Category: Cocktails

The Fog Cutter is actually from a family of tiki drinks that involve lemon, orange, orgeat, and rum.  Over time, this style evolved and changed adjusting rum and brandy in various ratios.  The real party piece of this drink is the sherry though.  The bright, oxidized nature provides a rich counterpoint to the various liquors and citruses used.   So all aboard as we slice through the mists.

Fog Cutter

Fog Cutter

2 oz

Blended Lightly Aged Rum

1 oz

Pisco, Cognac, or Brandy

½ oz

Gin

½ oz

Orgeat

1 ½ oz

Lemon Juice

1 ½ oz

Orange Juice

½ oz

Amontillado Sherry

Combine all ingredients except sherry in a shaking tin or flash blending cup. Add crushed ice and flash blender or shake. Open pour or “dirty dump” into a tiki mug. Top with additional crushed ice as needed. Using a barspoon, float sherry over the top. Garnish with mint sprigs and other garnish of your choice.

The Fog Cutter is refreshing and citrusy, will depend how you build in it.  In our tester we opted to stay light and summery.  Using lightly aged rum, the lemon, orange, orgeat, and sherry added brightness and levity.  The pisco and gin provided a backbone of floral and herbal flavors.  The rum rounds things out, giving character and subtle sweet notes like vanilla and tropical fruit.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Fog Cutter is dependent on the base ingredients of lemon, orange, orgeat, and rum).  These ingredients underpin the drink, and the rest ends up driving the riffs and variations you’ll see.  The biggest change in variations (other than adjusting the style of rum – though always lightly aged) is the use of Cognac or Brandy vs. Pisco.  While pisco is technically brandy, it tends to be unaged like cognac or traditional brandies.  Using these in the drink will adjust some of the flavors in terms of adding more or less oak influences, dark sugars, stone fruits, and complexity.

• Lightly Aged Rum – The flavors here will get a bolstering from the sherry, so deep, dark, super intense flavors are not a must.   We used El Dorado 3 to emphasize the lightness.  Other alternatives include the Plantation 3 Star for more lightness, or Appleton Estate Signature for a little more depth.
• Brandy – Pisco, Cognac, Brandy –  The choice between Pisco and Cognac / Brandy is going to be the depth of oaky flavors.  The pisco can help emphasize more of the light, floral notes – which is what we chose to use here (Macchu Pisco).  Cognac / Brandy can add that depth and more caramelization.  We recommend using Lustau Brandy de Jerez or another relatively robust brandy to add depth.
• Gin –  London Dry is the expectation here.  We used Beefeater, but feel free to grab Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, or your favorite London Dry.
• Orgeat – In this application we recommend something natural like Small Hand Foods Orgeat*, but feel free to reach for something more candy almond like Ferrara Orzata Almond Syrup* (which we used here).  The candied sweetness doesn’t overwhelm things as the bright character of the citrus keeps things balanced.  If you’re finding that the Small Hand’s Food is leaving things too acidic, consider reducing lemon by ¼ or increasing your Orgeat by the same.    Monin would also be a recommended substitute for the candied Orgeat.
• Lemon Juice / Orange Juice – Use fresh squeezed for best results.  Pre-packaged orange juice will add a particularly different taste.
• Sherry – You’re going to want to use a medium weight sherry here.  Those typically are labeled as “medium”, “Amontillado”, or “Oloroso”.  Oloroso will be the darkest and most oxidized of these.  Amontillado will tend to offer moderate nuttiness with some caramel and oxidized notes, but will be drier and less overwhelming.  “Medium” is a catchall, vague term, that could be either or something else entirely.  It’ll work, but expect some quality reduction.

* – These links are affiliate links that may result in First Pour Cocktails receiving a portion of the sale.  These small contributions help us to bring you original cocktails and in depth reviews.  As of writing this (July 2022), we operate at a loss, so please consider purchasing through our links if you want to help support the site!

The history of the Planter’s Punch goes back to the spice trade in the Caribbean.  Plantation owners, or “Planters” were the folks enjoying punches, typically made from sour, sweet, strong, and weak.  The made up a nice little rhyme that helped to remember the drink, and sometimes folks would take on “And a touch of spice to make it nice.”  The recipes proliferated over the years, but eventually grew a strong connection to Jamaica in the 1920’s, and thus influenced the recipe below.

