Bombo

When thinking of a quick and easy cocktail, I often fall back on a simple one-plus drink… Usually my standby, a Makers and Coke. So when flipping through the Tiki drink book I was excited to find a new beverage in this category – the Bombo.

It combines two of my favorite things, rum and sugar! On a more serious note, it’s an ideal sipping drink, especially if you have some quality aged rum on hand as the mixer.

• 2 ounces Aged rum (Ron Zacapa Soledad Reserva 23)
• Demerara Syrup

Fill a cocktail shake with ice, pour in the ingredients and stir until chilled. Pour into an ice filled Collins Glass. Garnish with fresh nutmeg.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• Is a tasty sweet cocktail, the Demerara flavor makes this almost have the flavor of a rum and coke, but it’s cleaner.
• A good rum is your friend here – don’t waste this drink on your mixing rum!
• Sweet, short, and ice cold – a good combo.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 9/10
• Strength: 8/10
• Sweetness: 7/10
• Devilishly simple, delectably good.

Mary Pickford

Who is this Mary? Apparently she acted her way to start United Airlines – go figure. To enhance the legend, during Prohibition she was hanging out in Havana and this drink was a popular libation of the time. This recipe comes courtesy of Smugglers Cove – so be sure to order one up next to you take a visit to their Tiki bar in San Francisco.

• 1.5 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 bar spoon grenadine
• 6 drops of maraschino liqueur
• 1.5 ounces aged rum

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and the ingredients, shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Drink up! Dave’s Thoughts:

• The drink is an interesting combination of sweet with the complication of the maraschino. The flavor is unique and something that would be fun to serve to a house guest.
• Leaves you with the slightly bitter aftertaste of the maraschino.
• Looks as good as it tastes, the pineapple juice helps leave a nice froth that ups the presentation.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 8/10
• Strength: 5/10
• Sweetness: 7/10
• One thing is sure, its a hell of a lot better than any cocktail you can enjoy on the friendly skies of United today!

Lauwiliwilinukunuku’oi’oi

A new drink book showed up in the house this weekend in preparation for a Tiki party that we will be part of next weekend. This particular book is the official Smugglers Cove guide to all things Tiki, including a number of recipes from the world famous restaurant.

While we have not had time to digest all of the advice within, we did at least take the time to flip through the pages and find a couple of drinks to sample. Look for the second cocktail in my next blog post! I wish this cocktail had the most ridiculous name in the book, but it actually isn’t!

• 0.75 ounce lemon juice
• 0.75 ounce pineapple juice
• 0.5 ounce orgeat syrup
• 2 ounce blended aged rum
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice, and add all of the ingredients. Shake vigorously and poor (ice and all) into a double old fashioned glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• From the first taste, this is all Tiki. It’s sweet, it’s got rum and it has a distinct almond flavor.
• Despite the long list of ingredients, it’s an easy cocktail to make, and likely would be a good candidate for a premixed drink at a party.
• It’s a very sweet drink, leaving the sweetness in the back of your mouth long after you swallow its goodness.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 9/10 (if you like some Tiki)
• Strength: 4/10 (lots of juice)
• Sweetness: 10/10
• With a bit of practice, the name is not that hard to pronounce to order at a bar, but I’m guessing they will just look back at you with a blank stare.