Punch for Two: Oranje Punch

2015-10-122015-10-12 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Welcome back to Punch For Two! It’s been awhile but let’s not pretend that we ever really forget about sharing a delicious tumbler of punch with our friends and loved ones! Also, it’s October. SEASONALLY APPROPRIATE Y’ALL.

I’m pretty excited about this one cause it’s 1. Punch, 2. uses Lemon Sherbet, and 3. contains Denizen Merchant’s Reserve.

When I started the Punch for Two Series last year, I will admit, I didn’t really have much of a clue about what I was doing. The ingredients were tasty, but I was approaching punch-making from a cocktail perspective. Yes, amateur at best and not the best way to create a Punch recipe. Forgive me!

(and now you say to the computer, “Home Bar Gurl, you are forgiiiiiven.”)

Well, now I’ve read David Wondrich’s immortal book about Punch, and I’m creating Punch recipes with a more informed perspective. Therefore, two things are imperative: 1. that we add water to our Punch and 2. that we get our Nutmeg ready for grating!

Here are the majestic ingredients. You’ll need to make sure you’ve got Lemon Sherbet and DD Mix (or another Allspice + Cinnamon Mix) ready. I promise you, Lemon Sherbet will change your life and give your drinks so much more pizzaz. Pizzaz is a thing we like, right? YAS.

Oranje Punch for Two (yields 2-3 servings per person)

4 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve Rum
1 oz Smith & Cross (Optional, I wanted more heat & funk)
1 1/2 oz DD Mix
1 oz Carpano Antica
2 oz fresh Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Sherbet
3 oz Cold Water
Garnish: freshly grated Nutmeg

Combine ingredients and stir. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. When serving, add ice, add Punch, and grate Nutmeg over each Punch cup.

I swear to the stars, Denizen Merchant’s Reserve is phenomenal in Punch. Cheers to all y’all’s autumnal festivities!

Denizen Merchant’s Reserve + Mai Tai

2015-10-092015-10-09 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Back in July, Nick Pelis, the founder of Denizen Rum, emailed me to say thank you for using their Denizen Aged White Rum in so many of my cocktails. He then offered a bottle of Merchant’s Reserve if I’d like to use it in some recipes. I replied with, “oh my gosh, no, thank you!” because y’all, I LOVE DENIZEN RUM! I’ve used it more than all other Rums cause it plays well with others and is so damn tasty.

Well, after a couple months of email-tag, I’ve got my bottle of Merchant’s Reserve and it’s just as wonderful as the Denizen Aged White!

BEHOLD! FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE GLORY!

The first and perhaps most important thing to note on the label are the words, “Rum” and “Rhum”. Both at the same time, on the same label…do you catch what I’m getting at? It’s both aged Jamaican Rum & Martinique Rhum blended together!

The flavor profile is out of the world: funky and grassy, sweetly caramel and dry, fruity and herbaceous. It’s the best of both worlds at the same time and it totally works.

In one of my emails with Nick, he referred me to this Cocktail Wonk review, (highly recommend) that contained a very important bit of info down in the comments section by one Martin Cate. Namely, Denizen Merchant’s Reserve was created to be akin to the Rum in one of the original Trader Vic Mai Tai recipes!

With that bit of information in mind, I thought, well the very first drink I make with this Rum will most definitely be a Mai Tai!

And it’s the best damn Mai Tai I’ve ever made! The complexity, dryness, grassy and funky notes make the Merchant’s Reserve the best Rum for a Mai Tai. Like soooooo, so, so the best.

I don’t have Curaçao at home, so I used Cointreau instead. Killer. Supremely delicious. Tears of happiness.

Denizen Merchant’s Reserve Mai Tai

2 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve
1/2 oz Cointreau or Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Orgeat*
1 oz Lime Juice
Garnish: Lime shell, Mint sprig

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into double Rocks glass over cracked or crushed ice and garnish.

