More Fun with Falernum

As promised earlier, here are a few other drinks I've tried out in the past few weeks as I keep playing with falernum. Two are classic Tiki recipes, but the final recipe is my own invention.

Captain's Blood Cocktail - there are more recipes for Captain's Blood on the interwebs than I care to count. All agree that the cocktail should feature rum, preferably dark rum. They all also contain lime juice and (often) bitters. Beyond that, there is little agreement. One bartender added a honey syrup. Others add maraschino, which would add nice aromatics, but was too bitter for my taste. Often falernum is featured, as it is in the recipe I offer below:

In a cocktail shaker, combine the following ingredients:
1.5 oz dark rum
0.5 oz lime juice
0.33 oz falernum (good double jiggers will have 1/2, 1 and 1 1/2 oz pours on one side, and 1/3, 2/3 and 1 oz pours on the other side)
0.33 oz simple syrup (demerara syrup would be preferable)*

Shake over ice and strain into a coupe glass. Top with 2 dashes angostura bitters. Garnish with a lime wedge.

*demerara syrup is made the same as regular (1:1) simple syrup, but uses demerara/turbinado sugar (usually sold as Sugar in the Raw in your grocery store). The molasses flavor pairs better with the dark rum.

The Zombie - the original cocktail of Don the Beachcomber, one of the fathers of the Tiki drink movement, the Zombie is a blended drink with an impressive ingredient list - a list which included three types of rum (and falernum of course)! This takes a few seconds to build, but I think it is worth the time! Chow has the original recipe here. I've made a few modifications, because even I couldn't justify buying Pernod for this drink.

In a blender, combine the following ingredients:
1.5 oz dark rum
1.5 oz golden rum
1 oz overproof demerara rum, such as Lemon Hart 151
0.75 oz lime juice (fresh squeezed of course - tiki should always be made with fresh ingredients!)
0.5 oz grapefruit juice
0.5 oz falernum
0.5 oz maraschino liqueur (this helps replace the pernod)
0.25 oz grenadine
2 dashes angostura bitters

Blend on low for 5 seconds. Add crushed ice and blend until frothy. Pour into a collins glass and serve.

The Oakland Bay Bridge - this is my riff on the Golden Gate Cocktail, which (like the Captain's Blood) has many versions floating around on the internet. Some of them are quite interesting (including a take on the classic French '75), while others are quite boring (like the recipe on Absolut's website). I decided to take that last recipe and slum it up a little, hence the name of the drink. It still retains the coloration you should expect in a Golden Gate, but it is less pretentious. The Oakland Bay Bridge was the best analog I could think of for this drink.

In a cocktail shaker, combine:
2 oz light rum*
1.5 oz orange juice
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz falernum
2 dashes orange bitters

Shake over ice, strain and serve over ice in a collins glass.

*The first time I made this drink, I used Mailbu Orange Cream rum. Not bad, even if it was a bit over-sweet! The orange bitters are a better choice, however.

December Drink of the Month - The Ninth Ward Cocktail

The past two winters I've taken to making Tiki and tropical cocktails in order to fight off the chill of the Polar Vortex. When shopping at my local booze emporium this week (yay for City-Wide Liquors) I stumbled across a bottle of Falernum, one of the oft-forgotten Tiki ingredients. Falernum is liqueur with quite a low ABV - as low as 11%, though it usually hovers somewhere around 18%. It is made from a rum base, but also includes lime juice, sugar syrup, clove, ginger, and almond. There was an old rhyme that was used to help remember how to prepare Falernum: "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak." Were you to try to make this syrup at home, you've now got a pretty easy recipe: combine one part lime juice, two parts sugar syrup, three parts white rum, and four parts water. You would certainly still need to know the correct blend of clove, ginger, and bitter almond, but you're well on your way (Want to make your own? Here is a great recipe to try)!

How does one use Falernum? Turns out that Falernum is a great substitute for orgeat syrup in almost almost sip and enjoy (though Ann liked the drink much better when I accidentally doubled the Falernum the first time I tried the recipe - gah, was that sweet!). The elderflower liqueur lends sweetness and compliments the spice flavors in the Falernum, while the bourbon base adds warmth and a hint of spice as well. Try one this winter - not only will it warm up your insides, but its also delicious!
any case. I made a fantastic Mai Tai last week using Falernum and Cachaça. I will post that recipe and a few other Falernum recipes next week, but you can also let your imagination run wild! There are also quite a few classic cocktails that feature Falernum, including the Zombie and Captain's Blood. For this month's cocktail, however, I chose something that features a great blend of Tiki and belly warmth. For my money, you can't do a better "liquid jacket" than whiskey. Rum never warmed my insides the same way that a stiff shot of bourbon. With that in mind, I turned to this recipe from roving bartender Brother Cleve: the Ninth Ward Cocktail. This is a drink that even whiskey haters can

The Ninth Ward Cocktail
In a cocktail shaker, combine the following ingredients:

1.5 oz bourbon
0.5 oz elderflower liqueur (St. Germain or otherwise - St. Elder is a great substitute)
0.75 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
0.75 oz falernum
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Shake over ice, strain into a coupe glass and garnish with an orange rind zest (Coupe glasses are the best! Want to buy me a wedding present - coupe glasses would be great!).

Enjoy your Ninth Ward Cocktail!