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Favorite drink from the Grog Log? |
TheMuggler
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 289
From: Brooklyn, NY
|  Posted: 2002-06-15 09:23 am Permalink
What are some of your favorite drinks from the Grog Log? I haven't tried any of the blended drinks yet, but for the mixed ones I am partial to the "Hawaiian Room" and "Don's Planters Punch."
I'd like to fire up the blender as well as mix some more but there are so many recipies...
Maybe we should start a poll?
-Mike
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Alnshely
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 974
From: Oceanside CA
| Posted: 2002-06-15 10:36 am Permalink
The "Grog Log" is the best. I'm looking forward to Beachbum Berry's latest "Intoxica". My favorites in the GL are the "Waikikian", the "Fogcutter", the "Oceanic Punch" and the "Suffering Bastard". When I received my copy of the "Grog Log" Shelley and I decided to try every drink in the book, we started with the "Tahitian". It has 5 shots of rum. We drank with reckless abandon. The very next night we were thumbing through the GL again, deciding what to try next. "Hey let's try the "Tahitian" we drank two of them before we realized it was the drink we had made the night before. That is one strong drink.
Al
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kahukini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 28, 2002
Posts: 555
From: Saint Louis
| Posted: 2002-06-15 11:30 am Permalink
Yeah I consider the Tahitian the ultimate tiki shot...
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woofmutt
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2002-06-15 1:53 pm Permalink
The Grog Log is great fun but the recipes that call for ingredients that aren't readily available (in Washington at least) is frustrating. A few weeks ago I went on a juice and liquer buying spree and still found I was missing items to make a lot of the drinks. For its simple ingredients and overall tastiness the Coconaut has been an instant hit with myself and friends (I laugh at the notion that the recipe in the book serves four). I also figured out that all the ingredients except the ice can be premixed for easy transport to a friend's blender.
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kah706
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 04, 2002
Posts: 17
From: San Francisco, CA
| Posted: 2002-06-16 4:19 pm Permalink
The thing I love about the GL is the paper and binding. It seems very utilitarian, not precious. So, as soon as I got it, I started making notes for each drink we tried. The ones that have gotten stars so far are:
Chief Lapu Lapu
Eastern Sour
Royal Hawaiian
Rum Barrel
Rum Lift
Waikikian
It seems that the many of the drinks lean toward the tart side for us sweet-toothes, so I've made notes about cutting back on the lime or lemon juice. The Lychee Nut Daiquiri is the only one that really hasn't worked out.
In the same vein, I picked up a French cocktail cookbook from 1957 at the market this weekend. It has a very groovy cover of a drawing of a woman with a martini glass surrounded by drink garnishes. But the best thing is the author -- Henri Barman!
Cheers,
Kelly
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kahukini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 28, 2002
Posts: 555
From: Saint Louis
| Posted: 2002-06-16 4:31 pm Permalink
I think the paper is a little too cheap. It disolves when it gets wet with alcohol or syrups... materials that are bound to occasionally get splashed on it...
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fatuhiva
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 634
From: Melbourne Beach, FL
| Posted: 2002-06-17 04:32 am Permalink
The suffering bastard is very good 
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4806
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2002-06-17 08:05 am Permalink
I agree that the drinks tend to over lime. We often completely leave out the lime in these drinks.
Also agree that it is hard to have all the ingredients in the book. I made a chart of every ingredient in the book and then went through and put a check next to them as they were called for and bought what was at the top of the list. But even then, they weren't exactly easy to come by.
In the last few months, various nectars have appeared on shelves to buy and that has helped. We'll get the Trader Vic's Passion Fruit syrup next month at Hukilau. I have a site bookmarked to buy Falernum.
It would be very handy to have the Grog Log in spreadsheet form so you check the stuff you have and it shows you which drinks you can make.
Which a good think you can do on Webtender.com. You put in a few things you have and tell it to show you all the recipes you can make with it. Very helpful when you have Banana Liquer and Whiskey want to make something.
I like the GL for the great clip art too.
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Tiki_Bong
Deleted
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 0 | Posted: 2002-06-17 09:04 am Permalink
Speaking of limes, of course one should squeeze fresh limes for a truly authentic drink, say a Mai-Tai. But after having a few, the old hand-eye coordination can become impaired. So my question is this: what's the next best thing to fresh lime juice. I tried Rose's but my dad (the man who took me to Trader Vic's in Seattle in the '60s) told me Rose's is only for Gimlets. Any suggestions?
