#63: Sidewinder's Fang

 For the final drink of the family visit, I get to end with another great one, the Sidewinder's Fang.  This drink comes to us, supposedly, from the legendary Mai-Kai Polynesian Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from the 1960s.  Drink is still served there, and one of the few places to serve it in its original 48oz goblet glass.  As you can see in the Brother-photo, the drink is large, requiring a sidecar even when in a hurricane glass.  Also, Ryan and I are expressing a completely normal level of enthusiasm for booze.

• 1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 oz orange juice
• 1 1/2 ounces passion fruit syrup
• 1 oz dark Jamaican rum
• 1 oz Demerara rum
• 3 oz club soda

    This concludes the visit of the Badgerow Clan to the great Tonga Hut Cocktail Lounge.  Once father Badgerow and I finished off the last of the Tonga Punch Bowl, it was off to our next destination... which included one more Tiki Bar of course.  See you next week!

#62: Pieces of Eight

    Many times have I stated that I've been looking forward to certain drinks for a long time, but this one may be one of the most highly anticipated, Pieces Of Eight.  This may be one of the most awesome drinks on the menu.  It is a perfect mixture of some pretty common tiki ingredients, but comes together to make the perfect tropical drink.  This amazing concoction was created at the Pieces of Eight restaurant in Marina Del Rey, California in the 60s.  The restaurant has since closed, but the drink lives on:

• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
• 1.5 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1.5 oz passionfruit syrup
• 1.5 oz light Puerto Rican rum
• 4 oz ( 0.5 cup) crushed ice

   A trip to the hut with four people wouldn't be complete without a classic Tonga Punch Bowl.  Lit up with 151 in the famous waterfall holders that make up the centerpiece of this perfect community bowl, it makes an entertaining and effective booze sharing experience.

#61: Don's Daquari

   
Coming into the final stretch on the Grog Log, I'm bound to run into many classics, and Don's Daquari is one of those.  A simple, effective drink, this one leans heavily towards the sweet side.  Honey mix, lime and Puerto Rican rum is the full deal on this one.  Created by Don the Beachcomber circa mid-century in Hawaii, it's hard to argue with the classics:

• 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.75 oz honey-mix
• 2 0z light Puerto Rican rum

    This week, the whole family makes a visit to the hut!! Brother, Father and Mother Badgerow all stop in for some polynesian paradise drinks.  Between the four of us, we got to sample quite a bit of the menu, including several off-menu drinks whipped up by Lisa-Marie and Ian.  Mom B pictured above, with a group photo below, where apparently I'm already under the influence of some Rum.

    Brother and Mother hanging with the Hut mascot, Big Mo.  And now, time to move on to the next adventure of the evening.

#60: Eastern Sour

   
Finishing this trip to the Hut is the Eastern Sour.  This is another classic, served in the 50s sometimes at Trader Vic establishments, and yes there was also a Western Sour that was made at Kon-Tiki restaurants.  The Sour part comes from the mix of a mountain of sugar, and bourbon.

• Juice of 1/2 orange
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 oz orgeat syrup
• 1/4 oz rock candy syrup
• 2 oz rye or bourbon

     There ya go, a nice mix of sweet and sour to result in a lively tiki cocktail flavor.  My guests this week were my co-captain Mike McKee, and Thy Than, making her first appearance since way back on drink number 7!  Good times had by all, and another successful Tonga Hut adventure.  Cheers!

#59: Jasper's Jamaican

     Continuing this week is one of the sweetest wine-goblet drinks I've ever had at the hut, Jasper's Jamaican.  A word of warning to those who avoid super-sweet drinks, this is about as candy-coated as it gets, a big pile of sugar.  A unique twist on this particular drink is that it comes with an intense, almost peppermint aroma, giving it a spicy holiday scent.  This is from the Pimento Dram, it turns out.

• 1 1/4 ounces gold Jamaican rum
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce pimento dram
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Give that one a go when you're feeling the need for a sugar rush, it will not dissapoint.  Pictured here also is Michael McKee's Blood Orange Honi Honi, a special mixture put together by Lisa Marie at The Hut.  Super fantastic.

