Category: Rum

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Drunken Monkey at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

This cocktail appeared on the menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville a couple years ago and I decided to revisit with lunch. The drink features unaged Cachaça and Tequila, along with Banana liqueur, grapefruit and lime juice, plus Trader Vic’s favorite ingredient – Orgeat. The Whipped Cream topping with Lime Zest makes this an attractive cocktail.

The blend of Cachaça and Tequila works really well here, providing different spirit notes than what you’d get with Rum or Bourbon. Cachaça is distilled from cane juice and the light herbal qualities pair well with Tequila’s agave-based flavor. The banana is there just as a hint, and when we upped the ratio at home it still wasn’t forward in the cocktail.

At Trader Vic’s the cocktail is served in this tall glass with nugget ice, which meant it was difficult to incorporate the topping into the drink due to the chunky ice. My preference would be for this to be in an old fashioned glass with a wider brim or with shaved ice that would be easier to work with.

Trader Vic’s hasn’t published the recipe but observing the prep and trying at home this seems pretty close. Give it a try!

Drunken Monkey by Trader Vic’s
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Grapefruit Juice (pink)
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1 oz Blanco Tequila
1 oz Silver Cachaça
Shake with crushed ice and top with whipped cream and banana chips.

At home I used El Jimador Tequila and Novo Fogo Cachaça, along with Latitude 29 Orgeat, and I felt this tasted even better than the one at Trader Vic’s. I’m a newbie to both spirits, so I couldn’t tell which brands were used at Vic’s.

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Cell 2187 (Ankle Breaker)

Happy May the Fourth: Star Wars Day.

The vessel is the Death Star. The drink is a modified version of the Ankle Breaker. Put them together and it is Cell 2187, the cell that Princess Leia was jailed in.

The original recipe calls for a 151 Puerto Rican rum. I do have some Don Q 151 but it is buried in the back of my liquor cabinet and I thought maybe switching it up would be an improvement. Indeed, replacing that potent rum with two others proved to be even better than the original. Much more flavorful with rums that can stand up to all that powerful Cherry Heering liqueur.

Cell 2187 (Ankle Breaker)
1½ oz Lemon Juice
¾ oz Simple Syrup
1½ oz Cherry Heering
1 oz Plantation OFTD Rum
½ oz Wray & Nephew Overproof Jamaica Rum
Shake with ice. Add “dark side of the Force” light-up cube.

The Geeki Tiki Death Star is a pretty nice mug.

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Caipirinha

I finally got around to purchasing a bottle of Cachaça, the cane spirit from Brazil. I’ve had good experiences with Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça and the price was reasonable so that’s what I went with. Not grassy at all, the savory flavors of this cane spirit are quite pleasant.

I decided to make a Caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. This cocktail is similar to a Daiquiri or Ti Punch in that it contains a cane spirit, lime, and sugar.

Caipirinha
2 sugar cubes
1 Small Lime, cut into quarters
2 oz Cachaça
Place lime wedges and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle gently. Add Cachaça and crushed ice, then stir until chilled and the sugar is dissolved.

This is quite nice and more to my taste than the formula for a Ti Punch that has a smaller ratio of lime/sugar (if you prefer Martinique Rhum, your opinion may differ). I can see why the Caipirinha is popular.

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Old Brigand Black Label Superior Barbados Rum

Produced at the Foursquare distillery, Old Brigand is a “Spirits Direct” exclusive to Total Wine & More stores in the U.S. and retails for under $20. The blended aged rum includes pot and column still distillate and is released at 43% ABV.

The pirate on the label would seem to indicate to rum snobs that this isn’t the rum they’re looking for, but on the latest Rumcast podcast, this expression was the highest rated in a blind test of a number of Foursquare produced rums. So, I had try to this rum and for the price it isn’t a big risk. Indeed the flavorful rum reminds me of much more expensive Barbados rums, with good vanilla and coconut notes from the aging. Quite nice to sip.

This was less awesome in a Mai Tai, where the taste of the rum was not as forward as I’m used to. Then again, I’m usually using heavier Jamaica rums with a higher ABV so the more delicate Barbados rum is certainly not as bold.

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The Blind Rabbit: Speakeasy Cocktails in Anaheim

Mrs. Mai Tai suggested trying this speakeasy cocktail bar again, so we were pleased to score a last-minute reservation right for opening. The Blind Rabbit is located in the Anaheim Packing District venue, and seems to have relaxed a lot of the “rules” that previously were enforced. We had a lot of delays getting our Lyft and were stressed we might miss the 15 minute grace period.

In the end, we arrived right on time to find … ourselves as the only customers inside the bar! As such our server was quite attentive, even after other guests started to arrive. The hostess kept a tight ship, shooing out some guests who walked right into the bar without first checking in.

The Blind Rabbit’s menu is fairly small and features some cocktails with ingredients such as Mezcal that aren’t in my wheelhouse. While I know that the staff can go off-menu, we do like to try from the cocktail menu.

Icy Colors Change – Gin, Elderflower, Lemon, Pomegranate. I enjoyed this light cocktail, though my light did not change.

Ardbeg Your Pardon – I’m not a fan of peated Scotch, so I asked the server about this cocktail with Ardbeg Scotch, Rye, and spiced syrups. Ardbeg is indeed peated, but I took and chance and found that it didn’t overpower thanks to the Rye.

For my last drink I did go off menu to ask for a Rum Old Fashioned with Jamaica Rum. The bartender prepared this wonderfully and it’s always wonderful to savor my favorite style of rum.

Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed a Zombie variant called Happier than Ever and served in a cool Viking skull mug. She also got an off-menu cocktail the server recommended for its similarity to a Pacific Cooler Capri Sun.

Icy Colors Change
Happier than Ever
Ardbeg Your Problem

After drinks, we ate dinner at The Iron Press upstairs where we had absolutely fabulous Pretzel Bites and a Simple Burger. So great.

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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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Funky Doctor Bird Mai Tai

Was feeling like I hadn’t had a rich and funky Mai Tai in a while, so I pulled out this wonderful bottle of Doctor Bird Jamaica Rum. This is the special Madeira cask release that was put out in conjunction with Bitters and Bottles a couple years ago, and I prefer this to the standard-issue Doctor Bird that’s finished in Moscatel casks. It is also issued at a hearty 59.2% ABV.

The result was a very chewy Mai Tai that tasted fantastic. Totally savory to have funky rum like this delivered in the Mai Tai format, where some of the rough edges are minimized.

I’m even getting a little fresh mint from a nascent planting in the backyard.

Glassware is obviously inspired by the rum. It’s an opening day B-Rex design for Dr. Funk San Jose. It would be great if the good doctor would do more of these, just saying.