Bay Mosa

So, tomorrow, April 1st, marks the grand re-opening of Salem's own, The Lobster Shanty. In honor of this auspicious occasion, we here at Greatest Drink in the World... This Week, have decided to post their original creation, the Bay Mosa, created during those last hours before they shut down for the deepest, slumberiest heart of this past winter... Brrrr.

The name, Bay Mosa, is a portmanteau from the names of two other cocktails, the Bay Breeze and the Mimosa, due to the fact that the drink has elements of both. But the end result is a whole different category of yummy.

It is a simple, delicate kind of cocktail. Based on champagne, (or "sparkling wine" if of the non-French variety!), and with the addition of a sweet, (and damned tasty!) pomegranate liqueur and pineapple, this drink NEEDS to be assembled lovingly, (and, although Dee claims chance was a factor in its evolution, this baby is dripping with "intelligent design!")

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker of ice, add:

- a heavy splash, (sploosh?) of Pama, Pomegranate Liqueur

- a splash of pineapple juice

- Shake well!

- Strain into a nice sized wine goblet

- gently pour in about 4 ounces of Champagne, or sparkling wine.

Dee's notes: Li'l Sarah, (Sarah Stellato, our bar manager,) was facing a conundrum - it was just after New Year's Eve when we found ourselves with a leftover case of inexpensive, (for mixing only,) Champagne. The Shanty was closing soon and we didn't want to order any more product. We figured we'd feature Mimosas for the rest of the season, however we were low on orange juice and there was a citrus frost down south so that O.J. was extra pricey.

We looked around and discovered that we had plenty of pineapple juice left. We tried a sample of the two together, (Oh! The hardship!) but felt like it was missing something. Originally, we tried a bit of grenadine, but it was kinda cloying, so we looked around a little more and were overjoyed to discover that we had plenty of Pama Liqueur left.
A splash of that instead of grenadine and we were in business. Not only did it help us sell down the extra product, but it was delicious to boot!

Necessity is truly the mother of invention - Win!
Dee

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Video of the week, (and only just barely related!) is a little number by The New York Dolls called Dance Like A Monkey.

Enjoy!

- C:

The Rum Swizzler

Originally called a Bermuda Rum Swizzler, (for the Gosling Bermuda Rum!) the name got truncated with the inclusion of the Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum, but the change was worth it!

When Joe mixed this little beauty up for me, I was diggin' it with a powerful love!

It is just the right combination of rum and juices that really scratches me right where I itch!

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice add:

-A 3-count of Gosling Black Seal Bermuda Black Rum,

- a 2-count of Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum,

- a 1-count of falernum

- 1 whole lime, (squozen and juiced!)

- a 2 count orange juice,

- a 2-count pineapple juice

Shake until frrrothy, (if possible, roll your r's in reading this. Thank you.)

Strain into a nice hurricane glass and garnish with a wedge of lime and a cherry.

Joe's notes: As the temperatures in the North East soared over the freezing point this past weekend, my palate began to crave a more tropical flavor. The Rum Swizzler, with both falernum and rum, fitted the bill quite nicely, (for further falernum recipes, type "falernum" in the search box on side panel of blog).

Rum and the images it conjures up, desert islands, buried treasures and swashbuckling heroes has been a favorite of mine since childhood. Now before you tag me as some sort of pediatric dipsomaniac or demented Ahab, let me explain.

When I was just a mere lad, dodging my way through the streets of Old Blighty, I would often offer up a few coins to the counter assistant in exchange for a bar of "Old Jamaica." Under the wrapper, embossed with a pirate ship, lay the treasure, a delicious dark chocolate bar crammed with rum soaked raisins.

Another childhood favorite of mine was the "Rum Baba". This was a light pastry similar to a brioche, speckled with raisins and soaked in a thick rum laced sugar syrup. Sitting in class with the front of my school shirt and tie heavily stained with the syrup, I would receive the customary smack around the back of the head. Do you think I cared?

Bus fare spent and pockets stuffed with rum and butter candies, I would happily walk the three miles home.

With age, however, I have put these childhood delicacies behind me. I am now enjoying my rum in its liquid form.