Planter’s Punch

Planter’s Punch

3 oz

Aged Jamaican Rum

1 oz

Lime Juice

½ oz

Rich Demerara Syrup

¼ oz

Allspice Dram

¼ oz

Falernum

2 Dashes

Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaking tin. Add cubed ice and shake. Strain into a Collin’s glass over fresh crushed or cubed ice. Garnish with mint sprigs.

Planter’s Punch is strong, balanced, and refreshing. The flavor of the rum decidedly comes through here, giving a nice run of tropical fruits, rum ester, and pops of caramelized sugars. The demerara syrup adds depth, while both the allspice and falernum add depth imparting spice and fruitiness. The bitters bind this very refreshing, yet simple to make, drink together.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The secret to a Planter’s Punch is that it’s a classic four part, rhyming formula. One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, four parts weak. Keep this in mind, and you can riff endlessly.

• Rum – Given the drink’s origination in Jamaica, we recommend using aged Jamaican rum here for the best results.  The best example would be Appleton Estate Reserve.  While Jamaican works well, feel free to experiment with other aged rums or mixes of rums, like Doorly’s X.O.. Due to the large quantity, you may want to reconsider anything particularly high proof.
• Rich Demerara Syrup – Demerara syrup works as the sweet here, and as a rich formulation is more than it appears.  It adds a nicely caramelized sugar note binding flavors together here.
  • To Make:  Combine 2 parts Demerara Sugar to 1 part water and bring to a simmer stirring over high heat.  Remove from heat once the sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow to cool and bottle.  Refrigerate.   The high sugar content will work to inhibit bacterial growth for an extended duration – throw out if any clouding or mold develop.
• Allspice Dram – We use St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, but other alternatives here include Pimento Dram – which also has a strong allspice flavor.  Note that this is a sweet element here, and could be omitted for more of other elements or a different liqueur or syrups.
• Falernum –  We use John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum, which adds a tropical spice note and sweetness.
• Lime Juice – For best results, use fresh squeezed.
• Angostura – These are the classic bitters for most cocktails, and we recommend you keep a bottle on hand.

Wrapping up our three part series focused on passionfruit syrup in classic tiki cocktails is the Hurricane.  You probably think of Hurricanes around Mardi Gras and New Orleans, or some other tropical destination, and as some bright red, fruity thing with a bit of rum.  The fact of the matter is, it is from New Orleans (1940s from Pat O’Briens), but it’s only 3 ingredients, and more of muddle brown-orange kind of color.  Like a hurricane that’s just gone through…

Hurricane

Hurricane

2 oz

Lemon Juice

2 oz

Passionfruit Syrup

4 oz

Black Blended Rum

Combine all ingredients in a a flash blender tin. Add crushed ice and mix for 4 to 6 seconds. Pour without straining into a hurricane glass. Garnish with an inside-out turned umbrella and lemon slice.

The Hurricane is sweet, tart, tangy, and boozy.  The flavors of the black rum come to fruition in deep molasses and burnt caramelized notes with slight tropical funk.  The lemon adds tanginess that brings an electric zing to the drink.  The quality of the passionfruit syrup is critical here, deciding what tropical fruit notes come forth.  With great passionfruit syrup comes a complex tropical mystique that works perfectly with the darkness of the rum.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Hurricane gets a bum rap for being the kind of drink that’s full of booze and crazy tropical fruit juices.  In reality, this is a 3 ingredient cocktail were quality matters.  In the event you don’t have a flash blender, feel free to shake hard with crushed or pellet ice.  It will result in a similar outcome.

