kill devyl reef (boston rum week)

1 1/2 oz Privateer Bottled In Bond Rum
1/2 oz Privateer Navy Yard Rum
1 oz Allspice Dram (*)
1 oz Passion Fruit Puree
1/2 oz Green Tea-Honey Syrup (*)
1 1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters (amount is an estimate)
2 dash Bittermens Tiki Bitters (amount is an estimate)

Shake with ice, strain over ice, and garnish with a mint sprig and spent lime shell.
(*) The result was not very allspice driven and rather green tea forward, so perhaps dropping the allspice dram completely and upping the green tea-honey syrup to 1 1/2 oz (or 1/4 or 1/2 oz allspice dram and 1 1/4 or 1 oz green tea-honey syrup) would work. My guess is that the green tea-honey syrup is a dilution of honey with green tea similar to how I made honey-hibiscus syrup for the Lupe Velez.

Two Saturdays ago, I was a panelist for the Boston Rum Week session at the South Boston Lithuanian Club entitled "The Anatomy of Rum Cocktails: Choices, Trends, and Cultures in a Glass" along with Shannon Mustipher and Katie Stryjewski and moderated by Garnett Philip. The three of us presented drinks where I served up my Shipwrecked. Shannon proffered a variation of her Kill Devyl Reef, and I copied a scaled down version from the prep sheets we were provided; however, it was different from how the recipe of the same name appears in her Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails book that I provide later in this post. She described during the session how the recipe was influenced by the Planter's Punch of rum, sugar, lime, and something aromatic. As noted above, the resulting balance tasted more green tea-forward and less allspice noted than expected given the recipe, so perhaps the final form mixed by Shannon a half hour before the presentation varied from the recipe sent in. The Kill Devyl Reef that was served at the session offered up a mint and passion fruit bouquet to the nose. Next, green tea, passion fruit, honey, and lime notes on the sip sailed into rum, green tea, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Given the allspice level, it could be solely from a strong hand of Angostura Bitters or a weak hand with the allspice dram. While the green tea element was magical here, it is lacking entirely in the original which is more allspice driven. Moreover, the rums in the book were different than served in this variation (Shannon now works for Privateer Rum).

Kill Devyl Reef (Book Version)
• 2 oz Hamilton 86° Demerara Rum
• 1/2 oz Damoiseau 100° Rhum Agricole Blanc
• 1/2 oz Hampden Rum Fire Overproof Jamaican Rum
• 1/2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
• 1 oz Passion Fruit Juice
• 3/4 oz Lime Juice
Shake with ice, strain into a mug or snifter, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint and freshly grated nutmeg.