I recently finished the book Smuggler's Cove - Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki by Martin with Rebecca Cate. It was a blast and a half. I found it this past August at a bookstore knowing nothing about it and grabbed it up immediately. Once in a while I think you actually can judge a book by it's cover. The Cates do an excellent job of not only covering tiki drinks but tiki culture/Polynesian Pop in general. The book is not only well written but beautifully photographed. It's all here in 5 main parts: the birth, death, and rebirth of tiki; an overview of Cate's involvement in the tiki revival and his creation of Smuggler's Cove, a modern tiki bar; a rum primer; tiki cocktails; and finally, an introduction to creating your own tiki paradise.
All that said, I'll point out that, personally, I feel the drinks look tricky to make. They require a lot of different ingredients and bar tools. Many of the drinks require more than one type of rum which, if you want to be a purist as Cate is, could end up being quite spendy. For myself, I'm more comfortable starting with one type of decent rum and adding some pineapple juice and a bit of nutmeg (I searched easy rum drinks online). However, I will say that Cate has made me much more curious about rum than I ever was before (my experience is limited to rum and Cokes) and he has planted a seed in my brain to to find out more about different types and maybe at some point try mixing up some of his recipes myself. For now though, I think I'll stick to making easier mixes myself and save the harder stuff for a trip to my local tiki bar and restaurant Psycho Suzi's in Minneapolis.
All that said, I'll point out that, personally, I feel the drinks look tricky to make. They require a lot of different ingredients and bar tools. Many of the drinks require more than one type of rum which, if you want to be a purist as Cate is, could end up being quite spendy. For myself, I'm more comfortable starting with one type of decent rum and adding some pineapple juice and a bit of nutmeg (I searched easy rum drinks online). However, I will say that Cate has made me much more curious about rum than I ever was before (my experience is limited to rum and Cokes) and he has planted a seed in my brain to to find out more about different types and maybe at some point try mixing up some of his recipes myself. For now though, I think I'll stick to making easier mixes myself and save the harder stuff for a trip to my local tiki bar and restaurant Psycho Suzi's in Minneapolis.
No comments:
Post a Comment