Mai Tai

This is the Trader Vic’s original Mai Tai. With the rums we used it ended up being golden amber in color. Both sweet and tart, it’s a damn good drink. A solid 10 for one of the best drinks ever invented.
My boyfriend likes to top this Mai Tai with a little pineapple juice. Yeah, yeah, I can see ya’ll cringing. I called his version the “Pineapple Mai Tai”. I’m a big fan of the taste of pineapple and lime, so this change-up works for me as well.

Spirits Used

Clement VSOP Rhum Vieux Agricole for the Martinique rum called for in the recipe and Appleton VSOP for the aged Jamaican Rum. I wanted to used Appleton VSOP 12 year, but as luck had it, we were out. I would also like to re-make this using Shrubb Orange Curacao. I went to a party a few years ago and one of the “volunteer” bartenders used this brand and it was damn good.

Clement VSOP - Rhum
Appleton VSOP
Marie Brizzard Orange Curacao

Syrups Used

Trader Vic’s Orgeat Syrup
Trader Vic’s Rock Candy Syrup

Rum Runner - Part Trois

Disappointed with my last two attempts at the Rum Runner, I gave it another try. I’m nothing if not persistent. I bought a new bottle of Blackberry Brandy. The bottle I had was pretty old, it was an old Dekuyper Black Berry “Flavored” Brandy. I tasted it before I threw it out and it was kind of sale and bitter. Although alcohol does haven't "go bad", I think Brandy and/or Liqueurs are best if used within a year or two. In any event, the new purchase was Marie Brizard Blackberry Brandy. It didn't say "flavored" on the label. MB is a pretty good brand, I use their Orange Curacao as well and have never been disappointed.

Okay, I do have to admit that I messed with the amount of Bacardi 151. I used a 50/50 mixture of Bacardi 151 and Flor de Cana light rum. I also used Rosie’s Grenadine.

The color was a nice raspberry color. It was sweet and tart, much better than the two prior versions. The better quality blackberry brandy really made a difference.
It was rather refreshing. I’d give this drink a solid 7, I would most def make it again.

Spirit’s Used

Marie Brizard Blackberry Brandy
Bacardi 151 (50%)
Flor De Cana (50%)
Rosie’s Grenadine (Okay, not really a “Spirit”, but wanted to write it down)

Rum Runner - Part Deux

I re-made the Rum Runner, the way it was supposed to be made with the Bacardi 151.
The color of the blended drink ended up being a light peach.
It was tart with a hint of the blackberry. It was okay, it’s not what I would call, “bomb-ass” or a “go to drink”. I wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t particularly memorable. I’d give this drink a 4.

Spirit’s Used

Blackberry Brandy
Banana Liqueur
Bacardi 151

I used Stilling Grenadine, which is true “pomegranate syrup” and isn’t sickly sweet like Rosie’s . I'm thinking of remaking this drink, once again, using Rosie’s--stay tuned.

Rum Runner

It was a hot day in the Valley, so I searched the Grog Log for a blended drink. The Rum Runner seemed to fit the bill. I noticed that it called for Bacardi 151 as its main spirit. Having an aversion to Bacardi, silly me, I decided to substitute Lemon Hart 151. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best substitution. I should have just stuck with the original recipe and used Bacardi, but I was being stubborn.

The color was kind of a golden light brown. No doubt the Lemon Hart drastically changed the look and taste of this drink. The initial sip yielded a reaction of “tastes bubble-gum.” Needless to say, we both drank about 1/4 of the drink and set it aside. Damn shame, what a waste of Lemon Hart.

My alcohol substitution was not well throught out. I think I was just excited that I have 4 new bottles of Lemon Hart 151. Since the ugly rumors of that started two years ago, that Lemon Hart was no longer going to be available have come true, I had Lemon Hart on my brain.

Spirit’s Used

Blackberry Brandy
Banana Liqueur
Lemon Hart 151

I plan on remaking this drink with Bacardi. I also plan on making this drink in a blended and non-blended version for comparison. I recall making this drink in the past, with a light rum, and if memory serves I thought it tasted somewhat like a Lifesaver.

This drink goes back into the “re-do” pile. And btw, if you are doubling the recipe, which I did, it really puts your 7th grade math skills to work. Had to add fractions, ugh! Numerators, Denominators.....suck.

