Showing posts with label pimento dram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pimento dram. Show all posts

Friday, August 7, 2026

wayward mariner

1 1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Don's Spices #2 (1/4 oz each Vanilla Syrup + Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice (large cube), and garnish with a mint sprig and a pineapple wedge (mint only).
Two Fridays ago, I returned to the Kindred Cocktails database to make the Wayward Mariner by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles in 2015. The serving style was vague, and since it was late and I was more in the mood for something a bit more somber, I went with a big ice cube serving instead of crushed or cubed ice. Overall, the combination reminded me of the Crooked Kilt that the Accomplice Bar served me at a pop-up last Fall where they split the Scotch with sherry in NoMad's creation to work better with the pineapple and lime. Moreover, the combination of pineapple syrup with Don's Spices #2 was one that I utilized in a Jet Pilot riff, the Nuku Hiva. Here, the Wayward Mariner set off with a mint, peat smoke, lime, and allspice aroma. Next, lime and grape notes on the sip sailed into smoky Scotch, nutty sherry, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

skylarking

1 oz Rhum JM Gold Rhum Agricole (Clement VSOP)
1 oz Rhum JM Blanc Rhum Agricole (100°)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Don's Spices (3/8 oz Vanilla Syrup + 3/8 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1/4 oz Hibiscus Syrup
3 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Build in a Pearl Diver glass (Collins), fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs and an orchid (ornamental pea blossoms).
Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Papaya Club at the Conrad in Orlando where I had found the Yellow Cloud, and I picked another of Paul McGee's creations, the Skylarking. That source provided the description, "This swizzle embodies all of the flavors found all around the Caribbean. Two rums made from fresh cane juice provide the backbone for this classic swizzle recipe with lots of warming spice and floral notes." I then found a photo on Scott French's Instagram in May 2025 that confimed the glassware and included the garnishes, although that drink was way more red in hue than mine. Given Paul's names many of his drinks after musical references such as the Music that Stays on for Extra Days, my guess is that he dubbed this after the 1986 album by the British indie rock group XTC. Once prepared, the Skylarking soared to the nose with mint over red fruit, floral, and grassy aromas. Next, lime and red fruit notes on the sip opened up into grassy rum, allspice, vanilla, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

poke the bear

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton)
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.
After thinking about the apricot-allspice dram combination in the Pleasure Island. I became inspired to cross two classics – the Pendennis Club and the Lion's Tail. Even if the only overlapping ingredient was lime juice, the two drinks have the same spirit, liqueur (with or without simple syrup), lime, and bitters structure. For a name, I worked with "twisting the lion's tail" as slang for provoking the British and dubbed this one Poke the Bear perhaps to bring it more in the direction of Kentucky. I also find it odd that the British half here calls for Bourbon and the Kentucky half calls for gin. In the glass, the Poke the Bear opened up with orange, apricot, allspice, and pine aromas. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip woke up Bourbon, juniper, apricot, and allspice flavors on the swallow with an anise finish.

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

love gun

2 oz Planteray 3 Star White Rum (Hamilton White 'Stache)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Raspberry Syrup
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (Hamilton)

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with 1 1/2 oz soda water and a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Two Tuesdays prior, I reached for my Death & Co.: Welcome Home book and found the Love Gun by Scott Teague in 2015. Overall, the recipe reminded me of a Knickerbocker with allspice dram instead of curaçao and lengthened by soda water. Once prepared, the Love Gun shot forward with a lemon, raspberry, and allspice aroma. Next, a carbonated lemon and red berry sip was countered by rum flavors as well as raspberry melding into allspice on the swallow.

Friday, May 29, 2026

pleasure island

1 1/2 oz House Barrel-Aged Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum (Unaged)
1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida (Fosforo Ensemble)
1/2 oz BG Reynolds Don's Spice No. 2 (1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup + 1/4 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1/4 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
3/4 oz Lime Juice (*)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a decorative mug, and top with crushed ice. Garnish with mint (3 sprigs), bitters (Angostura), and fire (omit).
(*) My Don's Spices No. 2 combination was probably not as sweet as BG Reynolds' syrup, so perhaps a 1/4 oz of simple or dropping the lime to 1/2 oz might balance this drink a little better (a bit booze-forward with the 126° rum).
With my mint patch beginning to fill out, two Friday ago I looked through the recipe list that I had saved up during the off season. The one that caught my eye first was the Pleasure Island by Ryan Lobe of Rumba in Seattle for the 2015 Iron Tiki Tender competition that I sourced from the Cocktail Wonk blog. Ryan described, "The name is inspired by the island in the book Pinocchio where all the bad boys go to drink and smoke." The pairing of apricot and allspice dram worked rather well in the Firebreak, Decadence & Elegance, and other drinks, so I was curious to give it a go here. In the mug, the Pleasure Island awakened the senses with mint, clove, and allspice aromas. Next, lime and apricot notes on the sip flowed into funky rum, vegetal, smoke, vanilla, allspice, and apricot flavors on the swallow.

