starward swizzle

2 oz Hamilton's Lost Voyage Rum (1 oz Hamilton's 86° Demerara River + 1/2 oz Monymusk Gold + 1/2 oz Smith & Cross)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Pernod (12 drop Pernod Absinthe)

Build in a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with a mint bouquet, dehydrated lime wheel (omit), and freshly grated nutmeg. Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink called the Starward Swizzle from Strongwater in Anaheim that I spotted in a set of online recipe flashcards. In researching the drink, I found a web-based set of recipes put out by the rum that included the spec verbatim. Since Lost Voyage Rum is described as a blend of rum from Guyana and Jamaica's Worthy Park, I tried my best to replicate the flavor profile with a trio of rums. Here, the rum, cinnamon, falernum, lime, bitters, and absinthe made me think of the Jet Pilot but with pineapple and Peychaud's instead of the classic's grapefruit and Angostura. In the glass, the Starward Swizzle emitted a woody spice, mint, and rum funk aroma. Next, pineapple and lime notes on the sip opened up into funky rums, pineapple, cinnamon, and anise flavors on the swallow.

second fiddle

1 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Sundays ago, I returned to the same online recipe flashcards for Dear Irving in Manhattan that I found the Slow Drift. There in the same "Island Hop" section of their 2026 menu, I selected the Second Fiddle that read like a split spirits Gilda Cocktail; tequila and Cognac have worked well together in the Lobo Saldado (mezcal and Cognac is a much more common pairing though such as in the 1910 Cocktail or my Bucking the Tiger). Once prepared, the Second Fiddle launched off with a pineapple and cinnamon nose. Next, lime and pineapple notes on the sip slid into Cognac, vegetal, pineapple, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

kungaloosh hidea-tai

2 oz Aged Jamaican Rum (1 oz Smith & Cross + 1 oz Appleton 8 Year)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass (ceramic mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig and lime wheel. Two Fridays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I spotted on the Casual Tiki website called the Kungaloosh Hidea-Tai. They described it as "the signature cocktail from the storied Kungaloosh Hideaway" that was a Trader Vic Mai Tai taken in a stone fruit direction. My research suggested that this is perhaps a reference to the Adventurer's Club at Disney that closed in 2008 to the public and in 2009 to private events. While I have had orgeat, apricot liqueur, and cinnamon in all the pairings possible with great effect, I have never had all three in a single drink. Once prepared, the Kungaloosh Hidea-Tai provided a mint and lime aroma. Next, a creamy caramel and lime sip uncovered funky rum, apricot, nutty, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

obvious choice

1 oz Mezcal (Convite Esencial)
1 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/8 oz Passion Fruit Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lime wedge (omit). Two Fridays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and happened upon the Obvious Choice by Matty Clark at Dutch Kills in New York City. The recipe has the agave spirit, lime, cinnamon, and passion fruit components of the Easy Out but with mezcal and Amontillado instead of tequila and Amaro Montenegro, so I was intrigued. Once prepared, the Obvious Choice showcased vegetal, smoke, nutty, and cinnamon aromas to the nose. Next, lime and grape on the sip developed into smoky agave, passion fruit, nutty grape, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

johnny utah

2 oz Espolon Blanco Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass with 1 oz soda water, fill with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I began perusing the Kindred Cocktails database and landed on the Johnny Utah created by Carlo Caroscio at Volt in Baltimore circa 2014 around two years before he moved to Boston to work at Backbar. Carlo named the drink after Keanu Reaves' character in the movie Point Break. What drove me into making it was how well the Campari-grenadine combination works; in fact, the duo was dubbed "bittersweet" in the Freaky Tiki, and I utilized it in my Jungle Grog and Zombie Count. Moreover, the Campari-cinnamon pairing is also excellent in recipes like the Babbo's Toddy and Rum Firewalker, and I made use of in the Black Hand Society and Quetzal. Once prepared, the Johnny Utah proffered an orange, cinnamon, and agave aroma. Next, a carbonated lime and dark berry sip gave way to vegetal tequila, bitter red fruit, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

