Anyhow, feel free to troll what meagre archives we have for cocktail ideas, but for real fun and frolic jump over to Tiki Bar TV and take part in our community forums, which are way more jumpin’ than this dilapidated joint.

Cheers,
JJ.

This is a super tasty one that relies on passion fruit syrup, of which order into my home country from the US of A – specifically, the fine folks at Trader Vics. Recently, one of the local Tiki shops here in Vancouver started carrying the Trader Vics mixes (which is awesome, because shipping a bunch of filled glass bottles? Not so cheap) but the one thing they DON’T carry (because it’s apparently hard to come by) is the Trader Vics Passion Fruit syrup, which is absolutely the bees knees. For those of you in the US, you can get it off their website (though the “mail order” store has been down for a while… which is why I’m down to my last bottle of Passion Fruit syrup!) but for us shlubs up north, we pay dearly for shipping. While we do pay five times what Americans do for shipping, our consolation prize is that our government could give a rats ass about Fidel Castro’s red tendencies – and as such, Cuban rum (some of the best in the world) is freely available in our local liquor stores. Win some, lose some, I guess.

Anyhow, back to my Passion Fruit syrup and my dismal “half bottle” supply; One would think that when faced with a possible shortage of a certain item, you’d be inclined to keep it for a special occasion; but it’s Tuesday, and I’m thirsy, so that’s a special enough occasion enough for me.

So here we go: The “Chief Lapu Lapu”. According to Beachbum Barry, Lapu Lapu is the fella who capped Magellan when he and his Spanish buddies decided to tour the Philippines in 1521. So what sort of prize do you end up with when you snuff out one of the shining lights of a nation? You get a cocktail named after you, apparently!

Chief Lapu Lapu

3 ounces of orange juice
3 ounces of sweet and sour
1 ounce of passion fruit syrup (the Trader Vics stuff is the best)
1 1/2 ounce of light rum
1 1/2 ounce of dark rum

Shake over ice, then decant into a large snifter partly filled with fresh ice. Hoisting one and then chasing after a local cartographer with a cutlass is NOT recommended.

Cheers!

JJ.

So that’s how I came across this one, which is a little different than a bourbon sour – but still simple and interesting at the same time. It’s called a Goldrush, and believe it or not, I found the recipe in one of those airplane magazines they stuff in the seat pockets just a couple of days ago. I forget which hotel was credited as creating this (if you know, yell!) but it was simple enough to memorize and when I got home I gave it a whirl. Pretty tasty!

The Goldrush

3/4 oz of fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz of honey syrup (combine 3 parts honey with 1 part warm water, stir, and keep in the fridge for cocktails)
2 oz bourbon

Shake over ice, decant into rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Enjoy!

Cheers,
JJ.

I snagged this recipe from the Grog Log, which is a must-have cocktail book. But if you’re here, you’ve probably already got one. If you don’t, though, get one.

The Coconaut

Served in a big-ass bowl and shared by three or four peeps.

8 ounces of coconus creme (Lopez is great, the Trader Vics version is excellent too)
2 ounces of fresh lime juice
7 ounces of dark jamacian rum

put all the goodies into a blender, fill it up with ice, and beat the hell out of it until it’s rummy coconutty slush. Decant into mugs, or if you’re trying to forge new friendships, pour the entire thing into a big bowl, hand out some straws, and grab the camera.

dee-licious!

Sorry for the long hiatus, folks. I’ll try to keep this thing updated. The past few months have been pretty freakin’ busy. My apologies!

Cheers,

JJ.

 

Time to celebrate!

I had this cocktail about a month ago from a new lounge here in town called “Chill Winston”. It caught my eye because it’s almost entirely made of booze – the only juice comes from four lime slices. After my third I was away to the races and well on track to a fantastic evening. I’m a sucker for cocktails that can use Soho PROPERLY; it’s an amazingly powerful spirit that can easily de-rail a cocktail if you’re not careful. The Spooning Jesus dials in the Soho wonderfully.

I actually met the creator of the cocktail at a poker game a couple weeks ago – much to my surprise, the “Spooning Jesus” is being taken off the menu soon because it’s “too powerful” and people complained it was “all booze”. What is this world coming to when bar patrons reject a cocktail that’s based on BOOZE? God save us. Or rather, Jesus spoon us.

I’m going to immortalize this cocktail here – it’s too good to let die.

The Spooning Jesus

1 1/2 ounces of amber rum
1/4 ounce of Soho
1/2 ounce of Cointreau
4 lime wedges, juiced into shaker

Shake all ingredients over ice, pour into rocks glass loaded with fresh ice, snap on a lime slice for garnish.

Heavenly.

…or rat. I’m not sure which. So i’ll call him “Matt”, which is a little of both. He’s here; I saw his tail disappear under the stove this morning. So this EVENING, the place is lined with traps. In honor of how CRAZY this damned ‘Matt’ is making me, I’m having this banana-crazy cocktail which I pulled from Tiki Drinks by Adam Rocke.

Fucking Matt.

