ka lima lima hema

4 1/2 oz Four Roses Bourbon (3 oz Evan Williams Bonded)
1 1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum (1 oz)
1 1/2 oz Lemon Juice (1 oz)
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice (1 oz)
1 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Juice (1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup)
1 1/2 oz Luxardo Amaretto (1 oz)
3/4 oz Honey Syrup (1/2 oz)
3/4 oz Grenadine (1/2 oz)

Flash blend (whip shake) with crushed ice, pour into a bowl, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with 2 orchids (2 stems ornamental pea blossoms) and a sparkler (omit). Serve with 4 straws (2 straws).

Two Thursdays ago, Andrea was in the mood for some liquid air conditioning, so I decided on a large format drink, the Ka Lima Lima Hema, that I had found in online recipe flashcards for Houston's Kanaloa. The drink appears in Houston's Chronicle article on sharable drinks around town in 2019, and I shrunk down this serving for four by a third. The amaretto stood out for I have only had that ingredient in tropical-like drinks twice: in the Mai Tai-like Arrack & A Hard Place and the classic Caribbean Punch, so I was curious to try it in this mix. Moreover, the Bourbon-OFTD Rum combination was one that I utilized in the Cobra's Tail and enjoyed in the (And) Knobs Is Thirteen. This large format item also allowed me to finally use the Munktiki Sea Mine bowl that I received years ago in a bartender Secret Santa (the shrunk down by a third build was still not big enough for its 40 ounce capacity). The Ka Lima Lima Hema conjured up a floral bouquet to the nose. Next, orange, lemon, caramel, and passion fruit notes on the sip transformed into Bourbon, rum, passion fruit, almond, and berry flavors on the swallow. Overall, it reminded me perhaps of a more complex Fiji Mermaid.

feet first in the deep end

1 oz Evan Williams Bonded Bourbon
1/2 oz Moderately Aged Rum (Doorly's 12 Year)
1/2 oz Light Aged/Filtered Rum (Privateer Tres Aromatique)
3/8 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane
1/8 oz Amaro Abano
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned with a large ice cube, and garnish with oils from both a lemon twist and an orange twist. Continuing on with my revisiting my well worn in Tiki books, I grabbed my copy of Minimalist Tiki book by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith. There, I encountered the Feet First in the Deep End by Shelby Allison and Erin Hayes at Lost Lake in Chicago that I had previously skipped over for I did not have Amaro Abano until 2022 yet had exhausted the other recipes a few years after it was published in 2015. In the glass the Feet First in the Deep End welcomed the senses with orange, lemon, caramel, and rum aromas. Next, caramel notes on the sip flowed into Bourbon, rum, banana, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

rumscullion

2 oz Aged Demerara Rum (Hamilton's 86° Demerara River)
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 tsp Falernum (Velvet)
8 drop Herbsaint
1 dash Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters (Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a long orange twist.Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for Beachbum Berry's Remixed book to uncover a glossed-over gem. There, I found Craig Hermann a/k/a Colonel Tiki's Rumscullion that he created in 2008 at the Thatch Tiki Bar in Portland, Oregon. The combination reminded me of the Zakim but with rum and absinthe instead of whiskey, so I was intrigued. While the book's recipe suggested El Dorado 12 Year, I used what I had. Craig mentioned on my Instagram post that, "The original used ED15, and I must add any aged Demerara or like full-bodied non-funky rum work plenty fine: I have used Foursquare Barbados vintage/named expressions to great success. At its heart, the drink is a rum Manhattan variation. The inspiration was to recreate and home in on the Chinotto sour orange flavors I grew to love so much in bitter sodas (notably the San Peregrino)." Once prepared, the Rumscullion gave forth an orange, caramel, grape, and anise aroma. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip opened up into woody rum, bitter herbal, clove, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

bright side

1 oz Armagnac (Marie Duffau Napoleon)
1 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1/2 oz Orgeat
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with dashes of Angostura Bitters and mint. Two Mondays ago, I ventured back to a set of online recipe flashcards for Raines Law Room in Manhattan, and I selected the Bright Side as a great use of my new batch of orgeat. I was able to date this drink to around 2018 where it appeared on a menu photo on Yelp. Indeed, the combination of crème de banane, orgeat, and citrus reminded me of the Mr. Wednesday, Banana Hammock, and Escape from Monkey Island, so I was definitely intrigued. In the glass, the Bright Side gave forth mint, allspice, and clove aromas from the garnish. Next, a creamy, lemon, and caramel sip pushed through to rye, brandy, earthy, nutty, and caramelized banana flavors on the swallow.