best friend

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Convite Especial)
1/2 oz Campari
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a dehydrated pineapple wheel (omit). Two Tuesdays ago, I decided to make the Best Friend by Karl Steuck for the opening menu at the Condor Bar in the Hotel El Roblar. I found the recipe in a set of online recipe flashcards for the bar, and my search uncovered the recipe in a 2025 article in Food & Wine. The Best Friend read like a Gilda Cocktail meeting a mezcal Jungle Bird, so it seemed worthy of a try. As I mentioned in my Palenque Punch yesterday, my trick of swapping the simple syrup for cinnamon in the mezcal version of the parallel Mr. Bali Hai (to add depth of flavor lost in transitioning to an unaged spirit as well as adding complementary notes) was also something that Karl figured out as well. Once prepared, the Best Friend greeted the nose with a pineapple, cinnamon, and vegetal aroma. Next, pineapple and lime notes on the sip blossomed into smoky vegetal, bitter orange-pineapple, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

palenque punch

1 oz Convite Una Mezcal
1 oz Luxardo Bitter Bianco
1/2 oz Luxardo Espresso Liqueur
1/2 oz Acidified Pineapple Juice (*)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup (1:1)

Build over ice and stir. I batched and poured over ice. While developing the recipe, it actually tasted rather good undiluted at room temperature too.
(*) Pineapple juice was acidified with 6% citric acid (94 grams pineapple to 6 grams citric). Skipping the acidification and replacing with 1/2 oz regular pineapple juice + 1/2 oz lemon juice would work well. In late February, the Hotaling Company reached out to see if I would represent Convite Mezcal and Luxardo at Speed Rack in late March. I was asked to create the drink and run the booth as I was one of the lucky bartenders to spend several days down in Oaxaca with the Convite team where I gave a master class to local bartenders, answered questions, and did guest bartending shifts during my session in January 2023. For a recipe that I presented two weeks ago, I utilized the Convite Una Mezcal (that also benefits breast cancer charities like Speed Rack does) as well as their suggestion of using Luxardo Bitter Bianco. When they sent me some samples including Luxardo's Espresso Liqueur, I became inspired to make something akin to the Mr. Bali Hai. When I have done mezcal variations of that tropical drink, I have utilized cinnamon instead of plain simple syrup to provide complementary flavors and add a bit or roundness to the unaged spirit. As I was batching 150 full-sized portions at just shy of 16 liters, I went with an acidified pineapple juice instead of sourcing fruit and preparing 75-80 ounces of fresh lemon juice. It also made the mix shelf stable at room temperature so I could prep it a day in advance and not worry about refrigeration. Overall, it was a success. Midway through the event, folks were coming up to the booth by way of word of mouth that they needed to try this, and one patron even returned to tell me that my drink was the best of the night and asked for a second helping. Since I had a little left over from the event, I decided to make it my nightcap and prepared tasting notes. In the glass, the Palenque Punch began with a cinnamon, espresso roast, and pineapple aroma. Next, the roast and pineapple elements continued on into the sip where they were chased by smoky vegetal flavors blending into bitter herbal ones that lead into coffee and cinnamon notes on the swallow.

bow & arrow

1 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe. Two Fridays prior, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Bow & Arrow by Scott Teague at Dutch Kills circa 2015. The recipe reminded me of a split base Gilda Cocktail from Death & Co.; Scott would have been familiar with the Gilda from having worked at Death & Co. a few years after Brian Miller created it in 2009. In the glass, the Bow & Arrow shot forth with a vegetal, cinnamon, pineapple, and smoke aroma. Next, a lime-driven sip landed on Bourbon, vegetal agave, pineapple, and cinnamom flavors on the swallow.

hustle & cuss

2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Marie Brizard White Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Maple Syrup
1 dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a grapefruit twist (omit). Two Tuesdays ago, I selected Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book off of the shelf and found the Hustle & Cuss by Jon Armstrong in 2016. There was no indication about why it was named that, but perhaps it was a tribute to the 2010 song by The Dead Weather. The grapefruit-maple-cinnamon trio appeared to be a driving force here; grapefruit-cinnamon is a proven duo in the Don's Mix as featured in the 1934 Zombie and grapefruit-maple is one that I learned to appreciate in Don's Volcano Bowl. In structure, the recipe vaguely reminded me of the Dead Rabbit's Doctor's Orders with the Bourbon, two citrus juices, cinnamon syrup, and modifiers, but the two take different paths. Here, the Hustle & Cuss donated a Bourbon, maple, and cinnamon aroma to the nose. Next, grapefruit and lemon on the sip flowed into Bourbon, maple, chocolate, cinnamon, and clove flavors on the swallow.