Von Tiki

This drink actually tasted like a Hall’s Lemon-Honey throat lozenge. It had a very strong “hunny” taste. Pooh Bear would definitely approve of this drink.

My BF gave it an 8, I gave it a 6. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good, it just not my cup of “honey”.

Spirits Used

Barenjager (German Honey Liqueur)
Stroh (Austrian Spiced Rum)
Mt. Gay Special Reserve Rum (Barbados)

Waikikian

This drink was amber in color and very lemony and slightly sweet. It does call for 1 ½ oz. of fresh lemon juice, so I guess that’s a no-brainer. It was a particularly hot night the San Fernando Valley, so the fact that it was a blended drink made it the drink of the night. This drink gets a solid 7.

Spirits Used

Cruzan Light Rum
Meyer’s Dark Jamaican rum

Singapore Sling

This drink is pretty strong. According to the Grog Log it’s an early 1900’s drink originating from the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The word “sling” may have originated from the German word “schligen” which means to swallow.
This drink is kind of mauve-ish brown in color. It doesn’t contain any rum, rather it is more gin and brandy based.

My boyfriend thought it was too "too ginny", "too try" and "too harsh." It’s not something that he considers “poundable”. A drink he would order to satisfy his curiosity, but woudn’t order to drink again.

I on the other hand, don’t mind a dry drink. I used to be addicted to these in the early 80’s. Back then, I used to prefer a strong dry drink. I guess that’s why I would make this drink again. I’ve noticed that modern recipes add pineapple juice and grenadine to give it a sweeter taste, thus smoothing out the taste. This drink got a 3 from my boyfriend and a 5 from yours truly.

Fog Cutter

This drink was a nice sunny yellow, crisp and bright. It has just the right amount of gin which gives it a slightly dry taste. It was lemony and tangy. I really like this cocktail – Perfect! This drink gets a 10 in my book.

Spirits Used

Tanqueray Gin
Cruzan Light Rum
E&J Brandy

1934 "Annoymous" Zombie

This Zombie recipe is “an anonymous 1934 attempt to reproduce Don The Beachcomber’s Zombie.

This was the drink that was advertised in his restaurant/bars as “only one to a customer”. It contains 5 ½ oz. of alcohol and only 1 ½ ounces of juice, yeah, you read that correctly, 5 ½ oz. of booze.

We both had a tough day at work, so we decided that our first drink would be the 1934 Zombie. This drink was STRONG! Rocket fuel, seriously. I felt like I was punishing myself. I added a pineapple juice just to get it down.

Don’t get me wrong, if you want to get f’d up quick in a hurry, knock yourself out this is the drink for you! In all honesty, I'd rather slam down 5 shots of rum in a row to get to drunk-ville rather attempt this drink again.

Spirits Used

Laird’s Apple Jack (American Apple Brandy)
Mount Gay Special Reserve Rum (Barbados)
Cruzan Light Rum
Meyer’s Dark Jamaican Rum
151 Lemon Hart Demerera Rum

Other Spirits, Liqueurs & Syrups

This is a listing of other spirits we have in our collection. I picked up the Pimento Liqueur. Bev Mo was the only place I could find it.

Liqueurs

Anise - Pastis 45 Prado - Licorice flavored apertif
Applefest Sour Apple - Apple (tart)
Bailey's Irish Crème - Crème/Coffee
Bananas 99
Benedictine
Blue Curacao - Laraha citrus / orange
Buttershots - Butterscotch
Cointreau - Orange "More delicate, refined that triple sec"
Crème de Banana
Crème de Cacao
Crème de Cassis - Black Current
Crème de Noyaux - Almond
DiSarno - Almond
Frangelico - Hazelnut
Grand Marnier - Orange "More delicate, refined that triple sec"
Island Pucker – Tropical
Falernum (John Taylor Velvet) - Ginger/Citrus
Kahlua - Coffee/Vanilla
Trader Vic’s Kona Coffee
Maraska Maraschino
Melon (Midori)
Orange Curacau - Marie Bizzard
Orange Curacau - Bols
Parfait d'Amour - Marie Brizard - Lavender
Pernod - Licorice flavored apertif
Sloe Gin - Sloe Berry flavored
Strawberry
Strawberry Passion Pucker - Strawberry (tart)
Triple Sec - Dekuyper
Triple Sec - Hiram Walker
Vanilla Schnapps - Dr. McGuillcutty's
Vermouth - Dry (Ponti)
Vermouth - Sweet (Gallo)
Barenjager Honey Liqueur
Galliano Liqueur – anise/vanilla with citrus undertones
Pimento Liqueur (St. Elizabeth) -Allspice