#58: Trader Vic Grog

    Time to kick this visit off with a guaranteed good time, the famous Trader Vic Grog.  Not to be confused with the Trader Vic version of the Navy Grog, this drink is a spinoff, with equal delicious punch.  Served in a double old-fashioned with a mint stalk, this is about as classic as Trader Vic Tiki can get.

• 1 part fresh lemon juice
• 1 part unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1 part Passion Fruit Syrup
• 2 parts dark Jamaican Rum
• 1 dash of Angostura Bitters per ounce in a part

Pour over ice, and you got yourself a cocktail!  Definitely one worth revisiting at any fine establishment that carries this recipe.  Cheers.

#57: Shrunken Skull

     The final drink for this eve is the super classic Shrunken Skull.  This drink was (and still is) a staple at mid-century tiki venues, especially Don the Beachcombers.  It is a very flavorful drink, usually served in a tiki vessel like a skull, here it is served in a highball which does it much justice due to its bright red appearance.  Took me a few sips to deduce the origin of the flavors on this one:

• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz pomegranate syrup or grenadine
• 1 oz gold Puerto Rican rum
• 1 oz Demerara rum

Shake with ice cubes, pour unstrained into a mug.  As you can imagine, it is a tangy sweet drink with a lot of kick to it.  Definitely a solid tiki cocktail.

#56: The Reef

     As I've come to expect from the goblet-served drinks on the Log, The Reef is not one of my favorites.  I'm struggling to find the ingredients to this beast as well, but I imagine it to be a fairly simple setup.  Sadly, not even Beachbum Berry's book has the answer.  Judging from the taste, it either has a bit of vermouth or bitters included.  Fortunately, these goblet drinks don't take long to finish, and allow room to move on to the next.

#55: Krakatoa

   
     Allright you guys, I've been waiting for this one for a long time.  Having been forewarned by the bartenders many weeks in advance, the Krakatoa is one of two special Coffee-based tiki drinks on the Log.  I'm actually still in search of the recipe on this one, and will be sure to retroactively post once I track it down.  Essentially, this is all the ingredients of a krakatoa punch, but with a coffee substitute.  Lime, Syrup, juice, rum, all the usual players are there, but high quality iced coffee (no cream) makes for the final touch.  At Tonga Hut, they encourage you to go to the Starbucks that is 3 doors down and acquire a nice iced coffee there to serve as the basis for this drink, and it is well worth it.

• 1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz orange juice
• 1 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 oz apricot nectar
• 1/2 oz falernum
• tsp coffee liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz gold Puerto Rican rum
• 1 1/2 oz Demerara rum
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• 2 oz coffee
• 1 cup crushed ice

     Blend everything except the coffee, up to 10 seconds.  Pour unstrained into sniffer, float coffee. The taste is like nothing I've experienced, it's a bit like eating a chocolate pretzel I suppose.  The strength of the sweet cocktail flavors, the variety of colorful tropical taste is strong enough to permeate through the layer of coffee that coats this one, but not enough to dominate the unmistakable coffee aroma and flavor that sits atop it.  Would love to try this one again.

#54: Tasman Sea

     The Tasman Sea is a tiki classic.  Served in a double old fashioned, this drink's flavor fits the shape, quite sour.  Two different kinds of 151 rum are in this beast, along with curacao and lime, making for a rather heavy one.  A very nice drink to look at, but quite hard to take down, I was glad this was the final drink of my visit for this evening.  The damage is as follows:

• 1 oz Fresh lime juice
• .75 oz Fresh lemon juice
• .25 oz Orange Curaçao
• 1 oz Demerara syrup
• 1 oz 151-proof gold Caribbean rum (Cruzan or Bacardi)
• .5 oz Lemon Hart 151-Proof Demerara Rum
• 10 oz Crushed ice

#53: Blackbeard's Ghost

     We come to the interestingly named "Blackbeard's Ghost", which takes its name from a 1970's restaurant named Blackbeard's Galley.  Beachbum Berry created this drink on his own, inspired by a drink from that restaurant, but not taken directly from it.  Served in a hurricane glass, this one is another good mix of sweet & sour, containing things like orange juice & falernum, but also containing bitters & brandy.  Also, Rum.  The ingredients are as follows:

