Nirvana

This is more of another "exociticising" a drink by appellation only. I'm sure the name refers to the Hindu state of enlightenment, not the 90s grunge superband. The recipe treats it like a highball on the rocks with no garnish, but listen to my take on it before you decide. It's not intended to be a tiki, but it pretty much is. Nirvana is a dark rum highball drink that is strong. It contains three types of syrup, one of which is tamarind. It includes a topper of grapefruit juice to balance the sweetness. Taken altogether, it's pretty much a tiki. So the one rule about tikis is to garnish profusely. A grapefruit wedge and mint sprig are almost required. Raspberries came from my own inspiration.

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1/2 oz. tamarind syrup
• 1/2 oz. grenadine
• 1 tsp. simple syrup
• grapefruit juice

Combine all ingredients except grapefruit juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with grapefruit juice.

Oriental

There's few Asian-styled drink, and maybe it is important to address the outdated name of the cocktail rather than look at the disparity of cocktails by country or continent. Now Oriental means from far away, but in the not-to-distant past Oriental meant Asian. 

Like the Shanghai Cocktail and the Mikado, there's no Asian ingredients in the drink. The Opera Mikado not even an Asian thing...it's a Gilbert and Sullivan show that mimics Japanese culture like a blackface minstral show mimics African American culture. What we have here is an attempt to exociticise cocktails by name only. What we have here is a Margarita made with whiskey. And again, like the Japanese Fizz, it's only Asian because Japanese people like American whiskey as much as anybody else does.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz. triple sec

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