Mrs. Mai Tai found some zero sugar syrups and since I’m trying to cut back on carbs and sugar I thought I’d give this a try. The cotton candy syrup is quite sweet and reminiscent of the confection favorite. I thought that a simple sour format would help to highlight the sweetener and since I had lemons rather than limes I decided to use pisco rather than rum.
Skinny Cotton Candy Pisco Sour ¾ oz Lemon Juice ¾ oz Skinny Cotton Candy Syrup 1½ oz Pisco Shake with ice and strain into a coupe
The overall flavor is pleasant but that cotton candy is quite format in this ratio, especially when paired with the mild pisco. It can take some work to really dial in the appropriate ratio for these type of syrups.
The intent was to see if you could make a frozen Mai Tai, since I was told you could freeze the liquid and then give it a quick blend to reproduce frozen cocktail texture. I tried a couple different variants but never got better than middling results, though those results still might be interesting or at least a good change of pace.
The best variant was a standard Mai Tai recipe doubled for volume and with an additional three ounces of water to replicate the dilution of water. This is placed in a zip lock back and placed in the freezer overnight. Give this a light pinch or two and then pour into a glass and drink with a straw. In my case I used the standard Ultimate Mai Tai recipe that includes two ounces of rum at just over 50% ABV.
This version is totally flavorful even with the lower overall temperature, though it is a chunkier texture than your average slushie. Putting this version into a blender essentially removed most of the ice components, but the version out of the baggie wasn’t too bad.
Some of the variants I tried included adding much more water and different lower proof rums. The extra water didn’t really change the consistency in the end product, and the lower ABV rums lacked the flavor from the potent Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend of Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Xaymaca, and OFTD.
Busy weekend for me planning and executing the cocktails for a party featuring BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup. I made a welcome punch and then had a menu of four cocktails made to order. This was my first time doing bartending for a party, and yes I did make a few Ultimate Mai Tais as well.
Thanks to hosts Brenda and Glen who made it really easy to work behind the bar, and helped with some of the rum and ice for the party. And thanks to Jason Alexander and Rodney Stanton for the recipes for four of the five cocktails I served alongside my Hurricane riff.
Welcome punch: Honey Glazed Nut Punch
Cocktails: Barnum & Bailey Planters Punch, Djumbo Grog, a Clown Got Us Into This, and Hurriclown
Honey Glazed Nut Punch by Jason Alexander ¾ oz Lime juice ¾ oz Grapefruit juice ¾ oz Circus Peanut Syrup ¾ oz Honey Mix ½ oz Cinnamon syrup 2 oz Demerara rum
Barnum & Bailey Planter’s Punch by Jason Alexander 1 oz Lemon juice ¾ oz Circus Peanut syrup ¼ oz Don’s Spices 1½ oz Dark Jamaican rum ½ oz Demerara 151 rum 1 Dash Angostura Bitters 1 Dash Absinthe
A Clown Got Us into This by Rodney Stanton 1½ oz Lime Juice ⅞ oz Circus Peanut Syrup ⅛ oz Grenadine ½ oz Creme de Banana 1½ oz Kuleana Rum Works Nanea ½ oz Overproof Jamaican Rum 2 Dashes Orange Bitters
Djumbo Grog by Jason Alexander ¾ oz Lime juice 1½ oz Grapefruit juice 1 oz Circus Peanut Syrup ¼ oz Cinnamon Syrup ½ oz Falernum 1 oz Plantation 3 Star 1 oz Plantation Original Dark 1 oz Plantation OFTD
Hurriclown by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lemon Juice ¼ oz Passionfruit Syrup ¾ oz Circus Peanut Syrup 1½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum ½ oz Overproof Demerara Rum
Apologies to our friends at Kuleana Rum Works for not holding the bottle to show the label. Rookie mistake.
Another banger from San Francisco mixologist Nathan Robinson, this is sort of a “Planters Grog” riff that includes some bold flavors and a little maple syrup to keep things warm and seasonal.
This is quite good, if you have the Liquid Alchemist Falernum like I do. If you don’t have Liquid Alchemist I’d suggest using your own Falernum at half an ounce in combination with a quarter ounce of Allspice Dram as this will more closely approximate the flavor. And if you use a little extra Maple Syrup I wouldn’t discourage you from doing so.
Bah Rumbug by Nathan Robinson 1 oz Lime Juice 1 oz Red Grapefruit Juice ¾ oz Bold Falernum (pref. Liquid Alchemist) ½ oz Maple Syrup 1½ oz Demerara Rum (pref. Hamilton 86) 1 oz Black Blended Jamaica Rum (pref. Coruba) Shake with crushed ice and pour into tall Zombie or Pilsner glass. Garnish with mint, if you have it.
This BG Reynolds product started as a joke and then a kickstarter and eventually a product that was discontinued until it was brought back by another kickstarter-type funding round. And it has no reason to exist, except that it is amazing! And it is back on sale. Go to the BG Reynolds website and get Circus Peanut Syrupwhile you can.
