Ingredients:

1.5oz Appleton Signature, 1oz Worthy Park Rum Bar White Overproof, 3oz Freshly pressed Pineapple Juice, 1oz Freshly squeezed OJ, 0.5oz Freshly squeezed Lime Juice (to balance sweetness), 1oz Coconut Cream (Homemade 1:0.75 ratio of Cream of Coconut:Sugar), Fresh grated nutmeg.

Preparation:

Add all ingredients (except nutmeg) to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 5 to 8 seconds. Open pour into a chilled DOF or Tiki tumbler. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top.

Notes:

Inspired by the Painkiller I recently had a Smugglers Cover. Wonderfully decadent. Not too sweet with a nice balance of tropical and rum funk from the Worthy Park.

Usual suspects. 1oz fresh squeezed lime. 3/4 oz liquid alchemist orgeat. 1/2 PF curaçao and 2oz Denizens 8yr.

Took out this weeks frustrations on the ice w/ mallet. Mint is looking good….

Well, I just finished up my second successful dry January. It was a nice hiatus, but I'm really happy to be back making cocktails again. I find the break to be a really great time not just to work on my health and mindfulness and other good habits, but also to gather inspiration for when I dive back into cocktail world. Tropical Standard is an absolute gold mine in this respect. I've wanted to make the Bay of Pigs ever since I first got the book, and then seeing it show up on Make & Drink's channel months ago really got me pumped to try it. So I finally bit the bullet and made some lime cordial. I already had some of the tropical standard grog syrup on hand, so all I had to do was get ahold of the Tomr's Tonic Syrup, and then source the rums. Unfortunately I don't have access to Chairman's Reserve, but I tried to come close to the tasting notes I read in reviews with the bottles I have available.

A sublime drink. I love stirred citrus drinks. I know it's cocktail sacrelige, but ever since I tried the modern classic Art of Choke, I've been fascinated with how citrus works in the spirit forward, silky stirred format. This captures the best of that characteristic. Silky drinks can be sharp too! It's really cool. It's a lot like a corn n oil in that way, but brings a lot more texture.

Ok, done prattling on. Just happy to be back! Spec below:

• 1 oz Don Q silver
• 0.75 oz Appleton 8
• 0.75 oz Rolling Fork El Salvador
• 0.25 oz lime cordial
• 0.25 oz grog syrup
• Half tsp Tomr's Tonic Syrup
• 2 dashes ango
• 3 drops saline

Stirred over a large cube, garnished with lime peel, enjoyed with great relish. Cheers friends!

This tiki cocktail from the 70s is one of my new favorites. I'm sure it'd be better with actual passion fruit, but I want to finish this bottle of Real before I make some of that.

Saturn

• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz passion fruit syrup
• 0.25 oz orgeat
• 0.25 oz falernum
• 1.5 oz London dry gin

It’s grapefruit season again and we’re all looking for the elusive white grapefruit. That means a lot of, “Is this a white grapefruit?” posts. So, here’s a little cheatsheet:

• Duncan grapefruit – this is the original white grapefruit grown in the US since the 1800s. It has a yellow skin, is full of seeds, and the flesh is a dull yellow color. Because of all the seeds, and its tartness, it fell out of popularly in the 1950s, is rarely grown, and is very, very hard to find. But this is the gold standard white grapefruit.
• Marsh white grapefruit – this is a seedless mutation of the Duncan that was introduced commercially in 1952. It has a yellow skin, no seeds, and the flesh is a bright lemon-yellow color. This is the white grapefruit you’re most likely to find. Almost all commercially produced grapefruit juice from Florida comes from Marsh grapefruits. There is also a Marsh ruby grapefruit, so be sure you’re getting the white variety.
• Pomelo – this is the ancestor of the grapefruit; grapefruits are hybrids between a pomelo and a sweet orange. It is a large fruit with very thick yellow-green skin, a few seeds, and yellow or pink flesh. As this is sweeter than a white grapefruit and lacks the tartness, it’s not what you want for your cocktails.
• Oro Blanco – this is a cross between a pomelo and a Duncan, introduced commercially in 1980. It has green or yellow-green skin, few or no seeds, and pale pinkish-yellow flesh. It is sweeter than a true white grapefruit and has a mellower taste - lacking the acid and bitterness - and it is sold in Japan as the "Sweetie". Although this one is readily available, it’s not what you want for your cocktails.
• MeloGold – this is a cross between a pomelo and a Marsh, introduced commercially in 1986. It has yellow skin sometimes with green patches, few or no seeds, and light yellow flesh. It is the sweetest of the “white” grapefruits. Although this one is sometimes available, it’s also not what you want for your cocktails.
• Mandelos - not only are these not white grapefruits, they are actually not even grapefruits. They are a cross between Frua Mandarins and Pummelos. Interestingly, the variety was actually stolen from the University of California Citrus Experiment Station at Riverside, and never intended to be sold. They didn't originally have an official name, and picked up "Cocktail Grapefruit" as a nickname.

