If you’ve ever experienced a tiki drink, you probably know that tiki culture involves fun, flair, and plenty of flavor. I’m no tiki expert, but I’ve had blast seeking out tiki bars in my travels and often gravitate to tiki drinks for their delicious blend of fruit and nut ingredients. The trend started in mid-century America and has, in my opinion, seen a recent resurgence in popularity. It’s hard not to get behind a cocktail style that’s so theatrical and easy to enjoy.

My biggest qualm with a lot of tiki drinks is that they tend to be deceptively debilitating. The drink tastes great as you’re enjoying it, but the aftermath can hit quite unpleasantly. Tiki drinks often contain a fair amount of booze but, more likely, it’s the sugar content that causes your hangover. Typical tiki syrups and liqueurs are high in sugar content on their own and are often used in combination with a slew of sweet fruit juices.

I wanted to create a cocktail that was true to tiki flavors and garnish while being easier on my body. After some brainstorming, I landed on a combination of an aged and spiced rum, fresh apricot puree, orgeat, and lime. I paired Grander, a high-proof Panamanian rum aged for 8 years in bourbon barrels, with Spytail, a ginger-spiced French rum with a delightful vanilla smoothness. Joining the rums with a 1-1 ratio gave me the spirit strength I wanted and allowed the spice flavors to elevate the drink rather than steal the show from the other ingredients.

I chose to include fresh, ripe apricots rather than apricot liqueur to control the sugar content and was rewarded with a burst of authentic flavor. To give the puree an easier consistency to work with, I added lime, water, and a bit of demerara sugar to the apricots before blending them. The leftover puree held up well in my fridge for about a week, allowing me to experiment adding it to other drinks without worrying about the whole fruit going bad.

The real highlight of this drink is the homemade orgeat. Orgeat, pronounced "or-zhat," is a rich almond syrup with a hint of floral flavor. Store-bought varieties tend to be pricey, artificial or overly sweet, so I experimented with making my own. In a nutshell (pun intended), you grind up toasted almonds and then soak them in a simple syrup overnight for the nut oils to be released. Orange flower water is added for the floral flavor and a bit of vodka acts as a preservative. You can also use the discarded ground almonds as a topper for oatmeal or yogurt - just toast them in the oven after straining them out of the syrup.

Going in the tiki direction gave me an excuse to get really wild with my garnish. I've been mesmerized by flaming lime garnishes plenty of times at cocktail bars and found after some research that they're not too hard to recreate. The flame will burn longer if you use a stronger spirit so I recommend finding a cheap bottle of overproof liquor for this purpose. I wouldn't directly mix with the spirit I used for this garnish but it's great for making bitters. Because I care about your safety, please be sure to use a metal (not paper straw) or to add the straw after the flame dies out to avoid any unintended chaos.

Island Flair

1 oz Grander Rum (aged rum)
1 oz Spytail Rum (spiced rum)
1.5 oz apricot puree*
0.75 oz orgeat**
Shell of 1/2 lime
Sugar cube
Overproof spirit (I used 190 proof Polish pure spirit)

Stir first four ingredients with ice until chilled, then strain into a tiki mug or a colorful party glass over crushed ice. Add crushed ice as needed to fill your glass to the top, insert a metal straw, and nestle a hollow lime half into the ice, open side up. Place a sugar cube into the lime, pour a bit of overproof spirit over the sugar cube and then light the sugar cube to ignite the flame. Enjoy while wearing your most ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and dreaming of your next tropical getaway.

*To make the apricot puree, blend 8 ripe apricots (seeds removed), 0.5 oz lime juice, 1 tbsp demerara sugar and 1 oz water. Strain out any leftover solids if you prefer a smoother consistency and store the excess in the fridge for up to 1 week.

**To make the orgeat, broil 3 cups of almonds until toasted, then grind them up in a blender. Add 1 cup demerara sugar and 2 cups waster to a medium saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the almonds to the syrup and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the syrup from heat, cover and allow to infuse for at least 12 hours. Strain out the solids, then pour into a glass jar or bottle and add 0.25 tsp orange flower water and 0.5 oz vodka. Store excess in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the beautiful vintage glasses.

It may have been an absurdly mild Chicago winter and temperatures may still be oscillating but I have officially decided that spring is upon us. Is there a snowstorm in our future? Probably. Does that need to dampen my excitement for abundant sunshine and the return of color to the world? Not at all.

I wanted to celebrate my heightened spring spirits with a refreshing and floral cocktail. My wonderful photographer and friend, Belen, offered up a bottle of Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka for the occasion. Generally, I stray away from flavored spirits because I find them overly sweetened, poorly flavored or simply limiting. A bottle of plain vodka can be used for a much wider array of recipes if you're not seeking to highlight a single infusion. However, successful flavored and infused spirits can save you effort and elevate the complexity of your cocktails.

Crop's Cucumber Vodka impressed me with it's smoothness and accuracy of flavor. The cucumber element felt natural, fresh, and easy to work with. In the past, I've loved pairing cucumber and elderflower flavors. I decided to try something new with this cocktail but to stay in the floral realm for a fragrant spring feel. Conveniently, I have a ginormous jar of dried lavender flowers in my pantry. As a relevant side note, if you ever choose to work with lavender in home cooking or mixology, it's significantly cheaper to stock up on it in bulk. I picked up a pound on Amazon and haven't made a dent in it after over a year of semi-frequent use.

I finished the cocktail off with some lemon for a hint of tartness and club soda for a lighter, more refreshing feel. If you're feeling adventurous with your garnish, you can fairly easily recreate this cucumber ribbon at home - all you need is a medium sized, preferably firm cucumber and a veggie peeler. Simply peel a few strips off the long edge of the cucumber to get to the flesh, then run the peeler carefully along the cucumber from end to end. You'll be left with a long ribbon that has peel on the outside and flesh on the inside. Form the ribbon into a squiggle shape with your hands, then run a cocktail spear through and adjust as needed.

Awaiting Spring

2 oz Crop Cucumber Vodka
0.5 oz lavender syrup*
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
Club soda, to top
Fresh cucumber, for garnish

Mix vodka, lemon juice and lavender syrup in a shaker and shake with ice until chilled. Strain into a collins glass over ice, then top with club soda and garnish with a cucumber ribbon or slice. Enjoy repeatedly until spring finally arrives.

To make in bulk for an event, mix an entire 750 ml chilled bottle of Crop Cucumber Vodka, 1 cup of lavender syrup and juice of 7 small lemons in a large pitcher or punch bowl (you can add fresh cucumber slices for presentation). Top with chilled club soda and serve over ice.

*To make lavender syrup, add 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar to a small saucepan on medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, then add 1 tbsp dried lavender flowers. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then strain and allow to cool. Store excess in fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography.