Colonel Beach's Fire Punch

As often happens, once I breach a bottle of ginger beer, a Colonel Beach's Plantation Punch often follows. Remembering that Rum Fire and ginger beer paired fairly well in a highball, I decided to try a slight variation on this punch recipe, substituting in Rum Fire for the half ounce of Barbados rum - not because the two are equivalents, but because it seemed like enough Rum Fire to get noticed but not overwhelm while complementing the ginger beer. The end result was a good variation, lending some of Rum Fire's assertive funk to a cocktail that is no slouch when it comes to boozy sharp flavors.

Reconsidering my Daiquiri, again

tl;dr: It's summer and it's hot, so go make Latitude 29's reconsidered Daiquiri.

“Sugar syrup gives the Daiquiri a glycerin-y, too-smooth mouth feel,” Berry explains. “There’s also water in sugar syrup [so] you’re cutting down on the flavor of the citrus and the rum.” Dissolving sugar into freshly squeezed lime juice, as opposed to adding syrup, gives the Daiquiri its desired snap. Berry also uses a custom sugar blend made up of four parts white sugar to one part turbinado or demerara sugars, which, he says, adds complexity and a subtle molasses-y note.

- Mastering the Daiquiri with Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (via Punch)

That's right, the most "reconsidered" part of this Daiquiri is mixing a blend of sugar and lime juice, not a sugar syrup and lime juice. There's also the matter of handling the ice, but go read the article to get the full story and the recipe. This is the new standard around these parts.

Link: Inside the Tiki-Ti with the Buhens →

It's Wednesday and it's 9 o'clock somewhere, so raise your glass to Ray Buhen, founder of the Tiki-Ti, and listen to Mike Buhen Sr. and Mike Buhen Jr., Ray's son and grandson, tell stories from the Tiki-Ti on episode 32 of Inside the Desert Oasis Room. Your host Adrian Eustaquio sits down with the Buhens for an hour and the result is a treat for all us tiki bar nerds out there. Listen in!