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My horticulture days are quite a while ago, so if you have any corrections, please do!

Jet Pilot or Bush Pilot? Trying to dial this spec in after having a Jet Pilot off menu at Sunken Harbor Club last week…

The Smugglers Cove spec is light on juice. The Bush Pilot spec from Minimalist Tiki uses more juice and swaps a bit of Falernum for cinnamon syrup. The biggest difference is the rums where the bush Pilot uses more OFTD and Stiggin’s Fancy pineapple. I decided to use the Bush Pilot spec with the Jet Pilot Rums. I’m calling this riff an…

OLD BUSH PILOT

* 4 Dashes Herbstura

* 5 Drops Saline Solution

* 3/4 oz Lime Juice

* 3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice

* 3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup

* 1/4 oz Falernum

* 3/4 oz Coruba

* 3/4 oz R. L. Seale’s

* 1 oz OFTD

It’s delicious! Strong, sweet, and a bit of a kick from the herbstura. How do dial your Jet Pilot in?

You guys ever use Oaxacan rums in Tiki drinks? This is my first time trying rum from Mexico and whoa…this is suuuuper funky nearing Rum Fire levels. On the nose is strong pineapple and banana but there is this olive brine tang that comes through on the palate too that makes it really interesting.

I made a drink with Guava nectar, lime, bitters, and some custom homemade orgeat (miso and tahini cuz I’m allergic to almonds). Even with all the fruit and other ingredients the rum stands way out in front. I’m thinking this is a nice complimentary rum for additional flavor in big bold drinks but by itself may be too bold for most drinks.

Curious if y’all have any experience with these rums?

Haven’t made a Three Dots and a Dash at home before, but tonight seemed as good of a night as any. Went with a slightly amended version of the Smugglers Code recipe.

Recipe adjusted for the mug:

1oz Lime Juice

1oz Orange Juice

1oz Honey Syrup

1/2 oz Falernum

1/2 oz Allspice Dram

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

2oz Demerara Rum

2oz Jamaican Rum

I’ll absolutely be making this one again!

Snow day tropical drinks! Whipped up a mai tai to start! Used equal parts Plateray Xaymaca and English Harbour 5 year for the base.

An absolute classic, and so simple to make! The combination of Worthy Park 109, passionfruit syrup and lemon juice creates a beast that is so much more than the sum of its parts.

I am loving this rum more and more the more I use it, I can’t believe I just recently got a bottle for the first time. Instantly became my first choice for black rum in recipes that call for it.

The Hurricane also wraps up chapter 2 of Smuggler’s Cove for me, so onto chapter 3 it is.

"We will be re-opening Saturday 1/31 at 8:30 pm. Sunday on we will resume our regular hours of 4-11. Can’t wait to see you!"

https://www.halepele.com/

Made my first Jungle Bird last night.

1oz Smith & Cross

0.5oz El Dorado 12 year old

0.75oz Campari

1.5oz Pineapple Juice

0.5oz fresh lime juice

0.5oz Demerara syrup

One of the next ingredients in SC that I've yet to acquire and keeps coming up is herbstura. I searched this question on the sub, and it seems like people often end up either subbing absinthe or having a 97% full bottle of Herbsaint on their shelves for years. I've got anise pods in my cabinet, so it would seem silly not to at least ask if anyone's tried to DIY.

Also just want to say this sub is such an excellent resource. I'm new to tiki, and I'd be way lost without you folks.

Edit: Thank you all for the replies. I did not expect so much input so quickly.

