Tiki Tuesday the Syrups

Tiki drinks are known for exotic and unusual flavors. Part of those flavors come from the following syrups. Here are the recipes for 6 syrups. Three are more generally known and used and three are exclusive to Tiki.

Pro Tip – Any of these syrups that do not have alcohol in them will have a shelf life of about a month. If you add 1 ½ to 2 oz of cheap vodka to each container and shake it up to mix thoroughly, the shelf life will be extended considerably.

Falernum #9

Ingredients

• 6 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof White rum
• Zest of 9 medium limes, with no traces of white pith
• 40 whole cloves
• 1½ oz (by weight) peeled, julienned fresh ginger
• 2 tbsps blanched, slivered almonds (dry toasted until golden brown)
• 14 oz cold process 2:1 simple syrup
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 4 ½ oz fresh lime juice, strained

Steps

Step one: Combine the rum, slivered almonds, lime zest, cloves and ginger in a jar and seal, letting the mixture soak for 24 hours. Then strain through moistened cheesecloth, squeezing the solids to extract all liquid.

Step Two: Add the almond extract, sugar syrup and lime juice. Shake it all together and serve. It’ll keep in the fridge for about a month.

Falernum is a very exotic ingredient for drinks. It wasn’t always readily available in retail stores so Paul Clarke came up with his own version over the course of a year. This first eight recipes didn’t quite make the cut until he hit on magic #9.

Orgeat 

Ingredients

• 500 grams blanched almonds
• 3 3/8 cups water
• 700 grams table sugar
• 3⅓ oz vodka or brandy
• 2 tbsps orange flower water or rose flower water (optional)

Steps

Step One: Place the almonds in a bowl, cover bowl with cold water, and let almonds soak for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the water, then crush the almonds with a rolling pin (or you can chop them to a fine grind in a food processor).

Step two: Transfer the crushed almonds to a large bowl and mix them with the 800 ml water. Let stand for one to two hours.

Step three: Into another bowl of equal size, strain the almond and water mixture through a layer of cheesecloth, squeezing the cloth to extract all liquid. Put the chopped almonds back into this strained almond water, let stand for another hour, and then strain again. Repeat a third time if you wish. (This is will get all the oils out of the almonds.)

Step four: Pour the strained liquid into a pan, discarding the almond pulp. Add the sugar to the pan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool for 15 minutes, then add the orange flower water and the brandy or vodka. Store your orgeat in a clean glass bottle. (This recipe yields about 1 ½ liters, or 50 ounces so, you may want to cut it back some).

This recipe comes from professional bartender and professional chemist Darcy O’Neil (artofdrink.com)

Simple Syrup (no cook method)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup water

Steps

Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat.

Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Let cool, then pour into a glass jar and seal tightly with a lid.

This will make 1 cup of simple syrup. I prefer this method of preparation because I feel it gives a brighter, sweeter flavor to my cocktails.

There are a couple of variations for simple syrup. You can make a richer syrup by using 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. You can also substitute Demerara sugar instead of table sugar.  

Sour Mix

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 5 or 6 limes, depending on size)
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 2 or 3 lemons)

Steps

Combine sugar and water in a small pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir gently, until all the sugar dissolves. Let cool.

Meanwhile, squeeze your lemons and limes. Store in a jar or bottle with a lid or cap.

When your simple syrup is cool, add it to your freshly squeezed citrus juice, cover, and shake to combine.

Grenadine

Ingredients

• 2 cups/500 ml fresh pomegranate juice (approximately two large pomegranates) or POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice
• 2 cups/500 g sugar
• 2 oz/60 ml pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp/5 ml orange blossom water

Steps

Heat juice slightly, just enough to allow other ingredients to dissolve easily.

Stir in remaining ingredients, allow to cool, and bottle.

Recipe found on jeffreymorgenthaler.com

Donn’s Mix

Who’s Donn? Only one of the most important figures of tropical cocktail culture, and the man behind this syrup that’s requisite in a Zombie.

Ingredients

• 3 cinnamon sticks, crushed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• White grapefruit juice

Steps

Create an infused simple syrup by heating cinnamon sticks, sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for at least 2 hours before straining into a clean glass bottle. To finish making the mix, add 1 part of the syrup to 2 parts white grapefruit juice.

From Sippin’ Safari by Jeff Berry