mytoi gardens

1 1/2 oz Old Monk Rum (*)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with 2-3 dash Angostura Bitters and a pineapple wedge. Add straws.
(*) Originally and best made with El Dorado 12 Year.

A few weeks ago, our new bar manager Ashish Mitra wanted to turn over the brunch cocktail menu and asked if I had any Tiki drinks to add to a Daiquiri Time Out section. I mentioned that I had the Kuula Hina and that I could simplify it a bit by removing the sherry and Blackstrap Rum float, switching around the proportions and presentation, and changing the garnish. Ashish liked what he tasted and suggested that I tinker with the rums. The best rum combination here was with El Dorado 12 Year, but in the end, Old Monk Rum got the nod to keep the drink on a better price point; I was not bothered by the change since the dark notes and vanilla accents worked well here too, although not as much as ED12's elegant richness. For a name, a remembered Naomi Levy's description of Eastern Standard's DTO, the Chappaquiddick; she bought into Kevin Martin explaining that he was inspired by the beauty and tranquility of the Japanese gardens on Martha's Vineyard and how it was the closest to an island paradise as one could get in Massachusetts (she was unaware of the connection of a DTO to the island at the time). Therefore, I latched into the idea of the gardens and discovered that they were the Mytoi Gardens and the drink name stuck.
Once prepared, the garnishes contributed pineapple, clove, and allspice aromas. The sip then offered lime, caramel, and pineapple flavors, while the swallow shared rum, vanilla, and allspice notes with a pineapple finish. Overall, the Mytoi Garden's easy drinking seems to work well for the brunch-time cocktail menu.