Now that Halloween has passed, I start looking toward the next big holidays of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s. With the holidays come more cocktails and those cocktails are usually made with Applejack, brandy, bourbon or rye. Why those liquors? I’m a big believer in dark liquors during the colder months. I know they… Continue reading Twelve Mile Limit
Tag: tiki
Queen’s Park Swizzle
Ever heard of a swizzle? Neither had I. But that’s one of the great things about researching classic cocktails: I get to discover vintage drinks all the time. Drinks like the swizzle which is a tall, frosty cocktail that’s perfect for summer. If you’re afraid it sounds like a lot of other summer cocktails you’d… Continue reading Queen’s Park Swizzle
Merciless Virgin
I’ve been doing a lot of gin and vodka cocktails this summer because like I’ve said in the past, I prefer drinking the lighter liquors when the weather gets warm. But this week I’m making a tiki cocktail because if there’s a drink more suited to summer, it’s a tiki drink. Tiki drinks almost always… Continue reading Merciless Virgin
Port Au Prince Cocktail
Labor Day is tomorrow, and while that may not be the official end of summer, it certainly feels like it. The kids are back in school, there’s a little bit of a chill in the air and the sun is setting earlier and earlier. But before you turn off the air conditioning and get out… Continue reading Port Au Prince Cocktail
Demerera Dry Float
One of the most common fruit juices used in tiki cocktails is pineapple. This has always been a problem for me because I’m allergic to pineapple. So, I’ve always either tried to find a drink without pineapple in it or I’ve asked that they substitute passion fruit. Luckily today’s drink doesn’t have pineapple in it.… Continue reading Demerera Dry Float
Suffering Bastard
As you know I’ve been making tiki cocktail after tiki cocktail this summer. In making all these tiki cocktails I’ve learned something I never knew before: not all tiki drinks are made with rum. As a matter of fact, several of them don’t have a single drop. The Suffering Bastard is just such a tiki… Continue reading Suffering Bastard
Hawaiian Sunset Cocktail
When I think of tiki cocktails I think of rum. Lots and lots of rum. So, you can understand my surprise when several of the cocktails listed in the new Smuggler’s Cove tiki book don’t list rum as the number one liquor. As a matter of fact, a lot of them don’t use any rum… Continue reading Hawaiian Sunset Cocktail
Doctor Funk Cocktail
According to the new cocktail book from Smuggler’s Cove there are “eight essential exotic elixirs”. They have been around since the beginning of tiki and either Don or Trader Vic were responsible for most of them. I was so excited to make each and every one until I discovered I’d already made the Mai Tai,… Continue reading Doctor Funk Cocktail
Mexican El Diablo
When I think of cocktails I think of rum because most tiki drinks are usually made with at least one if not a variety of rums. There’s unaged, lightly aged, blended and long aged. There’s silver, spiced and black. There are so many rum options it can be hard to keep them all straight. Luckily… Continue reading Mexican El Diablo
Fog Cutter
I just got back from our annual family beach trip to northern California. Now, if you know anything about the Bay Area, you know that there are two temperatures in Nor Cal during the summer months: hot or freezing. It all depends on what time of summer you visit. If you’re there from May to… Continue reading Fog Cutter
Daisy de Santiago
I love a good tiki cocktail, especially when it’s served up in a cool tiki glass at a bar that’s covered with fish and water and tropical themed wallpaper. I’ve actually been to a few such bars like the Tiki Ti, the Purple Orchid and even the original Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach. But… Continue reading Daisy de Santiago