In fact, I am sitting in my Halloween Pirates of the Caribbean costume and drinking a Rum Swizzler out of a pewter tankard.

I hope the wife is not going to make me walk the plank.... Oops! Speaking of treasure....here she comes now.

Ahoy, me mateys!

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This wasn't my first choice for The Video of the Week, but it is so related, and done really well, (and after Joe's notes, I had little choice otherwise!)

Why is the rum gone?

The Pineapple/Guava Zombie

TIKI-TIME!

The single-digit temperatures, snow, ice and freezing rain this time of year, make me long for the islands with their undulating waves, tropical breezes, minimal attire, and, of course, rum. With this in mind, (and because main mixologist Joe is on vacation, AGAIN!) I decided to revamp a favorite number of my own.

Since posting 'MY MAI TAI' last, uh, whenever , I have been doing a lot of experimenting with various rum combinations here at my home bar. After some trials and error, (and a few willing test subjects,) I believe I have finally found the Zombie recipe I have been searching for.

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice add:

- a 1 count of 151 Rum,

- a 1 count of Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum,

- a 2 count of apricot brandy,

- a 1 count of Parrot Bay Pineapple Rum,

- a 4 count of guava/pineapple juice

Shake "monstrously,"

- float Kraken Black Rum on top,

- garnish with a chunk of pineapple and a little paper umbrella, (mandatory!)

Chris's Notes: I mentioned above about "willing test subjects," allow me to elaborate on that particular evening!

Recently, (deep into my recipe experimentation,) the missus and I had some old friends over. We had pizza and shot the sh... uh, breeze about old times and whatnot.

Then, I tossed out, "Who wants to try my new Guava/Pineapple Zombie?"

Two of our guests, Ron and Joyce, claimed to be leery of hard liquor and would only try a small glass. One guest, Kenny, said how he LOVES Zombies and would definitely try one or two, and the other, Terry, couldn't as she was the designated driver.

I got to mixing. I made Ron and Joyce each a 10-ounce cocktail, each a scaled-down version of the original, with paper umbrella and all. (The paper umbrella IS mandatory, after all.)

Kenny and I both enjoyed our Zombies in their full-size, big-boy serving, pint glasses.

A unanimous cheer from all tasters. Ron and Joyce enjoyed the drink enough to get another two each. The loved how the guava/pineapple concealed much of the 151's power, but you could still taste the flavor.

Kenny? Kenny absolutely dug it! He downed his and asked for another! A self-proclaimed Zombie connoisseur, he found this particular balance of flavors, juices and spirits to scratch him right where he itched!

Well, as our reminiscing drew to a close, and all of the Zombies were metered out, we said our "good evenings," and let the night end.

Ron and Joyce, who were our overnight guests, slept like the very dead, and then deep into the following morn. Terry called that following morning and confided that she needed to make a few unscheduled stops along the way home for Kenny to, uh, toss out some of last night's pizza.

The moral of this week's story: Beware the subtle power of the Zombie!

The Guava/Pineapple and the 151 are both intensely powerful and work very nicely together. But know your limits with this drink, kids.

Or the Zombie will bite you.

Chris

P.S. If Ron, Joyce, Terry, or Kenny read this: That was a great night, let's do it again soon!

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The token video this week is, appropriately enough, The Brains with 'More Brains!'

A little horror-themed Psychobilly to accompany your mixing!

BRAINS!!!

Blue Lagoon

The summer "dog days" seem to be upon us. Cocktails now have the responsibility of cooling us down, and making us feel like we are on a tropical vacation, as well as tasting great.

The exotic-looking, (and exotically named,) classic cocktail, The Blue Lagoon, does this with ease.

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice,

- Add a 3 count of Svedka Citron vodka

- Add a 2 count of Blue Curacao

- Add a "sploosh" of Pineapple juice

- Fill with ice

- Shake! Shake like the wind!

- Strain over fresh ice,

- Top with a splash of lemon/lime soda

- Garnish with a lemon wedge and a cherry, (paper umbrella option but highly recommended!)

