I want to see the winning entry!

  • @BigGovernment
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    122 days ago

    My first thought is to look for something kind of mild to not overpower the food, but still has some earthy/roasted flavors. Maybe a Montenegro spritz?

    What time of year will the event be? If it’s fall/winter I’d not do a spritz and maybe try something coffee flavored.

    • @RBWellsOPM
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      222 days ago

      December (but Florida) so cool not cold weather. We will have champagne of course, I can think of wines but most everyone prefers the cocktails and beer. I do think we can get San Miguel beer, that’s handled. If the food is sweet-sour-spicy I’m thinking maybe pineapple would be good, but like the earthy suggestion too.

      • @BigGovernment
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        121 days ago

        The Jungle Bird could fit that bill pretty well. It’s one of my absolute favorite drinks, and the only tiki drink my wife likes. It’s fruity, sweet, and sour and most of all it’s a lot. My fear would be that it might be too much to pair with dinner.

        I had a clarified jungle bird once, and that was a kind of muted version. That may have been a function of their recipe or the process. It wasn’t a bar I go to regularly, so I can’t really say why it was mellowed out.

        • @RBWellsOPM
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          121 days ago

          Hmm, I see a batched recipe here that doesn’t look too crazy, they put guava in it too, that is very Tampa, lol. I don’t think I approve of using white/light rum but otherwise this might work. Campari is polarizing but in small amounts it just tightens up the taste, it’s a good adjuster-of-things. I don’t think I could milk clarify without pissing off the vegans, drinks are one thing they don’t expect to have to worry about.

          https://www.monin.com/us/jungle-bird-batch

          • @BigGovernment
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            221 days ago

            That looks pretty good. I’ve always seen it made with some variety or combination of aged rum, usually demerara. My personal favorite for this (and most tiki drinks) is Hamilton Jamaican Black Rum. Using white rum might be the right call for serving it with dinner.

            I think you could turn just about any Jungle Bird recipe into a decent batch cocktail. Most of the ingredients are pretty stable. The juices would go off first, but not likely over the course of a few days. If you need them to sit for more than a week, then you probably want to look at something with spirits only.

            • @RBWellsOPM
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              214 days ago

              Ah they have decided to go with the whole roast pig instead, that will be easier to accompany. Still going to personally make a batch of tofu in an adobo sauce for the vegetarians, though.