Pensacola

 Aah, the jungles of Florida. Wait! Pensacola is a populous beach town! But those beaches...

Aside from my confusion, the Penacola is actually a pretty straightforward beach drink. I'm going to say beach drink rather than tiki, because it relies more on a handful of fruit juices and a splash of a commercial passion fruit liqueur that only existed for two years back in the early '90s.

I still think of the '90s as Florida's heyday. Like that was the hot spot to vacation for like...everyone. There was the South Beach diet, snowbirds, botched elections. Anyway. this cocktail is as pink as a flamingo, and pretty tart. I'd say the La Grande Passion is not optional, but since it is hard to come by, you might do just as well with apricot brandy or maybe a pineapple liqueur. Don't pass this one up just because it looks basic. This is a must do if you happen to have guava nectar and rum.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Vitae Platinum used)
• 1/2 oz. guava nectar
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. La Grande Passion (Homemade DIY LGP used)

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

 

 

Apassionata

Another French/Florida cocktail, the Apassionata is a blended drink using grapefruit juice, a nutty liqueur and the now extinct La Grande Passion. It has all the mistique of exotic fruits like passion fruit and grapefruit juice (the forbidden fruit of the new world) all in a setting where the legendary fountain of youth was rumored to be hidden--the Spanish colony of Florida.

• 1 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion
• 3/4 oz. amaretto
• 4 oz. grapefruit juice
• maraschino cherry

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with cracked ice. Flash blend and pour into a chilled wine goblet. Garnish with cherry. 

Ricard Floridian

Alright. It's not Christmas anymore and this Florida-themed drink is neither a holiday treat, nor a tropical cocktail. It is a perfect example of a drink not knowing what it is. I do know, however, that it was surprisingly refreshing on crushed ice, and I can see what the bartender was thinking. This is an easy way to get tourists to try pastis in a refreshing and exotic mix.

Ricard is a strong anise and licorice spirit with a caramel color. When you add water to it, the herbs express out in a hazy cloud like absinthe. This pairs well with the boldly red Creme de Noyaux by Tempus Fugit. This is a peach pit and almond liqueur that adds a nutty sweetness to balance the bitter herbs and grapefruit in this drink. You can use amaretto or orgeat as a substitute, but you lose the effect of the bright color.

• 1 1/2 oz. Ricard
• 1 tsp. Creme de Noyaux
• 4 oz. grapefruit juice

Combine all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender. Shake or blend briefly and pour into a chilled double Old Fashioned glass. 

Biscayne Cocktail

It's been a long road to this cocktail. The New York Bartender's Guide of 1997 includes a drink of this name made with one ounce of Forbidden Fruit, a spirit that has been defunct since the middle of last century. That meant I had work to do. I'm not opposed to faithfully recreating a spirit for the sake of this blog, and I've been known to travel to Paris or Iceland to get something I'm looking for, but this spirit is probably my greatest success--and not undeserved.

A lot of things went right about the Biscayne Cocktail, as it turned out. Firstly, that I chose a full-bodied gin like ImaGination by MurLarkey. It is tempting whenever rum and gin are listed in the same recipe to use Vitae gin to match their rum, but I wanted that rosemary and grains of paradise (not to mention barley) to stick out and ground things. Vitae rum, however was a good call because it has a noticeable tropical taste.

But what went off splendidly was the Forbidden Fruit liqueur I made from this recipe I found on Three Points Kitchen. This recipe perfectly balanced the ounce of lime juice and was actively present in the taste throughout. It was a three week process (and months before that of scanning Asian markets for pomelos, which are in season in the winter here in the U.S.), but well worth it to make this spirit.

Once I had these fruits in hand (or by the armload) it was about juicing and peeling. I assembled and crushed the spices according to the recipe and was sure to include blood oranges and orange blossom honey. These items aren't available just anywhere at any time of the year.

Vanilla beans, cardamom pods, coriander, vanilla, cinnamon--this was a challenge. I picked out Meukow VS cognac for the infusion. This turned out to be a good choice because this young cognac had a heavy honeyed nose, but being aged in French oak, was smoother than American brandy, which hews closer to whiskey. 
After two weeks of infusing the juice, fruit peels, cognac, and spices, I removed the solids and added the orange blossom honey. And I'm glad I took the recipie's advice and looked for this specific organic honey. The scent and particular sweetness is exactly what this exotic liqueur needed. After another week, I used a coffee drip filter to remove fine particles and bottled the Forbidden Fruit in a cognac bottle.

Now, at long last, I could make the Biscayne Cocktail!

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. light rum (Vitae Platinum used)
• 1 oz. Forbidden Fruit (see recipe link above)
• 1 oz. lime juice
•  lime slice

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime slice. 

Floradora

Floradora is a nice gin long drink that is similar to a Rickey but sweetened with grenadine. That accounts for the pretty pink color that is rightly described by its name. I was saddened to see that no garnish was suggested for a drink that just asks to be dressed up. I went with mint, but a flower or fruit slices would be acceptable as well.

• 2 oz. gin
• 2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• sparkling water
• Optional garnish of mint sprigs or a flower recommended.

Combine all ingredients except for garnish and sparkling water in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish at will.

Swamp Water

I thought I'd never make this drink for myself, so when a guest asked for it at the bar, I had to take a photo. I'm not surprised that a drink with an unappealing name like Swamp Water came from Florida or Louisiana, where it is still popular. But by now there's many recipes for this monster cocktail. All of them are so sweet that there's a danger of tooth decay as well as intoxication.

Notice the toxic blue-green of this drink. If that doesn't scare you, nothing will. 

• 2 oz. dark rum 
• 1/2 oz. blue curacao
• 1 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. 

Fort Lauderdale

A Florida cocktail needs to represent orange, and this one is no exception. Ripe and juicy naval oranges fresh squeezed and used as a garnish make a big impression. This is a rum drink and very similar to the Florida cocktail I posted a few days earlier.

As a side note, the recipe calls for sweet vermouth but I have Byrrh Quinquina, which is pretty much the same thing except it has more quinine and sweet berry and lavender notes as well. What better combination to show off the sunshine state.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Byrrh used)
• orange slice

Combine all ingredients except orange slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange slice.

Florida

I can think of a dozen combinations to represent the sunshine state, but all of them include orange juice. Kirschwasser is a little bit of a outlier, but a good idea for making a drink taste more tropical. If you have an orange for the garnish, juice the rest for the drink. Trust me.

So this is nearly a variation on a Screwdriver--just with gin and kirsch and a bit of other flavors. In that sense, it is a much better drink. Maybe it's not one you will make yourself at home on a bender weekend as you stumble your way around the crap in your horder home (Yes, I'm judging people who only drink screwdrivers incessantly). But I can see this drink as one that a bar might put out there as a refreshing spring drink.

• 2 oz. gin (Bombay Sapphire used)
• 1/2 oz. kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz. Cointreau
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• orange juice 
• orange slice (optional)

Combine all ingredients except orange juice and slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with orange juice and garnish with orange slice.