Chris's Notes: The original Blue Lagoon, (cocktail, that is,) did not have the benefit of the added pineapple juice. Joe "punched" this up specifically for today's blog. Although, the more you add, the "turquoiser" your Lagoon gets, the taste also improves... In my opinion, anyways.

The finished product is a light and refreshing drink, cooling one down nicely on a hot summer's day, but friendly enough for "less seasoned" tolerances, (A.K.A.,"lightweights.")

I immediately thought of frequent guest researcher, Sharon Mc as I drank this. Sharon primary role on the research team is to review the lighter cocktails, just like this one. However, that being said, I could very easily see myself enjoying a couple of these big, blue refreshments as the temperature climbs!

Joe's Notes: The Blue Lagoon, although it may not be considered a true classic, is certainly a retro cocktail. It is a light, very refreshing, summer drink. For my Fourth of July cookout, I will be serving pitchers of the Blue Lagoon, along with some chilled Italian semi-sparkling red and white wines. Yes, I did say chilled red wine, and Yes, I do celebrate the Fourth of July.

As many of you know, I am a Brit, but I do consider myself American by choice. By this I mean that although I was not born in the US. I have made the choice to live here over my country of birth. Now, how patriotic is that?! (Although I must admit that I was cheering for the English soccer team over the USA during the World Cup.)

The Blue lagoon was very popular during the early eighties in London partly due to that awful New Romantic movement.

For some bizarre reason "men" thought it was cool to dress in pirate/swashbuckling frilly shirts and tight black pants. Wearing heavy make-up they would pose in the clubs drinking Blue Lagoons.The nightclub lights caused the Blue Lagoon to light up like a light-saber from Star Wars.

Thankfully, I can honestly say I was never part of this group, (I can't speak for Chris, though)

The other image of the Blue Lagoon from the eighties is of the lovely Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins frolicking around on the beach on a sun drenched island. The movie, although not very good, did have some surprisingly memorable moments.

So whether you drink the Blue Lagoon as part of your Fourth of July celebrations, dressed as Adam Ant, (which, by the way, was the name of an urinal manufacturer in England,) or frolicking on the beach with Brooke Shields, I hope you enjoy it, (the drink that is).

Have a great Fourth.

Joe

And, lucky you, the Greatest Video in the World... This Week is is also big and blue: We Got It All. But it is much harder to describe, (and even more difficult to swallow!)

The Zombie

On The Greatest Drink in the World... This Week's facebook page, there is a section for readers to request a specific drink. So far, only two drinks have been requested; a Bloody Mary, (see the "Bloody Molly,") and The Zombie.

This week we are pleased as Planter's Punch to be honoring that request.

The Recipe:

- a 2 count Bacardi White Rum

- a 2 count Mount Gay Rum "Eclipse"

- 1/2 of a lime freshly "squozen"

- a 1 count of Apricot Brandy

- a "sploosh" of of Pineapple juice

- a shot of falernum

- Shake 'monstrously'

- Strain over fresh ice

-Top with Kraken Black Spiced Rum

- Garnish with a marischino cherry and a wedge of lime

- Little paper umbrella optional, (but HIGHLY recommended!)

Joe's Notes: The Zombie is one of those cocktails that has a number of variations as to its ingredients. This is partly due to the secrecy of the inventor of the Zombie, Donn Beach. (There is even some discrepancy on whether he did, in fact, invent this drink.) He refers to one of the ingredients as "Donn's Mix" and never divulges what that mix actually is. Many bartenders will wave their cocktail shakers and bar spoons about fervently laying claim to the best zombie, and at the same time dismiss others Zombies as "inferior concoctions"

Our Zombie, that we are entering into the GDITWTW library has, as always, both quality, and fresh ingredients. The use of Falernum is one of Donn Beach's original ingredients that I believe is an essential part of the drink.

A word on Zombies and other monsters...

During a debate at the House of Lords in London on the existence of monsters and where they could have possibly come from. (Yes, this really did take place!) The Earl of Halsbury said this, "I have always thought that just as a mother, when baking bread, leaves a little of the dough over in order that the children can make funny little men with raisins for tummy buttons and put them in the ovens and bake them alongside the cake or bread for the day. So possibly on the day of creation, a little of the divine power was left in reserve for the lesser cherubim and seraphim to use and they were allowed to make funny little objects."