• Black Blended Rum – We used Gosling’s here as it’s one of our favorites.  Feel free to use Kraken or another black blended rum.
• Lemon Juice – As always, we recommend using fresh squeezed for best results.
• Passionfruit Syrup – Passionfruit syrup is called for in several of the tiki classics, so it’s worth pre-planning to make it for all of them.  In addition, Funkin syrup works best, and comes in a quantity you’ll want to separate and freeze (but also optimize for usage).  We’ve included a link to the Amazon page as we find this is one of the best* and easiest passion fruit juices you can buy.
  • How To Make Passionfruit Syrup:  Create a rich simple syrup (combine 2 parts sugar to 1 part water).  Heat until all sugar is dissolved.  Allow to cool.  Weigh the rich simple syrup to obtain the final weight.  Combine with equal weight passionfruit puree.  Bottle and refrigerate for up to 10 days.  Leftover passionfruit puree may be frozen for later use.
• Flash Blender – We use a traditional Hamilton Beech (Amazon) flash blender here.  This tool is a great investment for other drinks that include egg whites, are tiki drinks, or if you make milkshakes.  The best part is they can be had at or under $50 and have common parts and a lineage as mixers.

* – These links are affiliate links that may result in First Pour Cocktails receiving a portion of the sale.  These small contributions help us to bring you original cocktails and in depth reviews.  As of writing this (August 2022), we operate at a loss, so please consider purchasing through our links if you want to help support the site!

Tiki has a reputation for having complex garnishes.  Perhaps no drink so epitomizes this as the Sidewinder’s Fang.   Originally made at the Lanai restaurant in San Mateo, California, this drink features a long orange peel wrapped around the inside of an oversized brandy snifter that’s designed to look like a snake.  The net result is an incredible looking drink that definitely catches the eye, while also refreshing the imbiber.

Sidewinder’s Fang

Sidewinder’s Famg

1 ½ oz

Lime Juice

1 ½ oz

Orange Juice

1 ½ oz

Passionfruit Syrup

3 oz

Seltzer Water

1 oz

Black Blended Rum

1 oz

Aged Blended Rum

Make a snake (see directions on website) using an orange peel. Line the inside of an oversized snifter with the snake and have the ‘head’ over the edge of the glass. Hold it in place with fresh crushed / pellet ice. Use cloves to make the eyes. Combine all ingredients in a a flash blender tin. Add crushed ice and mix for 4 to 6 seconds. Strain and pour in the prepared snifter. Garnish with a mint sprig.

The Sidewinder’s Fang is bright, refreshing, pops with tropical fruit flavors.  Thanks to the split base of rums, there’s a nice underlying tropical fruit and subtle caramelized, molasses notes.  The passionfruit syrup and orange take the lead roles here, showing off their tropical flavors in spades.  The lime cranks it up to make it refreshing and the club evens out the entire drink to make it sing.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Sidewinder’s Fang’s most difficult element is the garnish.  Making the snake requires a bit of finesse, and a steady hand with a y-peeler.   Essentially you start a long strip that runs the entire distance of the orange, and then shape the peel (making a head at one side) to finalize the snake shape. The trick is maintaining enough depth that you don’t break the snake while also trying to ensure that the fruit isn’t nicked. To finalize the snake, poke two holes in the head and slide cloves through for eyes.

• Aged Blended Rum – This will be one of the primary drivers for the flavor of the Sidewinder’s Fang. For a more funky version, utilize a Jamaican rum like Appleton Estate Reserve.  If you’re looking for something more brown sugar and caramelized, consider Doorly’s X.O. (which we used here) and El Dorado 12.  Plantation 20th can add a bit of tropical flavor as well.
• Black Blended Rum – We used Gosling’s here as it’s one of our favorites.  Feel free to use Kraken or another black blended rum.
• Lime and Orange Juice – As always, we recommend using fresh squeezed for best results.
• Seltzer – Essentially you’re looking for carbonated water here, so use your favorite brand of Seltzer.  Feel free to use club if you already keep it around your house (it will add a slight minerality that should be minimally noticeable).
• Passionfruit Syrup – Passionfruit syrup is called for in several of the tiki classics, so it’s worth pre-planning to make it for all of them.  In addition, Funkin syrup works best, and comes in a quantity you’ll want to separate and freeze (but also optimize for usage).  We’ve included a link to the Amazon page as we find this is one of the best* and easiest passion fruit juices you can buy.
  • How To Make Passionfruit Syrup:  Create a rich simple syrup (combine 2 parts sugar to 1 part water).  Heat until all sugar is dissolved.  Allow to cool.  Weigh the rich simple syrup to obtain the final weight.  Combine with equal weight passionfruit puree.  Bottle and refrigerate for up to 10 days.  Leftover passionfruit puree may be frozen for later use.
• Flash Blender – We use a traditional Hamilton Beech (Amazon) flash blender here.  This tool is a great investment for other drinks that include egg whites, are tiki drinks, or if you make milkshakes.  The best part is they can be had at or under $50 and have common parts and a lineage as mixers.

