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Ultimate Queen’s Park Swizzle?

I’d be meaning to make this and it was featured on this weekend’s video from Derek on Make & Drink on YouTube. Derek highlights the difference between Trader Vic’s original 1946 recipe from his Book of Food & Drink with the commonly seen modern Queen’s Park Swizzle using colorless rums and a gigantic float of Ango on top. That style looks great on menus and social media, but leans closer to Mojito territory and doesn’t hold up to the Ango as well. And let’s remember Trader Vic’s noteworthy description of this cocktail, “Queen’s Park Swizzle is the most delightful form anesthesia given out today.”

So, I went with the classic Trader Vic’s recipe that originally called for a Demerara rum. I’m actually out of 86 proof Demerara rum, so I used the Hamilton Florida Rum Society blend that’s 60% Demerara and 40% Jamaican rum, and I compared it to my boozy Jamaican-forward Ultimate Mai Rum blend to see which I preferred.

Queen’s Park Swizzle by Trader Vic
Half of a Large Lime
Mint Leaves
3 oz 86 proof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart or Hudson’s Bay)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
½ oz Simple Syrup
Squeeze lime wedges and drop shells with mint leaves at bottom of 14 oz glass. Fill glass with shaved ice, add most of ingredients and swizzle until glass frosts. Garnish with sprig of mint.

Comparing the two drinks, the Florida Rum Society rum provided some of the classic Demerara rum smoky notes and overall worked better in this cocktail. The Ultimate Mai Tai blend didn’t work as well because I went a little heavy on the Ango which seemed to overpowered the rum. You definitely want a bold rum in this style of drink.

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New Cocktails at The Kon-Tiki

The Kon-Tiki recently jettisoned the Sci-Fi themed menu it introduced last year in lieu of a smaller menu before they transition to a forthcoming major revision. The new menu brings back the $44 Samaroli Mai Tai, includes classics like the Mai Tai and Saturn, continues to include stalwarts like the Uma Uma and Kon-Tiki Grog, and adds some new cocktails.

I tried a couple of the new ones and am pleased to report that the cocktail quality that Kon-Tiki is known for is continuing.

Red Lantern

Red Lantern: Japanese Whiskey, Passionfruit, Pomegranate, Lemon
This Port Light riff leans dry and tart, but is quite flavorful and is a great change of pace for those looking for a spirit besides rum. The Japanese Whiskey does not overpower the cocktail and this is overall pretty good.

Pongo Pongo

Pongo Pongo: Pisco, Don’s Mix, Lime
Even better is this lovely blend featuring Pisco, the South American brandy. The combo of grapefruit and cinnamon in the Don’s mix pairs very well.

The Kon-Tiki put it out there a few weeks back that they were struggling with utility costs and decline in a downtown workforce, but there’s been a noticeable uptick in patrons the last few times I’ve come in. Let’s support our friends while we still can, and with these wonderful new cocktails there’s always a great excuse to visit.

Halloween decor at The Kon-Tiki

 

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504 Silver Rum from New Orleans

I was so happy to receive this 504 Silver Rum from Happy Raptor Distilling from a friend who brought it back from New Orleans, until I learned the distillery shut down earlier this year. It’s too bad, this is a really nice rum distilled from sugar cane juice. Very similar to some Brazilian Cachacas I’ve tried and Copalli from Belize, also distilled from sugar cane juice, but cool that it was a domestic product.

The savory notes from this cane juice rum are really fantastic in a Mai Tai.

I don’t know if there are still bottles for sale anywhere but if you can find it, do yourself a favor and give it a try.

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Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength

Mount Gay Eclipse Navy Strength is a new limited edition expression of the longstanding intro level Barbados rum, now available in a full flavor 57% ABV format. Eclipse is a blend of pot and column still rums and is light in body with a few years in the bottle, so while it is approachable in cocktails there isn’t always the flavor I want from cocktails like a Mai Tai, and it is sort of too much for lighter rum drinks like a Daiquiri. In the past I shied away from Eclipse in lieu of either true lighter rums from Puerto Rico or more flavorful lightly aged rums such as Appleton Signature or El Dorado 5.

But this new Navy Strength expression is much more what I want from a rum, a lot of flavor that comes through in a cocktail and is even pretty approachable when served neat in a glass. The term Navy Strength isn’t a true measurement but conveys the much higher ABV in this expression. Some of the Foursquare products from Barbados can have an overly oaky flavor, including Real McCoy 5 and Old Brigand, but this Mount Gay leans a little more floral.

I made a Mai Tai and found this expression cuts right though and you can really taste the rum, and a great alternative if you’re looking for something that’s a little mellower than the funky Jamaican rums or grassy Martinique rhums.

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$1 Applebee’s Zombie

Some of you remember the $1 Mai Tai that Applebee’s issued during Mai Tai month in 2019. That featured black cherry and passionfruit and bunch of other ingredients and in no way resembled a Mai Tai, but had enough rum to be considered reasonable for a dollar.

To celebrate Halloween, Applebee’s is now offering a bright blue Zombie for a dollar. Cocktail fans know that a Zombie should never be blue, but Applebee’s isn’t really craft cocktails anyway so the criteria is a little different. Is it reasonable, especially for the price?

The cocktail is batched and is garnished with a brain gummy, but doesn’t have a predominant flavor besides “sweet”. I don’t expect a traditional Zombie level of booze (“limit two per customer”) but even for a dollar I wasn’t getting much alcohol. Kind of a bust.

My local Applebee’s was hopping and there were a bunch of regulars hooting it up with the bartender who’s been there forever (I remember her from the $1 Mai Tai days). Not that different than Ohana night at your favorite tiki bar, except the decor and drinks are different, and my tall draft Modelo was only five bucks. Not so terrible in the neighborhood, if you want my honest opinion.

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$10 Mai Tai with 10 Rums on 10/10

Our friends at the Kon-Tiki continue to surprise and delight, offering a low-key but still noteworthy drink special last night to celebrate the Mai Tai being named the official cocktail of the city. The October 10th Mai Tai was the brainchild of GM and bartender Carlos Jimenez, who used 10 rums for this special Mai Tai. Even better, priced at just $10.

The Mai Tai leaned on sugar-cane juice rums as the predominant note, but had layers of flavor that worked great in this format. I compared this to the Kon-Tiki’s standard issue Mai Tai that uses heavier and longer aged rums and found that while I prefer the standard this one-off Mai Tai was still really great and of course was a killer value as well.

Plenty of people got the memo as the room was quite busy for most of the evening.

Standard Mai Tai
Carlos showing off fire skills