mount orohena

2 Lime Wedges
Mint
2 oz Rum Mix (* See text)
3/4 oz Spiced Simple Syrup (Cinnamon, Clove, Allspice)
6 drop Pernod
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Muddle lime and mint. Add rest of ingredients, add ice, and shake. Strain into a coupe glass filled with crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Add straws.
Last Monday, Andrea and I decided to emerge from our home after a post-Tales of the Cocktail hiatus, and we went to Eastern Standard after a dinner at India Quality. For my first drink, I asked Kit Paschal for the Mount Orohena off of their Tikisms section of their menu. The other three cocktails in that section, the Mai Tai, Don's Zombie cerca 1934, and the Flying Dutchman, I have had before but the Mount Orohena either was new or it had evaded my attention until that point. The drink was created by Eastern Standard's bartender Bobby McCoy from what originally started as an Old Monk Rum, lime, and mint smash. From there, the rums were expanded from one to four: Appleton, Lemon Hart 80 Proof, Cruzan Blackstrap, and Bacardi Gold. The plain simple syrup was upped to a spiced one containing cinnamon, clove, and allspice which helped to transmogrify the drink. Although it was the last touch, the addition of some Pernod, which brought the drink's intrigue to a new level like it does in the 1934 Zombie recipe.

Overall, the drink had a pleasant mint nose that lead into a pretty complex drink. Of the rums, the Blackstrap lent a lot to the drink with its molasses notes. And in the syrup, the clove was most apparent to my taste buds. The Mount Orohena strongly captured the tiki feel and made for a rather refreshing summer beverage.