*Depending on the kind of Orgeat you have, you may want to use 1/4 oz Orgeat & 1/4 oz Cane Simple Syrup. My Orgeat the BG Reynolds kind and isn’t very creamy.

There will be many more Denizen Merchant’s Reserve cocktails in our future. Stay tuned! Thank you Nick for the supremely delicious bottle!

La Petite Mort with Plantation Barbados Rum

2015-10-072015-10-07 / Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

In the not too distant past, my girl Foodie Tails texted me saying, “Just got Plantation Barbados 5 and Angostura 7 Rums.” I replied with, “Oh shit!”

Seeing as I had just run out of Angostura 7, and had been meaning to get the Plantation Barbados 5 since I threw that 4th of July Daiquiri Party, I immediately ran to the liquor store. Luckily they had the very bottle I was looking for, so I bought it, ran back home and made the drink described below.

Now, I LOVE Plantation Rums. They’re aged in used Cognac barrels and meticulously scrutinized for maximum flavour. Well y’all, the flavour is totally there. The Barbados 5 Year Rum has tropical fruits, grasses, a bit of caramel smoothness, leaves a pleasant long finish, and plays well with others.

It REALLY plays well with the above ingredients.

In fact, Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum plays so well with these ingredients that it’s been my new favourite Rum cocktail for at least two weeks.

La Petite Mort

2 oz Plantation Grande Réserve Barbados 5 Year Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup*
rinse Pernod Pastis
Garnish: Pineapple Wedge

Rinse a double Rocks glass with Pernod and chill. Combine remaining ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into rinsed glass over cracked or crushed ice and garnish.

*This drink is also awesome with Vanilla Bean Syrup subbed for Honey Syrup.

Damn, so dreamy, so fulfilling, I would die one thousand of these Little Deaths.

Puccini’s Nightcap

2015-09-252015-09-25 / Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

So I’m totally digging National Hazelnut month and using as much Frangelico in as many recipes I possibly can. Today, I’ve got another Cocktail with Plantatation Barbados 5 Year Rum, cause the flavors go really well together. Also Hazelnut + Rum seems like a win-win to me y’all!

It’s also time to bust out the Nutmeg and grater!

Puccini’s Nightcap

2 oz Plantation Barbados 5 Rum
1/2 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Giffard Banane Liqueur
1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry
1 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (sub Pimento Bitters)

Garnish: freshly grated Nutmeg

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrrrr. Strain into coupe, grate that Nutmeg until you are feeeling it.

Let the Hazelnut loving continue! Woo! Cheers to MBooth for including me in National Hazelnut Month!

National Hazelnut Month with Frangelico

2015-09-222015-09-21 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Did y’all know that September is National Hazelnut month? Neither did I, but I’m so happy I found out about it! What delicious Liqueur is made with Hazelnuts and comes in a bottle shaped like a monk? Frangelico!

Frangelico has been leading the charge to get the mighty hazelnut on our collective consciousness. This liqueur hails from the Piedmont region of Italy, using inspiration from centuries old recipes. It has warm, sweet prominent Hazelnut notes, followed by Vanilla, and Cocoa.

Let’s get to the cocktails!

I decided to start with a Rum sour cause to me, Nuttiness + Rum = hell yes! I didn’t want to go full Tiki, but the Pineapple wedge gives a little island feel to the drink.

Angelica in the West Indies

2 oz Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum
3/4 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
2 dashes Angostura
Garnish: Pineapple wedge

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into double Rocks glass with ice. Garnish with Pineapple wedge.

Next I decided to get spice-y and desert-y, cause I had a feeling that Frangelico + Jägermeister + Carpano Antica would be a great flavour set. It was. It was such a great flavour set that I keep thinking about it. To dry things out, I added Hine H Cognac as the base and topped it off with a couple dashes of Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters. DESSERT!

The Road to Turin

1 3/4 oz Hine H Cognac
1/4 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Jägermeister
1/2 oz Carpano Antica
2 dashes Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrr. Strain into chilled coupe and serve.

Cheers to MBooth for including me in National Hazelnut Month!

