#47: Spindrift

     Finishing this short visit to the Hut is an unexpected house favorite, the Spindrift.   This drink hits the sweet spot for the sweeter-drink-bias crowd.  It is the perfect mix of tang, sweet, mellow, and with a good alcoholic kick to it.  I'm always pleased when the great drinks on the menu come in a sidecar, for me to enjoy more afterwards.  So what is in it, already!  Well:

• 3 oz orange juice
• 2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz passionfruit syrup
• ¾ oz simple syrup
• 0.5 t vanilla extract
• 2 oz dark Jamaican rum
• 1.5 oz demerara rum
• 1 oz light Puerto Rican rum

     As you can see, the Jamaican Rum, Demerara, and Puerto Rican rum mix to make a dark cloudy visual, but with a very sweet taste.  This is one for the favorites list, be sure to mark your scorecards.  On to the next batch!

#46: Hawaii Kai Treasure

     This week moves on to the drink with the intriguing name, the Hawaii Kai Treasure.  Like any solid Tiki Drink, it is a blend of fruit juices and rum, however it is the inclusion of green curacao that gives it its unique green shade.  I always enjoy the texture of the frothy hurricane-glass concoctions, so this drink is already off to a good start.  The mixture of citrus fruit makes it extremely tangy up front, and the syrup makes for a rich flavor.  Whats in the treasure, you may ask.  This soldier is:

• 2 ounces lime juice
• 1 ounce grapefruit juice
• 1/2 ounce light cream
• 1-1/2 ounces white rum
• 1/2 ounce green curacao
• 1/2 ounce orgeat syrup
• 1/2 ounce honey

     Quite the grocery list of ingredients, makes for a complex flavor of tang and mellow.  Jessica Forer is in the house this week, and she stumbled upon a great special by our bartender for the evening, the Sandshark.  I'm not sure the ingredients, as I believe this may be a house special version of the more popular drink that shows up on recipe lists, but nonetheless it was delicious as well.

#45: Trade Wind Cocktail

     Served in a wine goblet, the Trade Wind Cocktail is another on the slow sipping-drink list.  As the name suggests, this drink was created at the Trade Winds Restaurant on Long Island in the late 50s.  This is another rare tiki drink to include Gin in the recipe.

• 1 1/4 oz Gin
• 3/4 oz orange curacao
• 1 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of simple syrup
• 1 egg white

The curacao offsets what would otherwise be a pretty sour drink.  Good for someone looking for a pretty intensely tart drink to sip down.  On to the next!

#44: Chief Lapu Lapu

     The Chief Lapu-Lapu, a well-loved drink among Grog Loggers.  And why not, as it's tasty, cool looking, and is named after an actual Filipino Chief Lapu Lapu who defeated Magellan in 1521.  This is a tall drink, with some classic tiki ingredients:

• 3 oz orange juice
• 2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 oz  sugar syrup (1 part sugar, 1 part water, boiled and chilled)
• 1 oz passion fruit syrup
• 1 1/2 oz dark Jamaican rum
• 1 1/2 oz light Puerto Rican (or Virgin Islands) rum

Makes for a good sweet and tart combination.  Garnish with umbrella and fresh pineapple and you get a very satisfying cocktail.

#43: Q.B. Cooler

     Rarely do I go for 4 in the same night, but having visited The Local Peasant beforehand, I was well prepared.  The finale for this week was the long-awaited Q.B. Cooler.  This is a complex drink, and appropriately so as it contains about a billion ingredients.  Orange juice, Club soda, Jamaican Rum, Puerto Rican Rum, Lime Juice, Honey mix, Demerara Rum, Falernum, Bitters and Ginger Syrup.  Some folks claim this drink reminds them of a Mai Tai, and I'm not sure I can agree.  This has an extremely strong tang/bitter quality to it, whereas a mai-tai is generally a bit sweeter.  Not my favorite on the Log, but an interesting flavor experience.  Meanwhile, the gang finished up the Tonga Punch bowl, bringing this week to a close.  Until next time, Okole Maluna!

#42: Beachcombers Punch

     It seems only fitting, with the Beachcomber's Gold being such a notoriously bad and gross tiki drink on the Log, that the Beachcomber's Punch is the exact opposite.  So much good stuff in this cocktail, makes it a 5-star drink to me.  1/2 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz grapefruit juice, 1/2 oz apricot brandy, 1/2 oz simple syrup, mix bitters, pernod, and 1.5 oz demerara rum.  This all blends together with crushed ice, minty stalk and cherry to make a sweet, flavorful drink.  A beachcomber classic, and a guaranteed good time.

     Speaking of classic, the rest of the group decided to dive in to a Tonga Punch bowl.  Serves four, this is a beast, as pictured below.  I wish I had one of those amazing bowls with the "Tonga Hut" print on the side!

#41: Aura Bora Borealis

 Continuing down in Alphabetical order this week, is the Aura Bora Borealis.  A very sweet flavorful drink, this beast packs a double rum punch with a taste of coconut.  1/2 oz coconut cream, 1/2 fresh lime juice, 1/4 oz orange juice, a teaspoon of orgeat syrup, and then 1 oz Jamaican Dark Rum, 1 oz Puerto Rican Light Rum.  Served in a highball, it delivers high level of satisfaction on the tiki-scale.  Meanwhile, the whole gang continued into round two, with Mojave Punch, Ginger Flame, and the Lisa-Marie special, Rye Mai Kai.

#40: Ancient Mariner

     For the first drink of the second half, I decided to go alphabetical on the list and try the Ancient Mariner.  Created from dark rum and citrus juices, this drink has a strong tangy punch to it, making it another good middle-of-the-road flavor for those who don't want something too sweet, and with some bite.  This is Demerara Rum, Dark Jamaican Rum, Lime and Grapefruit juice, Syrup, and a bit of Pimento Dram.  Garnished with lime, stalk and cherry, its a great drink to commemorate the continuation of the Grog Log.
     Joining me this week once again is my co-captain Mike McKee, along with Katie Due, who is an alumnus of the Hut, and first-timer Lisa Miyamoto.  Pictured here, they are consuming a pair of Blue Hawaiians, so naturally they are having a great experience. Cheers!