Author: Kevin Crossman

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Lagoon of Mystery Rum Blend Mai Tai

I’m testing out the Orgeat from Liquid Alchemist, and while today I’m not quite ready to render a verdict, I did have fun watching the latest YouTube episode from Lagoon of Mystery. The latest episode covers Orgeat, including a home recipe demo. And finishes with a Mai Tai. Note that these are my lime/orgeat ratios, whereas the recipe from the video was ¼ less for both.

Mai Tai (Lagoon of Mystery Rum Blend)
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat (Liquid Alchemist)
½ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao)
¼ oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds)
1 oz Appleton Signature Rum
½ oz Clement VSOP Rhum
½ oz Rum Fire White Overproof Rum

This is a flavorful Mai Tai with the notes of the Clement and Rum Fire registering quite well, but not overpowering the cocktail. Well done!

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Mount Gay Pot Still Rum

This isn’t a new release but I finally decided it was the right time to go pull the trigger on this limited 2019 release from the Master Blender Collection. This aged pot still rum is delightful and is a great comparison to all the other Jamaican Pot Still rums in my collection. This too has the same heavy flavor (even at 48% ABV) but it is … different. There’s a plum note that is a noticeable departure from the banana notes most typical of the Jamaicans.

And in a Mai Tai? The same pot still characteristics do punch through the cocktail. I definitely would not confuse this Mai Tai with one made with Jamaican or Martinique or Demerara rums.

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Painkillers for Two

I had fresh pineapple juice and fresh orange juice, so no better time to make a Painkiller. This is the kind of drink that Mrs. Mai Tai tends to prefer so I made it a little larger with a little more OJ and rum and then split this into two glasses. I like this cocktail with a lower Pineapple ratio so I’m going to keep this ratio going forward.

Painkiller (serves two)
3 oz Pineapple Juice
2 oz Valencia Orange Juice
1½ oz Coconut Creme (Liquid Alchemist)
3 oz Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof Rum
Shake with crushed ice and pour into a tall glass. Garnish with ground Nutmeg and Cinnamon.

It has been too long since I’ve had a Painkiller. This one was really great with that fresh juice and the flavorful and high-proof Pusser’s rum.

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Bloody Wallbanger

The 1970s-era cocktail the Harvey Wallbanger is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine, but only when quality fresh orange juice is used. While not a complex cocktail, it is still pretty refreshing. Normally I recommend Valencia Oranges to be used in cocktails anytime OJ is called for but I had a Blood Orange and gave this riff a try.

Bloody Wallbanger
3 oz Blood Orange Juice
¾ oz Galliano
1½ oz Light Rum (Denizen)
Shake with crushed ice and pour into a tall glass

Blood Orange Juice is more tart than Valencia, but this cocktail didn’t suffer. In fact, it might be even a little bit more balanced. The Galliano is somewhat further back in this variant, but adds a little bit of additional flavor.

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Saturn Variant: Janus

A criminally underrated tropical cocktail is the Saturn, a late 1960s recipe that includes several syrups along with Gin. I decided to riff on it using Rum instead of Gin, so I named it after one of Saturn’s many moons.

Janus
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Passion Fruit Syrup
¼ oz Falernum
1½ oz Rum
Shake with crushed ice and strain into a Coupe glass.

I tried this with the best White Rum around, Probitas. That rum is a mix of Barbados rum and Jamaican rum and is so delightful when you want to taste the rum in a cocktail of this style. I also tried this with Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, which is heavier than the Probitas but still not overpowering the rest of the ingredients. If you made this with each of the rums it probably would reinforce your style preference (I preferred the Jamaican) but both are excellent.

I really like the subtle flavor of the Falernum in this, and I think it pairs well with the Passion Fruit Syrup and the Orgeat.

Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

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Trader Vic’s Warehouse Sale

Robust crowd for today’s once-in-a-decade warehouse sale at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville.

You can see how long the line stretched, a factor on the social distancing in the line and also the total crowd size. I was in the far right section just before it snaked back upon itself. Arriving at 10:00, I was able to enter the parking lot and peruse the wares at around 11:40 or so (I was the last of the third group let in). Credit to the hearty souls who waited in line even longer – they got the really impressive stuff (not idea for how much $$ though). The day was beautiful and people were in good spirits.

I didn’t go home with anything, but I was glad to see what was available. It’s always a pleasure to visit the home of the Mai Tai.

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Nepalese Dinner

I don’t have too many opportunities to pair my Khukri rum made in Nepal, but it worked out tonight with some delicious dumplings and sides from Everest Momo. It’s delicious.