It is exactly what it claims to be, a syrup version of your favorite childhood candy. Or someone’s favorite childhood candy, at least. But as much as you’d expect this to be terrible, the orange and banana flavors really work well in certain tropical cocktails. I guarantee that if you like tiki drinks that you will love Circus Peanut syrup.
Here’s a collection of recipes by Jason Alexander from Devil’s Reef, plus a couple from yours truly.
Recipes by Jason Alexander, unless noted
Barnum & Bailey Planter’s Punch ¾ BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup ¼ BG Reynolds Tiki Spices (Don’s Spices) 1 ½ dark Jamaican rum ½ Demerara 151 1 fresh lemon juice dash Angostura Bitters dash absinthe
Honey Glazed Nut Punch ¾ BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup ¾ BG Reynolds Honey Mix ½ BG Reynolds Cinnamon syrup 2 Demerara rum ¾ fresh lime juice ¾ grapefruit juice Ray’s favorite
Blair’s Mistake Dash bitters Splash of seltzer 1 oz lime ¾ oz circus peanut ¾ oz honey sirop ½ oz pineapple 1 oz 3 Star 1 oz Citadelle Gin Float 1 oz OFTD
My mistake was not adding the OFTD float
Not my Circus, Not My Monkey’s 2 dashes bitters Barspoon Zombie Mix 1½ oz lime 1 oz Clown Sirop ¾ oz Don’s Mix ¼ oz luxardo ¾ oz Plantation Xaymaca ¾ oz Plantation Original Dark 1 oz Plantation OFTD
Djumbo Grog 1½ oz grapefruit ¾ oz lime 1 oz Clown Sirop ½ oz cinnamon sirop ½ oz falernum 1 oz Plantation 3 Star 1 oz Plantation Original Dark 1 oz Plantation OFTD
Big Top Mai Tai ½ oz passion fruit sirop ½ oz almond sirop 1 oz Clown Sirop 1½ oz lemon 2½ oz Plantation Xaymaca
Clown Sling 4 dashes bitters 1 oz lemon 1 oz clown sirop ¼ oz cherry heering ¼ oz allspice dram 2 oz gin 2 oz seltzer after mixing
Chimp Cocktail by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lime ½ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup ½ oz Giffard Banane du Brésil (Banana Liqueur) 2 oz Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend or other heavy / Navy Rum
Hurriclown by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lemon Juice ⅓ oz Passionfruit Syrup ¾ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup 1½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum ½ oz Overproof Demerara Rum
A Clown Got Us into This by Rodney Stanton 1½ oz Lime Juice 1½ oz Kuleana Rum Works Nanea ½ oz Overproof Jamaican Rum ½ oz Creme de Banana ¾ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup ⅛ oz Grenadine 2 Dashes Orange Bitters
I make no apologies for loving Pumpkin Spice season, and in the past I’ve done Pumpkin Spice Mai Tais with the now discontinued Captain Morgan Jack-o-Blast rum. This year we encountered another product that’ll let you add those fall flavors to everyone’s favorite tropical cocktail.
The key ingredient is Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Butter, a blend of pumpkin, brown sugar, and fall spices. It works great as a spread on toast or english muffins, and indeed it works well in a Mai Tai. We replaced the rock candy/demerara syrup with two teaspoons of this pumpkin butter and shook it really hard with cubes to make sure everything was incorporated. Also used is the rich Grand Marnier orange liqueur, adding more bold flavors, and the standout blended rum Denizen Merchant’s Reserve.
Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai 1 oz Lime Juice 2 tsp Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Butter ½ oz Orgeat ½ oz Grand Marnier 2 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve Rum Heavy shake with cubes, then strain over crushed ice. Garnish with spooky swizzle and black cherries.
This cocktail is the perfect companion to the newly issued Tiki Goth Club Tiki Nomicon vol. 1, now available at tikigothclub.com. Over 30 full color pages and some great page layout means this is a steal for only five bucks plus shipping. If you like the dark side of tiki, the Tiki Goth Club that our friend Ray Wyland has been leading for the last couple of years is a must-join experience. At the very least, pick up the magazine that includes an article by yours truly about Goth/Tiki experiences in Vienna, Austria.
The question comes up from time to time about what kind of lime juice is appropriate for a Mai Tai or other craft cocktails. Limes have been super expensive in California lately and the lime juice in the plastic bottles appears to be a cost savings. But does it make for a good cocktail?
I tried this one day in a Mai Tai and found it to be suitable. Something seemed to be missing but not terrible in a pinch and seemingly potentially a reasonable option.
The next day I made two Mai Tais with Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum and blind tasted them. The Mai Tai with fresh lime juice had a zingy taste that was so much better, whereas the bottled lime juice Mai Tai was simply flat. Maybe this was due to me opening the bottle the day before, but for bottles like this they aren’t typically emptied on the first day, so I think this was a reasonable test.
Though not terrible coming from a bottle, it really does make a difference when you use fresh lime juice.
