Category: Recipe

Posted on

Coronado Luau Special

This recipe was recommended by Nathan Robinson who tried it with Blood Oranges. I needed to use up my Valencia Oranges though so went with the traditional Orange Juice.

This is recipe from the Luau Room at the Coronado Hotel, and noted by the inclusion in Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log.

Looking at the recipe I thought that this wasn’t very balanced and had too much juice/sugar. Turns out that’s exactly how it was. I added some Brandy and it was better, but this one likely won’t be going into rotation. I riffed a bit on the ingredients, so check the Grog Log or the Total Tiki app for the original recipe.

Coronado Luau Special
3 oz Valencia Orange juice
1½ oz Lemon juice
½ oz Lime juice
1 oz Demerara syrup
1 oz Dark Jamaican rum (Coruba)
1 oz Light rum (Denizen White)
¾ oz Cognac
¼ oz Ferrand Dry Curacao
¼ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
Float 1 oz Brandy
Flash blend

Be sure to check out more recipes and posts from Nathan Robinson who has some great photos on his feed.

Posted on

Don’s Spices no. 2 Mai Tai

A little bit of a riff for the Mai Tai tonight. It’s a regular Mai Tai but replaces the Demerara/Rock Candy Syrup with Don’s Spices no. 2. That’s equal parts Vanilla Syrup and Pimento Dram/Allspice Liqueur. I used BG Reynolds Vanilla Syrup and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram.

I don’t love cocktails that are Allspice forward, but just a little can be really great. This was a wonderful Mai Tai.

Glassware by B-Rex, paired with a B-Rex mug and Disney mementoes. The Mai Tai glass is still available so check out the B-Rex site.

2 oz Denizen Merchants Reserve Rum
½ oz Ferrand Dry Curacao
½ oz Latitude 29 Orgeat
¼ oz Don’s Spices no.2
1 oz Lime juice

Posted on

Blood Orange Eastern Sour

For a while now I’ve been extolling the virtues of Valencia Orange Juice in cocktails. So much sweeter and flavorful than standard bottled orange juice or even fresh squeezed from Navel Oranges. Blood Oranges seem to be in season, so I thought I’d make my favorite OJ-forward cocktail and see how it compares.

Blood Orange Eastern Sour
¾ oz Lemon Juice
2½ oz Blood Orange Juice
¼ oz Orgeat
¼ oz Sugar Syrup
2 oz Bourbon (Wild Turkey 101)

I really liked this version. Obviously the first thing you see is how deep the red color of the Blood Orange juice is. The flavor is a little bit more tangy than the Valencia but still works well with the rest of the ingredients. I might up the Orgeat by another ¼ oz if I make this again. If you can find Blood Oranges, give this a try.

Posted on

Blood Orange Mai Tai

Apparently blood oranges are in season, so I played around with them. First up is this Mai Tai made with white spirits and topped with some blood orange juice. Seems perfect for Halloween.

2 oz Probitas White Rum
¾ oz Cointreau
½ oz Orgeat
1 oz Lemon juice
Float ½ oz Blood Orange Juice

Very tasty.

Posted on

Margaritas at La Fiesta in Mountain View

With Trad’r Sam open again in San Francisco, we traveled up to check out their offerings. I was assured they’d be open on Saturday between 2:00-3:00 but at 3:30 there was nobody there and no sign of activity. Mrs. Mai Tai was not happy. I get that this is a family-run business and that Saturday night is the priority, not Saturday afternoon. Well, tikiphiles, I tried.

So, we headed down the Peninsula to our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Fiesta in Mountain View. This place is a few blocks off downtown but is totally worth seeking out. They’ve converted half their parking lot into outdoor seating and the tables are spaced out really well. We love the Grandma’s Special sauce that is added to various menu items. It is unbelievably good.

For our Margaritas, Julie had the Margarita Rosalina (the Grandma in “Grandma’s Special”) with reposado tequila, cranberry juice, lime, triple sec, and sweet and sour. I had the Veracruz with silver tequila, blue curaçao, triple sec, lime, and sweet and sour. Both were excellent.

We we got home I made a couple more blue margaritas.

Ultimate Blue Margarita
¾ oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Blue Curacao
¼ oz Blood Orange Cordial
1½ oz el Jimador Blanco Tequila
Shake with ice and serve over cubed ice.

Posted on

Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai

Another neighborhood delivery

This was the choice of the recipient, who definitely needs a stiff drink. I’m not a pumpkin spice hater.

Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat 
½ oz Orange Curacao 
¼ oz Demerara Syrup 
1 oz Captain Morgan Jack’o’Blast Pumpkin Spiced Rum
1 oz Aged Jamaican Rum

Posted on

Derby Daiquiri

I keep trying to make this one. It seems so simple and maybe uninteresting, but when I tried it at the Mai-Kai last year I was blown away. So I keep trying. And the fact that this is blended, when I’ve been fighting like Ahab to get my blender to make good slushy blended drinks, well let’s just say that the result was better but still not perfect.

This time the blend was better but still too many big chunks considering I was sipping rather than using a straw.

Derby Daiquiri
½ oz Lime juice
1 oz Orange juice
½ oz Sugar syrup
1½ oz Light Rum (I used Plantation 3 Star)
Blend with ice

I used fresh Valencia Oranges and it certainly made a difference compared to when I’ve used bottled OJ. But neither is as good as the Orange Juice they use at the Mai-Kai in Florida, so I guess all those ads about Florida oranges are true.

The Atomic Grog has great resources for everything Mai-Kai and their page for this cocktail is no exception. Check it out.