Monday, May 4, 2026

10 gallon hattan

2 oz Corazon Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Casa d'Aristi Narano (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/8 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
Two Mondays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for The Violet Hour in Chicago, and I honed in on the 10 Gallon Hattan from Fall 2022 menu. The bar's Instagram post from October 2022 described how it was "A tequila-based twist on a classic Manhattan – boozy and forward featuring notes of allspice and bitter orange." While I did not have Casa d'Aristi's somewhat bitter orange liqueur, the similarities to the Sherpa with curaçao and allspice dram lured me in. When prepared with Pierre Ferrand's curaçao, the 10 Gallon Hattan rode high with roasted vegetal aromas and a hint of vanilla. Grape, orange, and caramelized notes on the sip slid into tequila, bitter herbal, allspice, and orange flavors on the swallow.

Thursday, April 16, 2026

trust falls

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/4 oz Licor 43
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Thursdays ago, I uncovered the Trust Falls from a collection of recipes from Too Soon in Portland, Oregon. Overall, the combination reminded me of the Sherpa except with the Bourbon split with Cognac and citrus-driven Licor 43 replacing the curaçao. Moveover, the name made me think of the recurrent bit in office comedy series The Chit Show. Once prepared, the Trust Falls launched off with an orange, vanilla, and allspice aroma. Next, a slightly citrussy sip opened up into whiskey, brandy, allspice, and orange flavors on the swallow.

Friday, March 13, 2026

bermuda dunes

1 1/2 oz Cruzan Gold Rum (Privateer New England Reserve)
1 oz Cruzan Silver Rum (Rhum Barbancourt 110° White)
1 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a pilsner glass (coconut mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint, lime wheel, and cherry (cherry only).
Two Fridays ago, I was feeling a tropical mood, so I chose to make the Bermuda Dunes from the Tonga Hut in Los Angeles that I had found in a set of online recipe flashcards. While the flashcards were for the 2015 menu, it is unclear what year this drink was created, and it is still served there under the house originals section on the current menu. Overall, this Mai Tai-like number shares a lot of similarity with the Nutty Like a Fruitcake with different rums, different proportions, and no bitters. Once mixed with somewhat more robust rums, the Bermuda Dunes arrived at the nose with orange, almond, allspice, and funky rum aromas. Next, a creamy orange and lemon sip stepped aside for rum, orange, almond, allspice, and a touch of grassy rum funk flavors on the swallow.

Thursday, February 12, 2026

what the dickens?

3/4 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
3/4 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. The recipe card from 2021 had no garnish, but their Facebook post form 2024 had a pineapple wedge as garnish.
Two Thursdays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcard sets when I spotted a drink called What the Dickens? from Flask & Cannon in Jacksonville. I was able to find a reference to the drink as early as 2018 on their Yelp, and I found a description and photo of the drink on their Facebook from 2024. The Cognac-pineapple rum is a combination that I have used in my Why Don't You Do Right (renamed Sunken City for a competition) and enjoyed in the Tropical Sazzy. Here, the What the Dickens? offered up Cognac, caramel, pineapple, and allspice aromas to the nose. Next, lime and passion fruit notes on the sip evolved into brandy, rum, pineapple, passion fruit, allspice, and clove flavors on the swallow.

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

river styx

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1 dash St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (20 drop Hamilton's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Two Wednesdays ago, I uncovered an intriguing drink in an online recipe flashcard set and was able to trace it back to a 2018 article in Imbibe Magazine. That drink was the River Styx created by David Kinsey in 2015 for the opening of Kindred in San Diego. It read very much like a coffee liqueur for Scotch Base Camp (which was created after this one), although the first recipe to pop in my head was The Sherpa given the Bourbon with allspice dram base (but orange liqueur instead of coffee and cacao). On David's Instagram, he explained, "The first proper Old Fashioned I had at a cocktail bar as the American Trilogy, the second: a Kentucky River [a combination of Bourbon, crème de cacao, and peach bitters that I mixed up pre-blog in March 2008 and that I ended up remaking two days after this]. The American Trilogy was what I pictured an old fashioned riff being: boozy, direct, showcasing the spirits with just a hint of citrus zest to perk up the taste buds. The Kentucky River caught me by surprise afterwards. It was heavy, but broke into sweet velvety ribbons that never tipped into the dreaded 'too sweet'." Once mixed, the River Styx flowed to the nose with a lemon, coffee, and allspice aroma. Next, a roast-drived sip cascaded into Bourbon, coffee, chocolate, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

