atherton

2 oz Appleton White Rum (Uruapan Charanda Blanco)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup

Whip shake, pour into a Tiki mug or double Old Fashioned glass (Tiki mug), and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge (chocolate mint sprigs).
Two Mondays ago, my copy of Justin Cristaldi's Tiki Triangle arrived; I learned about the book when Justin asked permission a few months ago to put my Nuclear Daiquiri gets the Mai Tai treatment, the Bikini Atoll, in its pages. The recipe that caught my eye as a starting place was the Atherton created by Tim Mayer of the exotica group Waitiki 7 after they played a gig at the Atherton Pavilion in Honolulu in 2008. Once crafted, the Atherton proffered an earthy rum funk and mint bouquet to the nose. Next, lime and honey on the sip played into earthy rum and pineapple on the swallow with a honey-tinged finish.

royal peacock

1 1/2 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc (Clement)
1/2 oz Mezcal Espadin (Fidencio)
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Liqueur (Ezekiel)
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
3/4 oz Mango Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 dash Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub (Housemade Hellfire Bitters)

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass rimmed with chile salt (cayenne powder + salt), and fill with ice. Garnish with 3 pineapple leaves (3 mint sprigs).

Another tropical juice that I purchased was mango to make a few drinks. The one that I began with was from Shannon Mustipher's Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails book called the Royal Peacock. The recipe was created by Dani DeLuna who started the Tiki the Snow Away event each January on Instagram back in 2015, and she based it on the Planteur -- a Martician punch with rhum agricole and guava.
The Royal Peacock greeted the senses with a cayenne pepper aroma from the rim along with mint and tropical fruit notes. Next, lime and papaya strutted on the sip, and the swallow displayed grassy, smoke, passion fruit, and pepper heat flavors.

soursop sour

1 1/2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
3 oz Soursop Nectar
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup (3/4 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug with crushed ice). Garnish with an orchid (nasturtiums and a mint sprig).

One of the other tropical juices that I purchased was soursop nectar to make a few recipes. Soursop grows in the Caribbean, and its fruit despite looking like Durian has a pleasant pineapple aroma, strawberry, apple, and citrus flavors, and a creamy texture. The drink that I started with was a 2004 creation by Audrey Saunders at Bemelmans Bar in Manhattan a year before she opened up the Pegu Club. Overall, the Soursop Sour reminded me of a juice-forward Pegu Club given the gin, citrus, and bitters combination, but in the end, it was much more subtle.
The Soursop Sour began with gin's pine coming through underneath the mint and peppery floral garnish aroma. Next, lemon and a creamy melon sip gave way to gin, pineapple, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

maracaibo

2 oz Aged Jamaican Rum (1 1/2 oz Appleton Signature + 1/2 oz Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Crème de Banane (Giffard)
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
3 oz Tamarind Nectar
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, pour into a Highball glass, and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Two Fridays ago, I procured tamarind nectar to make a Jeff Beachbum Berry recipe that I had spotted in the 2010 edition of the Food & Wine: Cocktails book series. I was curious as to why a drink named perhaps after the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo would call for Jamaican rum, but I was lured in by the tamarind, banana, and allspice flavor backup. Once prepared, the Maracaibo donated a lemon aroma from the garnish along with caramel and rum funk notes from the drink underneath. Next, lemon and tamarind mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered funky rum and banana flavors with an allspice and tamarind finish.

bjorn supremacy

1 1/2 oz Overproof Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse Bonded)
1/2 oz Baska Snaps Malort (Jeppson's)
1/2 oz Briottet Crème de Peche
2 dash Boker's Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter)

Shake (stir) with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

For a nightcap two Thursdays ago, I delved into Brad Parsons' Amaro book for a recipe. There, I spotted the Bjorn Supremacy by Dennis Gobis of Austin's Roosevelt Room. Dennis described how the name based off of a Robert Ludlum play "seemed fitting for a cocktail accented with a Scandinavian spirit." I was curious to see how malört would play off of peach flavors since it did quite well with apricot ones in the Cutman and Lightning Swords of Death.
The Bjorn Supremacy welcomed the senses with a rye, peach, and clove aroma. Next, malt with a hint of fruit on the sip transitioned to rye, peach, and wormwood-driven herbal flavors on the swallow with a clove, allspice, and celery-like finish.

