I love that your recipe videos become lectures on the cocktails you are making. Thanks so much for putting in all the research (and finding great stills and magazine clippings) for these!
Was in Nassau earlier this year. Spent the day on the island hopping around different bars, restaurants. Even hit the drinks at the rum distillery on the island. Wandered into a jewelry shop, where they were giving out free Bahama Mama's from a dispenser, as freely as Kool aid to kids. Straight up serve yourself. Who knows what was in it. All I know, is after all the establishments we went to, that jewelry store kool-aid dispenser Bahama mama was the best drink we had on that island. 😂
I just can’t stress how great these videos are - I wish I had your experience with video and audio production, you’ve genuinely set the bar for me, and on top of that, make some pretty phenomenal cocktails - thanks man 🍹
I could watch the shots all day of the close ups of the ingredient pours and the whole process of making these cocktails. The production quality of this channel punches way above it's weight. Always interesting to see what you do with these historical dives and what comes out of them. This version of the Bahama Mama is definitely something I'd try over what gets served in chain restaurants these days.
Back in the 1980's there was a bar somewhere north of Sebastian Inlet, Florida. They had a signature drink called a Bahama Mama and if you could drink 4 of them you were allowed to write your name on the wall. It was a different time...
Let me tell you I used to make tons of these at TGI Fridays in the early 2000s. Back then it was a kitchen sink rum punch with sweet and sour and Creme de banana the neon yellow Bols
I just got back from an all-inclusive resort in punta cana, dr and one of their included drinks was a “banana mama” with white rum, banana, coconut cream, and grenadine
I made it and... It's bad :D really bad.. Orange by itself is very weak in taste and this was just too tasteless for me. However! I do like the version on Barfly channel which has overproof rum and banana liqueuer. Anyway, Derek is already the goat of youtube tiki content ❤
Okay, so I made some tweaks to the 1970 Bahama Mama recipe. 1 oz lime juice 1 oz orange juice 1/2 oz grenadine 1/4 oz banana liqueur 1/2 oz orange liqueur 1/4 oz Allspice dram 1 oz dark rum 1 oz light rum It's much more balanced, complex, and tastes better. The added sugar offsets the bitter and sour elements, the homemade grenadine brings a floral aspect, the banana adds depth, and the allspice is a much more complimentary spice element. Made and Drink's recommendation of the banana liqueur was a great adjustment.
I’m not sure where I got this but here is what is in my recipe file 1/2 Grenadine 1/2 Coconut Cream 1/2 Lime 1 OJ 2 Pineapple 1/2 Banana Liqueur (giffard) 1 Trader Vic’s Dark Rum 1 Plantation Dark I would play with run any day but TV Dark has a very distinctive flavor so use if you got it.
If looking for how Nassau Royal tastes maybe reach out to Bruce from Bartalk and Cockrails (another RU-vid channel) as he has a bottle on the back bar. Great video and so many variations of Bahama Mama.
The majority of bad Mai Tai recipes I see on menus are just Bahama Mamas with the wrong name. I don't have a problem with boat drinks, but when you use better ingredients it makes the cocktail sing. I have a love of the Hurricane and I've been working on a variety of combinations like Kevin Crossman has done for the Mai Tai. It's not easy work, but somebody's got to do it. For science!
I mentioned this on Discord, but for engagement and any non-Patrons, Last Rites used to have a cocktail called Bahama Trauma that was obviously inspired by some version of this. It was excellent (as are all their drinks) and may be worth looking at for potential tweaks to this spec. Their drink uses their old overproof spiced rum blend plus 151 proof Demerara rum, apricot liqueur (Giffard), swedish punsch (Kronan), lime juice, cinnamon syrup, and chocolate bitters (I suspect Portland Bitters Project). I'd maybe take some influence from this for anyone looking to tinker. In particular, Derek talked about using a different liqueur compared to the orange liqueur in his spec, and also about increasing proof from the rum portion.
I have a friend who occasionally asks for this drink, but I had unsuccessfully searched for some consensus on the recipe. I'm fairly certain that his association with the cocktail stems from his having had some on spring break in the '80s, so of course he can't offer any guidance on the ingredient list. I'll serve him this version the next time he makes the request. Thanks for more of the excellent content. ETA: which Denizen light rum did you use? I couldn't see the label. Thanks.
I do wonder: there seems to be an even older version of grenadine based on clive pink flowers, a carnatian. The one that's done so today seems to be Rose's, which is fascinating. The pomegranate syrup seems to be a tropical thing, so hey. Sidenote: would it be better to call a coconut syrup "coconut orgeat" instead of "cream of coconut"? It is a drupe after all.
Darcy O’Neil has covered that extensively and historically there are references to the Clove Pink as well as Pomegranate. Most likely, the syrup being called for in post prohibition cocktails is referring to pomegranate syrup. Orgeat is really synonymous with almonds, nuts and the floral components so coconut Orgeat would be super confusing. People should be adopting the term “Cream of Coconut” when referring to any sweetened coconut milk.
