Tag: SanJose

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Clarin vs. Rum

This was a pretty good pairing the other night when I went to Dr. Funk to keep working on my Rum Asylum rum list.

Clairin Communal is a really great four different clairins from small distilleries in the municipalities of Cavaillon, Baradères, Pignon, and Saint-Michel-de-l’Attalaye. Issued at a very approachable 43% ABV, the robust sugar cane juice distillate isn’t as grassy as some “agricole” style rums.

Meanwhile Angostura rum has a range of rum expressions, many of which contain added sugar.  Angostura 1919 here didn’t strike me as sweet as a I remember and is perhaps dryer than some of the others from the range. I believe this particular expression may be discontinued as I don’t see it on the Ango website.

Dr. Funk has a quarterly Rum Asylum meet-up and the next one is March 22. These events aren’t ticketed (at least not yet) and feature a rum brand with samples, education, and usually a lower cost cocktail made with one of the expressions. I expect I’ll complete Level II of the Rum Asylum by the time of this next event.

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Fortune X Romance at Dr. Funk in February

Valentines meets Lunar New Year at Dr. Funk in downtown San Jose, featuring themed lighting and decor, a limited edition cocktail menu, and specialty garnishes. The red theme of Fortune X Romance works pretty well as neither holiday overshadows the other.

We tried four of the five drinks on the menu, and we didn’t try the specialty desert this time. But we did enjoy most of the drinks and overall this was a strong selection of options that worked well with the well-executed theme.

Jaded Lover
Works a great companion to the jade tiles throughout the venue, but only if you’re a pandan fan since that’s the predominant ingredient. We didn’t really taste the wine float, but the 151 rum helps pack a punch.

Moonlit Blossom
It’s a Painkiller with blackberry added, served with a sparkler that’s sure to impress. We couldn’t really taste the Jamaican rum but overall this cocktail was a big hit at our table. Not as sweet as you might expect.

Red Thread
If cherries are your thing, this is the drink to get. That OFTD and Jamaican rum does push through and this cocktail has a great mouthfeel and a lollypop chaser if you feel it isn’t sweet enough. Recommended.

Smoke & Silk
The mezcal isn’t overpowering but we all felt this drink tasted a little flat and thin. The flavor was there but it needed “more” to compete with the other great drinks we tried.

The fun garnishes really make this speciality cocktail menu and theme be cohesive. This ranks among the best pop-ups that Dr. Funk has done – check it now through February 22.

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Welcome to Sugar Town

Most spirits aficionados are aware that many rums contain added sugar. During my visit to Dr. Funk I chose two that are most noteworthy in this practice.

Planteray/Plantation 20th Anniversary XO has a base of aged Barbados rum and then adds a heavy dose of sugar, making this very easy to sip with hints of coconut. This wasn’t nearly as sweet as I remember, though still very far afield of typical Barbadian rums.

XO has a rep for being really high on those added sugar lists, but was practically dry compared to Papa’s Pilar which tasted basically like maple syrup it was so sweet. That one I didn’t finish.

Having a neat pour of rum can give you insights to the brand and understand the diversity of the rum category. Some expressions are those you return to again and again. And there are others you don’t.

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Rum Tasting at Dr. Funk

Had an impromptu visit to Dr. Funk to knock out a few more runs from the Rum Asylum rum list. These were pretty good, even the Havana Club which tasted a bit more rounded than I remember.

I’d probably rank them like this:

  1. Coruba
  2. Flor dr Caña
  3. Rhum Barbancourt
  4. Diplomatico
  5. Havana Club

I need to get busy and finish the level II list before the next quarterly meetup in March.

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The Best Espresso Martini in San Jose

Well, this isn’t exactly an exhaustive quest to find the best version of the 2020s viral cocktail sensation, but Mrs. Mai Tai had a couple great ones on our excursion Friday night in San Jose so I thought I would share.

Espresso Oasis at Dr. Funk

Replacing the vodka with a more flavorful spirit such as rum isn’t unique to tiki bars, but Dr. Funk leans into traditional exotic cocktail flavors by also including falernum and orgeat syrups to add sweetness. The rum blend features Planteray Cut & Dry Coconut and OFTD Overproof rums and these work great with the coffee flavors.

Espresso Oasis at Dr. Funk

Pumpkin Spiced Espresso Martini at Haberdasher

We tried another twist on the standard cocktail at Haberdasher, featuring a house-made pumpkin-spiced syrup to pair with more traditional ingredients vodka, Mr. Black coffee liqueur, and coffee. Those mild spice flavors add additional depth and sweetness that work great.

Pumpkin Spiced Espresso Martini

We really enjoyed our Haberdasher visit that also included a Pink Squirrel from a specialty cocktail menu, plus some great service from the staff. I learned a bit about their popular whiskey club as well.

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Back to the Asylum

With extended visits to many Halloween and Holiday themed bars, travel to Europe, and family visits, it has been a long time since we visited downtown San Jose for some rum tasting from the Rum Asylum rum list at Dr. Funk Rum House.

The three rums this time including Cruzan Hurricane rum, an 137 proof firebomb that’s best tried in a cocktail. Better for me were Batiste Agricole and Damoiseau VSOP, two cane juice rums from French departments Martinique and Guadeloupe respectively. These were much more interesting and tasty to sip on.

Dr. Funk recently announced they’re doing a “Fortune Meets Romance” theme for February, incorporating both Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day. These pop-ups are fun, and popular with the downtown San Jose cocktail crowd, though I’d love to see Dr. Funk be known more for just being a great tiki bar.

We also heard the long-anticipated food menu revamp is coming soon, so stay tuned for updates.

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Last Christmas: Cocktails

We knocked out a few more Christmas cocktail pop-ups and here’s the summary.

Kona’s (SF) – We arrived around 8:00 on the 23rd for Sippin’ Santa and was enjoying it until they played “Last Christmas” knocking me out of Whamageddon just 28 hrs before winning. The cocktails were pretty good here, though notably their “Mock Tai” was $18 and the mugs were all $40 when other places have them for around $20.

Kona’s in San Francisco

Courage Anyone (SJ) – It wasn’t crowded on Sunday but the staff were welcoming in this newly opened bar doing Sippin’ Santa. I didn’t realize it until after ordering but the Sippin’ Santa cocktail now includes ginger syrup in addition to gingerbread mix, and this one was quite ginger forward. The other cocktails were much better including the Wreck the Halls and Sugar Plum Mai Tai. A regular menu is launching in January.

Courage Anyone in Downtown San Jose

Highlands Sports Bar (San Carlos) is also new to the popup game, hosting Miracle. My Snowball Old Fashioned leaned sweet and was served over cubed ice but still was pretty good, but even better was the decadent Coconut Hot Chocolate. Our other cocktails weren’t as good. but it was good first attempt, if you like sports on TV along with the drinks.

Highland Sports Bar and Grill – San Carlos

Faith & Spirits (San Carlos) is doing Sippin’ Santa and cocktails there were really great. The ginger in the Sippin’ Santa cocktail was much more subdued and my Sugar Plum Mai Tai was the best of all the ones I tried this season. The Frost Bite cocktail featuring tequila was also good, so I asked for an off-menu Kingston Negroni that was delicious. The lounge was well-appointed and has music/dueling pianos some days, so check their calendar.

Faith & Spirits – San Carlos