You’re not booking a beach vacation this year, but that doesn’t mean the open tiki bar is closed. Easy Tiki ($19), a new cocktail recipe book by Punch senior editor Chloe Frechette, is the essential guide to the boozy tropical drinks. Tiki drinks go beyond getting you blackout drunk; they’re a complicated balance of various liquors, syrups and juices that are as complex as they are delicious. Some tiki drinks can have as many as 10 ingredients to achieve a harmonious balance of sweet, sour, fruity, bitter… the flavor profiles go on and on. Frechette’s book publishes classic tiki drink recipes, such as the Zombie and the Fog Cutter, and includes modern riffs on from the American bars and restaurants keeping the tropical tradition alive.
Quarantine Order
Makes one cocktail
Ingredients:
3 ounces aged Jamaican rum (preferably equal parts Appleton Estate Signature and Rum-Bar Gold)
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce cinnamon syrup
1/2 ounce passion fruit syrup
5 dashes of Angostura bitters
Preparation:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add ice and shake vigorously until the ice breaks up into smaller pieces, about 30 seconds.
3. Pour the contents of the shaker into a snifter and garnish with a mint spring and a cherry speared through a lime wheel.
Breakfast Mai Tai
Makes one cocktail
Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces overproof Jamaican rum (preferably Smith & Cross)
1/2 ounce banana liqueur (preferably Giffard Banane du Brésil)
1/2 ounce orgeat
1/4 ounce cinnamon syrup
1 ounce lime juice
3/4 ounce black rum (preferably Hamilton)
Preparation:
1. Combine the overproof rum, banana liqueur, orgeat, cinnamon syrup and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add a few pellets of crushed or cracked ice and shake until they melt.
3. Pour into a large rocks glass, add the black rum and top with more crushed ice.
4. Garnish with mint, a charred cinnamon stick and edible flowers.
Something Tequila
Makes one cocktail
Ingredients:
3 ounces tequila (preferably añejo)
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce passion fruit syrup
Preparation:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add ice and shake until chilled, about 10 seconds.
3. Dump the contents of the shaker into a barrel-shaped tiki mug and garnish with mint, citrus wedges or wheels, flowers and swizzle sticks.
