Matt Tench

I don't make agave syrup, I use it undiluted straight from the bottle.

FWIW, Julio told me when I visited that they dilute the syrup 1:1 to make it more manageable in service. Unclear if they use 15 or 30ml - I was having too much fun to think to ask.

Sounds like a winner! Homemade marshmallow syrup (and to what recipe) or something like Monin?

Great recipe for the roasted pineapple syrup. I found the juice yield increased when I just pressed the pineapple chunks through a fine sieve by hand (and then poured through a chinois). I used the left over pulp to make roasted pineapple leather for a garnish for another drink where I also now use the syrup. I also make it as a 2:1 (by weight) syrup with 50% raw cane sugar and 50% white (or the pineapple is smothered).

Due to the sugar in the pineapple, the brix at 2:1 as described is high and I find dialling back the amount used in drinks necessary. It also precipitates sugar (for the same reason) and requires gentle reheating periodically. It would be worthwhile using a refractometer to remake this at a target brix.

Great recipe for the roasted pineapple syrup. I found the juice yield increased when I just pressed the pineapple chunks through a fine sieve by hand (and then poured through a chinois). I used the left over pulp to make roasted pineapple leather for a garnish for another drink where I also now use the syrup. I also make it as a 2:1 (by weight) syrup with 50% raw cane sugar and 50% white (or the pineapple is smothered).

It seems wrong that this isn't called the Perfect Pal... who wouldn't want one of those...

Getting the right amount of heat is really important, it is way too easy to overpower the drink which is multi dimensional if you get it right.

Also - Tajin rim. You’ll thank me.

It’s hot. I got bored of making Mojitos. I made a round of these and NO-ONE in the bar wanted to go back to Mojitos…

NB - ditched the sugar garnish, adds little, makes cleanup harder.

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Molt bé!

It’s ok, but there is no way Campari is the optimum Amari for this. TBD…

I'd double the banana liquor to be truer to the drinks name

Yep. I added 5ml at a time and it indeed needed another 20ml to bring it into the banana zone. To be fair some Cachacas are more ‘bananaery’ than others.

I feel I need to comment on this because fabulous but I can’t really improve on the creators own description. Errr, it’s fabulous..! Feels related to the also fabulous Ultima Palabra, IDK the chronology on that.

It is only 11% alc./vo./, so depending on storage conditions, it does not have enough alcohol to prevent mould forming. So yes, I'd refrigerate. OR use a more alcoholic Falermum like our own Difford's Falernum, which is 18% alc./vol. No mould will form on a product over 17% alc./vol. That's why Bailey's liqueur is 17%!

If you can't buy Difford's Falernum, you could bring up the proof of Taylor's to 18%. Allowing for contraction and staying at around 700ml total, using 96% alcohol, you'd need to remove 58ml of Falernum (and make something nice), add in 58ml of 96% and you'd have 693.7ml of 18%.

Or use (more) OP rum: e.g. Wray and Nephew OP at 63% would need 95ml or Plantation Original Dark at 73% would need 80ml.

IDK the taste profiles though of the new versions, you could do a smaller sample to experiment.

Blind tested a few rums for fun (white and light gold) and Havana Club 3 year version was consistently preferred by the group (Absolut VV, kept as as constant).

I know this from my Edinburgh days as the Iron Monkey, though the proportions are different, 1 part peated whiskey to 2 parts Irn-Bru (above it's 2.8). I like it 'monkey style' but I encourage people to experiment with the highball ratios and see which they enjoy the most!

This is a tricky one to judge. It is very dependent on the Bourbon you use . I used Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and it was very prominent, with the Luxardo mainly just providing the sweetness. A Bourbon forward drink ( as it should be) that is fairly enjoyable.

Agreed. After quite some experimentation, Maker's Mark FTW...

Does the 5 minute infusion really work? Most recipes have a full bottle infusing for 2 hours, but is five minutes enough for a single serving? Also, how much tea to use for a single serving? As much as if I was making a regular cup of Earl Grey?

You can always (and should) taste. In my case 5 minutes wasn't enough (Twining's Earl Grey) and it needed 6 to better profile the tea.

I tried it with Beefeater and Tanq 10 and also split base of the above (50/50 and 80/20) and in every blind test the Beefeater 100% was preferred (as it's quite taste neutral and the tea was better perceived).

Per the comment from Simon about dilution, I tried serving with a single large ice cube in a rocks glass and sipping it, there is definitely an optimum dilution and it's more than you think. I'd also suggest using a dropper for the absinthe and tasting, it can quickly overwhelm the drink.

Let's not forget our aromatised wines, this plus fridge does stave off degradation.

In Mexico you can order this shaken (shakeado) - which is what I prefer - or you can order it poured and separated as above (puesto).

This story proves Difford’s needs a ‘Like’ button

Hi I’m about to make mojitos for a largish group. I had always read about muddling the mint/cut lime/sugar which takes some effort. Simon what does “churn with crushed ice” mean please? Surely just not stir it all up? Thanks!

In case anyone else finds themselves here needing to make mojitos for a large group, I find Dave Arnold's technique of blender muddling (see his book Liquid Intelligence) to work really well. The prep has a shelf life of 15 minutes, which is ample time to deliver a big round. I dump the leftovers into a large noodle sieve to ready the blender for round 2 and deal with it all in one go at the end of the night.

It's worth noting that serving this rocks will change the perception of sweetness. The straight-up spec here on Diffords has the same amount of sweetener.

You can test this by making a double batch (blanco or reposado) and serving half rocks and half straight-up and comparing. A fun experiment! Good science demands several runs...