… and the big Mississippi, and the Town Honolulu, and the Lake Titicaca…
Here’s where it gets really, really weird.
The very definition of a cocktail for a great deal of American history was a drink consisting of a combination of a spirit, sugar, water, and bitters.
Normally, cocktails are all about balance. And tiki cocktails are no exception. The old rhyme is a good guideline to follow: one part sour, two parts sweet, three of strong, and four of weak. That is: one part citrus, two parts sugar (or syrup), three of liquor, and four of water (or shaken ice.)
But we like it weird here. And to make it weird, we’re going to throw balance out the window and feature a cocktail that’s a take on the classic Mai Tai—but with a very, very, weird twist.
That’s right. A normally supporting ingredient takes its turn in the spotlight in this drink.
It’s called the Stormy Mai Tai, and it’s all about the bitters.
Yep. This drink features a full ounce and a half of… Angostura bitters.
Stormy Mai Tai
1½ oz Angostura bitters
1 oz lime juice
¾ oz orgeat syrup
¾ oz curaçao
½ oz light rum
Combine all ingredients except rum in a shaker and shake. Pour into an old fashioned glass, and top with crushed ice. Float the rum on top, and garnish with a sprig of mint.
This cocktail is sheer, unadulterated brilliance. Created by Giuseppe Gonzalez of Clover Club and Dutch Kills, this drink takes the concept of bitters… to eleven.
I’m guessing that the “stormy” in the cocktail’s name is a nod to one of my all-time favorite cocktails, the national drink of Bermuda, the Dark ‘n Stormy. (Sidenote: it’s got to be made with Gosling’s rum to be a “Dark ‘n Stormy.” Any other rum, you need the full “and” in the middle.”
The Stormy Mai Tai hits right up front with ginger. But not fresh ginger; the ginger in the Angostura tastes like pickled ginger. It’s like your sushi plate was booby trapped. Luckily, the unagi missed you, but the ginger, well… the ginger got you right in the mouth.
But the ginger fades quickly, and lets you experience the incredible complexity of this cocktail. The interplay between the citrus of the lime and the curacao, and the sweet nuttiness of the orgeat makes this a killer drink.
The ingredients: Angostura Bitters; Pierre Ferrand Dry Orange Curacao; Orgeat; Lime Juice; El Dorado 3 year Rum.
The score: 9.1
How weird is it? It’s an ounce and a half of bitters. It’s weird. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there’s only a half ounce of rum and ¾ ounce of Curacao in this drink. The Angostura packs a punch at 88 proof. 9/10.