final say

3/4 oz Gin (Treehouse Percy's)
3/4 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
3/4 oz Crème de Violette (Rothman & Winter)
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime wheel (omit).Two Sundays prior, I reached for my copy of The Official Downtown Abbey Cocktail Book ghostwritten by Lou Bustamante, and I decided on finally making the drink that got me to buy the book – the Final Say. I first learned of this drink when one of my coworkers requested it when they visited the bar, and I was able to find the recipe online that also mentioned the source; I later bought the book when I found it for a good price online. This Last Word riff was created in reference to Violet, the matriarch of the Crawley family, who gets what she wants, and the equal parts crème de violette recipe reminded me of the Blooey Blues (the Water Lily ought to be as well, but I had it as a non-equal parts recipe). Moreover, the gin, Maraschino, citrus, and floral liqueur aspect made me think of Brick & Mortar's Time Traveler with elderflower as well as the other Final Say that I had recently with a mix of elderflower and Benedictine in place of the Chartreuse. Once shaken and strained, the Final Say greeted the senses with a nutty cherry and violet floral bouquet. Next, lime and cherry notes on the sip developed into juniper, floral, and cherry flavors on the swallow.

pineapple manhattan

2 1/2 oz Planteray Pineapple Rum
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
3 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a pineapple leaf-cherry flag (cherry only).Two Saturdays ago, I found a set of online recipe flashcards for Kanaloa in Houston, and the simple yet strong Pineapple Manhattan called out to me as a nightcap. An October 2018 article in the Houston Press mentioned this Palmetto riff as being part of the opening menu. My mixology skills here yielded a caramel, dark rum, and caramelized pineapple aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip sailed into dark rum, herbal, pineapple, allspice, and clove flavors on the swallow.

salvatore

2 oz Rhum Agricole (Rhum JM 100° Blanc)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Amaro Ciociaro

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Fridays ago, I was perusing Difford's Guide when I spotted the Salvatore by J.E. Clapham that he created earlier this year. The Benedictine and Picon-like Ciociaro combination reminded me of Deep Ellum's Creole Variation (or perhaps a regular Creole with a rum base and Cynar serving as the sweet vermouth). Clapham commented on my Instagram that he created this with an aged rhum agricole, but I thought the result with a blanc was delicious even without barrel age notes. In the glass, the Salvatore ascended to the nose with lemon, grassy, plastic, and herbal aromas. Next, caramel notes on the sip opened up into funky and grassy rum, orange, and bitter herbal flavors on the swallow.

banana bamboo

1 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Dolin)
1 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane
2 dash Scrappy's Chocolate Bitters (Angostura Cocoa)
1 dash Scrappy's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.The excitement about the Bamboo aperitif that was rekindled with Backbar's special menu where I enjoyed the Bamboo Tyrant carried on when I spotted the Banana Bamboo by Joshua Perez. Josh entered this recipe he created at Bar Tram in Tokyo circa 2023 into the KindredCocktails database. It utilized Death & Co.'s Amontillado-containing Bamboo recipe (instead of the more common Fino one) that I also opted for in the Tiki-driven Chief Bamboo Bamboo that I crafted two days after the Backbar event. Once mixed, the Banana Bamboo gave forth a lemon, raisin, and caramelized fruit bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip blossomed into nutty grape, caramelized banana, and orange flavors on the swallow.

step into liquid

1 1/2 oz Planteray Pineapple Rum
1 oz Campari
3/4 oz Punt e Mes

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with orange oil from a twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I returned the online recipe flashcards for the Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco that I utilized for the Pineapple Dance, and I landed on the Step into Liquid. As for a time estimate, I was able to spot the drink on a 2019 menu on Yelp, and it was perhaps named after the 2003 surfing documentary. While I have had other pineapple rum-Campari drinks in the Negroni ballpark, like the Pineapple Kingston Negroni, Best Fronds, and Jungle Boulevard, they all called for regular sweet vermouth instead of Punt e Mes. Once prepared, the Step into Liquid offered up orange, dark rum, pineapple, and herbal aromas to the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip gave way to rum, pineapple, bitter orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow.