Big Top Mai Tai

I’m not letting an open bottle of BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup go to waste and decided to lean into a tweaked Mai Tai recipe from Jason Alexander of Devil’s Reef fame.

The recipe includes Passionfruit syrup, which I think pairs really great with the Circus Peanut (I used it in my Hurricane riff, the Hurriclown). But I dropped the amount down to a quarter ounce to focus a bit more on the traditional Mai Tai syrup, Orgeat.

Big Top Mai Tai by Jason Alexander
1½ oz Lemon Juice
¼ oz Passionfruit Syrup
½ oz Orgeat
1 oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup
2½ oz Planteray Xaymaca Rum
Shake with crushed ice

Xaymaca’s unique funky taste really works well here, as does the lemon juice in place of traditional lime. This is a big, bold cocktail that is delicious.

Circus Peanut Appreciation Party

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.

Circus Peanut Syrup is Back!

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 Syrup while 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

Orange Skies Over California

As if 2020 couldn’t get any more bizarre. Look at the orange skies out in the backyard, and honestly it was unsettling and pretty disturbing.

Tried to make a cocktail that matched the color of the sky, so I turned to this one featuring the bright orange BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup. 

Big Top Mai Tai by Jason Alexander
½ oz passion fruit sirop
½ oz almond sirop
1 oz Clown Sirop
1½ oz lemon juice
2½ oz Plantation Xaymaca

At least the day ended well.

New Cocktail Recipe: A Clown Got Us into This

Delicious new cocktail for lockdown weekend

This recipe comes from Bay Area Tikiphile Rodney Stanton, who shared it during Thursday’s “South SF Bay Ohana” online meetup (hit me up on Facebook to get access to the group). The hero ingredient is the BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup, and it’s delicious here when paired with the banana notes from the liqueur and the overrproof Jamaican rum.

A Clown Got Us into This
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

The Nanea is from the Hawaiian brand Kuleana, but is actually a blend of lightly aged rums from the Caribbean. I don’t have the Nanea, or any rums from Central America, so I used Plantation 3 Star as a substitute. For the Overproof Jamaican I used Rum-Bar Overproof. I used Tempus Fugit for the banana liqueur.

It’s delicious! Glassware by B-Rex.

Hurricane Recipe

I’ve been playing around with a new recipe for The Hurricane, the famous drink from New Orleans. While the Hurricane is famous, the exact ingredients (besides rum) are not particularly agreed upon. This is a riff inspired by the recipe in Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log.

Hurricane 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

My aim was to hit a fine spot between the overly sweet Hurricanes and those which lean on the tart side. In Beachbum Berry’s recipe it calls for basically double the proportions here, resulting in a cocktail with four ounces of rum. Feel free to double my recipe if you want to fill a tall hurricane glass.

For my version, I used BG Reynolds Passionfruit Syrup, Coruba Dark Jamaican rum, and Plantation OFTD rum.

Hurricane