Monday, February 6, 2012

kon-tini

1 1/2 oz Virgin Island White Rum (El Dorado 3 Year)
1/2 oz Dark Rum pref. Demerara (Lemon Hart 80)
3/4 oz Ginger Liqueur (King's Ginger)
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lime twist spiral.

Two Fridays ago, I spotted a rum drink by Jeff Beach Bum Berry that we had passed over in Food & Wines: Cocktails 2010 called the Kon-Tini. The name stems from a reference in Jeff's Sippin' Safari where the introduction explained, "In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl sailed 4,300 miles across the Pacific in the Kon-Tiki, a rickety balsa-log raft. Heyerdahl was a lightweight. Beach Bum Berry's raft, the Kon-Tini, not only travels through oceans... but through time." While Heyerdahl was attempting to prove that pre-Columbian South Americans could have settled Polynesia, Berry's epic journey is to gather recipes inspired by Polynesian food and drink; in a way, their efforts are both valuable historical recreations.
Berry created this drink shortly after Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur came out for he felt that it would work well with falernum. Here, the lime and ginger notes filled the aroma and the sip. The swallow showcased the spicier elements of the ginger along with the rum and the falernum's clove. Overall, the Kon-Tini was a tasty spiced riff on the classic Daiquiri.

3 comments:

Jordan said...

Any feelings about the King's Ginger vs. Canton?

frederic said...

The Canton is mildly ginger and we often noted bartenders supplementing the liqueur with either ginger syrup or ginger beer; when asked, they described it as containing a little ginger and a bunch of supplementary flavors. We were not pleased enough with our free samples that we got to purchase a bottle.

When I tasted King's, it was rather gingery and more in line with what I expected from a ginger liqueur. I did pause at the price ($42 vs. $32 for Canton), but eventually got it.

Art in the Age's Snap is gingery but there are a host of other flavors going on in there that it's its own beast.

Jordan said...

Thankfully here in Oregon they're exactly the same price, $35, so it sounds like it'll be an easy choice. Thanks for the info.