National Rum Day 2015

2015-08-142015-08-13 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

I’ve made so many Rum cocktails since I started this blog that I can’t even count them all. With all those #TikiTheSnowAway drinks last January, to a million Daiquiris, to various and sundry Rum cocktails, I am constantly asking myself, “where’s all the Rum gone?” I thought perhaps those crazy Monkeys from the “Blame the Monkeys” series had drunk it, but no.

It was I who guzzled the Rum!

This sunday is National Rum Day, so let’s give a huge round of applause for the glorious Rums you’ve got in your Home Bar! Here’s my lil tribute:

Brugal Extra Dry is probably the closest I’ve got to a standard light Rum, yet way more delicious than most. It’s excellent in Daiquiris, Piña Coladas, and anything light, bright and fruity. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Brugal Extra Dry is aged and has a wonderful nose of Coconut, Toasted Marshmallow, and Pineapple/Citrus.

Cocktails: DKO Punch, Classic Daiquiri, Pineapple Cinnamon Daiquiri

Denizen Aged White Rum. I’ve probably used this one at least 2x more than all other ones because it this White Rum has loads of flavor. With grassy, banana, and pineapple/citrus notes, Denizen White Rum really packs a punch. I love using it in shaken fruity Tiki cocktails but also stirred drinks. LUV U DENIZEN.

Cocktails: DD’s Shrunken Skull, Golden Banana Grog, Captain Corcoran

Yes, the House of Angostura makes more than just bitters! They make several killer Rums and a delicious Amaro too! I got this Rum to replace the beloved Flor de Caña 7 (my liquor store switched Rums on me!) and though not quite as smooth, the Angostura 7 makes up for that smoothness with versatility. Totally tasty and has a short, wide finish which makes it really useful for Tiki/Tropical cocktails. Angostura 7 is also great if you’re going to be making a drink with an Amaro, Liqueur or another ingredient with a longer finish.

Cocktails: Blame the Monkeys No. 3, DD’s Shrunken Skull

The funkiest one of my bunch, Smith & Cross Navy Strength Jamaica Rum is UNBELIEVABLE! Literally unbelievable. It’s so damn good. It is also 1/2 of the greatest split base of all time! I think about it every time I want a drink to get a little bit wild. Tons of fruity funk right in your face and a beautiful finish + that Navy Strength for bite! CHOMP!

Cocktails: Gamekeeper’s Grog, Seafarer’s Sour, West India Docks, Orgeat Gabor

If you’re into Rum and haven’t yet checked out the Ministry of Rum, you best head over there and get into it. A very tall man named Ed Hamilton has catalogued nearly every Rum on earth and used his vast knowledge to start a line of his own Rums. I just got this Demerara Hamilton 151 after Lemon Hart went RIP and It’s like 1000x better, no lie! The Tiki gods will bless you when you get this Rum.

Cocktails: my version of a Painkiller, Jet Pilot, Cobra’s Fang

Last but definitely not least, Berkshire Mountain Distillers Ragged Mountain Rum. Now, I got this during that trip to the Berkshires back in the spring but DID NOT OPEN IT! Why didn’t I open it? Because it’s a Rum which has been aged in Bourbon casks for the purpose of actually tasting like Bourbon! It’s Bourbon Rum! I tasted it at the distillery and was Bourbon during the first wave, then the Rum hits you on the way down your throat. Totally out of sight! Totally magnificent. It totally won a Double Gold at the SF Spirits Awards. Boom! I wanted to wait til the autumn for this one, so look for it in some drinks soon!

Hope you’ve enjoyed Home Bar Girl’s lil tribute to National Rum Day! Let’s all make some tropical cocktails to celebrate! Cheers!

#RumForTheHills: Painkiller

2015-08-122015-08-11 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

National Rum Day is this Sunday y’all, and what better way to celebrate than with one of the best Tiki drinks ever! As I mentioned in my Hamilton Tiki Takeover post, I went to a Caribbean restaurant the other night for a Ministry of Rum tasting & Tiki party, and had several stunning Painkillers made by the incomparable Shannon Mustipher.

