Wayward Spirits Mango Colada -
Continuing our coconut-themed kick-off for Summer 2020, Autumn and I broke out the blended this past Memorial Day weekend to whip up some mango piña coladas. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m usually apprehensive when it comes to piña coladas; they are often too sweet, lacking in rum, and have an undesirable texture (like watered down half-and-half). However, the recipe below is the real deal, producing a perfectly balanced, fruity, and boozy frozen cocktail. We loved it so much, we made it two nights in a row (which is a very rare occurrence) The following feature will provide the history of the piña colada, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments! Piña Colada History: One of the worlds most famous tropical cocktails, the piña colada, was originally concocted in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. Though history is clear on where the drink originated, to this day it is still hotly contested who came up with the idea for the drink. Here are the three leading theories:
Recipe/ Instructions: Glassware: Hurricane Glass Ingredients:
Coconut Cream Recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine ingredients and ice in a blender, and blend until smooth. Open pour into hurricane glass, and add 5 drops of Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters (not necessary, but a nice touch). Garnish: Garnish with a cocktail umbrella and wedge of pineapple. Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist: Overall Score – 5 As I mentioned above, I’m not typically a fan of frozen cocktails as they are often too sweet, lacking in alcohol, and/or have a terrible mouthfeel. However, this recipe for our Wayward Spirits Mango Colada is heavenly and has made me reconsider this viewpoint. The addition of overproof rum and mango (and right sizing the amount of coconut cream) adds a layer of complexity to the drink that I felt was lacking in many piña coladas I have tried in the past. If you are like me, and are on the fence about frozen cocktails, give this version a try, and let me know what you think in the comments!
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Tradewinds - As the weather continues to warm, Autumn and I have recently been craving fruity, coconutty blended drinks. Maybe we’re just feeling nostalgic to our trip to Belize (where every drink has an element of coconut). This weekend, we tried the Tradewinds cocktail – a light, citrusy, and coconut-infused tiki cocktail that nicely balances the tastes of rum, fruit, and rich coconut cream. It’s an odd mix of heavy and light simultaneously, which makes it a perfect cocktail for warm pseudo-summer nights. The following feature will provide the historical context of the drink, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home. We’ve also provided the Wayward Spirits Twist on the cocktail, if you are feeling especially coco-nutty! Cocktail History:
Full Disclosure: In my research, I did not find a whole lot of information about the Tradewinds Cocktail. What we do know is that the cocktail hails from the Caribbean in the 1970’s (on the tail-end of the tiki craze) and was originally a party or punch drink made in large quantities. Luckily, the recipe was preserved and adapted in Jeff “Beachbum” Berry Remixed, which provides instructions on how to make it as a punch. The following recipe has been adjusted to produce a single serving of the Tradewinds cocktail and adapted to add a hint more coconut. Recipe/ Instructions Glassware: Tiki Mug (tall) or Collins/Zombie Glass Ingredients:
Coconut Cream Recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into glass over crushed ice. Alternatively, you can also flash blend this cocktail with ice for a “slushier” feel Garnish: Lemon wedge speared with an inside-out cocktail umbrella (obviously blown open by the mighty tradewinds) Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist: Overall Score – 4 The Tradewinds is truly a delicious summertime cocktail, balancing the flavors of citrus, coconut, and fruit. The drink starts with a citrusy nose, and leads to a rich coconut and apricot finish, giving the drink a unique savory experience. Even though we adjusted our recipe to double the amount of coconut cream, we still felt like the drink did not have enough coconut flavor and leaned a bit too heavy into the taste of rum and lemon. As a twist, try replacing the lightly aged rum with a light Puerto Rican rum (such as Bacardi Superior White Rum), and scaling the lemon juice back by a quarter ounce. This may help bring the coconut forward in the drink. The Mayday! - As we kick off the month of May, Wayward Spirits presents our appropriately named “Mayday!” cocktail – a somewhat boozy, complex and herbal adaptation of the Test Pilot cocktail from Donn Beach. On the spectrum of Test Pilot to Jet Pilot, this drink falls somewhere between the two: the basic structure of the Test Pilot (dark Jamaican rum, light rum, Falernum, lime juice, and Cointreau), with the added herbs and spices sound in the Jet Pilot (cinnamon and Herbsaint). See the full post below for ingredients and steps for making it at home. Cheers! Recipe/ Instructions
Glassware: Brandy Snifter or Double Old Fashioned Glass Ingredients:
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into glass over crushed ice. Alternatively, you can also flash blend this cocktail with ice for a “slushier” feel Garnish: Garnish with a fresh (thoroughly washed) orchid flower and cherry speared with a pick Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score – 4 – This Mayday! strikes a nice balance between the Test Pilot and Jet Pilot cocktails and makes for a strong addition to our summer cocktail book. With that said, many of flavors in this drink feel predictable, and left me wishing I would have just gone ahead and taken the few extra steps to make a Zombie instead. Let us know what you think in the comments below or share your own recommendations for improving the recipe. Cheers!
