Hello and happy Friday. This week I was mid yacht rock playlist and a song came on that I wouldn’t count as yacht rock, but I still enjoy anyway: The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful by Jimmy Buffett.
I’ve always liked this song for numerous reasons, but this week a particular block of lyrics resonated with me:
Pack it up and let everyone know
It was something that he
Should have done such a long time ago
Still time to start a new life in the palm trees
I think another round of pandemic fatigue, plus a shit week has me daydreaming of packing up the family and saying fuck it and moving to an island somewhere and opening a dive bar or something of that sort.
Anyway
The Buffett inspiration led me to make the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club from the Vintage Spirits cocktail book. Having some newly acquired rum on hand, I was eager to give this one a go.
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail:
2 oz. Barbados rum
.75 oz. Fresh lime juice
2 dashes Cointreau
2 teaspoons Falernum
Fairly bland nose on this one. I get a touch of citrus, and not much more. For a Caribbean inspired drink, I’m not surprised at it’s neutral aroma. In the tropical heat, I want something that immediately lets me know that what I’m about to imbibe will be cool and refreshing.
Oh and it is. The rum leads off the sip but is quickly met with a lime/falernum mix, which is quite pleasant. The Cointreau gets a little lost, but I think I can detect a little bit of it at the end. The sip starts well balanced, but towards the end, the falernum is the dominant flavor, and it tends to linger for a few seconds after you’re done, providing a slightly bitter finish to an otherwise well balanced and well made drink.
I think I’m at fault for the stronger falernum flavor. In measuring the teaspoons, I used my bar spoon, but may have overfilled it on the second one and did not adjust for the over measure. I don’t think the drink was affected negatively. A little stronger background flavor does not ruin what I made. Next time I’ll be more careful with the measurements.
(Banner image found here)
Throwing this open for suggestions from sharkbait and the DFO “drink tank” generally:
A month or so ago, I bought a bottle of creme de banana to use for making Bananas Foster. I’m trying to figure out cocktails to use it in — internet searches mostly turn up various “shooters,” which are not really my thing.
Also, I long ago bought a bottle of macadamia nut liqueur. Unfortunately, I can’t find a lot of recipes for it, and it is cloyingly sweet, so it’s a little tricky to work with. It may be that its best use is as a splash in a cup of coffee, though again that’s not really my thing.
Never had creme de banana, but my first guess is a frozen rum based drink. We had BBCs (stop it) in St. Martin: https://www.shugarysweets.com/bbc-drink/
Unsure if this is the BEST BBC recipe, but its a base that could be tweaked
Agreed, I’ve only ever used it for bananas foster but think a frozen rum drink is my best guess.
Also,waiting for balls to correct us on use of BBC.
I apologize as I’ve been busy at work. I’ve been neglecting my duties…
Banana daiquiris?
Here’s one that’s straight up instead of frozen/blended. Interesting… https://www.liquor.com/recipes/banana-daiquiri/
Yeah, I usually prefer the non-blended daiquiris anyway. (Plus, I only have an immersion blender and a food processor, not a full-size blender.)
I might try this today, too.
Actually, it occurs to me that I could substitute the macadamia nut liqueur for the demarara syrup, which makes this an answer to both questions!
Yeah, that’s an idea. Usually those call for whole bananas, but no reason I couldn’t punch up the banana flavor with some of the CdB also.
Banana liqueur and peanut butter whiskey.
Call it the Bloated Elvis.
Or just buttchug it and call it Banana in the Tailpipe.
You could use both of those in a pretty kick ass cheesecake.
I love cheesecake, which is why I’ve never made one — I would inhale the entire thing in like two days.
I can’t believe I never thought of that
CHUG
CHUG
CHUG
I have a bunch of limes I need to use, so I know how happy hour is starting tonight.
Jimmy Buffett concerts are a lot of fun, even if you’re not a particular fan. Great tailgating scene. Very eclectic crowd — everything from grandparents and grandkids to, yes, the inevitable drunken college bros (but I’ve never had a problem with anyone being aggro).
I’ve been to two Buffet shows. The tailgating is fantastic. We had a gatorade jug filled with margarita mix and tequila, and we would take bath toy fish and fill them with margaritas and accost people in our party (and occasionally passers by) with Margarita fish
I saw him in the mid 80’s , at the Paramount in Seattle. Went with a bunch of submariners. It was fun, we were bad enough we got escorted to the Bremerton ferry by some cops. It was like a Mardi Gras parade, but no floats or beads. Plenty of titty flashing though! We all enjoyed ourselves, especially the cops.
All week it’s been sunny with no clouds. Hence the sucky part of the Caribbean: work keeps ya away from the beach.
You poor guy you… It’s another day of grey drizzle up here in the PNW, so my heart really bleeds for ya…
Now I feel like calling in sick and drinking boat drinks all day.
Do it!
Do it now, before you end up shooting six holes in your freezer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2PsJT-QxOw
Here you go
https://youtu.be/CICf8xoLyG8
Humm, Falernum. Never heard of that before… Learnin’ something new every day… Thanks, Sharkie!
From Wiki: Falernum (pronouncedfə-LUR-nəm) is either a 11% ABV syrup liqueur or a nonalcoholic syrup from the Caribbean. It is best known for its use in tropical drinks. It contains flavors of ginger, lime, and almond, and most often also of cloves or allspice. It may be thought of as a spicier version of orgeat syrup.
Depending on sugar content, the consistency is often thick and is therefore sometimes referred to as “velvet falernum” because of the feeling it leaves on one’s tongue. Brands vary and the color can be white to light amber, and it may be clear or translucent
It’s probably considered “non-alcoholic” in some Caribbean circles because it is only 11% ABV
Sane here. I had never heard of falernum before Mr. Bait brought it up.