Chris's Notes: Thank you, Joe. I now fear British politics more than I do the undead.

But, as far as this week's drink, The Zombie, is concerned, I am very excited. I have mentioned in previous posts my love of Rum and Juice combinations, (HECK! Toss in Nachos and Peanut M&Ms and you'd have my 'Four Basic Food Groups!') and The Zombie is no exception.

Now, there are a number of people throughout history whom I hold in high regard for their contributions to society; The Earl of Sandwich, The creator of the first bikini, and, (a personal hero of mine,) Donn Beach, A.K.A. Don The Beachcomber .

Don the Beachcomber was a rum connoisseur and THE man responsible for the The Vicious Virgin, Three Dots & a Dash, Navy Grog, The Dr. Funk, the Mai Tai, (a personal favorite,) and The Zombie, among many, many others.

According to legend, the drink was created for a friend of the Beachcomber's who was going on a trip by airliner. The friend, in his blissful ignorance, had three of these results-oriented mixes before departing and claimed to "be a zombie for the entire flight!" Hence the name.

The juices apparently hide the amount of alcohol to such an extent that, in an early example of a CMA, restaurants limited Zombies to only two per customer.

Of course, I couldn't let this post go without a couple of Zombie movie clips! Enjoy, (and thank you, cherubim and seraphim for your "funny little objects!")

- Zombie definition from "Ghost Breakers"

- Zombie vs. Shark from "Zombie,"

- The Shaun of the Dead movie trailer,

- "Zombiekill of the week" from 'Zombieland'

And lastly,

- The 'Fido' movie trailer.

And of course, a 'related' (finally!) token music video! (Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie!)

The Perfect Storm

Our regular drinks author, Joe the Bartender, decided to take a little time off, leaving me with the opportunity to go on a little field trip. In the very same neighborhood as my regular Friday night barstool, is The Lobster Shanty, a local establishment that boasts a wide assortment of accolades to it's name. It is also the home of this week's Greatest Drink, The Perfect Storm.

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice, add:

- a 1 count white rum,

- a 1 count Malibu Coconut Rum,

- a 1 count Captain Morgan Spiced Rum,

- a 2 count pineapple juice,

- a 2 count orange juice,

- Shake "tempestuously,"

- Strain into a 16 ounce pint glass full of fresh ice,

- sink a splash of cranberry juice, (DON'T splash that splash, though!)

- Float a generous ½ count of Myer's Dark Rum on top,

- Garnish with a wedge of lime and a cherry.

Bartender's notes: Diane, one of the owners of the Lobster Shanty, explained the creation of The Perfect Storm to me: "It was a group effort. No one wants to take the credit for the beverage publicly, but it was invented not long after the actual storm of the same name, (see movie with George Clooney.) Given the name because the Myers float makes the drink look like a foreboding sky over an angry ocean.

We see it as three drinks: One if you drink it from the bottom up with a straw, one if you sip it from the top down with yer mouth, and yet another if you stir or shake it - yet all are delicious."

Chris's notes: The Perfect Storm is one of the more famous of The Lobster Shanty's 'signature drinks,' (another being the "Lobstertini," but I decided to save that one for another day! Maybe this summer!) and I loved the name of this drink the first time that I heard it! It just screamed out 'summer' with a local accent. I knew I needed to try it out, and now that warm weather is hitting New England, (in random spurts, anyways,) the time was upon me!

Now, in that little poll over to the left in the sidebar, I voted for Rum. Twice. Because I love a good rum drink in the warmer weather. And that's what The Perfect Storm is. A good rum drink! The sinker of cranberry, (also a nice local touch!), gives it flavor, but not the overwhelming sweetness that comes with a shot of Grenadine. The pineapple and orange are sweet enough for that, and they are complimented nicely by the Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum. All this flavor is followed by that last blast of Myers, just when you need it. Delish!

The Lobster Shanty's Perfect Storm recipe also appears in The Bartender's Black Book by Stephen Kittredge Cunningham.

(And, of course, a video, related and everything!)