* – These links are affiliate links that may result in First Pour Cocktails receiving a portion of the sale.  These small contributions help us to bring you original cocktails and in depth reviews.  As of writing this (July 2022), we operate at a loss, so please consider purchasing through our links if you want to help support the site!

Tiki drinks evoke the idea of rum, but that’s far from the only spirit that Tiki utilizes.  As we’ve shown with other cocktails, like the Singapore Sling and the Halekulani, Tiki includes everything from gin to bourbon to even lesser known spirits like pisco as a base.  Among drinks that maintain this pattern is the Saturn.

A relative latecomer to the Tiki scene, the Saturn was created by J. Galsini of the California Bartenders’ Guild.  He went on to win the International Bartender’s Associations World Championship in 1967 with this glorious libation.   In the midst of the space race, it’s easy to see how the ‘rings’ of Saturn in the garnish would allure to consumers of the time.

Like many of the classics, this drink has undergone several iterations, but we’ve tried to post what we believe is the closest to the original.  We’ll also cover a variant in the drink notes.

Saturn

Saturn

1 ¼ oz

London Dry Gin

½ oz

Passionfruit Syrup

¼ oz

Falernum

¼ oz

Orgeat

¾ oz

Lemon Juice

Make a long lemon peel and wrap it into a ring. Spear the ring with a pick through one side to hold it together. Add a cherry to the end of the pick before continuing through the ring to hold the cherry in the center. Combine all ingredients in a a flash blender tin. Add crushed ice and mix for 4 to 6 seconds (do not overfill). Pour into a double rocks glass. Garnish with the ‘ring’.

The Saturn is bright and refreshing with a beautiful mix of tropical depth and herbal gin notes. The star of the show here is really the ensemble performance that the citrus, syrups, and gin bring. The harmonious blend creates a tropical mix of flavors that doesn’t necessarily put anyone on the spot. The gin here is noticeable, but not prevalent, while the passion fruit, orgeat, falernum, and lemon cover the mid palate notes to give a richness. Overall, it’s great drink with a unique garnish.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Saturn is another tiki drink where the most difficult element is the garnish.  To make the ‘rings’ …

• London Dry Gin  – We used Beefeater here, but feel free to select your favorite gin.  American gins can add spice, floral, or citrus elements to switch up the juniper dominance.  With the present flavors, we feel Bluecoat and Aviation could be particularly fun.
• Lemon Juice – As always, we recommend using fresh squeezed for best results.
• Orgeat – In this application we recommend something natural like Small Hand Foods Orgeat*, but feel free to reach for something more candy almond like Ferrara Orzata Almond Syrup* (which we used here).  The candied like note plays well with the bright lemon and can help balance things.  If you’re finding that the Small Hand’s Food is leaving things too acidic, consider reducing lemon by ¼ or increasing your Orgeat by the same.    Monin would also be a recommended substitute for the candied Orgeat.
• Falernum – We use John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum, which adds a tropical spice note and sweetness.
• Passionfruit Syrup – Passionfruit syrup is called for in several of the tiki classics, so it’s worth pre-planning to make it for all of them.  In addition, Funkin syrup works best, and comes in a quantity you’ll want to separate and freeze (but also optimize for usage).  We’ve included a link to the Amazon page as we find this is one of the best* and easiest passion fruit juices you can buy.
  • How To Make Passionfruit Syrup:  Create a rich simple syrup (combine 2 parts sugar to 1 part water).  Heat until all sugar is dissolved.  Allow to cool.  Weigh the rich simple syrup to obtain the final weight.  Combine with equal weight passionfruit puree.  Bottle and refrigerate for up to 10 days.  Leftover passionfruit puree may be frozen for later use.
• Flash Blender – We use a traditional Hamilton Beech (Amazon) flash blender here.  This tool is a great investment for other drinks that include egg whites, are tiki drinks, or if you make milkshakes.  The best part is they can be had at or under $50 and have common parts and a lineage as mixers.