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2002-06-17 09:19 am Permalink
I tend to use pure bottled lime juice, which is exactly what you think it is. I'm not sure how it's packaged over in the States, but over here it's found in small-ish bottles, or even smaller lime-sized plastic containers. It's nowhere near as good as fresh lime juice, but completely different to Roses, which is a lime cordial rather than a juice.
Trader Woody
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woofmutt
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2002-06-17 10:17 am Permalink
Skip the plastic limes. ________ (name not known) makes a bottled key lime juce that's unsweetened and easily located in most grocers. Or you can do as Vic did in ye days of olde and squeeze ahead (he claimed they had a guy whose only job was squeezing fresh juice). For a party just squeeze up a whole lotta juice. For yourself you can keep it in the fridge for...Do some testing and see how long it keeps (something of a personal preference as it's certain flavor notes that diminish first). Or make premeasured frozen juice cubes (say a 3 T cube). Double bagged and kept in a clean smelling freezer you'll be fine for...(again, personal, as long as it doesn't taste like salmon) and it's a lot better than bottled.
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TheMuggler
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 289
From: Brooklyn, NY
| Posted: 2002-06-17 10:28 am Permalink
You should always squeeze fresh limes & lemons - makes a world of difference!
I squeeze all the limes and lemons I'll need about an hour before I expect the first guest to arrive and keep the juice in a tupperware container in the fridge.
Besides, you need those spent half shells to float on top of the drink, pour a little 151 inside and ignite for a real show!
I wouldn't do THAT after a few drinks, though!
-Mike
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kahukini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 28, 2002
Posts: 555
From: Saint Louis
| Posted: 2002-06-17 10:31 am Permalink
When I saw Hussein squeeze a fresh lime into a mai tai and then pick up a plastic bottle to add some more I said "Oh, so you use a fresh lime to give the fresh taste, and use bottled lime juice for the rest?" He looked at me horrified and hurt and said "No, no, this bottle is full of fresh lime juice we squeezed today."
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4806
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2002-06-17 10:58 am Permalink
In Indy we saw a vintage press typw thingy and thought this is just what we needed, but in a new version. Something about the slightly corroded metal from the 50-60s made me hesitate.
But this thing had your typical dome of a juicer, and then a handle that was set to ratchet down some serious force, and a catch pan. Looked like it would squeeze every last drop of juice from anything in no time.
So, look for a fruit press or press juicer or something like that and leave the hand squeezing for that little garnish lime in a gin and tonic.
As for keeping juice, I'd say it will keep just like the fruit itself. A week to 10 days in the fridge. We often buy a bulk of mangoes, peaches, strawberries, etc., and prep and blend. We keep it in the fridge and pour drinks for a week. I have tried mixing in the liquor ahead of time and freezing it. It makes a nice thick slush and not rock hard cubes due to the liquor not freezing, but, when you put it in the blender with ice, it's just too thick to blend well. I think it works better out of the fridge. Plus, it means you have to drink it soon, so when you find you have a lot left and a little time, invite friends over to help.
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thejab
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2984
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2002-06-17 1:07 pm Permalink
Favorites that come to mind:
Test Pilot
Suffering Bastard
Zombie
Coconaut
Boo Loo, in a pineapple of course
the Trader Vic punch recipe has been a hit at parties I've thrown
I've made most every drink in the Log except for the ones that require Pimento liquor (unable to find it) and the ones with Barenjager or Alize (didn't want to buy a bottle just for the one drink). I find that over time I have been able to aquire most of the ingredients (and some very good rums, too). If one were to get everything all at once it would have cost a fortune!
I find also that certain drinks are a bit too sour (and heartburn inducing for me!) so I have cut the lime juice in half on a few recipes. I usually make notes about flavor in my bar copy of the Log. Get a good juice squeezer like the "Juice-o-mat" that someone mentioned. It really helps when sqeezing 50 lemons and oranges for that party-size punch! Mostly I use a hand squeezer with a hinge on one end. If you fold over the lime shell after juicing it once and put it back in the juicer you can get quite a bit more out of it.
I have used the bottled "key lime juice" or the organic bottled lime juice in a pinch but here in California citrus is so plentiful and cheap why not use fresh? The bottled stuff is way too tart so if I use it I reduce it to less than half of the called for amount.
I was in the book store the other day and I noticed yet another tropical drink book. This one, called "Paradise on Ice" is by Mittie Helmich, of the Oregonian. I went straight to the Mai Tai recipe. No pineapple or grenadine! She recommends Martinique rum if you can get it. So far, so good. I glanced through it and saw some creations that looked pretty tasty. I didn't buy it but it looked promising. Still, I can't wait for "Intoxica" to hit the shelves!
I never have been to a Red Robin, and now I never plan to go. Thanks for the straight dope woofmutt!
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