Author: Kevin Crossman

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The Wooden Pearl

The Wooden Pearl is a new restaurant and cocktail bar now open in the Anaheim Packing House, with an enclosed space that’s fairly immersive considering its location in a food hall. We went in for cocktails and enjoyed the vibe and shells placed as decor.

My cocktail was That Koko is So Hot Right Now, described as “Blue Steel? Le Tigre? No. KOKO” and contains Mijanta Blanco Tequila, Yuzu, Lactose, Guava, and Strange Water Sparkling Coconut. It’s served on fire, though without the extravagant display common at tiki bars, and I sure love a good Zoolander reference. Even better was the taste, tropical and refreshing.

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Smokey Sunset at Parkside Market in Downtown Disney

Parkside Market is a two-story eatery in Downtown Disney in Anaheim, inspired by midcentury design and including some quick serve food options on the first floor and a bar called Vista on the second.

The Smokey Sunset is a Painkiller riff that uses Blood Orange juice rather than regular OJ and subs Ardbeg Scotch for the rum. The peaty notes are hard to miss and stand up well to the creamy sweetness, making this an interesting riff and a pretty good cocktail to sip on when you’re away from the parks but not at Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel.

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Hurricane at Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland

I don’t know how anyone gets reservations at the Blue Bayou, the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, so we joined the walk up queue a little before 11 am and got in for Lunch a little after the top of the hour.

We love the tranquil ambiance inside and our lunch was really great, including the Hurricane cocktail that while not so boozy definitely has a balanced flavor.

Seriously, though, how do you get reservations here? We’d love to sit by the water.

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Bourbon Mint Julep at Disneyland

One of my earliest memories of Disneyland is trying their Mint Julep, a non-alcoholic version that’s sold at the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square. It’s basically minty sugar water on ice but it made an impression on me.

All of the table service restaurants in Disneyland now include beer, wine, and a speciality cocktail on the menu. We had a pretty good Hurricane at the Blue Bayou last year and this trip we made reservations for Cafe Orleans where a Mint Julep with bourbon is on the menu. It’s pretty good, with a better mouthfeel and texture than the Mint Julep without booze. Still, it was nice to try the comparison.

In terms of potency, this didn’t have the same level of bourbon that’s usually called for in a Mint Julep, but otherwise I enjoyed it with lunch.

Captain Jack Sparrow tried to break into the cafe, but we told him there were no rum drinks and so he decided to move on.

Melon Salad
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Petion with Haitian Rum

This cocktail popped up in Beachbum Berry’s Total Tiki app and it was perfect to try since lime was the only juice I had on hand. This dates to the post World War 2 era and was served at the Tourist Bar in Port-au-Prince, Haiti – so naturally it uses Haitian spirits. Supposedly named after Haitian revolutionary General Alexandre Pétion who chose the title “President for Life” rather than “Emperor for Life.” What a true patriot.

Petion
¾ oz Lime juice
½ oz Sugar syrup
¾ oz Bénédictine
¾ oz Clairin from Haiti (alt: Cachaça)
¾ oz Barbancourt 8 Year
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

I loved this with Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin, but for the rest of my family I knew it would be a bit too much and subbed Cachaça as the Bum suggests. Quite a nice light style cocktail.

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Mrs. Mai Tai Completes Rum Asylum Level I

After all the rum lists I’ve completed over the years I have to applaud my wife Julie for giving the rum list thing a shot with the Level I of the Rum Asylum list at Dr. Funk. This curated list of twenty mainstream rums covers a variety of styles and countries of origin and is a fantastic introduction to rum. Even better for folks like Julie who aren’t used to drinking spirits neat, Dr. Funk allows participants try to the rums in Daiquiri format. Pusser’s was the last rum and Julie said the Xaymaca Daiquiri was her favorite.

After completing the list, Justin walked her through the materials for Level II, she took a little rum pledge, received her completion pin, and then got to ring the bell. A soon-to-be bride sitting nearby was so inspired by the ceremony that she jumped up and threw a flower lei over Julie’s head. Ringing the bell *and* getting lei’d, it was quite a night.

Dr. Funk is hosting a Rum Asylum meetup on June 22, which Julie will be attending. I’m not sure how far she’ll get on the level II, but completing the first level is still a great accomplishment. Congrats.