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.
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.
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 Syrupwhile 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
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.
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.
