) in a cocktail shaker, and shake for 10 seconds. Pour over crushed ice, and then top off with the Fentimans Sparkling Lemonade. Finally, give the drink a quick stir with a bar spoon. Garnish: Garnish with a sprig of mint. Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 4.5 This cocktail was exactly what I needed to get over my “rum funk”. Max’s Mistake is a delicious and light tiki drink that is bound to please those who prefer slightly sweet drink that does not taste too “boozy”. The passion fruit, lemon, and honey compliment the gin beautifully, making this another “keeper” for the recipe book. Try adding a bit more Fentimans Sparkling Lemonade if you don’t taste enough citrus the first time around.
Autumn and I had the pleasure of visiting Belize back in May 2019, and it was an absolute island paradise - home to beautiful beaches, reefs for snorkeling/ scuba diving, dense jungles, Mayan ruins, caves for exploring, and so much more (see full blog post about our Belize trip here).
We also discovered one of our favorite simple tiki cocktails on the trip – the “Panty Ripper”. Yes, the name is a bit jarring, but the drink is a Belizean staple and an absolute “must try” cocktail. The following feature will provide 2 versions of the recipe: The Wayward Spirits adaptation and the original recipe. Try it both ways and let us know what you think in the comments. Cheers! Wayward Spirits Recipe: Glassware: Preferably a Hurricane Glass Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Open pour into glass of your choice. Garnish: Garnish with a cocktail umbrella speared into 2 chunks of pineapple and a splash of grenadine Original Recipe: Glassware: Any glass will do Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a glass with ice, and swizzle with a bar spoon until mixed together. Garnish: Garnish with a splash of grenadine and a maraschino cherry Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist: Overall Score - 4.5 The “Panty Ripper” is a simple and delicious addition to any tiki cocktail book. It’s a real crowd pleaser, and easy cocktail to make in bulk for a tiki-themed party. Personally, I prefer the Wayward Spirits version of the recipe, as it felt like the drink needed a more substantial rum to balance the flavor. Try it both ways and let us know what you think!
I recently came across this amazing recipe for a variation of the piña colada from Apartment Bartender on Instagram (check out his profile here).
Like all drinks from Apartment Bartender, this cocktail does not disappoint and is a tasty and lighter alternative to a traditional piña colada. By adding just a splash of orange juice, lime juice, and using an aged rum, the cocktail feels slightly more upscale than most coladas. The following feature provides the necessary ingredients and steps for making it at home. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments! Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Pearl Diver Glass or Tiki Mug Ingredients:
Coconut Cream Recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a glass, and top with crushed ice. Garnish: Garnish with a couple sprigs of mint and a Luxardo cherry. Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist: Overall Score - 4 This is an excellent, easy take on the piña colada. If you are looking for a coconut-based cocktail that is on the lighter side, this may very well be the drink for you. Try adding a hint more coconut cream if you want to make the drink taste richer, and more coconut-forward. |
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