Tag: MartiniqueRhum

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Christmas Suffering Bastard

Not the most traditional Christmas cocktail, but with the new green glaze I think the Suffering Bastard Mug is a perfect vessel. In order to prepare the cocktail we need to make some decisions about the ingredients.

The Trader Vic’s Suffering Bastard is very different from Joe Scialom’s original from the World War II era, and is basically a larger and boozier Mai Tai.

This is the recipe from Trader Vic’s 1972 Bartenders Guide Revised and from 1974’s Rum Cookery and Drinkery. Noteworthy that it specifically calls for an aged Rhum Agriole. But what’s missing? The lime, for one.

Suffering Bastard (1970s)
3 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Mix
1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum
2 oz Rhum St. James
Shake with ice and garnish with spent lime shell, mint, fruit stick, and cucumber

The same books list the Mai Tai as using 2 oz each of Mai Tai Mix and Trader Vic’s Mai Tai rum, so we must assume the lime is incorporated into the Mai Tai mix. As for the blend of Orange Curacao and Orgeat, I thought I’d try the ratio used for the 1958 Mai Tai from the Trader Vic’s in Havana, 12 parts Curacao to 7 parts Orgeat, and make 2 oz of this mix to go with the 1 oz of lime. I don’t have any Rhum St. James but substituted Clement VSOP Rhum that’s also from Martinique. Plus Trader Vic’s Light Rum from Puerto Rico.

Christmas Suffering Bastard
1 oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
1¼ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand)
1 oz Trader Vic’s Light Rum
2 oz Rhum St. James (sub Clement)
Shake with ice and garnish with spent lime shell, mint, fruit stick, and cucumber (if you have one)

This was very satisfying. You certainly get a bit of that aged and grassy taste from the Clement, but it is balanced well by the subtle sweetness of the Mai Tai mix blend. The use of the light rum softens the edges of the Martinique rhum and keep this as the boozy cocktail it was meant to be.

Mele Kalikimaka

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Jammyland: Best Mai Tai in Las Vegas?

We’d been told by numerous people that the the best Mai Tai in Vegas is at Jammyland, a craft cocktail bar and restaurant located in the Arts District and featuring a Jamaica/Reggae theme. We finally made time to check it out on our trip, visiting at opening on Saturday.

We didn’t do food, apart from the delightful Fat Boy ice cream sandwich dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut flakes. It’s really good. Music was a very bass heavy set of mostly reggae leaning songs. Pretty loud inside, not really to my taste. There’s a large patio outside that’s not shaded but I’m sure is a blast after dark.

The Mai Tai here is pretty good, a 50/50 blend of Appleton 12 Jamaica Rum and Clement VSOP. I normally like this combo, though Jammyland’s struck me as too heavy on grassy Rhum Agricole notes (though your mileage might vary). Orgeat is house-made. I was told some premium Mai Tais may make an appearance in the future, and for sure would be worth seeking out.

The craft cocktail menu is pretty large and nicely varied. I also tried the refreshing Anaconda Punch featuring Appleton Signature Jamaica rum, Drake’s Spiced Rum, fresh pineapple and lime, mango/hibiscus syrup, and Ango. I liked this light and subtle cocktail that leans more into the mango than hibiscus. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Hocus Pocus with Tequila, watermelon and lime, rosé cordial, and lavender bitters that we both felt was really great.

Anaconda Punch

There is a large spirits collection at Jammyland, though direct sunlight is a concern of mine. The service here was quite friendly and efficient. There are a few art pieces and some fine mural work outside, but the rest of the inside is “warehouse aesthetic” in a mostly good way. Not really transportive, but fits in very well with the eclectic Arts District neighborhood. Check out Jammyland on your next Vegas visit.

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Martinique Mai Tai at Pagan Idol

Pagan Idol was a quick stop on our way to dinner, so we just shared a Mai Tai. Unlike the version at sister bar Zombie Village, this flavorful Mai Tai leaned into the Martinique rhum as the most forward flavor. Thus, more of those grassy notes that this style of rhum is famous for. Not my personal preference but it might be right for you and in either case it is nice to see each place doing their thing.

