Month: March 2021

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Birthday Cocktail Delivery

Happy Birthday to our friend Kristi. I made two double-sized cocktails for her to share with family.

The Mello Pomelo is a Hemingway Daiquiri riff that I came up with and features Pomelo juice. The single-serving recipe is:

Mello Pomelo
1 oz Pomello Juice
¼ oz Grenadine
½ tsp Don’s Spices no.2 (Pimento Dram + Vanilla Syrup)
½ oz Cointreau
¼ oz Maraschino Liqueur
2 oz Aged White Rum (Denizen 3)
Shake with ice and serve in a coupe

The Jungle Jetsetter is a tangy cocktail developed by Tikiyaki Orchestra and features Maraschino Cherry Juice.

Jungle Jetsetter
1½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Pineapple Juice
½ oz Orgeat
¾ oz Maraschino Cherry Juice
2 oz Coconut Rum (I used Plantation 20th Anniversary as a sub)
Shake with ice and serve over crushed ice

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Blood of the Irish

You were expecting a green cocktail today? We decided to go in a different direction with this Eastern Sour riff featuring Blood Orange juice and Irish Whiskey. It is so easy to drink, you’ll forget all about looking for leprechauns and clovers.

Blood of the Irish
2½ oz Blood Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
Shake with crushed ice

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Forbidden Island Kill Devil 1.0 Rum List

I completed the Kill Devil list on the patio at Forbidden Island today. I started the list in early 2018, but got probably 75% of the 106 rums purchased via take-out orders in the last few months. So, I’m pleased to be part of the “Quaranteam” who did this largely under lockdown.

My final rum was my favorite, Appleton 12, in a Mai Tai of course. This was our first baby step back to dining in person with table service on the patio at a table with Mrs. Mai Tai (who said the Chi-Chi’s were especially delicious today).

Thanks to some of the members of the “Forbidden Ohana” Facebook group for coming out to celebrate today, some of which were at conversation distance away at their own tables. Thank you to Dean Koenig for the pour of Foursquare 2008, a fantastic rum. I was at FI when Dean completed his Kill Devil list, so it’s very nice to see him today for mine. Cheers!

And thank you John and Michael and all the FI staff for support doing the list. I’ll look forward to seeing my plaque up on the bar someday when I’m patronizing inside again (FI opens for indoor dining starting tomorrow). I’ll start working on FI’s Kill Devil 2.0 rum list soon, though for a while I’ll be sticking to cocktails on my next few visits.

These rum clubs are a great way to try our some new rums. And while they aren’t all “winners” it is a great experience to talk with fellow patrons and the FI staff about the rums. For my 106 rums I kept short tasting notes and did rate the rums. I grade on the curve so there were lots of 3 star rums, but here are the top rums from the list.

5 Star

  • English Harbor 5 yr
  • Ron Barcelo Imperial
  • Appleton 21 yr
  • Appleton 12
  • Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still
  • Hamilton 86
  • British Royal Navy Imperial
  • Pampero Anniversario

4 Star

  • Mount Gay Extra Old
  • Real McCoy 12 yr
  • St. Paul Dark Rum
  • El Dorado 15 yr
  • Skipper Rum
  • Appleton Reserve
  • Coruba
  • Plantation Rum Jamaica
  • Smith & Cross
  • Clement Creole Shrubb
  • Kuleana Hui Hui

Should come as no surprise to regular readers that my tastes favor Jamaica/Barbados/Guyana rums.

And now on to the next adventure of spreading the good word of rum.

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Friday Mai Tai

Mrs. Mai Tai got her second vaccine today, a super fast experience in Oakland with plenty of time for lunch to-go from Trader Vic’s. I’m really loving their Kahlua Pork Sandwich, which thankfully isn’t bathed in BBQ sauce. So tender and tasty.

The Mai Tai was made fresh with ice for nearby parked lunch experience. Gotta love that great Trader Vic’s crushed ice and fresh lime to make the Mai Tai extra special.

Vic’s is now open for indoor dining. Here’s a peek at the table spacing, if you’re so inclined.

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Last Photo

This was taken a year ago at The Kon-Tiki at a celebration for Terra Fritch and Alex Fritch completing the Kon-Tiki Expedition Rum list. It was such a great time but that’s where we heard about Tom Hanks and the NBA shutdown, and well, you know the rest of the story.

Perhaps if I had been sitting on the couch when all of this went down I might be taking the one year anniversary less hard. That event was such a memorable gathering and the rapid shutdown thereafter is something I’ve thought about almost daily; heck, I wrote a whole essay about this for Exotica Moderne magazine a few months ago.

Mrs. Mai Tai is getting her second vaccination tomorrow and hopefully our sons and I can get vaccinated soon as well. That will make us feel safe for private gatherings of vaccinated people, and is a step to getting transmission rates so far down that we’ll feel safe doing indoor dining again.

Someday we’ll be able to do this again.

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Jungle Bird (Modified)

No “Ultimate” prefix for this recipe, but since I’ve been enjoying bitter liqueurs more lately I thought I’d revisit this classic that’s heavy on the bitter liqueur, Campari. I’m modifying the recipe to cut back a little on the Campari and quite a bit on the Pineapple Juice. This suits me more than the standard recipe.

Jungle Bird
½ oz Lime Juice (heavy pour)
2 oz Pineapple Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup (heavy pour)
½ oz Campari
1½ oz Jamaican Rum Blend
Shake with ice.

The rum blend here is a Frankenstein blend with Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, and Hamilton Pot Still Black.