Falernum is indispensable in Tiki drinks, brightening the sour notes of citrus and adding a hint of rich spice. But it also plays well with slightly bitter flavors. If you're at all interested in Tiki cocktails, this stuff is a must-have for your home bar. It can be a little tricky to track down commercially, but it turns out that it's super-easy to make at home. More
Cocktail geeks have been going nuts for orgeat (pronounced "or-zsa," like Zsa Zsa Gabor) for ages, but there's a reason you don't see it in many home bars: the good stuff is hard to find. But making your own high-quality orgeat with all-natural ingredients takes 15 minutes work and costs about $6. More
This week saw the release of a new book from cocktail historian and cultural anthropologist Jeff Berry: Beachbum Berry Remixed. A compilation of the (mostly) vintage recipes included in Berry's first two books, Beachbum Berry's Grog Log and Intoxica!, Remixed revisits and updates these earlier works, while sweetening the Scorpion Bowl with an extra 107 new drink recipes. More
Today, with our global financial turmoil and engagement in more wars overseas, more people may be searching for good, old-fashioned escapism. As Felten writes, today "there's a new allure to the escape it promises. What are we escaping now? The financial woes may be the best excuse of the moment, but tiki provides an escape somewhat more fundamental, a vacation from the everyday, even if today's bears little resemblance to the everyday of the '50s." More
©iStockphoto.com/ Graffizone In Sunday’s New York Times, drinks writer Jonathan Miles pulls up a chair at Elettaria and gets friendly with that timeless tiki tipple, the Navy Grog. He’s hardly alone. As has recently been noted by writers ranging from... More
