Category: History

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Tropical Standard: Cocktail Techniques & Reinvented Recipes

2023’s most interesting cocktail book comes from Garret Richard (Sunken Harbor Club) and Ben Schaffer (The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual). “Tropical drinks” are sometimes looked down upon by cocktail snobs and even tiki purists as being “lesser”, but the book describes how these juice-heavy cocktails can be elevated using modern techniques.

While each cocktail gets a photo, this is not a coffee table book full of pretty pictures. Instead, this will appeal to those looking to understand the methods of making great cocktails and also to learn how longstanding recipes can be improved. There are reimagined recipes for the Blue Hawaii, Ray’s Mistake, and many others.

The Mai Tai from Tropical Standard

Richard’s acclaimed Mai Tai recipe is included, without any need for significant reimagining. The authors state “It does not suffer from any defect in its conception”, yet acknowledges that today’s Mai Tai can’t exactly replicate one from 1944. The recipe is fairly complex, using two orange liqueurs, three rums, and a few drops of Salt Solution to heighten the flavors. The spent lime shell goes inside the cocktail, not on top. Check the book for the recipe but suffice to say that the Mai Tai is quite fantastic.

“New versions of this pivotal cocktail are constantly advanced and debated by bartenders world-wide. It is nigh on impossible to improve on a drink as iconic as the Mai Tai, but with its collection of small adjustments, rediscovered techniques, and precise flavor pairings, the Mai Tai you are about to make will banish all others from your heart.”

Other preparation techniques include ice and dilution, acid adjusting citrus, and even sugar adjusting. These are presented in an open way, not in one that talks down to the reader – which this lazy home bartender appreciates. There are many opportunities to reconsider long-held personal tendencies and to consider new approaches.

Tropical Standard is available today at fine booksellers everywhere.

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Trader Vic’s Hangover Cure: Banana Cow

I challenged Trader Vic’s Emeryville bartender Troy to make a Banana Cow, one of the Trader’s earliest cocktail hits. And boy did Troy make it great, perfectly blended and totally icy smooth to the last drop.

There are two printed recipes for the Banana Cow, which evolved to be more of a true cocktail by the 1970s.

Banana Cow (1946)
1 crushed, ripe Banana
2 level teaspoons bar Sugar
3 oz fresh whole Milk
1½ oz Puerto Rican Rum (Ron Merito, Boco Chica, or Brugal)
Plenty of Cracked Ice
“Put the mess into an electric mixer and mix the hell out of it. Pour into a large glass and have at it. No foolin’ this is a pip.”
Trader Vic’s Book of Food & Drink (1946)

Banana Cow (1972)
1 whole Banana
1 tsp bar Sugar
1 dash Vanilla (Extract)
3 oz fresh Milk
1 oz Trader Vic’s light Puerto Rican rum
1 dash Angostura Bitters
½ scoop shaved ice
Blend in electric mixer. Serve in Planter’s Punch glass.
“The world’s finest, greatest, oh-so-good peachy hangover special. That’ll do it when nothing else will”
Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide Revised (1972)

Later, Vic wrote in Trader Vic’s Rum Cookery & Drinkery (1974) about the cocktail, saying “The Banana Cow is the greatest hangover drink as far as I’m concerned. People are in a rut serving Bloody Marys, and they really kill you rather than cool you. But milk is good for you, and bananas are good for your stomach. Many is a morning I could count a lot of people waiting for me to open my doors for a Rum or Banana Cow to cool it, heal it, and cure it completely.”

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Appleton 17 Legend Jamaican Rum Coming Soon

The social media accounts for Appleton Rum in the U.S. and U.K. went live today with a teaser about the “legend” returning, with a subtle “17” as part of the design. We did see May 17 being mentioned earlier today.

This is surely a reference to the Appleton 17 Legend Jamaican Rum that had a label approved by the TTB nearly a year ago.

The label says this limited edition rum expression is intended as a “re-creation of the legendary rum crafted by J. Wray & Nephew in the 1940s” that “inspired the bartending world.” There isn’t a specific mention of Trader Vic Bergeron or his most famous creation, the 1944 Mai Tai, but this certainly is intended to make you think of the legendary Wray & Nephew 17 that was the first rum using in Vic’s Mai Tai.

You can sign up for email updates on AppletonEstate.com.

Stay tuned, Mai Tai fans!

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Formosa Cafe – Iconic Hollywood Chinese Restaurant

This iconic Chinese restaurant has been on our radar ever since it was remodeled and relaunched as a brand a few years back. We made a reservation for opening last Saturday.

There are nods to classic and even newer Hollywood stars with the photos lining the ceiling, with a large bar right as your enter and a second one in the back room. We were seated in the section that’s an actual Red Trolley Car dating to 1904. So unique!