dolce far niente

1 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Campari
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 pinch Salt (or 5 drop 1:4 saline)

Whip shake, pour into a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet.
After having made the Polynesian Paralysis, I thought about the Norwegian Paralysis with aquavit, and I wondered if I could make an Italian amari one. For the classic's Okolehao, I substituted a Ferrari, the infamous Fernet-Campari duo, as the base spirit, and selected as the name Dolce Far Niente meaning "sweet doing nothing/sweet idleness" which sounded classier than the Italian Paralysis. Moreover, the name reminded me of some of Ryan Lotz-era No. 9 amaro drinks such as the Riviera di Ponente and Amaro di Cocco. Once prepared, the Dolce Far Niente gave forth a mint, orange, caramel, and menthol aroma to the nose. Next, orange and lemon mingled with Fernet's caramel on the sip, and the swallow let go of minty, menthol, herbal, nutty, and pineapple flavors.

once over #2

1 1/2 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Tequila (Lunazul)
5 leaf Mint

Blend with 1+ cup crushed ice and pour into a Collins glass. Float 1/4 oz mezcal (Fidencio) and garnish with a bouquet of mint.
Two Tuesdays, I was in the mood for something on the lighter side, so I reached for Drew Lazor's Session Cocktails. There, I was drawn in by the Once Over #2 by Ryan Gannon of Cure in New Orleans; Ryan named the drink that he crafted for an agave spirit popup event after the song "The Once Over Twice" by the Los Angeles punk band X. Once blended, the Once Over #2 welcomed the nose with a mint and smoke aroma. Next, a creamy lime sip led into orange and mint flavors on the swallow with a tequila finish.

polynesian paralysis

3 oz Okolehao or sub Bourbon/Rye (Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon)
3 oz Orange Juice
3 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Blend 10 seconds with 12 oz crushed ice, pour into a Tiki bowl, and garnish with a gardenia (nasturtiums).

Two Mondays ago, I was flipping through Beachbum Berry's Remixed when I came across the Polynesian Paralysis. I had previously skipped over this 1960s recipe for it calls for okolehao; okolehao is Hawaiian moonshine made mostly from the root of the Ti plant and is rather hard to come by this way. Martin Cate must have felt the same way for he crafted the Norwegian Paralysis substituting aquavit as the base. Instead of continuing my wait for a bottle of okolehao from a craft distiller to make its way over, I decided to take Berry's advice and utilize an American whiskey in its place. As I learned from Matt Rowley in his history of okoleao, during the 1960s, instead of going through the effort of digging up these roots and roasting them for the mash, producers flavored whiskey with ti roots or extracts, and this was the era when the Polynesian Paralysis was crafted. True okolehao apparently has molasses, brown sugar, funk, root beer, and earthy flavors, but until I can experience that easily, I decided to give the recipe a go with my house Bourbon.
Berry provided a bit of history of the name via the 1960 book Waikiki Beachnik which described Polynesian Paralysis as, "a screaming desire not to do work, not to do anything that requires any substantial effort either physical or mental." Once prepared, the drink itself donated Bourbon, pineapple, nutty, and orange aromas to the nose. Next, orange and lemon mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered whiskey, pineapple and nutty flavors that came across with a coconut note from a combination of the orgeat and Bourbon.

paul mcgee's zombie

1 1/2 oz Flor de Caña Gold Rum (Don Q Añejo)
1 oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum (Plantation OFTD)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Appleton Estate 12 Year Rum (Appleton Signature)
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (12 drop St. George)

Blend with 1 cup of ice (whip shake), pour into a 22 oz glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with orchids (pea blossoms) and a lime shell with a flaming crouton soaked in absinthe (1/4 oz El Dorado 151).

While researching the 1934 Zombie, I came across a 2013 TastingTable article that provided Paul McGee's riff on the drink that he served at Chicago's Three Dots & A Dash. I always wondered why there was only a teaspoon of grenadine in the classic, and Paul tripled that value as well as doubling the Don's Mix (grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup) to make for a more fruity mix.
McGee's Zombie filled the nose with caramel, berry, and clove aromas. Next, grapefruit and lime mingled with caramel on the sip, and the swallow donated rum, pomegranate, cinnamon, anise, and other spice flavors on the swallow. Indeed, this Zombie variation was much more fruit forward than the Don the Beachcomber one assuming a real pomegranate grenadine is in play.