Just Another Tiki Drink

It was only yesterday when I was thinking about the conditions for actually calling a cocktail a Tiki drink in the context of the Mango Overboard cocktail. And while yesterday’s cocktail was something like a border crosser, today’s drink is different: it is Tiki through and through and there can be no mistake about it.

To name a particular drink from the world of Tiki as the key inspiration for this drink is very hard for me. I had no specific recipe in my mind (basically a lot of them combined). The drink undoubtedly meets the Tiki-DNA and also the list of ingredients confirms this quite impressively, as I think. Basically, it is just another Tiki drink and so I decided to name it exactly that way: “Just Another Tiki Drink”.

In my “Just Another Tiki Drink” a relatively large number of ingredients appears which are taken crisscross from the world of Polynesian and Caribbean pop culture. A special ingredient that stands out to some degree is a Spiced Black Currant Shrub (I have written a few words about Shrubs here), which is a slightly modified twist on a recipe in Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide from 1862. For this I have added two parts of Cardenal Mendoza Brandy alongside three parts of currant spice syrup (detailed instructions can be found below). Currants are certainly not exactly the kind of fruits that you would expect in interaction with the rest of the ingredients, but nevertheless it works wonderfully – the amount of Spiced Black Currant Shrub in the drink anyway is not as high as it would overpower the other flavors. Currant goes well with pineapples and spices, harmonizes well with the used rums and gives the drink a somewhat more complex acid and makes it simply very beautifully multi-layered!

In terms of rum I opted for a classic Pusser’s alongside the Plantation Barbados 5 Years. This rum was allowed to mature for at least 5 years in former bourbon barrels and – as we know it from other Plantation rums – in cognac barrels. A nice rum, which you can also enjoy neat, but today it is the main protagonist in my cocktail. The drink is rounded off by some small dashes of Revolte Overproof. And because it is also about the effect, it comes to you burning.

Recipe “Just Another Tiki Drink”:

4 cl Plantation Barbados 5 Years
2 cl Pusser’s Blue Label
2 cl Spiced Black Currant Shrub (see below)
2.5 cl lime juice
1 cl cardamom syrup (see below)
4 small cubes of fresh pineapple (1cm x 1cm)
3.5 cl coconut water
2 Dashes Falernum (for instance Revolte)
1 Dash Bob’s Hellfire Bitters
1 Dash Angostura Bitters

2 to 3 Dashes Revolte Overproof

Spiced Black Currant Shrub: On one part of black currant juice (I like to make mine in the juicer, a good juicer does not care about a few stems with the fruits and they even add some bitter layer of flavor) add half a part of sugar. I have mixed 250 ml of juice with 125 g of sugar in a pan and added 4 cloves, a small cinnamon stick and two pieces of star anise. Heat and let simmer for about 8 minutes. Filter out the spices, then allow to cool and mix three parts of currant spice syrup with two parts of Brandy (I have used Cardenal Mendoza Brandy).

Cardamom syrup: First, crush green cardamom capsules with a pestle and mortar and heat with 250 ml of water and 250 g of sugar and let simmer until a syrup-like consistency is reached. Allow to cool overnight covered with a lid. Then strain through a fine sieve to filter out the cardamom pieces and fill into an airtight container. The syrup lasts about 2 to 3 weeks.

Preparation: Shake all ingredients except for the white Overproof Rum in a shaker vigorously on ice and double-strain into a Tiki-Mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish and also put one squeezed lime half on top of the drink. Add your dashes of white overproof rum into the lime half and light the rum. As soon as the flame is extinguished (or if you like even before that point) add the overproof rum into your drink.

Glass: Tiki mug

Garnish: two pineapple leaves, a decorative flower and a squeezred lime half filled with burning white overproof rum (see above).

Buying sources: At specialized retailers, online or in well-stocked supermarkets.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *