Tag: Bourbon

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Batched Mint Julep

Our friends have a yearly Christmas party with a different theme each year. This year the theme was Kentucky Derby, so I volunteered to make a batched version of a Mint Julep.

The typical Mint Julep recipe is nearly all Bourbon, so this one has a bit more sugar and water. Nonetheless it was quite boozy, as we are all feeling today. The small cups filled with ice were an attempt to limit the intake, but some of us succeeded better than others.

The mint syrup was made to a higher volume but you can see the ratio below. The syrup worked really well and meant nobody had to muddle these cocktails by hand and for a mixed crowd a tempered balance of Bourbon was better for most.

In terms of the Bourbon, I used a half-filled bottle of Buffalo Trace plus a nice 1.75ml bottle of Old Crow. And then I used about a half bottle of First Call Rye to add a bit of spice.

Batched Mint Julep
2 parts Bourbon
1 part Mint Syrup
½ part Water including large ice cubes to chill
Serve in a small glass with crushed ice and a mint sprig

Mint Syrup
1 cup water, heated
Add 1 cup granulated sugar, then stir to dissolve
Remove from heat and steep 1 cup mint leaves for 3-4 hrs
Chill in refrigerator

Large Ice Cubes added for dilution and to chill
Use as much Mint as you want
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Liquid Alchemist Grenadine in a Port Light Cocktail

I’ve liked most of the Liquid Alchemist syrups I’ve tried, so I picked up this Grenadine that’s new to me. It’s a really fantastic syrup, rich and tart. The ingredients include Pomegranate juice and also Pomegranate molasses, along with Orange Blossom Water. Unlike some thin commercial syrups, you can see that the color is very dark reddish purple that works great when mixed in cocktails.

Having tasting this Liquid Alchemist Grenadine just by itself, I thought it’d work well in a Port Light cocktail using a heavy pour. Indeed it works great alongside Passion Fruit Syrup and Bourbon and really made for a nice rich drink.

Port Light
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Passion Fruit Syrup (Small Hand)
½ oz Liquid Alchemist Grenadine (heavy pour)
1½ oz Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
Shake with Crushed Ice

Modified version of the Kahiki Port Light, via Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log.

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Forbidden Island Parking Lot Sale

Great day on the patio in Alameda for the annual Parking Lot Sale at Forbidden Island. There were some really great vendors on Sunday for our visit, and I came away with a lantern from Relic Vintage and a Disney aloha shirt and a fish float from Tiki Tacky Tu. Mrs. Mai Tai bought a necklace from Match Accessories. We look forward to this event every year. DJ Tanoa Stewart provided some great garage rock-leaning vintage tunes.

My lantern worked out really great. Besides looking nice on our patio, it matched the cocktail I’d already ordered: the Port Light. Serendipity! Forbidden Island’s Port Light cocktail is perfectly balanced with just the right amount of bourbon. We also enjoyed the Spam Musubi.

Port Light Cocktail
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Turkey Grog Revisited

Had a grapefruit to kill so I made this cocktail that I developed a few years back and it remains a popular favorite. The use of flavorful Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon is the key component and where the cocktail gets its name.

Turkey Grog by Kevin Crossman
¾ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Ruby Grapefruit Juice
½ oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
½ oz Velvet Falernum
½ oz Don’s Spices #2
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
¾ oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
1½ oz Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
Shake with ice, garnish with mint. Serve in glass of choice.

Don’s Spices #2: Equal parts Vanilla Syrup and Pimento Dram/Allspice Liqueur.
If you have non-alcoholic Falernum syrup then drop the amount to ¼ oz.

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1923 Prohibition Bar: Speakeasy Bar in Las Vegas

We ran across the 1923 Prohibition Bar in the shopping complex between Mandalay Bay and Luxor, and once we entered through the “secret” entrance decided to take a load off with a cocktail.

As Prohibition style bars inside Casinos go, 1923 bar is pretty reasonable. Totally cut off from the shopping area and tourists, and a relaxing vibe with vintage touches inside. There are TV screens here showing period or venue-specific content (not sports/news, thankfully), plus music that is relaxing but isn’t period, so this is not 100% committed to the theme. They do however do burlesque here some nights and during mid-day when we went it was totally chill.

There’s a Mango Mai Tai on the menu, featuring Bacardi Mango Rum alongside Appleton Signature Rum and the standard 1944 ingredients. They also have Appleton Reserve and Rhum Barbancourt on their spirits list. I thought I got lucky to find a good 1944 Mai Tai in Vegas, and ordered one just with Appleton Reserve. Sadly, they said they were out of all of their rums except Myers’s.

Rather than fight a losing cause I ordered the Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned that was quite serviceable and set the mood for the venue quite well.

Check out 1923 Prohibition Bar the next time you’re in the area.

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Turkey Grog

I wanted to do a grog riff that used Bourbon and Jamaican Rum as the base, so I chose two popular spirits that are both a little boozy. Smith & Cross (57% ABV) is a wonderful Jamaican rum that leans a bit funky, and is used widely in high-quality bars and restaurants. Wild Turkey 101 is a bold and boozy Bourbon that won’t break the bank. With more than two ounces of higher proof spirits, this cocktail pays homage to boozy forbearers such as the Navy Grog.

The two spirits seemed like a good combo, but this cocktail went through a few iterations. Thanks to the members of the “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” group on FB for input, especially @laurasmurphy who provided tasting notes and suggestions.



Everything here should be pretty readily available, which is one reason this is calling specifically for Ruby Grapefruit and not the more traditional but harder to find White Grapefruit.

Turkey Grog by Kevin Crossman
¾ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Ruby Grapefruit Juice
½ oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
½ oz Velvet Falernum
½ oz Don’s Spices #2
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
¾ oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
1½ oz Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
Shake with ice, garnish with mint. Serve in glass of choice.

Don’s Spices #2: Equal parts Vanilla Syrup and Pimento Dram/Allspice Liqueur.
If you have non-alcoholic Falernum syrup then drop the amount to ¼ oz.

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Presidio Afternoon at Walt Disney Museum and Sessions

Julie and I took our sons our for the afternoon at the Presidio in San Francisco. We started with a visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum, which is featuring a wonderful special exhibit on Disney during World War II. Photos aren’t allowed inside but there are some truly fascinating exhibits that chronicle not just the studio’s animation output but also putting some fo the things into cultural and political context. Highly recommended. We also did a quick run through the main museum which we have visited several times before and is always a delight. I am especially fond of the last room chronicling Walt’s media diversification in the 1950s starting with television and then with Disneyland.

Dinner was at Sessions, which we enjoyed earlier in the month during the May 4th special event with Smuggler’s Cove. The food here is gourmet, though pricey. This time we tried the beignets and they are so great. Wait service was disappointingly slow (like it was last time), though.

There are only a few cocktails on the menu. The Rum and Pineapple-based Sarlacc Shrubb was okay, though more tart than I prefer. Much better was the Golden Gate Mile, featuring Bourbon, Grapefruit, Honey, and Ginger. Julie liked the Presidio cocktail with Gin, Lemon, Hibiscus, and Prosecco. If you’re a wine fan, there are dozens of Skywalker Vineyards selections, which seemed popular with the patrons.

We finished the day by visiting the Yoda statue nearby.