murder of crows

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Nocino (Russo)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Bitters (Angostura)

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel (lemon twist). Two Mondays prior, I began perusing the KindredCocktails database and spotted the Murder of Crows created by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles in 2017. The combination of walnut liqueur and cinnamon syrup is one that worked well in the Five Year Plan and The World is Yours and that I utilized in my Shadows & Tall Trees at Russell House Tavern back in 2013. In the glass, the Murder of Crows gathered around the nose with a lemon, walnut, and cinnamon bouquet. Next, grapefruit and roast notes on the sip opened up into rye, walnut, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

wonk holiday punch (2025)

1/2 oz Planteray Mister Fogg Sail No. 1 Rum
1/2 oz Planteray Xaymaca Rum
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup 2:1 (1:1)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Two Wednesdays ago, I was listening to a Bartender at Large podcast where Pierre Ferrand's Alexandre Gabriel was the guest, and I later checked out Alexandre's Instagram. One of the posts was a joint one from Matt Pietrek from December 2025 where Matt posted his Wonk Holiday Punch. Matt was inspired by a conversation with bartender Jason Alexander, and his recipe utilized three of Alexandre's products. I had not seen orange liqueur as a base since the Grand Marnier event at Drink at 2009 where John Gertsen led the pack with 2 1/4 oz with the Mission of Burma as an inverted Pegu Club and Scott Holliday's Alicante at 1 1/2 oz (our cocktail, the Lioness (of Brittany), was a meager 3/4 oz by comparison). Once prepared, the Wonk Holiday Punch named after Matt's CocktailWonk and RumWonk accounts began with orange, caramel, and cinnamon aromas. Next, a medley of grapefruit, lime, and orange notes on the sip sailed into rum, orange, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow. The roundness of Pierre Ferrand's orange liqueur akin to that of Grand Marnier allowed for this large amount of curaçao to prosper as half of the alcohol volume.

cinn-ful bastard

2 oz Mount Gay Black Rum (Doorly's 12 Year)
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Collins glass (Tiki mug), and garnish with a cherry and candied ginger. Two Mondays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcards sets when I found a 2015 collection from the Tonga Hunt in Los Angeles. There, I locked in on the Cinn-ful Bastard, and its rum, lime, orgeat, and cinnamon combination reminded me of the Cuban Anole. Later, I realized that I used to make a similar drink at River Bar in 2018 called the Zombie Nation. In the mug, the Cinn-ful Bastard erupted with a cinnamon, almond, and cherry aroma. Next, a creamy grapefruit and lime sip got tripped into rum, cinnamon, almond, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

king kopeika

1 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Licor 43
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (6 drop St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated coffee bean and grated cinnamon. Two Saturdays ago, I became inspired by the Carajillo and the Carajillo Old Fashioned that I had two weeks prior. I soon thought about my mezcal Mr. Bali Hai (same as the classic but with the spirit change and some of the simple swapped for cinnamon syrup) and Smuggler's Cove's Expedition. Mezcal and OFTD rum paired well together in the Final Destination Zombie and my Lahaine Noon, so I went with my inclination to use them as the base. For a name, I dubbed this one King Kopeika after Hawaiian for espresso ("kope" for coffee and "ika" for strong). Once prepared, King Kopeika granted the nose a cinnamon and roasted coffee aroma. Next, roast, caramel, pineapple, and lemon notes on the sip decreed burly rum, smoky vegetal, coffee, vanilla, citrus, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

bait 'n' switch

1 1/2 oz Sombra Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Wednesdays ago, I searched my ingredients index of the Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book for Ancho Reyes recipes, and I landed on the Bait 'n' Switch by Jeremy Oertel in 2014. When I found the entry in my copy of the book, it read like their Gilda Cocktail with mezcal instead of tequila plus chile liqueur in the mix. Once assembled, the Bait 'n' Switch gave forth a pineapple, dried pepper, cinnamon, and wood smoke aroma. Next, lime and pineapple notes on the sip opened up into smoky, vegetal, pepper spice, dried fruit, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

