A PASSION FOR PASSION

It's no secret that we love a good trend in Toronto.

I've recently been obsessing for the first  time ever, over a tropical fruit.

Passion fruit and all of its tangy goodness.

Turns out, I'm not the only one. I keep seeing it in drink recipes everywhere. There's no point in trying to claim ownership over a trend or its birth in this city. I can at least attest to the fact that when the love affair started it felt organic. I did not realize I was following a trend. I really wanted burgers and bitter beer in 2009, I was genuinely craving tacos in 2011 and I've even gotten down with kale lately.

I was also on board when everyone here lost their s#*t because we all new that Loblaws (a Canadian grocery chain) had been selling croissant/donut hybrids long before the American one that became such a famous food trend. There was outrage here. Outrage! (well, Canadian outrage so nobody said anything, but we all knew...)

My point was supposed to be that we have a weakness for trends and that weakness has fallen on the passion fruit. If you haven't been seeing it yet, now that you've read this you're going to start noticing it everywhere. The trend is on.

PHOTO: GIUSEPPE PORZANI/FOTOLIA.COM

If you can get them like this, go for it!

I normally urge everyone to buy fresh but in this case, unless you are somewhere that Passion fruit is grown or so close to it, that it ships well, just use juice or puree. Any whole fruit I'd be able to get would be mostly dead, overly sour or flavourless, not what I want to add to this delicious drink. I happened to have a bottle of the puree from Sicoly in my freezer, but I have used an 100% juice from other brands and they will work as well. You can find several brands at any major grocery store.

This Tiki recipe is one I overlooked until I decided I needed to live a passion fruit lifestyle. It's Beachbum's Own and it's one of Beachbum Berry's original creations. I have no mind to mess with an already great recipe but as I have talked about before, it's important to know how to make confidant substitutions based on what you have available. Even Beachbum himself, published the recipe twice, once with passion fruit puree and once with passion fruit syrup.

I didn't have OJ or pineapple juice, but I did have clementines and frozen pineapple chunks. These both seemed reasonable. Also in the original, there is a mix of Demerara and Puerto Rican rum. However, I had just gotten a brand new bottle of the El Dorado 3yr white rum and was dying to mix something up. Technically speaking I've used two Demerara rums, a white and a dark.

When I'm working with existing recipes, I usually approach substitutions this way. Keeping the spirit (see what I did there?) of the original recipe, while working with what I've got. You should do the same. I fully encourage you to take my recipes and make them using what you've got as a staring place.

I still think of drink recipes as formulas, very much like recipes for baking. You can easily switch walnuts for almonds but trying to change the amount of baking powder will take some trial and understanding of the possible reactions.

Since I had the pineapple chunks anyway, I thought it was best to use the opportunity to break out the torch. What's more Tiki than fire?

You don't have to torch the pineapple garnish for this to be an amazing drink. I really love sweet & sour, this is one of the best examples of that in a Tiki drink. The other being a Zombie, my absolute favorite Tiki of all time. This passion fruit drink offers a full, round flavour, but at the same time it's very refreshing. That's a really difficult combination to create. So, let's all enjoy the genius of Beachbum Berry and jump on the passion fruit bandwagon by making this awesome Tiki drink.





Beachbum's Own
1 1/2 oz light rum, El Dorado 3yr
1 oz Demerara rum, El Dorado 5yr
3/4 oz Licor 43
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz pineapple juice or 4 thawed chunks
3/4 oz fresh clementine juice (or OJ)
3/4 oz passion fruit syrup ( mix 2 oz passion juice with 2 oz sugar)




Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker, fill 3/4 full with cracked ice. Shake well, strain into a tiki mug or 12 oz tumbler filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fresh pineapple and orange slices.










Have you jumped on the passion fruit trend? Is it happening where you live too?
Let me know in the comments below.

FUZZY NAVEL REDUX

Don't worry no one knows you're reading this and that you secretly love a Fuzzy Navel, how you long to be able to drink one in public without the shame. The fond memories of a high school dance and the mickey of peach schnapps you drank with an OJ chaser are fading and you need that sweet nectar to revive them.

Or, perhaps you have not so pleasant memories of a swirling gymnasium and every time you smell artificial peach you still feel a little ill.

That's alright, I'm here to help.

