A while ago I wrote about a book that has a permanent place next to all my shakers, stirrers, bottles and glasses: Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails. Occupying an adjacent piece of real estate are the various books authored by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. (If my bookshelf was an actual neighborhood, these would be the guys who are always out the front lawn, drink in hand, starting impromptu block parties).
The books in question, Sippin' Safari, Grog Log and Intoxica! are the definitive bibles of tiki/faux-tropical drink-making and history, and any half-aware cocktailian owns 'em. As for the author himself, there's not much I can add that hasn't already been documented elsewhere. Suffice it to say that Berry's impact on the tiki drink landscape can't underestimated- if it weren't for him, we'd all be buying powdered Mai Tai mix and drinking the equivalent of rum Slurpees.
So yeah, the guy pretty much single-handedly saved classic tiki drinks from being lost forever. No small feat, which is why you should have at least one of his books behind your bar at all times. And if you had to limit yourself to only one, the book I'd recommend conveniently just came out last week: Beachbum Berry Remixed.
Don't worry- I'm not going to do a full-on book review here. This is because:
1) There are going to be a ton of better-written ones appearing in the coming weeks.
2) When I write big, long posts it really cuts into my drinking time.
So the here's the scoop: Beachbum Berry Remixed combines the info from Grog Log and Intoxica! and wraps it all up with a boatload of full-color photos and illustrations. You get recipes, you get history, you get anecdotes, and you get useful facts on ingredients, including brand recommendations and how to make some things at home (if you're so inclined).
More importantly, there's new stuff. BBR isn't a barely-disguised attempt to re-package existing material like some lame greatest hits collection. The Bum has provided a bunch of new recipes (both his own and newly-unearthed ones), and there's also fresh background material on people, places and potions sprinkled throughout.
I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention there's an entire section containing new original recipes by drink writers, cocktail experts, bartenders, and people who play with booze and then blab about it online (a.k.a. bloggers). If you're the kind of person who travels the boozeblog circuit, you'll notice some familiar names, as there are contributions by this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy (who, by the way, is attempting to make every single drink in the book), and yours truly (As with my appearance in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, I've yet again found myself among people far more knowledgeable and experienced than myself. Nonetheless, I'm extremely flattered).
Anyway, if you're still reading this, stop now and go buy a copy of Beachbum Berry Remixed from your favorite purveyor of mashed-up trees and ink. Then make yourself a drink from it. One of my favorites is...
Zombie (midcentury version)*
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
1 oz. passion fruit syrup
1 oz. light Puerto Rican rum
1 oz. gold Puerto Rican rum
1 oz. lemon Hart 151-proof Demerara rum
1 tsp. Demerara sugar syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake well with lots of crushed ice and pour into a tall glass.** Garnish with a mint sprig.
* people who like this incarnation of the Zombie (like me) take considerable guff from those who prefer the other versions. Whether this is due to its hazy provenance, less-intensive rum profile or inclusion of passion fruit syrup remains to be conclusively determined. Regardless, I'm sticking to my guns.
** Because I'm a colossal nerd and take this stuff way too seriously, I like to shake with a few large ice cubes and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Tomato, tomahto.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the Grogalizer has been updated and is fully operational! If you want to know what recipes from any of Jeff Berry's books you can make based on what currently resides on your liquor shelf, then the Grogalizer is what you need. Get over there and start mixing!
8 comments:
Hooray for your inclusion in yet another tippler's tome!
Seriously, this book is great. Also, I'm totally going to try and beat rick to the "punch", so to speak.
To date I've tried four versions of the Zombie, and I, too, like the passion-fruit syrup version best. (No surprise, given our like-mindedness on most things!) Although I am tired of buying passion fruit syrup and throwing most of it out. Tried freezing it, but that didn't work well either. Guess it's time to scrounge up a recipe and try it myself!
I shall add the new book to my library asap!
Nothing at all wrong with the Spievak Zombie. I go back and forth between it and the 1934 Donn Beach version. I have to cheat in both versions and sub Gosling's 151 and a bit of ED dark for the rapidly disappearing LH 151.
In the Spievak, I've used Ron del Barrilito 3 star as well as Bacardi 8 as the PR gold and definitely prefer the Bacardi 8 here, though the Barrilito
Mr. Berry is on the hot seat with my wife, I've paid more attention to him in the last week than her!
The best version of the Zombie is the '34. Jeff said it was his favorite. So there.
Sure, he might have just said that to get the stalking to stop, but that's beside the point.
The Grogalizer?! The web app my life has been waiting for!
I have to confess I jumped right into some of the "new classics" Mr. Berry included in Remixed. At the top of the list of fabulous must-try drinks are Stephen Remsberg's Planter (wow!) and the Death and Co. Plunky Monkey — just in time to put a serious dent in the Bottle of Scarlet Ibis I finally tracked down. Cardamom spice and high proof bourbon in this one make for a really interesting cocktail.
Also really liking Ron Mosessco's Reverb Crash with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, but this one's more of an old favorite from its long standing as a favorite at Tiki Central.
Great post Doc! i wouldn´t be able to say it better! but of course i`ll say something on my blog and mix up something too..There`s a lot of interesting new stuff in the book! I just got it so i haven`t yet had the time to more than browse through it - drooling of course.
Blair..good luck..;-)
Post a Comment