Memorial Day 2018 - Barbados Rum Punch

Sunday, May 28, 2018

I did it! Today I made my first cocktail from Martin and Rebecca Cate's Smuggler's Cove book. I chose the Barbados Rum Punch as it's actually one of the easier drinks to make from the book. 

First step was the make the Demerara syrup which called for two cups water, one cup Demerara sugar, and 3 cups granulated sugar. First you boil the water and then add the Demerara and continue to boil after the sugar dissolves (about a minute) and you can see the bottom of the pan.

Then you add the granulated sugar and boil that down until the water is clear. Let it cool.

After cooling the syrup, I bottled it. It's supposed to keep in the fridge for a few weeks. 

The recipe calls for and ounce of fresh squeezed lime juice, and ounce of the Demerara syrup, and two ounces of blended aged rum. According to the Cates, aged rum is 5 to 14 years old. One of their suggestions was El Dorado which was a five year aged. Shake the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and then strain into a glass filled with ice.

Article: There's More to Classic Tiki Than Just Kitsch

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/theres-more-to-classic-tiki-than-just-kitsch-180964473/

Click on the above link for article.

Smuggler's Cove - Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki

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.