Vodka

42 Below Vodka
Absolute Vodka
Kettle One Vodka
Pearl Coconut Vodka
Pearl Vodka
Rain Organics Vodka
Sky Vodka

Brandy

Apple Jack (Laird’s)
Apricot Brandy - Dekuyper
Blackberry Brandy - Dekuyper
Peach Brandy - (Hiram Walker
Brandy (E&J)
Cherry Brandy

Gin

Tanqueray

Bourbon

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon
Knobb Creek Kentucky Straight Bourboun
Wild Turkey American Honey Bourbon
Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Scotch

Glenfiddich 12 Year
Glenlivit 12 Year

Syrups and Misc.

Alize Passionfruit Cognac
Angostura Bitters
Coco Lopez Coconut Crème
Rosie's Grenadine – Cherry
Stirrings Grenadine – Pomegranate
Sweet Sherry (Lustau Solera Reserve)
Torini Cinnamon Syrup
Trader Vic's Ko Ko Crème (Coconut Crème)
Trader Vic's Orgeat Syrup
Trader Vic's Passionfruit Syrup
Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup
Vedrienne Citrus

Rum Substitutions

Any recipe In the Grog Log calling for Light Puerto Rican Rum, we substituted either:

1) Flor de Cana Light Rum (Nicaragua)
2) Cruzan Light Rum (St. Croix)
3) Ron Matusalem Platinum (Guatemala)

Although these rums are not from Puerto Rico, we’d rather drink goat piss than drink Bacardi. A mixologist that I respect once called it “vodka.” We used these rums instead of Bacardi since we haven’t found a decent Light Puerto Rican Rum. There is Ron Rico, but that’s another rum we don’t use. Way back in the day, Ron Rico was supposedly a very good rum.

There are some recipes in the Grog Log that do call for Bacardi 151. So in honesty, we do have a 1/5 of Bacardi 151, but I’ve had this bottle for a very long time. As I mentioned, it’s a 1/5 and it’s still 3/4 full. I generally use it for drinks that call for *hit to be lit on fire.

Rum List

This is a listing of rums we currently have:

Admiral Nelson Vanilla Rum
Angostura 1919 Rum (West Indies – Trinidad)
Appleton Jamacian Rum (aged 12 year)
Appleton VSOP Jamaican Rum
Bacardi 151 (Puerto Rico)
Barbancourt Rhum (Haiti)(aged 4 years)
Barbancourt Rhum Reserve Speciale(Haiti) (aged 8 years)
Clement VSOP Rhum Vieux Agricole (Martinique)
Clement VSOP Rhum (Martinique)
Coruba Dark Jamacian Rum
Cruzan Aged White Rum (St. Croix)
Cruzan Coconut Rum (St. Croix)
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum (Argentina)
El Dorado Special Reserve Demerara Rum (Guyana)
English Harbour Antigua Rum (West Indies)
Flor de Cana Limon Rum (Nicaragua)
Flor de Cana 4 Year Exta Dry (Nicaragua)
Gosling Black Seal Bermuda Rum
Kracken Black Spiced Rum
Kuya Fusion Rum (Citrus Spiced Rum)
Lemon Hart Demerara Rum (Guyana)
Lemon Hart Demerara 151 (Guyana)
Meyer's Platinum White Rum (Jamaican)
Mocambo Rum (Mexico) (20 year-Cuban Styled)
Monte Cristo (12 year) (Guatemala)
Monte Cristo Spiced Blend (Guatemala)
Mount Gay Eclipse (Barbados)
Mount Gay Special Reserve (Barbados)
Mount Gay Vanilla Rum (Barbados)
Myers Dark Jamaican Rum
Oronoco - Fazenda Reserva (Brasil)
Plantation Jamaican Rum (Jamaican)
Pusser's Rum Blue Label (West Indies (Trinidad/Tobago)
Pyrat Pistol Rum (Anguilla, British West Indies)
Pyrat XO Reserve Rum (West Indies)
Red Rum (Tropical Flavor)
Ron Centenario XX Year Reserva Especial Rum (Costa Rica)
Ron Matusalem Classico (Dominican Republic)
Ron Matusalem Grand Reserva (15 year) (Dominican Republic)
Ron Matusalem Platinum (Dominican Republic)
Ron Viejo de Caldas - Carta de Oro Grand Reserva (Columbian)
Ron Zacapa Solera Grand Reserve Rum (Guatemala)
St. James Rhum - Exta Old(Martinique)
St. James Rhum - Amber (Martinique)
Stroh 80 Spiced Austrian Rum (Austrian)
Tommy Bahama Dark Rum
Tommy Bahama Light Rum
Trader Vic's Dark Rum
Trader Vic's Gold Rum
Vizcaya VXOP Case No. 21 Cuban Formula Rum (Dominican Republic)
VooDoo Rum (Spiced Rum)
Wray & Nephew Over Proof White Rum (Jamaican)
Zaya Rum (Trinidad)

