China

 

I've made the Chinese Cocktail, which is also a red cocktail that is made with dark rum, colored with grenadine, and spiced with Angostura bitters. This is a little different and I think I might like it a little better if only because passion fruit really makes this cocktail pop. In fact, it is the only difference between the China and Chinese cocktails, and it is probably the only Asian ingredients. Of course I used my homemade La Grande Passion liqueur because it is hard to find passion fruit nectar right now. I kept the proportions the same, however, with the passion fruit flavor of my liqueur being strong enough--maybe even stronger than actual passion fruit nectar or juice.

Rum, for some reason, is the principal spirit in China-themed cocktails, including the Shanghai Cocktail that also includes grenadine to make it a flag-red color. Angostura bitters is full of Asian spices like clove, cinnamon, allspice and exotic barks. It tastes like Chinese five-spice mix!  Anise, in the case of the Pernod in the Shanghai Cocktail, is also a very Chinese flavor, so that also seems appropriate. I'm glad that I've been able to try all three of these very similar cocktails.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Pusser's used)
• 1 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• 1/2 oz. passion fruit juice (homemade La Grande Passion used)
• several dashes grenadine
• several dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Orcabessa Fizz

This is another fun summer drink that is light on alcohol and body, but rich in flavor. It hits the spot at the home tiki bar and bursts with fizzy pineapple and coconut flavor. Actually, the Orcabessa Fizz is a little like what you'd expect from a Fizz version of a Pina Colada.

Some Fizzes (but not all, so it's not a defining characteristic) have egg white or yolk in them. This adds an extra layer of foam on top that is scented by the drink's ingredients. But egg is unnecessary, as this drink has pineapple juice. Anyone who has ever made a French Martini knows that when you shake pineapple juice in a cocktail, you get lots of foam. Also unlike the classic Fizz, there's ice in the glass. Of course you could strain out the ice and just top with soda. I don't know if the pineapple foam would go that far up the glass like a Ramos Fizz, but the result would be a higher proportion of soda to other ingredients when you've topped off the glass.

Either way, though, you'll find yourself going back for more of these satisfying cocktails. If serving friends, make sure you have enough ingredients on hand to make several repeats. 

• 1 oz. Jamaica rum (which I read as dark or aged rum)
• 1 oz. coconut rum (I flavored white rum with coconut cream)
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• club soda
• pineapple spear (or other fruit garnish)
  

Combine juice and rums in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a Collins glass and top with soda. Stir gently and garnish with fruit.

 

Blue Mountain

It's not a Tiki drink, exactly. It's not even a "Boat Drink," those sweet rum cocktails passed around on the decks of cruise ships. It is, however a quick and dirty trick to showcase what Jamaica does best.

The Blue Mountain range is a beautiful row of rounded peaks where some of the best coffee in the world is grown. These jungle-strewn heights can be seen as a hazy humid blue from any part of the island country.

Jamaica also makes some of the most characteristic flavors of rum in the Caribbean sea. It is funky, sugary and dark with lots of oak and earthiness that comes from the humid climate where it is aged. Appleton Estate 12-year-old is so rich, it makes this drink decadent.

(A quick note: I've tried this cocktail as the directions say--"strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass." But it is impossible to fit all of this into such a small glass. Instead, use a Collins glass full of ice, which will keep this drink cold on hot days.)

• 2 oz. Jamaican rum (Appleton Rare Blend used)
• 1 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. coffee liqueur
• 4 oz. orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. (See note above and photo on a better serving method.)

Jamaica Glow

This is not a Caribbean cocktail. It comes across more as a colonial style cocktail that makes use of liquors on hand in order to create a tropical experience. You don't taste the gin much in this drink, which I think is the point. Rather you get a grape-like full-bodied wine flavor backed up by molasses from the rum.

I had an open bottle of Wild horse pinot noir on hand, and it is dry enough to qualify for the recipe. This cocktail feels as if it is trying to fortify wine and juice for those for whom wine itself isn't strong enough.

• 2 oz. gin (Sunset Hills used)
• 1/2 oz. dry red wine (pinot noir used)
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1 tbsp. dark rum (Lyon used)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Port Antonio

I was looking for a rum drink that "puts hair on your chest." I found it with the Port Antonio. It came to my attention because the recipe calls for falernum, which I could make--and I think I will--but didn't have when I decided to mix the cocktail. I grabbed Velvet Falernum instead.

Falernum is a Barbados lime cordial used in making rum drinks a little more flavorful. It's made with a lot of lime zest, cloves, cinnamon, sugar--it's a tropical spice syrup! It comes in alcoholic varieties that use white rum to keep it shelf stable. Velvet Falernum is one of the alcoholic types, more of a liqueur than a cordial.

So the Port Antonio is a very Jamaican cocktail, and I made it with the country's most distinctive rums. Hamilton Pot Still rum is a gold rum with a lot of cane sugar flavors and a whiff of banana peel on the nose. Appleton Estate rum is an aged rum with a lot of oak and sugary character of its own. They play very well with Kahlua, which is also a rum based liqueur. Coffee is another of Jamaica's exports, so this drink has all the rum, lime and coffee of the tropical nation.

• 1 oz. gold rum (Hamilton Pot Still used)
• 1 oz. (Appleton Estate rum used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. Kahlua 
• 1 tsp. falernum (Velvet Falernum used)
• lime slice

Combine all ingredients except lime slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain over fresh ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with lime slice.