Quarantiki - Hawaiian Sunset

Saturday, May 23, 2020

So today I decided, just for kicks, to make the Hawaiian Sunset the correct way. I liked where improvisation took me last night but thought it would be fun to compare it to the original drink.

Although the Hawaiian Sunset is quite awesome I think I like my accidental discovery from last night just a wee bit better. There's something about the flavor of the grapefruit juice with the other ingredients that makes it just a little more unique. Maybe it's just because grapefruit juice isn't quite as common as lime in tiki drinks. 

If I make either drink again the only thing I would change is the proportions used in the homemade grenadine. Rather than 1:1 I'd use 2 parts pomegranate juice to one part (and maybe even less) sugar. The orgeat syrup adds enough sweetness. I'll have to play around with it a bit. The Hawaiian Sunset consists of vodka, lime juice, lemon juice, orgeat, and grenadine and the recipe is found on page 165 of Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's Sippin' Safari. The garnish is fresh mint. 

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.