Thursday, January 29, 2026

colonial grog

1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (1 oz Coruba)
1/2 oz Gold Virgin Island Rum (1 oz Privateer New England Reserve)
1/2 oz Lime Juice (1 oz)
1/2 oz Orange Juice (1 oz)
1/4 oz Maple Syrup (1/2 oz Deer Meadow Farm)
1/8 tsp Allspice Dram (1/4 tsp Hamilton's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters (2 dash)
1/2 oz Soda Water (1 oz)

Blend with 3 oz crushed ice for 5 seconds and fine strain into a glass with a thin ice shell (shake all but the soda water, and strain into an old fashioned glass with ice and the soda water).
When I made was the Samoan Grog from the Mai-Kai, I learned that it was perhaps inspired by Don the Beachcomber's Colonial Grog. The circa 1944 Colonial Grog details were uncovered by Jeff Beachbum Berry in the notebooks of Mariano Licudine who worked for Don between 1939 and 1956. Berry published the recipe in his Potions of the Caribbean book and described it as a Tiki-fied Planter's Punch. Don's bartenders were some of the few using maple in tropical drinks before the cocktail revival with the most famous recipe being the Volcano Bowl from 1970 that showcased how well maple works with grapefruit (which inspired my Vagalume Bowl). Although I skipped the ice shell built into the inner circumference of the glass and doubled up the volumes, I kept true to the recipe save for using a local amber rum instead of a Caribbean one. In the glass, the Colonial Grog displayed dark rum, maple, and lime aromas. Next, maple, orange, and lime notes with a hint of carbonation on the sip unwound into dark rum, allspice, and lime flavors on the swallow.

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

samoan grog (tribute to the mai-kai)

1 oz Gold Rum (Planteray Isle of Fiji)
3/4 oz Dark Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup 2:1 (3/4 oz 1:1)
1/2 tsp Don's Spices No. 2 (1/4 tsp each Vanilla Syrup and (Hamilton's) Allspice Dram)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice and pour into a glass. I used a Tiki mug and garnished with an orange twist.
Two Mondays, I was feeling the need for a tropical drink, so I returned to the The Atomic Grog site. There, I spotted Jim Haywood's 2014 interpretation of the Mai-Kai's Samoan Grog. The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale seemed to have riffed on Don Beach's Colonial Grog from the 1940s that Beachbum Berry later wrote about in Potions of the Caribbean. Overall, the recipe reminded me of an orange for grapefruit juice Navy Grog plus bitters that included the honey from Don Beach's version and the allspice dram of the Trader Vic recipe (with vanilla syrup to tag along via Don's Spices #2). Once mixed and poured into the last unused mug from the my most recent purchases, this take on the Samoan Grog generated an orange, caramel, and allspice aroma. Next, orange, lime, caramel, and honey notes on the sip unfurled into funky rum, vanilla, allspice, and honey flavors on the swallow.

Thursday, January 15, 2026

hi-tide boogie

1 1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1/4 oz Don's Spices #2 (1/8 oz Vanilla Syrup + 1/8 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's))
1/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Lime Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a TIki mug, and garnish with a mint sprig (swizzle stick).
Two Thursdays ago, I spotted a reference to the Hi-Tide Boogie by Justin Wojslaw at the Diller Room in Seattle that I traced back to Andy Boimila's Mixing Up Tiki channel on YouTube. Justin named this after the rockabilly and surf music studio Hi-Tide Recordings. The cinnamon and Don's Spices #2 combination reminded me of the classic Nui Nui and Colonel Tiki's (And) Knobs is Thirteen, and cinnamon and passion fruit are a natural duo that I last tried in the Pagan Punch a few short weeks ago. In the mug, the Hi-Tide Boogie swept in with dark rum, vanilla, and cinnamon aromas. Next, grapefruit, lime, and caramel notes on the sip receded into burly rum, vanilla, passion fruit, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

on christmas island

1 oz El Dorado 8 Year Rum (Hamilton Demerara River 86°)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Donn's Spices #2 (1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup + 1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's))
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass or mug (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish in tropical fashion (mint and nutmeg).
Two Wednesdays ago, I was perusing the Pandemic-era Lost Lake email recipe collection when I spotted the On Christmas Island created for their first Christmas Pop-up in 2017 alongside drinks from Boilermaker in Manhattan and Latitude 29 in New Orleans. I also found this in the Sippin' Santa recipe collection which attributed it to a year earlier in 2016. The lemon juice balanced by ginger and passion fruit syrups reminded me of Lost Lake's No Bye/No Aloha but with Donn's Spices #2 instead of orgeat and vanilla. It turned out that this recipe made good use of the last of this season's mint before a killing frost took out every last plant in the yard soon after. In the mug, On Christmas Island presented mint, woody spice, and hints of caramel, rum funk, and passion fruit to the nose. Next, lemon, caramel-molasses, and hints of passion fruit on the sip flowed into funky rum, ginger, and allspice flavors with a vanilla-passion fruit finish.