Saturn Variant:

While most variants of the Saturn maintain a similar structure and change the glass (pilsner, collins, etc), there are also variants that call for serving the Saturn up.  Smuggler’s Cove is probably the most prevalent of these.  To make the Saturn up, maintain the same ratios and the same garnish setup, but shake the cocktail with ice, and strain into a coupe.

* – These links are affiliate links that may result in First Pour Cocktails receiving a portion of the sale.  These small contributions help us to bring you original cocktails and in depth reviews.  As of writing this (July 2022), we operate at a loss, so please consider purchasing through our links if you want to help support the site!

Let’s get something out of the way to start, the Mai Tai’s history and composition are complicated.  If you look at the notes for the Mai Tai in Martin Cate’s seminal book, Smuggler’s Cove*, they span over three full pages.  Just on one cocktail!   The reasons are plentiful (and the full books is worth buying if you’re serious about Tiki drinks), but the long and short of it gets to two essential issues that hamstring Mai Tais:

1. The definition of a Mai Tai (from a government standpoint) is inadequate.  Combined with a lack of knowledge or care, this has lead to a raft of bastardized cocktails that are essentially a bunch of rum with whatever juices are around.
2. The original rum for the Mai Tai (Wray & Nephew 17) was discontinued or in short supply, so it was replaced with Wray & Nephew 15.  This replacement resulted in another replacement when the 15 was discontinued.  After that, a Martinique rhum was called for, but the style of Martinique rhum at the time wasn’t explanative of how the drink turned out, and resulted in a whole sale change of the character of the drink.

So, without further ado, here’s how to make a Mai Tai!

Mai Tai

Mai Tai

2 oz

Jamaican Aged Rum

¾ oz

Lime Juice

½ oz

Dry Curacao

½ oz

Orgeat

¼ oz

Simple Syrup

Squeeze limes to remove juice without fully inverting the shell (if using a hand squeezer). Reserve the shell for garnish. Combine all ingredients in a shaking vessel with crushed ice. Shake until frost develops on the outside of the tin. Pour into a chilled a double rocks glass and garnish with the reserved lime peel side up and a sprig of mint.

The Mai Tai is bright, smooth, and features it’s rum with a straightforward poise.   The slight Jamaican funk and tropical fruit notes come together with a slight nuttiness and brown sugar.    The lime gives it a wonderful pop of brightness.  There is a hint of sweetness, but it’s balanced out with the brightness and finishes slightly drier.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Mai Tai is subject to a number of variations due to the shifting of the foundational ingredients that underpinned it.  As a result, recipes that call for Jamaican rums are the most original,  and Martinique rhums are the evolution of this.    The most important element is the rum, which will primarily decide the character of the finished cocktail.

• Rum – In this cocktail we used Appleton Estate Reserve, a Jamaican rum, which gave it a distinct funk and wonderful caramelized tropical fruit note.  There are a lot of variations of Mai Tais, and the rum is going to be the driver.   For example, to get a grassier more citrus forward Mai Tai, you can use a rhum agricole like Rhum J.M.  Although not canon, you can also use a Barbados rum like Doorly’s X.O for a more spice forward variant.   As previously mentioned, you can also split the rum between Jamaican rums and rhum agricoles for a new, more complex experience.
• Curacao –  We used Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao here, but many variations call for regular curacao like Cointreau.  Normal curacao is going to add a bit more sweetness, while dry curacao will add more complexity.
• Demerara Syrup – You could use regular simple syrup, but we recommend you go with demerara here.  It’ll add more depth of flavor, and you can use it in other tiki drinks.
  • To Make:  Combine 2 parts Demerara Sugar to 1 part water and bring to a simmer stirring over high heat.  Remove from heat once the sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow to cool and bottle.  Refrigerate.   The high sugar content will work to inhibit bacterial growth for an extended duration – throw out if any clouding or mold develop.
• Orgeat – Earlier this year we tried everything from Fee Brothers to Small Hand Foods orgeats when making Cameron’s Kick and found a surprising amount of variation.  We can – with some confidence, inform you that you should completely avoid Fee Brothers Orgeat here.  It’s artificial tasting, and rather unpleasant.  The best in our testing were Ferrera Orgeat and Small Hand Foods.  While Small Hand is more expensive, there’s a true nuttiness here (although it is more subtle).  Ferrara also includes real almonds, but has a slightly cherry like artificial note that flirts around the edges.  However, you get more Ferrera (almost triple) for about half the cost of Small Hands.  In our Mai Tai, we used Small Hands Foods.
• Lime Juice – For best results, use fresh squeezed

What About the Float?