Jamaican Me Krazy

1 ounce Jamaican Rum (Appletons?)
1/2 ounce Coconut infused Rum
1/2 ounce white Creme de Cacao
1/2 ounce Banana Liqueur
1 ounce cream
1 tablespoon gold rum
3 ounces of crushed ice

Combine everything in a blender except for the gold rum – save that for a second. Pour the mixed drink into a chilled glass (a hurricane glass would work great) and then float the gold rum on top.

Cheers,

JJ.

The Manhattan (Ben Reed’s “Perfect” version)

2 ounces Rye Whisky
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
dash of Angostura Bitters
Maraschino cherry for garnish.

Shake over ice, decant into pre-chilled Martini glass. You *DO* have a Martini glass in the freezer, don’t you? I hope so. Savage. Plunk in the cherry once the ‘Tini is decanted.
Cheers,

JJ.

I dove into my favorite cocktail book – for inspiration – which if you don’t have, you should go buy RIGHT NOW, because Simon Difford is a class act and his book is the FUCKING BOMB. Here, I’ll even stick in a pretty little graphic of the book that will earn me eighty-something cents in Amazon credit if you buy it. Seriously, it’s beautiful.

To that end, please feel free to explore the various goods and services suggested here on this site! Each offer leads to a fine product or service by good people which are well worth your time. You know?

Anyhow.

So the drink. I’m feeling like something classic, something swanky. And BOY, did Simon Difford not let me down. I came across this little number and let me tell you, it is one BEAUTIFUL Martini when it’s all said and done:

I gave this one a whirl and ladies and gents DAMN! It is one tasty, attractive beverage!

It’s got Sloe Gin, which is made from Sloe berries – which are, I guess, red (I’ve never seen them in the wild – just juiced, in gin form). It’s this amazing crimson color… and in a martini glass? This drink is just BEAUTIFUL. It looks like somebody shot you in the neck and then quickly caught your highly oxygenated neck-blood in a martini glass and then served it to you. Thankfully, that’s not the case… because, you know, “shot in the neck” and all that.

Anyhow! Enough banter! Go now and make the damned cocktail already! Simon calls it a “Classic Retro cocktail whose origins are unknown”. I call it beautiful, tasty martini goodness.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Dean Martin’s “Canadian Sunset” at the back of my throat and it needs to be belted out. Only the best for my annoying downstairs neighbor.

The Blackthorne English

1 1/2 ounces Sloe Gin
3/4 ounce of Plymouth Gin
3/4 ounce of Cinzano Rosso (sweet) vermouth
3 dashes of orange bitters (I only had regular bitters, it seemed to work out alright)
1 ounce of chilled water

Shake it all up with ice, strain into a chilled martini glass. If you’re entertaining, you might fine-strain it to take out some of the froth; but as I’m drinking alone tonight, I could care less. I’m already going to bed with me regardless of how the drinks work out.

Cheers,
JJ.

One of the ladies at my office, the lovely and ever-so-organized Lori, is a HUGE fan of the Bellinis they serve at this local restaurant chain called Milestones. However, Milestones uses this ten thousand dollar machine to spit out this peachy slushy treat (of which they must serve hundreds a day, if not thousands). I, of course, have no such machine at my disposal – I’ve got a funny hat and a metal shaker. Undaunted, I wanted to make a Bellini-esque treat for Lori (and forty of my co-workers) so I set out to find a Bellini emulating recipe that could be created with my stainless steel cocktail shaker (and not the ten thousand dollar machine).

I eventually hunted down a recipe from another cocktail podcast called “The Art of the Drink“, which is hosted by BarStar Anthony Caporale. He’s also aided by a fleet of what seem to be very nice girls, but between you and me and the fencepost, these girls? They’re no Lala, if you know what I mean (and by that I mean they have NEVER exhibited the slightest knowldge of robotics, or the displayed any sort of skillz regarding the inner working of “l33t culture”).

Still, Anthony does have some dandy recipes, so I borrowed his recipe for a “Beach Bellini” and tinkered with it a bit – upping the booze ratio a little (because I was making three at a time and wanted an even number to work with – and, well, because I like booze). It seemed to work – Lori snuck back and quietly asked for a second one!
so here’s the recipe for…

The Bellini you can make in a cocktail shaker!

1 ounce of Lemon Rum
1 ounce of Peach Schnapps
4 ounces of Peach Nectar (or regular Peach Juice in a pinch)
2 ounces of Champagne / Sparking Wine

Add all the ingredients except the bubbly to a shaker and fire away for about 30 seconds. Toss the Champers in a tiki mug at the bottom, then pour in the beverage. Add some ice to make it nice, throw in a straw, sit back, and enjoy.

So here’s one from Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log that is a wonderful sky blue and mighty tasty.

The Blue Reef

1 1/2 ounces of fresh lime juice
1 1/2 ounces of Blue Curacao
1/2 ounce of Galliano
2 ounces of light rum

Shake with ice, serve in a “medium snifter filled with crushed ice” (that’s what the book says). Or that cheap Ikea glass in your cupboard. Hey, whatever works!