The Formosa is leaning into their merchandise program, offering stickers, glassware, shirts, and more. We took advantage of the bundle of a cocktail and a Dragon Mug, quite the deal for just $30. I had the Mai Tai, which is made with light and black Bacardi rum, and a bit of pineapple juice. The pineapple ratio was modest, so this was actually a pretty good Mai Tai. There’s a Tia Mia on the menu, which is a Mai Tai with Mezcal and spiced rum, so I ordered one using only Appleton Signature rum and found it to be closer to a true Mai Tai though I think I preferred the one with pineapple juice.

We loved the Passion and Paradox cocktail that includes Rye and Blood Orange Liqueur and Mrs. Mai Tai liked the Nay Nay Rosé Martini.

The food at Formosa leans expensive and is decadent. We loved the Walnut Shrimp, XLB Soup Dumplings, and Pot Stickers. We took a chance on the Chinese BBQ Pork which is basically an entire pork loin and served with foldable bao buns. This actually gave less meat than you might think, unless you love crispy pork skin.

The interior of the Formosa Cafe is total eye candy and everyone needs to visit this iconic location at least once. We had great service and loved the ambiance of the entire restaurant.

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Ronrico Mai-Tai (1962)

This is from a print-ad circa 1962 and is noteworthy for a few reasons.

Firstly, it is a very early printed Mai Tai recipe, substantially similar to others from the mid-late 1950s. This was the original “Hawaiian Mai Tai” style that featured a split base of light rum paired with a flavorful dark Jamaica rum. I can assure you the Myers’s of that era was quite flavorful, and issued at robust 97 proof! A “jigger” in this time period was usually 1 oz.

As is typical of these early Hawaiian Mai Tais, the sweeteners were used in equal portions. Dash in this case being equal to ¼ oz. While the cocktail pictured does seem to be somewhat reminiscent of a fruit salad, it is also noteworthy that there’s no pineapple or orange juice. Remember, the Hawaiian Mai Tai was not born with pineapple juice.

1 jigger Ronrico White
1 jigger Myers’s Jamaica Rum
Juice of One Lime
1 dash Orgeat
1 dash Simple Syrup
1 dash Orange Curacao

I love the line “Don’t waste your time making it”. The person writing the copy also misspelled “Myers” rum, though they surely weren’t the first and far into the future people will still be misspelling it.

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Trader Vic’s Mugs

For Tiki Mug Monday, we’re looking at mugs Trader Vic’s, the home of the Mai Tai. They’ve had so many iconic mugs over the years, but these are our favorites.

  • Maori Haka, based off the totem in Trader Vic’s Emeryville. I also like the white variant.

  • Seahorse – the drink they serve the Seyhorse cocktail in, not sure which spelling is preferred

  • Marquesan Drum – great on top of the bar to store mint, garnishes, straws

  • Coconut Cup – fine for any drink

  • The Modernist – produced in 2021 in conjunction with a book from Sven Kirsten

And my personal fave? The Seyhorse with handy spines to grip the mug!

Which is your favorite?

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Dublin Sour

This is an Irish Whiskey variant of the Eastern Sour. Like the Mai Tai recipe variants we discussed a couple weeks ago, Trader Vic’s created the Sour template and then substitutes different types of spirits to give the cocktail a new name, often related to a new Trader Vic’s location.

  • Eastern Sour: Bourbon
  • London Sour: Scotch
  • Munich Sour: German Brandy (sometimes Cognac)
  • Toronto Sour: Canadian Whisky
  • Tokyo Sour: Japanese Whisky? Recipes are unclear.
  • Jalisco Sour: Tequila

Dublin Sour Recipe from Trader Vic’s (2023)
2 oz. Irish Whiskey
Squeeze ¼ Fresh cut Lemon
Squeeze ¼ Fresh cut Orange
(save spent shells)
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice
Dash (¼ oz) Orgeat
Dash Rock Candy Syrup
Shake with cracked ice and pour in your new St. Patrick’s Day Glass and top with spent shells for garnish.

Sharp-eyed readers will note this recipe differs from the classic recipe from the 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide. That book called for the “juice of half an orange and half a lemon.” That basically means 2½ oz of orange juice and just about 1½ oz of lemon juice. Trader Vic’s says they use the smaller amount because an entire half orange and half lemon are too large for the glass.

Using Jameson, the whiskey is really lost in this cocktail, even with just the 1½ oz of OJ I squeezed from my small-ish orange. Bolder spirits such as Scotch or Bourbon are a better match for all that juice, and I also recommend upping the Orgeat to ½ oz.

In any case, raise a Dublin Sour on Saint Patrick’s Day and toast:
“A good friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have”