One thing that’s a lot better at Pagan Idol is that back bar is visible and you can scan the myriad bottles of rum. And what did my little eye spy? Not one, but two (!) bottles of the famed Foursquare 2004 Exceptional Cask Series rum. This is one of my all-time favorite rums and in my opinion the best of all the ECS releases. If you sometimes find Barbados rum to be mild or timid you won’t feel that way anymore after tasting the rich buttery notes in Foursquare 2004. Very rare to find on shelves in bars, so head on down to Pagan Idol to give it a try.

Foursquare 2004 (1 of 2 bottles)
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National Daiquiri Day at The Kon-Tiki

I’m doing Kon-Tiki’s Rum Expedition list of 100 rums again, and decided to Daiq it up last night for National Daiquiri Day.

I tried three rums in this format, all light/clear and I believe all unaged.

Copalli White – this pot/column blend from Belize is made from sugar cane juice but is very approachable. Not as much character in this one compared to the other two, but it is very serviceable in this format.

Père Labat Blanc 59 – a high proof rhum had more oomph and the traditional Martinique grassy notes were somewhat tempered in this format. I liked this, not just for the 59% ABV but because of the terroir of the island of origin.

KōHana Hawaiian Agricole Rum KEA – by far by favorite from this list. I absolutely love Kea for the savory qualities, even at only 40% ABV. Not grassy like the Martinique, instead this flavor bomb had a really lovely and long finish in the daiquiri.

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Relaxing Ventura Lunch at VenTiki

After we left L.A. and ventured up the coast we decided to stop in Ventura for lunch. It’s been a while since we visited VenTiki Lounge and Lanai and found it to be in good shape with lots of shade on the patio and inviting us for a relaxing time on a nice spring day.

I went upscale for the refreshing $35 Mai Tai, a good price considering it uses a couple of premium Martinique Rhums and you get to keep the nice VenTiki mug as a souvenir. I also tried and liked the sweet and tangy Vicious Hibiscus that includes Spiced Rum, Elderflower, and Hibiscus Syrup. This was better than The Fuzz that Mrs. Mai Tai ordered and includes Tequila and Hibiscus Syrup.

Our service was great and it was truly relaxing listing to mellow music with lunch. The server saw our interest and even gave us some matchbooks and a couple extra swizzles. The VenTiki team is doing a lot of things right given the small-ish size of the venue and we did enjoy the warning to mug thieves in the restroom.

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Three Dots and a Dash

This cocktail was recently featured on the Cocktail College podcast and so I thought I’d make one at home. An interesting aspect of this cocktail is that it called for an Aged Martinique Rhum, and I’ve heard specifically that this should be a sugar cane juice-based Agricole Rhum, not a Grand Arôme from Molasses. But the guest on Cocktail College seemed to not dial this in and even suggested an unaged Agricole might be better.

Having made the cocktail I can say that an aged Agricole for sure works better to compliment the spicy notes from the Falernum and Allspice Dram. The cocktail I made turned out really great and only served to remind me that I ought to order this more when out at bars.

Three Dots and a Dash by Don the Beachcomber
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orange Juice
½ oz Honey Mix
¼ oz Falernum
¼ oz Allspice Dram / Pimento Liqueur
½ oz Demerara Rum
1½ oz Aged Martinique Rhum
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Flash blend with 6 oz crushed ice. Garnish with three cherries (dots) and a pineapple front (dash).

Spirts:
Falernum: John D. Taylor (heavy pour)
Allspice Dram: Hamilton
Demerara Rum: Skipper Rum
Aged Martinique Rhum: Clement VSOP

We like these kind of cherries. Sue us.

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Blue Caribbean (Revised)

A Blue Hawaiian riff I came up with a year ago and decided to revisit. This version has less Pineapple Juice and uses a lightly aged “gold” Jamaican rum rather than a dark one.

Enjoy!

Blue Caribbean
½ oz Lime Juice

1 oz Pineapple Juice

1½ oz Coconut Creme

½ oz Blue Curacao

1¾ oz Unaged Rhum Agricole

¼ oz Lightly Aged Jamaican Rum
Shake with crushed ice.