Punch It Up!
What a tough job? Today we solicited 6 locals in spirits and media to be judges in the annual Tales of the Cocktail competition. In 2007 our judges tasted over 50 cocktails in one afternoon so needless to say this year we had to tweak the judging process as they all stumbled out of the room. For our sixth anniversary we punched things up with our annual cocktail competition. We asked bartenders to create a punch cocktail. Punch was derived from the Hindu word for five and is traditionally made with five ingredients: liquor, sugar or sweetening agent, citrus juice, tea (or other spice) and water. By the end of the 17th century it was most of the popular drinks in England and its colonies. You may have your own punch recipe as well as these are great drinks for a crowd and rum punches have a long history in Louisiana. There are some old ones in Stanley Clisby Arthur’s book on Famous NO Drinks and how to mix them. If you have one to share please send it to me. Our winner will be announced on May 12th and at that time I will share the recipe with you. As always some were very tasty and some you wondered what they were thinking.
The Painkiller lives up to its name!
Mr. Cocktail and myself just returned from a belated honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands or as locals refer to the area BVI. It was our first adventure chartering our own sailboat and visiting various islands. The first night we arrived in Tortola we were exhausted after a long day of travel and discovered the national drink of the BVI, the Painkiller. The Painkiller is in the Pina Colada family and is usually not served frozen. The recipe that I am providing you to try this weekend is blended with a lot of ice. It can be shaken instead but you will have a smoother drink if you use a blender.
Please see below for a Painkiller from Jeff “Beachbum” Berry.
4 ounces unsweetened Pineapple Juice
1 ounce Orange Juice
1 ounce coconut cream (Coco Lopez is the best brand)
2 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum such as Myer’s, Pusser’s or Coruba)
Put all of the above in a blender and blend at high speed without ice, until the coconut cream is thoroughly liquefied with other ingredients. Then pour the mixed drink unstrained into a cocktail shaker and shake well with plenty of ice. Pour the chilled, shaken drink unstrained into a double old fashioned glass. Top with a pinch of grated nutmeg and another pinch of powdered cinnamon.
The Pina Colada was invented in San Juan which is close to Tortola but I must admit that I was unfamiliar with the Painkiller cocktail until we arrived in the islands. If you have a drink you have newly discovered please share it with me.
Cheers!
COCKTAIL FILM FEST
Host Cheryl Charming presents movies and themed cocktails and food March 21 – 22.
What is it?
Tales of the Cocktail and the W New Orleans invite movie buffs and libation lovers to indulge in two evenings of celebrating cocktail in film. Cheryl Charming, cocktail writer and founder of MissCharming.com, plays hostess for the screening.
Get Tickets or Click here for full event description