Category Archives: Simple Syrup

Club-Mate, Cocktails, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, Soft drinks No comments

Matequirí – A non-alcoholic Daiquirí

I have been wishing for a non-alcoholic alternative to the Daiquirí, which is one of my favourite cocktails, if not my favourite cocktail, for a while now.

Recently I was introduced to Club Mate, a caffeinated soft drink based on mate extract manufactured in Münchsteinach, Germany by the Brauerei Loscher KG. My first impression on trying it for the first time was that its taste reminded me of a Ron Añejo, i.e., aged rum of the Spanish-style. If Club-Mate tastes somewhat like a Ron Añejo, then maybe a cocktail based on the classic Daiquirí recipe, where the Cuban rum is replaced by Cub-Mate, would taste like a Daiquirí, but without the alcohol. And yes, it does work very well, so much so that a Matequirí is a good alternative to a Daiquirí, if you do not want the alcohol!

Club-Mate is high on caffein , but is relatively low on suger content, and the amount of Club-Mate used in the Matequirí is still small compared to the contents of a 330 ml bottle.

Club-Mate is now available in both the U.S. and U.K.

2 oz 60 ml Club Mate
1 oz 30 ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
½ oz 15 ml Bar syrup

Shake all ingredients with ice and double strain into a chilled coupé glass. Even though Club-Mate is carbonated, shaking the ingredients is not detrimental to the final cocktail.

Lime Juice, Rum, Simple Syrup No comments

Bajan Rum Punch

One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak. Well that’s the general formula for rum punch and this applies on Barbados as well. For Bajun Rum Punch, which is ubiquitous on Barbados, you use Barbados rum, of course. In addition, fresh nutmeg is grated on the finished punch as garnish. Sometimes nutmeg is also mixed in with the drink.

2¼ oz 67.5 ml Barbados rum (strong), e.g.,
Mount Gay Eclipse, 43% ABV, or Old Brigand, 43% ABV
¾ oz 22.5 ml Fresh lime juice (sour)
1½ oz 45 ml Simple syrup (sweet)
3 oz 90 ml Still mineral water (weak)
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Nutmeg

Shake ingredients with ice and pour contents and ice unstrained into a Collins glass. Grate a little nutmeg onto the finished punch as garnish.

Absinthe, Angostura Bitters, Cinnamon Syrup, Falernum, Gin, Lime Juice, London Dry Gin, Navy Strength Gin, Old Tom Gin, Pomegranate Juice, Simple Syrup, Tiki No comments

Lunipela Zombie – Another twist on the Zombie

Having read “Professor Cocktail’s Zombie Horde” by David J. Montgomery (ISBN:9781-494352806), a book devoted to just Zombie recipes, I noticed that there were really very few Zombie recipes that used other spirits than rum. One that caught my eye though was a single Zombie recipe based on gin. This sounded interesting, so I went about creating a gin-based Zombie, starting from Don the Beachcomber’s original Zombie recipe, replacing the rum with gin and the grenadine with fresh pomegranate juice as described in an earlier post.

I found that the recipe was astoundingly well balanced. The absinthe played well against the juniper coming from the gin. Try it out and see what you think.

1 oz 30 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, 47.3% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Haymans Old Tom Gin, 40% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Haymans Royal Dock of Deptford Gin, 57% ABV
½ oz 15 ml John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur, 11% ABV
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh lime juice
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh pomegranate juice
½ oz 15 ml Simple syrup
6 drops / 1/8 tsp 0.5 ml Absinthe Libertine 55, 55% ABV
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 tsp 10 ml Fresh grapefruit juice*
1 tsp 5 ml Cinnamon syrup*
6 oz /
¾ cup		 180 g Ice cubes

Place all ingredients but the overproof gin in a blender, adding the ice last, and blend at medium speed for no more than 5 seconds. Pour into a Tiki mug or, to better experience the beautiful vibrant colour of the cocktail, a tall glass (at least 15 oz/450 ml). Add ice cubes to fill. Layer the overproof gin over the ice at the top of the drink. Garnish with a wedge of fresh pineapple sandwiched between 2 maraschino cherries. Enjoy.

I have called this the Lunipela Zombie; lunipela in Hawaiian means Juniper, referring to the gin and also keeping it in the Tiki mold.

* Don’s Mix.