Cocktail History:
During Britain’s colonization of the Caribbean during the mid-seventeenth century, conditions were abysmal aboard naval ships and much of the crew were forced into service. In order to combat dismay and improve morale, the British Royal Navy introduced rum rations (know as a “tot”) to sailors in the amount of half of a pint of rum per day (a navy tradition that continued until July 31, 1970) Since rum production was thriving in the Caribbean at the time, the spirit was easy to acquire in large quantities (despite being far from home). However, the rum produced in this region was very high proof, leaving many of the sailors drunk and unable to perform their duties. In 1740, Admiral Edward Vernon “Old Grogham” intervened, ordering the rum rations to be watered down and split in half to avoid further disruptions. He also suggested that sailors use sugar and lime to dilute their rum, and to make it more palatable (as the high proof, unfiltered rum was quite hard to stomach). Admiral Vernon inadvertently discovered the recipe for the modern grog (and a surprisingly good defense for scurvy). Born out of wartime necessity, the grog still lives on in tiki tradition today. Recipe/ Instructions Glassware: Double Old Fashioned/ Rocks Glass Ingredients:
Demerara syrup recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into glass over cubed or crushed ice. Garnish: Add a lime wheel for garnish Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist: Overall Score – 4 – The grog is a low-fuss, easy tiki drink to make. Though it lacks many of the complex flavors found in other recipes, it is a blank slate to experiment and introduce new flavors, and allows the drinker to taste the subtle differences between rums they choose to use. Additionally, it is a fantastic drink to make in bulk if you are throwing a tiki party. Try using a mixture of demerara syrup and honey syrup (¼ oz of demerara, ¼ oz honey syrup) instead for a slightly different flavor. Additionally, this is a great cocktail to experiment with different rums to find which brands, regions, or tasting notes you enjoy most – try making it with a black blended rum (such as Lemon Hart 80), a high-proof pot still lightly aged rum (such as Smith and Cross), or a black pot still rum (Hamilton Jamaica Black). Twenty Seventy Swizzle - The Twenty Seventy Swizzle is the creation of Martin Cate, an incredibly knowledgeable rum expert and owner of the Smuggler’s Cove tiki bar in San Francisco. In our search for perfected tiki cocktails, many of our favorite recipes trace back to Martin Cate, so don’t be surprised if a few of his other creations make their way onto this blog. If you are interested his book Smuggler’s Cove (covering the history of tiki, recipes, how-to guides, and ample facts about rum), you can find it on Amazon here. Below you will find the steps for making this drink at home and all necessary ingredients. Cheers! Cocktail History:
According to Martin Cate’s Smuggler's Cove, the Twenty Seventy Swizzle was created one night when Cate and his pal Ron Roumas attempted to make the ultimate swizzle based on several classic recipes. After creating multiple versions, they settled on a final recipe which incorporated the best elements from all swizzle recipes. The drink was subsequently (and cleverly) named for the two rums used: Angostura 1919 and Lemon Hart 151 Recipe/ Instructions Glassware: Tiki Mug (tall) or Collins/Zombie Glass Ingredients:
Demerara syrup recipe (if needed):
Honey syrup recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients in a Collins/zombie glass (or tall tiki mug). Add crushed ice until the glass is three-quarters full. Use a bar spoon to swizzle. Top off with additional crushed ice until the glass is full. Garnish: Add freshly grated nutmeg and a tall sprig of mint. Wayward Spirits Rating: Overall Score - 5 – As a big fan the Queen’s Park Swizzle, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this drink comparatively. The addition of overproof rum and honey syrup creates a savory flavor, while Herbsaint and allspice gives it a rich, herbal finish that the drink unknowingly needed. The Seventy Twenty Swizzle has officially pushed the Queen’s Park to the back of our bar book and will be an enjoyable addition to our summer cocktail list for years to come. Happy drinking! Share your thoughts about this drink in the comments, or let us know if you have your own recipe for a killer swizzle - Cheers!
Cocktail History:
Created during World War II, the Three Dots and a Dash cocktail is named after from the Morse code signal for “victory”. The drink was originally created by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt (aka Donn Beach, the founding father of the tiki movement in the United States), and was served at the famous Don the Beachcomber tiki bar in Hollywood during the 1930’s and 1940’s Cocktail Recipe/Instructions Glassware: Tiki Mug (tall), Collins/Zombie Glass, or Footed Pilsner Ingredients:
Honey syrup recipe (if needed):
Cocktail Steps: Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into glass over crushed ice. Alternatively, you can also flash blend this cocktail with ice for a “slushier” feel Garnish: Add a three maraschino cherries (for the “three dots”) and a pineapple chunk (for the “dash”) on a cocktail pick. Add a lime wheel for extra flair Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist: Overall Score - 4.5 - this is a really great go-to drink, and relatively simple to make. While it certainly fits the bill for a "tiki staple", the flavor profile is slightly predictable (preventing the full 5 star rating) Try replacing the half ounce of orange juice with dry curaçao (we use Pierre Ferrand), making the drink feel slightly more upscale (and boozy). Also, try using brandied cherries in place of maraschino Hope you enjoy! Share your thoughts about this drink in the comments, or let us know if you have your own twist for this cocktail - Cheers! |
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