cobra's fang

1 oz Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum
1 1/2 oz Plantation Original Dark Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/4 oz Grenadine
1 dash Absinthe (Butterfly)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Flash blend with ice and pour into a Collins glass (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice). The 1937 version was garnished with a cinnamon stick (a citrus peel Cobra here).

One of the drinks that I had been meaning to make was Don the Beachcomber's 1937 Cobra's Fang ever since having a riff of that called the Snake Pit. My search through Beachbum Berry's books only yielded the 1962 variation called the Cobra. I later discovered that the recipe for the Cobra's Fang lives on Tiki forums as well as the Beachbum Berry recipe app, but I put off making it due its close similarity to the Cobra (see below). During Tiki the Snow Away on Instagram, someone pointed to a Matt Pietrek (CocktailWonk) article that listed the 1937 original as well as the riff (presented here) done by Tacoma Cabana's Jason Alexander. To the classic Cobra's Fang, Jason split the 1 1/2 oz of 151 proof Demerara rum into two lesser proof Plantation rums, increased the two citrus components by a 1/4 oz each, and added a 1/4 oz of grenadine to the combination. The Cobra was pretty close as far as riffs go (see the Zombie or even the Mai Tai for how far things can vary) and simply had less 151 proof rum and lacked falernum in the mix. Overall, the combination of rum, passion fruit, falernum, orange juice, and lime reminded me of the 1950s South Pacific Punch except the Cobra's Fang had spice elements and more rum heft.
Once the Tacoma Cabana's version of the Cobra's Fang was prepared, it shared a lemon oil aroma from the garnish over passion fruit and rum notes. Next, an orange-passion fruit flavor on the sip was accented by lime and the rums' caramel, and this was followed by bold rums, passion fruit, clove, and anise spice on the swallow.