• 1 oz orange juice
• 0.5 oz falernum
• 2 oz sweet and sour
• 0.5 oz apricot brandy
• 2 dashes angostura bitters
• 1.5 oz light Puerto Rican rum
• 0.5 oz demerara rum

#52: Outrigger

     Coming down to the end, the Outrigger is a dangerous wine-goblet drink.  Simple but deadly, this beast just consists of a dark rum, Triple Sec (Cointreau), and Lemon Juice.

• 2 ounces rum
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice

     The result, however, is a rather bitter flavor, not for those looking for a sweet finish to a tiki evening.  Take this one first, or bury it in the middle of the adventure, as it can be a powerful drink to try to finish.  And speaking of finish, that concludes the birthday celebration at Tonga Hut.  A big thanks to everyone who came out, and thanks to those who graciously bought me these soldiers on my journey to the finish line of the Grog Log.  Cheers to everyone!

#51: Never Say Die

     With a title that cannot be ignored, the Never Say Die is a drink that lives up to its name; not necessarily in potency of alcohol, but in intensity of flavor.  Pretty much everything has been thrown into this concoction, and the result is a pretty tangy flavor with a mixture of sensation.  The laundry list is as follows:

• 1/4 oz pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz orange juice
• 1/2 oz grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz honey mix
• 1/2 oz light Puerto Rican rum (Cruzan Aged light)
• 1/2 oz dark Jamaican rum (Coruba)
• 1 oz gold Barbados rum (Plantation 5 year)
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• 4 oz crushed ice

     Once you've emptied your entire tiki-cabinet on this one, shake it up for a great experience.  Never Say Die is a good way to end the evening of drinking, though I've got one more before the birthday extravaganza comes to a close.

#50: Rum Lift

     After the Test Pilot, the third drink of the evening is what the witch doctor ordered, the aptly named Rum Lift.  Consisting probably of a spiced rum, possibly Jamaican rum, it is hard to tell honestly because I cannot find the ingredients for this one anywhere!  The recipe cannot be found even in the Beachbum Berry books.  I can only pretend to know what lies within the wonderful rum mixture.  At any rate, it did not disappoint, a good pick-me-up as he slam into the next two drinks of the evening.

#49: Test Pilot

     The Test Pilot is another drink I had to wait for the Hut to have the right ingredients for, and for the 2nd drink of my 30th birthday, I got lucky.  That is, until I tasted it.  At no fault of the Hut, this drink just isn't my flavor.  Reminiscent of the Beachcombers Gold, anytime you have a combination of pernod and bitters, you're gonna have something pretty sour.  Combine that with two kinds of dark-ish rum, and you get a drink that is not only tough to taste, but tough to handle.

• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Falernum
• 3 teaspoons Cointreau
• dash Angostura bitters
• 1/8 teaspoon Pernod
• 3/4 ounce light Puerto Rican rum
• 1 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum

     I don't imagine I'll be taking the Test Pilot for another spin any time soon, but I'm glad to have it finished.  On to the next.

#48: Missionary's Downfall

     Kicking off my 30th birthday celebration at Tonga Hut, is a drink I had been saving, the Missionary's Downfall.  With a name like that, I imagined it has to be awesome, and I was not disappointed.  At a place like Tonga Hut where fresh ingredients are a staple, a drink like this is a must-have, where the major core is pineapple and mint, lots of mint.

• 1 oz White Rum
• ½ oz Peach Brandy
• 1 oz Honey Mix (1 part honey into one part boiling water, cooled and bottled)
• ½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
• ¼ cup Fresh diced Pineapple
• ¼ cup Tightly packed fresh mint
• ¾ cup crushed ice

     The result is a minty, citrus-y, very refreshing drink with a mild sweetness.  In the photo above, you can see the unique look to this minty cocktail, the mint and pineapple influence pretty transparent in the presentation.  Overall, extremely good, something I would love to revisit from the Grog Log.