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Trader Vic's Grog Concentrate-Aye or Nay? |
Trad'r Bill
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2008
Posts: 492
From: Hercules, CA
|  Posted: 2013-04-02 4:01 pm Permalink
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TV grog concentrate is more complex and it has something in it that i cannot define, but it vaguely reminds me of root - or maybe kola nut? |
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Yep, I always thought the Grog concentrate tasted like Coca Cola syrup, with allspice mixed in.
On a side note, I was telling Jon, the Emeryville bar manager, about us gushing over the grog mix on TC, and he was kind enough to give me a bottle (plus a bottle of the Mai Tai mix - woot!) I noticed a couple changes in their packaging...
New bottle is on the left, mail-order bottle on the right. Notice the absence of the "For Professional Use Only" logo on the new bottle, plus the more consumer-friendly, name change:
This suggests to me that they are planning on selling this to the public for good.
-Trad'r Bill
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 277 | Posted: 2013-04-02 5:29 pm Permalink
Tiare, be sure to try the Tiki Puka Puka recipe I posted earlier in this thread as well as the one supplied with the concentrate. The recipe supplied with the concentrate doesn't taste much like what is served in the restaurant. Also, be careful to use only 1/4 to 1/3 oz of concentrate for the Puka Puka. If you use 1/2 oz the allspice flavor may dominate the drink. Of course, a high quality grenadine makes for a better Tiki Puka Puka. Finally, I mix my Puka Pukas with crushed ice in an electric drink mixer (milk shake mixer) to get a good chill and melt enough water to fill my grapefruit supreme goblet.
I just made one with 1/4 oz of concentrate and a generous dash of quality grenadine and WOW, what a great drink! Don't tell them but it is even better than what I get at the restaurant. I used 1 oz of El Dorado White, 1 oz of Appleton Reserve and 1 oz of Lemon Hart 151 "new label". I've been making them the last few nights as my gardenia from my Friday Tiki Bowl still survives and I've found the sweet spot for me! This must be what the Trader had in mind!
[ This Message was edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-04-02 20:44 ]
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 277 | Posted: 2013-04-02 7:21 pm Permalink
Trad'r Bill, I wouldn't read too much into the labels. I obtained the bottle on the right at Emeryville near the end of 2010 and it has the same label as your new bottle. Every bottle I've gotten in the last two years at Palo Alto and Emeryville (except the recent mail order bottles) has the label of the bottle in the middle, which is utilitarian compared to the others. It lacks recipes, the Trader Vic bio, etc. Finally the bottle on the left is the retail Navy Grog Mix which evidently isn't available anymore.
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littlegiles
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 08, 2003
Posts: 665
From: Lancaster, SC
| Posted: 2013-04-02 8:28 pm Permalink
So I noticed they do not have it on the site again. Perhaps they are sold out already or am I missing something?
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 277 | Posted: 2013-04-02 8:43 pm Permalink
You're right, it is gone again.
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Trad'r Bill
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2008
Posts: 492
From: Hercules, CA
| Posted: 2013-04-02 8:47 pm Permalink
Thanks for setting me straight TDB... I think you're right about me reading too much into it.
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Little fragrant Tiare
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 211 | Posted: 2013-04-02 11:44 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2013-04-02 17:29, TropicDrinkBoy wrote:
Tiare, be sure to try the Tiki Puka Puka recipe I posted earlier in this thread as well as the one supplied with the concentrate. The recipe supplied with the concentrate doesn't taste much like what is served in the restaurant. Also, be careful to use only 1/4 to 1/3 oz of concentrate for the Puka Puka. If you use 1/2 oz the allspice flavor may dominate the drink. Of course, a high quality grenadine makes for a better Tiki Puka Puka. Finally, I mix my Puka Pukas with crushed ice in an electric drink mixer (milk shake mixer) to get a good chill and melt enough water to fill my grapefruit supreme goblet.
I just made one with 1/4 oz of concentrate and a generous dash of quality grenadine and WOW, what a great drink! Don't tell them but it is even better than what I get at the restaurant. I used 1 oz of El Dorado White, 1 oz of Appleton Reserve and 1 oz of Lemon Hart 151 "new label". I've been making them the last few nights as my gardenia from my Friday Tiki Bowl still survives and I've found the sweet spot for me! This must be what the Trader had in mind!
[ This Message was edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-04-02 20:44 ]
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Yep i`m planning to try them both! the grenadine i have is my own homemade hibiscus grenadine.I´m also gonna make 3 different navy grogs to compare the concentrate with the elisabeth dram and my homemade grog mix.I wish i had those nice sugar swizzle sticks for garnish but maybe i should make ice cones?
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Little fragrant Tiare
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 211 | Posted: 2013-04-02 11:47 pm Permalink
Quote:
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Yep, I always thought the Grog concentrate tasted like Coca Cola syrup, with allspice mixed in.
On a side note, I was telling Jon, the Emeryville bar manager, about us gushing over the grog mix on TC, and he was kind enough to give me a bottle (plus a bottle of the Mai Tai mix - woot!) I noticed a couple changes in their packaging...
New bottle is on the left, mail-order bottle on the right. Notice the absence of the "For Professional Use Only" logo on the new bottle, plus the more consumer-friendly, name change:
This suggests to me that they are planning on selling this to the public for good.
-Trad'r Bill
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Damn i was hoping...but maybe one day they will sell and also ship internationally?