Sunday, December 14, 2025

bid farewell

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup
2 dash Walnut Bitters (4 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs)

No instructions were given but I interpretted this as an Old Fashioned so I stirred with ice and strained into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. A citrus twist such as lemon or orange would not be out of place here and would probably round out the bouquet.
Two Sundays ago, I returned to my notes from a set of online recipe flashcards for the Boise, Idaho, location of Tavolata where I previously found the Golden Eagle. There, I selected the Bid Farewell from their current menu as a Toronto accented with Donn's Spices #2. Moreover, Fernet has been been paired with allspice dram in a few drinks including the Colonial Bastard and The Aftermath, so I was curious to see how it would be mollified with vanilla syrup. In the glass, the Bid Farewell gave forth a vanilla, Bourbon, and allspice bouquet. Next, light caramel notes on the sip flowed into Bourbon, vanilla, allspice, and bitter minty-menthol flavors on the swallow.

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

spice oddity

2 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
Two Wednesdays ago, I was looking through an online recipe flashcard set from the Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco and found the David Bowie pun of a drink called the Spice Oddity. I was able to get an approximate date through Yelp menu photos from December 2018 to March 2019 and a photo of the cocktail on Instagram from early 2019. The combination of pineapple juice and pineapple syrup was utilized before in the Swamp Water Fix and the Pineapple Margarita, and Cognac and allspice have appeared plenty including classics like None But the Brave and modern ones like Decadence & Elegance. Therefore, I set to work, and the end result generated a pineapple and allspice aroma. Next, pineapple and lemon on the sip drifted into Cognac, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

stranger in paradise

1 oz Corazon Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Clement Premiere Canne Rhum Agricole (Rhum JM 100° Blanc)
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
3 dash St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (30 drop Hamilton's)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Absinthe (20 drop St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass or mug (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish in a tropical way such as including a cinnamon stick (mint and cinnamon stick).
Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the recipes that Lost Lake in Chicago published after they closed their doors, and the one that called out to me was the Stranger in Paradise from their second menu. Tequila and rhum agricole have appeared together in the Seas the Day, Menehune Gonzalez, and my Gunwale Punch (more often, rhum has been paired with mezcal though), so I wanted to see their spin on the duo. Here, the Stranger in Paradise welcomed the senses with cinnamon, mint, and pineapple aromas. Next, pineapple and lime notes on the sip uncovered funky rhum, vegetal, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and anise flavors on the swallow.

Monday, October 13, 2025

harbourmaster

2 oz Appleton Reserve Rum (Appleton Signature)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters (3 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs Walnut)
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass rinsed with St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (Hamilton's Allspice Dram).
Harbourmaster from Eastern Standard in Boston
Two Sundays ago, I finished processing a batch of pineapple syrup from the pineapple half left over from my competition, and I sought out a use. From the pre-Pandemic Eastern Standard bar bible, I latched on to the Harbourmaster that had a curious Sazerac-like build to it. It had the pineapple syrup-falernum of the Pineapple Death Squad, and that in a trio with allspice dram like the Tiger's Tale and Colonial Bastard. Moreover, I have seen the allspice dram rinse in a number of recipes such as the Harvard Yard #2, Heart of Stone, and The Keenan. Once prepared, the Harbourmaster welcomed the senses with an allspice aroma. Next, a pineapple-driven sip flowed into rum, pineapple, walnut, clove and allspice flavors on the swallow. Overall, it was a touch sweet but a tasty combination.

Saturday, October 4, 2025

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.

Monday, August 25, 2025

a scotsman in paradise

2 oz Famouse Grouse Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
3/4 oz Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Scott Diaz Seattle Bartender A Scotsman in Paradise Scotch Tiki Drink
Two Mondays prior, I searched KindredCocktails for cream of coconut recipes when I landed upon the A Scotsman in Paradise by Seattle bartender Scott Diaz circa 2015. One of my friends on Instagram commented how there are not a lot of "Scotch Tiki", and I replied that there were only around a half dozen including the Cocoanut Grove Cooler and the Starboard Light on the blog. Of all the recipes, Backbar's Passport Painkiller that was primarily a Scotch base came closest to this one given the coconut and allspice elements. Once mixed, A Scotsman in Paradise approached with a coconut and woody spice aroma. Next, a creamy, lime, pineapple, and caramel sip transformed into smoky Scotch, coconut, banana, and allspice flavors on the swallow.