I added the twig garnish because I know you liked a Fuzzy Navel just as much at a bush party.

Let's update this "classic", give it the makeover it deserves and the redux you need in order to erase/revive the queasy/happy memories.


Of all of the good things that grow in Ontario, by far my absolute favorite are peaches. I'm working on a batch of peach liqueur, but until it's ready let's just use some fresh, ripe peaches. If you do not have fresh peaches, (maybe you're reading this in December, or perhaps in Russia) any tree ripe, stone fruit would be worth a try with this recipe.

The basket was full, but then liqueur, garnishes and a cobbler happened 

I admit to this drink being a bit more involved but I still think it's something you can make at home. It's worth it to be able to reclaim a drink you once loved. Oranges and peaches aren't very likely bedfellows, both preferring very different growing conditions. To that end I've used fresh peach but opted for an orange liqueur. The aged rum is good for adding a round, sweeter palate without contributing extra sugar.

This might serve as a moment to perform a little taste test. Pour yourself 1/4 oz white rum and 1/4 oz of aged rum. Any two you like or have. Place one drop of water in each glass. Nose (smell) one and try first to notice familiar scents. Then taste it and try to notice familiar flavours. Have a  plain cracker and some water and repeat with the second.

Use this opportunity for your first spirit tasting

What did you smell? What did you taste? Were you able to detect any differences in the two? Did one seem sweeter than the other?

Use this technique as a starting point for tasting and comparing spirits. It doesn't have to be two rums, it could be two gins or two completely different spirits. You'll start to create scent memories that will help you discern what you're drinking and guide your future choices. Like this updated version of a Fuzzy Navel that will hopefully bring you back just far enough to the happy place when you're still at the dance, Blind Melon is playing and you ARE a tap dancing bumble bee.

Special bonus for weekly readers, it's not pink!

The '94
1 oz rum (El Dorado 6yr Deluxe Silver)
1 oz triple sec 40% (Grand Marnier)
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 C ripe peach, roughly chopped
1 tsp (bar spoon) honey
dash angostura orange bitters
splash soda


Method
In a shaker combine all ingredients, stir to dissolve honey. Fill 2/3 with ice. Shake for 15- 20 seconds. Double strain into an old fashioned glass filled with cracked ice, splash with soda. Garnish with orange zest and fresh peach slice.






The peach garnish in the photo has been bruleéd. Also pictured in the garnish is a twig swizzle stick. I foraged this, stripped the bark, washed and dried it before using it in my drink. 
Fresh peaches and a regular pick or swizzle will be perfectly fine...please don't burn or poison yourself, ever, especially not for a drink garnish.

I'd love to hear about your Fuzzy memories, leave a comment below.

MXMO PINEAPPLE

Have you ever seen that commercial for Kashi where the dude is eating a whole pineapple right in the field, using the stem as a built in handle? Dreamy stuff.

Wouldn't you love to tour a pineapple farm? 

My affection for all tropical fruit could probably be improved by eating it straight from the source. A strong bias for the stone and tender fruits of the golden horseshoe is in part a function of living there. I've had the good fortune to taste these fruits at their best, having picked and eaten them fresh in the orchards and fields 

Inspiration seems easy to find when you're working with the highest quality ingredients. 

The challenge being when you're not...

My best of the bunch but still sad pineapple needed some help, and since raspberries are in season here I decided to marry the two. A little, local pick me up for our long traveled friend. 

ONTARIOAHU

2 oz El Dorado 5yr

1 oz raspberry pineapple puree*

1 oz pineapple juice (fresh if you can)

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

2 drops Angostura bitters

Method

In a shaker add all ingredients, fill 3/4 with ice. Shake very vigorously for 1 min. strain into an old fashioned glass filled with cracked ice, garnish with fresh raspberries, mint and pineapple leaves.

*raspberry pineapple puree, in a blender or food processor add 1/4 C fresh raspberries and 1/4 C fresh pineapple, blend until smooth, strain through fine mesh or cheesecloth. If you are using off season and/or imported fruit it may be necessary to add 1 tbsp honey to this mixture.

What's the best local fruit where you live? Are you using it in your cocktails?

Thank you to Mixology Monday and Bartending Notes for this weeks challenging inspiration.

http://bartendingnotes.wordpress.com/
Read about the other entries here.