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.

pagan punch

2 oz Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass (Tiki mug), and fill with crushed ice. The instructions did not list a garnish, but the photo showed mint sprigs and a plastic spider (grapefruit peel snakes). Two Thursdays ago, my shipment of a half dozen new Tiki mugs arrived, and I sought out uses for them. On my phone, I found a screenshot of the Pagan Punch by San Francisco home enthusiast Joe Kennedy that he posted on Facebook's Tiki Recipes group back in October. It was a cross of Pagan Idol's Quarantine Order with Stephen Remsberg's Planter's Punch featuring Coruba Rum (which we had at his house in 2010 as alluded to in this post). The passion fruit-cinnamon syrup duo is one that I utilized in my Bucking the Tiger a few days after having it in the Samson Swizzle; my earliest blog post with the duo turns out to be something I came up with independently during Loyal Nine's Yacht Rock Sundays in 2015 called the Key Largo. In the new mug, the Pagan Punch prayed to the nose with grapefruit and cinnamon aromas. Next, caramel, grapefruit, lime, and passion fruit notes on the sip chanted until dark funky rum, passion fruit, cinnamon, and allspice flavors from the swallow reared their heads.

snowbirds & townies

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Dry Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make a drink called the Snowbirds & Townies that I spotted in the KindredCocktails database. It was created by Tonia Guffey at Brooklyn's Dram circa 2013 and was first published by Robert Simonson in the New York Times. Tonia named the drink after a song about winter by the group Further Seems Forever and based the flavor profile on the chocolate-orange candies she used to get every Christmas. She mollified the bitterness of Fernet with a trio of sweet holiday flavors: orange, cocoa, and cinnamon. Overall, the combination reminded me of the Alligator with orange juice and crème de cacao in the mix (plus lemon for lime). In the glass, the Snowbirds & Townies mingled with a chocolate and minty aroma. Next, lemon and orange notes on the sip opened up to bitter menthol, chocolate, cinnamon, and orange flavors on the swallow.

beyond the solar system

3/4 oz Rittenhouse Rye
3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Orgeat

Whip shake with crushed ice, dump into a glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with an apple fan dusted with freshly grated cinnamon. Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink that I had bookmarked on Instagram back in October from user WeeklyTiki called Beyond the Solar System. This Saturn riff seemed like a good followup to the tequila Saturn called the Papa Noel from the Sippin' Santa series I had two days prior. Here, a rye-funky rum version had me curious for the rum-laden Janus was so delightful; moreover, the falernum was also swapped to cinnamon syrup. In the mug, the Beyond the Solar System welcomed the nose with an apple and cinnamon aroma. Next, creamy, lemon, and tropical notes on the sip launched off to rye, funky rum, earthy nutty, cinnamon, and passion fruit flavors on the swallow.

black metal sleigh

1 1/2 oz Vodka (Goral)
3/4 oz Jägermeister
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Grapefruit Bitters (Bittermens)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Julep or Swizzle tin (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig. Two Fridays ago, I delved into a collection of Sippin' Santa recipes that was recently shared on Reddit. The one I selected as a starting point was the Black Metal Sleigh from the 2015 event that had the same vodka lengthening and fortifying a bitter liqueur technique that I first observed in the Sputnik. Moreover, it had a similar structure to the Jägermeister tropical recipe, the Escape Hatch, so I was sold. With the penultimate use of this season's mint as garnish, the Black Metal Sleigh greeted the nose with a mint bouquet. Next, lime and caramel on the sip slid into star anise, herbal, cinnamon, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

voorhees

1 oz Bonded Apple Brandy (Laird's)
1 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with cayenne pepper powder. Two Tuesdays prior, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and honed in on the Voorhees by D. Skinner. Overall, it appeared like a variation on the Holland Razor Blade with the Genever split with apple brandy and the simple syrup split with cinnamon. In the glass, the Voorhees donated an apple, cinnamon, and malty aroma. Next, a lemon-driven sip blossomed into apple, malty, cinnamon, and herbal flavors on the swallow that gained an increasing amount of hot pepper spice over time.