Wednesday, May 4, 2011

mai tai swizzle

1 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Brugal Añejo Rum
1 oz Pink Grapefruit Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Falernum
1/4 oz Combier Orange Liqueur
1 barspoon Pernod
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Build in a snifter glass filled with crushed ice. Swizzle to mix, add straws, and garnish with 2 mint sprigs.

For my second and last drink at No. 9 Park, I took bartender Ted Kilpatrick's suggestion and tried the Mai Tai Swizzle on the menu. Ted cautioned that the drink was based off of Don the Beachcomber's Mai Tai that later gave way to the Zombie. Generally, when one hears of a Mai Tai, one instead thinks of the version that Rumdood obsesses over for good reason; that one was created by Trader Vic and won out historically regardless of whether it was the original Mai Tai or not. The history of the battles can be read in Beach Bum Berry's books or in a good summary written by PeguDoug.
The mint garnish on the Mai Tai Swizzle provided much of the drink's aroma along with the aged rum notes. These aged rum notes soon appeared as a caramel flavor that danced around in the crisp citrus sip. Next, the rums, especially the mighty and funky Smith & Cross, continued on in the swallow along with the spice from the Angostura Bitters, falernum, and Pernod. Here the Pernod functioned as a great accent as it does in the Zombie. Moreover, like the Zombie, this Mai Tai variation ought to have a warning or a limit of 2 per customer for I soon felt the drink's potency and was glad that I was taking the subway home.

9 comments:

Sunny&Rummy said...

I just swizzled this one up, halving the Pernod and subbing Clement Creole Shrubb for the Combier. It does indeed come off like a Quiet Birdman Donn Beach-type cocktail. Even at 1/4 tsp. I think the Pernod is too heavy. . . when I try this one again I will back it off just a bit more.

frederic said...

As a fan of Pernod, I did not mind. I believe many Zombie recipes call for 6 drops of the stuff which might be more to your liking.

Geoff B. said...

Great cocktail but I prefer the version Beachbum Berry published.

Anonymous said...

Looks good - any suggestions on a substitution for the Brugal Anejo?

Doug Winship said...

This looks like it might be a version that salvages Donn's Mai Tai, which I found too sweet and muddled.
Also, when I experimented with Donn's back in the day, I had no mint to rustle through.I'm betting it is as important to this drink as it is to Vic's version.

And I second chinanob's request.

Oh, and thanks for the link!

frederic said...

To address Geoff's comment, thank you for pointing it out the recipe source. The modifications are slight, but it comes down to which rums you prefer and the ratio of orange liqueur to falernum.

BTW, that recipe is:
1 oz grapefruit, 3/4 oz lime, 1/2 oz Cointreau, 1/4 falernum, 1 1/2 oz Myer's Plantation (sub Myer's Legend 10 yr), 1 oz Cuban Rum (sub gold Virgin Island rum), 6 drop (1/8 tsp) Pernod, 1 dash Ango, 4 mint sprig.

So to answer Doug and Chinanob, the Brugal Anejo is probably the less important of the two rums (the other being a flavorful aged Jamaican rum). Something perhaps aged but not edgy (but not bland). Berry's recipe calls for Cuban or gold Virgin Island rum. So perhaps an aged Cruzan (Virgin Island) or Mt. Gay (Barbados) would work but I see no problem with an El Dorado 5 Year to kick it up a notch.

Sunny&Rummy said...

Bacardi 8 would be my choice for a Brugal Anejo substitute. I think that's the only Bacardi product I have bought for at least 5 years.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Frederic - I have some aged Cruzan on the shelf. I think I will try that - your pic of the goblet o' drank looks mighty tasty.

Hope you'll submit something for MxMo this month!

frederic said...

Just did my MxMo drink last night. Will write up this weekend!