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.