I can’t get this drink out of my head, it will not leave me alone! So I decided to try to make one at home and see how it turned out. It turned out pretty damn good although Shannon’s is better!

The main difference between my Painkiller and Shannon’s is that she has Pusser’s Rum and I do not have an English Navy Rum. To overcome this challenge, I decided to mix two Rums together: Angostura 7 Year Rum and my newly acquired Hamilton 151 Rum to up the proof and give the drink that Navy Rum bite.

It was a good combo!

Never forget the Nutmeg y’all. The Nutmeg is everything for this magical drink!

Painkiller-4

I followed the Painkiller recipe from Beachbum Berry’s Total Tiki app while keeping in mind that I was using two Rums. I also made a last minute decision to add some Angostura Bitters to the mix for complexity. Yummmm.

Home Bar Girl’s Painkiller

2 oz Angostura 7 Year Aged Rum*
1/2 oz Hamilton 151 Overproof Demerara Rum**
4 oz unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1 oz fresh Orange Juice
1 oz Coconut Cream
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish: Orange wedge, Pineapple chunk, Cinnamon stick, grated Nutmeg, Hawaiian surfbort

Combine ingredients with a lot of crushed/cracked ice and shake it baby! You want this drink to be really frothy. Dirty pour (don’t strain, pour ice and all) into Tiki mug. Garnish with all of the things.

*If you have Pussers Rum or an English Navy Rum, use 2 1/2 oz.

**This Hamilton 151 Demerara Rum is the shit. It blows Lemon Hart out of the water. I AM NOT KIDDING.

This drink will literally make you feel like you’re on vacation, so get ready for some Tropicaaaaaal breezes! Happy Rum times to you all! If you have any Rum cocktails that you would like to share on Instagram, use the hashtag #RumForTheHills.

Hamilton Tiki Takeover at Glady’s: Photo Essay

2015-08-012015-07-31 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

On July 28th, my girlfriend, some friends and I went to the best event ever: Hamilton Tiki Takeover at Glady’s Caribbean restaurant in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Shannon, the beverage director and Rum Kween, invited me a few days before and I was beyond excited.

Ministry of Rum tasting! Ed Hamilton in Brooklyn! Tiki drinks with some of the best Rums ever! WOOOO!

Instead of saying millions of words about how marvelous this event was, I’m gonna do this Photo Essay style. Thanks to Blueprint Spirits for hosting the tastiest Rum event ever.

The supreme menu for the evening: Kill Devil Grog, Bird of Paradise, Reanimator, Ministry of Rum Flight.

Lil birdies waiting to contain the fabulous Bird of Paradise cocktail.

Reanimators waiting for Tiki flames!

FLAAAAAAAME!!

Note the Jerk Pork next to this Reanimator. Yummmm.

The Carmelized sugar and charred lime smell on the Reanimator was legit out of sight! So was the drink itself. Definitely one of the most smooth, yet complex, yet refreshing, yet mind-blowing Tiki drinks I’ve ever had.

Here are the ingredients.

Reanimator

Rhum Agricole Ambre
Hamilton Jamaica Rum
Hamilton 151 (RIP Lemon Hart)
Honey
Falernum
Grapefruit Juice
Lime Juice
Absinthe
Bitters

Next, I asked Shannon if we could go off menu and make a Daiquiri with Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Gold Rum, Lime and Giffard Banane du Bresil Liqueur. It was so much tastier than I could have hoped!

Shannon, master of measurement.

The specs for this totally righteous Daiquiri were:

2 oz Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Gold Rum
3/4 oz Giffard Banane
3/4 oz Lime Juice
Lime wheel in coupe

Shake it like a rocket, double strain. Slurp.

Now, Glady’s already has a killer selection of Rum. This was probably 1/4 of their total collection. Needless to say, I wanted to check out their regular menu.