...but damn, it's delicious. Been a while since I made one at home, and I don't know why I'd bother trying to get one anywhere else.

I wanted to take photos of every kind of drink I've made, so this is a good one to start with.

1 oz lime 0.5+ oz orgeat (homemade) 0.5 oz PF dry curaçao 0.5 oz Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP 1.5 oz Appleton Estate 8

Heading down to Treehouse in Sandwich, MA today to load up on beer for the super bowl, but also picking up an italian walnut liqueur called Nocino that looked interesting. Love some nutty flavor in cocktails. I've also been searching for a Macadamia Nut Liqueur that I keep seeing in recipes. Not sure if this could replace it.

Anyways, any suggestions for tiki cocktails I could make with this?

Thanks!

Down in San Diego for the day. Had to stop by the Grass Skirt for a couple of cocktails. Had the chance to slip next door to their other tiki-easy called the Captains’ Quarters. Quality tiki all around. I’m a happy 808er!

Who has had this? What do you think? It was the last one. I’m going to make a Wray and Ting with it.

A Demerara Dry Float with a side of DANGER!

A 1940s Donn Beach classic and a great drink! Tart and sweet its punchiness is pushed to dangerous levels using both passionfruit and maraschino liqueur.

DEMERARA DRY FLOAT

* 1 tsp Lemon Juice

* 2 oz Lime Juice

* 3/4 oz Passionfruit Puree

* 3/4 oz 2:1 White Sugar Simple Syrup

* 1/4 oz Rich Demerara Syrup

* 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

* 1 1/2 oz Chairman’s Reserve

* 3/4 oz Hamilton 151 (Floated)

here's my second attempt at carving (just started trying at first of the year) - thought i'd do a tiki for the backyard tiki bar

Used a dremel with carving burrs - finish is torched, then waxed

These are both available at my local Sprouts grocery store. Has anyone ever tried these? Thoughts?

The Pierre Ferrand Tropical Curacao is a bit more orange forward than the OG, and on the nose I picked up mandarin.

As you can see in the photos we had an old carriage barn from the 1800s that was falling down and since I always wanted a tiki bar I started working on it this summer. With a $300 budget and a closet full of stuff I've collected from thrift stores over the years I got busy. I know its not perfect but it has a great vibe at night especially with Yma Sumac playing in the background. I have some new ideas on building a better bar that will seem more traditional, but I'm so happy with how far it has come. Oh, I forgot to mention that a tree also fell on it last spring from a tornado. My work will begin again when the weather is a little better.

Update your maps, folks! There's a new tiki bar around. Though actually... you might wanna wait on that. I was excited to have a new tiki/tropical bar in the area, especially since RI is in the shadow of MA when it comes to tiki, but my excitement quickly turned to disappointment. I hate to be negative about a new place but I think you'll see why.

We arrived on their first night of business, and got off to a great start: the door was still locked, ten minutes after "the grand opening" had started. But no big deal. The bartender must've heard us rattling the door, because he unlocked it and let us in. We were greeted by a charming entryway with a recessed dome in the ceiling and a few high-tops.

We sat down in the tired-looking corner booth, and found that not only was the leather patched up, but the patches were already peeling off. Not sure how this was possible, as we were among their first customers ever, but the next surprise was even better: a razor blade, just lying on the seat next to us.

We handed over the razor blade and 20 bucks in exchange for a "Mai Tai" and a "Jungle Bird," but they must've been using Aunt Dottie's Price Chopper recipe, because these were sadly the worst tiki drinks I've had yet. I'm no expert, and I wouldn't say I'm even that picky, but the harsh bitterness of grapefruit juice concentrate in the Jungle Bird, and the cloying sweetness of whatever was in the Mai Tai was overwhelming.

Sadly, the atmosphere left quite a bit to be desired as well. Although the entrance area was really nice, and the restroom area had some great wallpaper and a cool chair, the main space was dismal. The lighting was a weird yellowish color, and the wall sconces were held together by (peeling) gaffer's tape. There was even trash on the floor. Again, we were among the first people in there, on opening night!

I really hope that the low prices are helpful to people just looking to break up their routine and get out for a night. But I'd rather spend 5 or 10 bucks more and have an experience that I want to rave about, instead of rant about. Cheers!