Another Bottle of Rum on the Wall....

This is our favorite spirit, so it was only natural that we’ve tried to purchase or sample as many possible. With that said, I’ve compiled a list of rums we’ve purchased through the years. I keep a listing of most current price we’ve paid for each bottle as well.

It’s almost become a sickness; we can’t resist adding bottles rum we don’t have in our collection. We are adding rum “One Bottle at a Time.” This is helping us “fine tune” our home bar. It gives us a good idea of what we like to keep on buying. We’ve discovered that price doesn’t necessarily determine whether we like a rum or not.

I’ll use a recent tequila purchase as an example, we bought 7 Lenguas Anejo Tequila on 12/09 for $35.99. As 7 Lenguas is supposedly the original recipe for Patron. Somewhere down the line they sold their rights/recipe to Patron. So in other words it was the “OG” Patron so we decided to lay down our dough on this bottle. This tequila was a bit hot and harsh for our taste. On the other hand, Casadores Anejo which we purchased for $36.99 is damn smooth. So there you go, that’s why we keep track of what each bottle of rum cost.

Beachbum Berry: The Grog Log ~ One Cocktail at a Time

Since "Demon Rum" is our preferred spirt, it only made sense that rum based tropical drinks are our drink of choice. We therefore have quite a selection of rum, as well as just about every liqueur, juice and mixer.

We are also blessed to live in the San Fernando Valley where alongside so many alcoholic degenerates which has made the ability to find good alcohol easy, due to the high demand. Or maybe it’s just us two buying the inventory?

In any event, we are fortunate to have two liquor stores in the San Fernando Valley that stock a great selection of spirits.

The Green Jug located in West Hills their knowledge of spirits and wine as well as their customer service can't be beat. The Wine & Liquor Depot in Van Nuys has excellent prices and the rum, scotch and tequila selection is phenomenal. Seriously, check out their website.

Since not all tropical drinks are entirely rum based, so we also keep a standard stock spirits such as gin, bourbon and vodka.

With that said, we decided to give our livers a work-out by making and consuming each and every recipe in Beach Bum Berry’s Grog Log.

Why the Grog Log? Well, this book is somewhat of the bible of vintage tropical drinks. The drinks are in alphabetical order and at first we were going to start with the first recipe, the Ancient Mariner, however, this drink called for Pimento Liqueur. Ironically, the one liqueur we did not have. Something that will be remedied very shortly. We finally opted to make all the drinks, but the order wasn’t a priority.

The book has 20 “small rum drinks”, 30 “medium-sized rum drinks”; 17 large rum drinks; 3 bourbon drinks, 2 vodka drinks; 4 gin drinks, 2 hot drinks, 2 “party punches” and 2 non-alcoholic drinks. If I did my math right that's....82 drinks.

You’ll have to purchase the book if you’d like to make these cocktails, it just wouldn’t be cool to basically type out every cocktail recipe. So don’t e-mail me for the recipes. Buy the book you cheap-skate. (Beachbum Berry's Grog Log by Jeff Berry & Annene Kaye).

So here lies the challenge, to make and drink each and every cocktail.