Tiki Drink Focus: Queens Park Swizzle

Badgersan — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:00:22 +0000

The Queens Park Swizzle has become my favorite. For a long time it was the Three Dots and a Dash, but the frosty swizzle has over taken it. Concocted in the 1920’s at the Queens Park Hotel in Trinidad, Angostura, has been lobbying to make the Queens Park Swizzle the official drink of Trinidad & Tobago. Angostura is famous for their namesake bitters and from what I’ve been reading, they may get there on making the drink official; For good reason really, it’s a fabulous drink that is quite simple in its ingredients but really highlights the rum and bitters, plus gives you a little minty smell to go along with it.

I have had this at several places recently (Hale Pele, Trader Vic’s Tokyo, Trader Sams), and it was finally when I had the Trader Sams version that I realized that this one is making a comeback as a popular rum drink. Incidentally, the drink is called the Safari Swizzle at Trader Sams if you ever try to look it up. Anyway, I again came across this drink at a, sadly, temporarily closed new restaurant at Mandalay Bay called Libertine Social. They in fact had a bunch of different swizzles, including this one. Hopefully I’ll be able to try them out if they ever open back up. The sign out front said reopening 11/30/17 but we’ll see.

So again what makes this drink fun is the method you use to make it properly. It will result in a nice thick frost on the outside of your Collins glass. The best presentation usually includes a cocktail napkin bib to keep your hands from freezing. Okay, enough of all that – On to the Recipe!

Queens Park Swizzle

¾ oz fresh lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
6-8 sprigs of fresh mint

Lightly bruise the mint before adding and then add above ingredients in a 13 oz Collins glass and fill with crushed ice. Using swizzle spoon, gently move a couple sprigs up the side of the glass. Swizzle until glass starts to get frosty. Then add the next ingredients…

2 oz Hamilton or Lemon Hart 151
3 heavy dashes Angostura Bitters

Fill the glass with more crushed ice and swizzle until the glass frosts over. Make sure you don’t crush the mint. Top with more crushed ice to finish then add 2 more dashes of bitters to top it off. Garnish with a large sprig of mint. Serve with a straw and napkin bib.

Napkin Bib

Open a standard square cocktail napkin fully and then fold in half to make a triangle. Twist the longest edge a few times to make a solid border and then wrap it around the Collins glass and gently tie it like a bandana.

I admit it takes a while to get the right amount of frost going on the glass, but spend the time, it makes the drink that much better to enjoy!

Queens Park Swizzle ala Badgersan

The post Tiki Drink Focus: Queens Park Swizzle appeared first on Badgersans Tiki Hut.

Tiki Bar Review: Hale Pele

Badgersan — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 13:00:02 +0000

A nondescript store front hidden among in an unassuming area, Hale Pele doesn’t seem like a tiki bar from the outside. What greets you inside though is a fantastic little bar. You immediately notice the long deep set bar where the seats are quite low and the bartenders are actually set down low as well to make for a comfortable and inviting tiki experience. I almost didn’t make it out here as I was only in the Portland area for a very short time and the schedule I was on barely allowed for the jaunt down into the city proper. Luckily I made it! And boy I’m so glad I did.

The Mai Tai

The Mai Tai is made by Hale Pele to the Vic’s standard of perfection and had a great frost on the outside on the glass. A good tell right away that you’re going to have a good experience in your Mai Tai is some frost on the glass, mint, and the spent half of the lime adorning the top. That’s the way it should be! Nom. Second beverage was the 151 swizzle. The 151 swizzle is quite close to the Queen’s Park Swizzle which is slowly becoming one of my favorite beverages. Strong and not too sweet, heavy on the bitters, bitters, and more bitters. This one was great. Swizzled perfectly as to require the necessary ‘bib’ on the outside as to not freeze your digits.

The Menu

Look at this menu though! So many fun things to explore through. Sad I could only come here the one night. Not only was this menu great, service warm and friendly, but whenever someone ordered, what I’m guessing were bowl style drinks, there would be several show events that would happen in the whole bar. For one the lights would start flickering into red and the tiki gods would start chanting; A second had a tropical storm approaching then arriving with thunderous lightning (with lightning fx to boot!). Super fun.

Overall

Don’t pass this place up. Tell me how the rest of those drinks are!

…and here is the rest of the menu, good stuff!

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