It def has some sort of cola notes in the flavor, it`s def not a one dimensional flavor.
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happy buddha
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 13, 2008
Posts: 406 | Posted: 2013-04-04 4:55 pm Permalink
Made the Bum's Ancient Mariner, subbing the concentrate for allspice, & swapping the ratios w/ the sugar syrup.
Pretty darn tasty.
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Little fragrant Tiare
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 211 | Posted: 2013-04-06 09:24 am Permalink
Quote:
| I just made one with 1/4 oz of concentrate and a generous dash of quality grenadine and WOW, what a great drink! Don't tell them but it is even better than what I get at the restaurant. I used 1 oz of El Dorado White, 1 oz of Appleton Reserve and 1 oz of Lemon Hart 151 "new label". I've been making them the last few nights as my gardenia from my Friday Tiki Bowl still survives and I've found the sweet spot for me! This must be what the Trader had in mind!
[ This Message was edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-04-02 20:44 ]
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I made my first Tiki Puka Puka with the grog concentrate and used the recipe you posted and i omitted the lemon juice and used 1/3 grog concentrate and a generous splash of my homemade grenadine. Maybe i took too much and the drink got quite red but then again, the grenadine didn´t overpower the drink, prolly cuz it was homemade.(hibiscus grenadine) With a commercial grenadine i would`ve taken much less.For rums i used Banks Five Islands, Appleton Extra and LH151.
It turned out a spicy and tasty drink, i cannot compare to the restaurant version since i never had it.
Gonna make Navy grogs in a while with the grog concentrate, my homemade grogmix using the recipe with reduced coke from the navy grog thread and then one with Elisabeth allspice dram. I`m gonna use Martin Cate`s recipe for the navy grogs which seems to be the most balanced from what i`m reading.
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 277 | Posted: 2013-04-06 4:22 pm Permalink
It's funny, I was just having one for lunch (my gardenia still survives!) and took a look at Tiki Central and saw your post. You definitely found a great goblet for the drink. I'm convinced that 1/4 oz of concentrate is enough as any more can over power the other flavors. Before I learned the difference between the concentrate and the mix I actually used 1 1/2 oz of concentrate (thinking concentrate meant double strength, as in their orgeat syrup, and the '72 bartender's guide specified 3 oz of Grog Mix) in my Tiki Puka Puka and now I'm down to 1/4 oz! The 1/4 oz of concentrate was confirmed by Trader Vic's bartenders. I'm using this grenadine which is made from pomegranates and cane sugar: http://smallhandfoods.com/store/index.php/syrups/grenadine . It doesn't have any artificial food coloring. It might be available at Tales of the Cocktail as the woman who manufactures it is a high-end bartender in the bay area and she just might attend. Here is what I just imbibed:
Oh well, back to doing my weekend chores!
[ This Message was edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-04-06 19:12 ]
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Little fragrant Tiare
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 211 | Posted: 2013-04-06 6:35 pm Permalink
That Tiki Puka Puka looks nice, how long have your gardenia survived? i usually put mine in a small bowl of water but not in the fridge, maybe i should start doing that.
I just made 3 navy grogs, well 4 really...i first made one with the grog concentrate and a bit later after my dinner i made 3 smaller ones to taste test the difference between the grog concentrate, my homemade grog mix ( from WillTiki - http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=12468&forum=10&39) and then the St Elisabeth allspice dram.
I`m gonna write all this down on my blog but my conclusion is that the grog concentrate is way superior with a fuller and more complex flavor, then comes the homemade grog mix - which is quite good, but i think could benefit from making a thicker coke reduction and maybe also simmering the spices longer.
The least good for this drink i think was the allspice dram because it tasted too much allspice and also one dimensional compared to especially the grog concentrate.
Navy grog with the TV grog concentrate. I tried to make a moai shaped ice cone lol
The glass on the left side is the homemade grog mix, the one in the middle the grog concentrate and the one on the right is the allspice dram.
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[ This Message was edited by: Little fragrant Tiare 2013-04-06 18:47 ]
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Little fragrant Tiare
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 211 | Posted: 2013-04-06 6:45 pm Permalink
Oh forgot to say that the recipe i used as base for the 3 different Navy Grogs is Martin Cate`s from when he did bartend at TVs.
Juice of 1/2 lime, 0.75 oz grapefruit juice, dash simple syrup, 1 oz gold rum, 1 oz dark rum, 1/2-1/3 oz Lemon Hart 151.
And i used 1/3 grog concentrate, 0.25 oz allspice dram and 0.5 oz homemade grog mix.
I don´t have any gold rum so i used 2 oz dark rum (Appleton Extra) and then LH151.
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 277 | Posted: 2013-04-06 7:28 pm Permalink
My gardenia has survived for over eight days, several Tiki Puka Puka's and a Tiki Bowl, and it still has some life left in it! Did you know that the Tiki Puka Puka has its own Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiki-Puka-Puka/35022946311 ?
I think you used an excellent Navy Grog recipe and fine rums. I agree that the St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram is very one dimensional, except in the after taste which is long and not very agreeable with me! I'm glad you were able to get the Grog Concentrate. Yes it is an allspice syrup but it is more than that, with dimensions that make for a spicy yet very agreeable drink.
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Little fragrant Tiare
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 12, 2007
Posts: 211 | Posted: 2013-04-07 07:53 am Permalink
I had no idea! thanks!
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[ This Message was edited by: Little fragrant Tiare 2013-04-10 12:08 ]
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