Rock & Rye

While Mixology Monday has been absent for a couple of months, this month it’s back and is being hosted by Doug over at The Pegu Tiki Blog. His challenge is to essentially write about anything tiki or related.

This poses a slight challenge for me. While Tiki is actually quite cool and not kitsch at all, as some would think, it also requires a lot of work and cool glassware. Despite the challenges, the appeal of Tiki lies in the ability to transport you away to an exotic time and/or place, without ever having moved you at all.

Tiki culture was purportedly created in 1934, by one Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, more affectionately known as Don the Beachcomber. It is from his brilliant mind that our cocktail comes from today. With a mix of tropical fruit juices, and loads of rum, Don’s Zombie is one fantastic drink. And with all things awesome, they are often shrouded in secrecy, apparently Don’s bartenders didn’t even know the makeup of many of his drinks, they just mixed out of bottles coded by numbers or letters. Nonetheless, several variations of the Zombie are out there, and this one comes to us courtesy of Ted Haigh.

Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz 151 Demerara Rum
1 oz White Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1 dash Angostura

Shake with ice, pour into fancy pants glass (traditionally a hurricane glass of course), and let yourself be transported away. As a disclaimer, while the glass in the picture you see below may seem empty, I can attest that there once was not just one, but two Zombies in that glass. Cheers!

This cocktail is brought to the world by the one and only Brian Miller, esteemed barman of New York’s Death and Co.

This twist on a classic is tasty and adds layer upon layer of complexity to the drink. While it may seem to be an unlikely pairing, the Campari and Goslings actually work wonders together, and while the Absinthe is understated, it serves to pull the ingredients together in harmonious balance. Cheers!

Benjamin Barker Daiquiri
1 1/2 oz Gosling’s Rum
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Absinthe
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup

While beer cocktails may seem like a novel new trend in mixology, using beer in cocktails is not actually a new concept. In fact, the earliest beer cocktails date back to 1695, with the mention of the flip in Oxford’s English Dictionary.

Although rarely seen on a cocktail menu today, a flip is a fantastic way to get into beer cocktails. In its most basic iteration, a flip is simply beer, spirit, and sweetener. Flips can also include egg, and may be served hot or cold.

This flip variation was created by Owen Schmidt, while he was still bartending at the Bayou Oyster Bar and features a combination of amaro and stout. The initial creation utilized a locally brewed oatmeal stout, but any stout that is thick and creamy will do. This drink can easily be used as a starting point to experiment with other amaro/stout combinations. Cheers!

Breakfast In Bed
3 oz Oatmeal Stout
1 1/2 oz Amaro Abano
1 whole egg
Dash Orange Bitters

Alaskan’s new spring sea­sonal is a session version of their 2010 Double Black IPA Pilot Series. So how does this beer stack up against the competition? Let’s find out.

This beer pours very dark, almost jet black, with a thick and creamy mocha/tan head. First impressions from the nose was choco­late and some roasti­ness from the malts. Also present were some resin pine aromas from the hops with just a hint of citrus in the background. On the taste you definitely notice the chocolate and malt up front which then quickly fades into the hoppy bitterness and is coupled with grapefruit, lemon, and grassy flavors. The finish is long and mildly bit­ter,­ with some slight roasti­ness around the edges.

Over­all, I really enjoyed this ver­sion of a Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale from Alaskan Brew­ing Com­pany. If you are a fan of this style, you may be a tad dis­ap­pointed as it is a little more laid back than others. If you are not a fan of this style, this is the per­fect beer to help you change your mind. Cheers!

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