But instead of checking out the whole of their menu, we just ordered as many Painkillers as we could handle! Best coconut drink ever and Pusser’s Rum really makes this drink. Piña Coladas ain’t got nothing on the Painkiller!

I wasn’t able to photograph Ed Hamilton (he was a busy busy man!) but I did get to chat with him for a minute.

Me: “Hi! My name is Dani and I’m a really big fan!”

Ed: “Hi Dani, you don’t look very big!”

Me: “Well, no, I’m kind of small.”

Ed: “You see (stands up and towers above me), I’m very big! Haha!”

Then I tasted the Hamilton 151 and damn, it really is 100x better than Lemon Hart. I told him so and then said, “well it’s ok that Lemon Hart is dead.” And he said, “Lots of people have told me that they like Hamilton 151 more and yes, Lemon Hart is dead.”

From the lion’s mouth!

Hope you enjoyed this photo essay and be sure to get some Ministry of Rum in your collection!

Admiral Montenegro

2015-07-272015-07-26 / Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

Y’all, it’s nearly August…YIKES! Ok, ok. Let’s all calm down a minute and reflect on what this means. 1. Summer is not over. 2. The light is changing and we’re looking forward to Autumn, which means that 3. Perhaps we want a lil depth and character in our Tiki drinks.

Amaro Montenegro is here to give us that character!

Hello Luxardo Cherries, hello frosty glass.

To the luscious Montenegro I’ve added Flor de Caña 7 (smoothest of all), Carpano Antica (the spices go so well with the Montenegro), Orgeat, and some Lime juice. This is a seriously satisfying and complex Tiki drink. Hope you enjoy!

Admiral Montenegro

1 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 oz Flor de Caña 7 Year Aged Rum
1 oz Carpano Antica Formula
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
Garnish: hollowed out Lime Half with Maraschino Cherries

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Double strain into double Rocks glass (or short Tiki mug) over crushed ice and garnish.

Cheers!

Blame the Monkeys No. 3

2015-07-212015-07-20 / Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Well, it’s officially Frozen Drink season. It started with National Daiquiri Day on Sunday and now, I just want everything frozen. ALL OF IT! Today’s frozen Tiki drink is part of an ongoing series of Rum cocktails + monkeys. “Why are we blaming the monkeys?” you may ask. Well, they’ve taken over my Home Bar and have drunk all my Rum!

Hello lil conniving Monkeys. Leave my Pineapple Spear Bunny Ears alone!

The inspiration for this particular version of Blame It on the Monkeys comes courtesy of Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur. This stuff is damn tasty and perfect for all our tropical cocktails. I luv it. To this we add two kinds of rum, a bunch of other fruitiness and a blender. Blend baby, BLEND!

*btw, this recipe is for a 14 oz Tiki Mug*

Blame the Monkeys No. 3

1 1/2 oz Angostura 7 Year Aged Rum
1 1/2 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
3/4 oz Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Simple Syrup**
7-8 oz Crushed ice
Garnish: Pineapple Spear Bunny Ears, Pineapple, Maraschino Cherries, Monkeys.

Combine ingredients in blender and blend for around 7 seconds, or until nice and frothy. Pour into Tiki Mug and garnish.

**You may think this is a lot of sweetness, when making blended cocktails, you have to bump up the sweetness to compensate for all the ice. Feel free to reduce to 1/2 oz if you like.

Cheers to y’all in these hottest of times! May the Tiki gods favor you and protect you from these crazy monkeys!

Thanks to MBooth for the Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur!

Home Bar Girl

Just a grrrrrl making fabulous cocktails

aged rum

Punch for Two: Oranje Punch

Denizen Merchant’s Reserve + Mai Tai

La Petite Mort with Plantation Barbados Rum

Puccini’s Nightcap

National Hazelnut Month with Frangelico

National Rum Day 2015

#RumForTheHills: Painkiller

Hamilton Tiki Takeover at Glady’s: Photo Essay

Admiral Montenegro

Blame the Monkeys No. 3

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