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Gastronomicon: Tuesday Tiki #1

No, I am not starting another alliterative and day-related theme around here, at least regularly, but I was making a variety of Tiki drinks last night, and now it is Tuesday, and time to talk Tiki.

I have clearly been reading too many pun-and-alliteration-littered Tiki menus.

Model not included.

So, anyway, a few weeks ago a contest on Sloshed! won me a copy of Beachbum Berry Remixed, an updated, revised, prettied-up and expanded edition of the first two Tiki history/recipe/everything books from the foremost historian of all things fake-Polynesian, Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. And, after many days of lamenting, a couple sessions of shopping, and a few more days of steeping and experimenting, I finally managed to have, in one place, many of the ingredients necessary to dig into a few of the book’s zillions of recipes. Here’s the first of a few worth trying, with digressions on the making of some ingredients:

Tortuga
1/2 oz orange juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz orange Curaçao*
1/2 oz white creme de cacao
1/4 oz grenadine
1 oz Italian (sweet) vermouth**
1 oz Lemon Hart 151-proof Demerara rum***
3/4 oz 151-proof Bacardi rum****

Shake all with ice cubes. Strain into a pilsner glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

This is a tremendous, smoky, spicy, almost-but-not-quite-too-sweet cocktail, created by cocktail genius Constantine Ribailagua of La Florida, the Havana bar that also invented La Floridita (occasionally known, maybe incorrectly, as the Hemingway daiquiri). I had to take a few liberties, and was pleased to take some others. To wit, by asterisk:

* I made homemade orange Curaçao a while back, and it’s tremendous; if you don’t happen to have Curaçao orange peels sitting around, the premade version will work just fine.

** Just made my own red vermouth last week, using some subpar red table wine and this recipe. It is to Martini & Rossi what a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X is to a Mitsubishi moped. Again, not necessary, but oh-so-good.

*** Lemon Hart 151 is always a problem; it’s well-nigh impossible to find in a lot of the U.S. My half-ass substitute here was 1/2 oz Appleton Estate V/X, 1/4 oz Myers’s Dark and an extra 1/4 oz Bacardi 151. That made a good drink; Lemon Hart would likely make an amazing one.

**** This is an acceptable substitution for the original 123-proof Cuban rum called for, international trade laws being what they are.

As Tiki drinks go, this has reasonably accessible rums and juices and such; the homemade touches are fun, but not strictly necessary. If you’re new to Tiki, or just want something classically tested and delicious, this is a fine place to start. Next week: our own (well, this guy’s) homemade coffee dram takes center stage.

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