You might have seen a Mai Tai with a float of rum.  This wasn’t the original style, but had become popular as the Mai Tai evolved and the rums changed.  While this isn’t part of the original drink, some drinkers still enjoy it, and it can be added.  Occasionally, this is referred to as “Old Style”.  Referencing the customers, not the drink.

*- This post contains affiliate links that may result in some minor amount of compensation to First Pour Cocktails. We run this site at a loss, so really, you’re helping to keep our server slightly paid – we’re not buying fancy pants yachts and sports cars, just more booze to help you make informed decisions.

Welcome back for the second year of our Tiki Classics.  The weather is nice again, and what better way to soak in the sun than with a taste of tropical lands.  This year we’ll be covering a mix of tiki drinks, but starting with the Suffering Bastard, a tiki drink without rum.

A tiki drink without rum you might say?  Going back to it’s foundations, you’ll see that the Suffering Bastard actually started it’s life in Cairo, Egypt in the 1940s.  The desert environment was home to the allied forces fighting Rommel and the Nazis.  If it’s refreshing enough for them, perhaps the rum is unnecessary.

Suffering Bastard

Suffering Bastard

1 oz

London Dry Gin

1 oz

Brandy

½ oz

Lime Juice

¼ oz

Demerara Syrup

2 Dashes

Angostura Bitters

4 oz

Ginger Beer

Combine all ingredients except ginger beer in a shaking tin. Add ice and shake. Strain into a Collins or Highball, add ginger beer and stir. Add crushed or cubed ice, garnish with a mint spring.

The Suffering Bastard is a beautiful and well balanced mix of flavors that give off a tropical vibe without the need for rum.  The nice pop of sweetness from the ginger beer that gets backed up by the well rounded flavor of brandy and demerara syrup.  The gin adds a nice herbal note, and the angostura binds it all together.  Overall, it’s a well balanced and easy to sip tropical drink that can offer something to both gin and brandy fans.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

There’s a bunch of little tweaks you can make to make the Suffering Bastard stand out.  Most of them are going to be ingredient shifts that give slight twists to the tone, more than actual whole sale change of the drink.  The drink is also somewhat hands off in terms of glassware, calling for either a collins or highball.

• London Dry Gin – The Suffering Bastard calls for London Dry Gin, and for the most classic rendition, we recommend you go with one on your first try.  We used Tanqueray, but we also recommend Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire.  If you want to bring some spice to it, try a modern gin like Aviation or Bluecoat to add some citrus.
• Brandy – Brandy is adding richness, dark fruit, and some brown sugar raisin notes.  As there are so many components here, you could use something cheaper like Christian Brothers, but we recommend you step up and grab your Lustau Brandy de Jerez.  If you really want to splurge, reach for the Pierre Ferrand 1840.
• Demerara Syrup – You could use regular rich simple syrup, but we recommend you go with demerara here.  It’ll add more depth of flavor, and you can use it in other tiki drinks.
  • To Make:  Combine 2 parts Demerara Sugar to 1 part water and bring to a simmer stirring over high heat.  Remove from heat once the sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow to cool and bottle.  Refrigerate.   The high sugar content will work to inhibit bacterial growth for an extended duration – throw out if any clouding or mold develop.
• Ginger Beer – Our go to is Goslings Ginger Beer, which offers a crisp, bright ginger note.  Ginger ale will not work here, stick to ginger beer like Goslings or Fever Tree.
• Lime Juice – For best results, use fresh squeezed.
• Angostura Bitters –  These are the classic bitters for most cocktails, and we recommend you keep a bottle on hand.