the urban archaeologist

1 1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (3/4 oz Coruba)
2 oz Demerera Rum (1/2 oz Lemon Hart 80° + 1/2 oz Diamond 151°)
2 oz Spanish-style Lightly Aged Rum (1 oz Prichard's Crystal)
1/2 oz Curaçao (1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)
2 oz Lime Juice (1 oz)
1 oz Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice (3/4 oz)
1 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (3/4 oz)
1 oz Orgeat (1/2 oz)
1 oz Simple Syrup (1/2 oz)
6 dash Angostura Bitters (3 dash)

Pulse blend with 2 cups of crushed ice (whip shake with crushed ice), pour into a Tiki mug, and top with crushed ice.

Two Fridays ago, I was perusing recipes on The Atomic Grog when I landed on The Urban Archaeologist by blog author Jim Hayward in 2020 in honor of Sven Kirsten who made a study of retro style. As for the name, Punch described, "Sven Kirsten, a German-born cinematographer and self-described 'urban archeologist,' whose The Book of Tiki: The Cult of Polynesian Pop in Fifties America, published in 2000, is touted as a veritable bible within the genre." Since the drink was designed to fit in a 30 ounce mug of a cannibal taking a bite out of The Book of Tiki, I halved the volumes to fit into a 16 ounce mug as suggested by Jim on his site; I also took up his advice of splitting the Demerara rum into normal and overproof to help cut through the sweetness. On my Instagram, Jim commented "Also a fine tribute to Beachbum Berry's research." I returned to his blog where he expounded on that thought with, "If these ingredients seem familiar, it's because they're among those featured most often in the 80+ recipes in Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry's influential Grog Log (1998), the go-to resource for creating cocktails while we studied The Book of Tiki. Not surprisingly, The Urban Archaeologist tastes exactly like Grog Log should taste like. There's a ton of flavor, with an emphasis on the tart and sweet, but it's also perfectly balanced with the requisite bold and rummy backbone." Overall, the recipe reminded me most of one of the drinks from Berry's collection, the Cocoanut Grove Cooler, with the orange juice, curaçao, passion fruit, and orgeat components, so it was definitely in Jim's intended ballpark for flavor. Once assembled, The Urban Archaeologist uncovered an orange and passion fruit aroma. Next, a creamy orange and lime sip dusted off dark funky rums, passion fruit, almond, and allspice flavors on the swallow.