Tiki Cocktail Mohan Travels to Peru and Gets a Haircut

Drink: Mohan Travels to Peru and Gets a Haircut

Photo by Rey Lopez

What is it? An untraditional tiki drink filled with the fruity flavors of Peru and topped with fresh sprigs of rosemary.

How to garnish: The garnish is critical for this drink’s smell, Thompson says. If you have an herb garden, be sure to pick the rosemary fresh for the drink.

How to make:

• 1 ounce aged Demerera Rum
• 1 ounce Peruvian Pisco
• 1½ ounces Chicha Morada (typically found in the international aisle of grocery stores)
• ¾ ounce fresh lime juice
• ¼ ounce vanilla syrup
• ¼ ounce ginger syrup
• ¼ ounce walnut liqueur
• Semi-crushed ice
• 2 dashes Amargo Chuncho Bitters
• Garnish with fresh rosemary

Pour all the ingredients, except the Amargo Chuncho Bitters, into a tiki mug. Then, fill the glass ⅔ of the way with crushed ice. Stir until the mug is chilled. Top off with crushed ice. Take several sprigs of rosemary and insert across the drink to make the mohawk.

To make the ginger syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger

In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil, until dissolved. Add chopped ginger and let steep for 2 minutes. Let the syrup cool, strain out the ginger, then cover and store in a refrigerator.

To make the vanilla syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 3–4 vanilla beans

In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil, until dissolved. Add vanilla beans and let steep for 2 minutes. Let the syrup cool, strain out the vanilla, pour into a jar or clean container, cover and store in a refrigerator.

Tiki Cocktail Banana Daiquiri Take No. 653

Drink: Banana Daiquiri Take No. 653

Photo by Rey Lopez

Find it at: Archipelago, 1201 U St. NW, Washington, DC, 202-627-0794, archipelagobardc.com

What is it? This old-school tiki cocktail has been on the menu at Archipelago since day one, and it’s easily a top favorite among the DC tiki-obsessed.

How to garnish: The drink is most recognizable for its garnish: A banana dolphin or octopus rests casually on the rim. Either garnish is easy to make and sure to wow guests.

How to make:

• 1 ounce Cana Brava rum
• 1 ounce El Dorado 8 Year rum
• ½ ounce Giffard Banane du Brésil
• ½ ounce fresh lime juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup (Archipelago uses Demerara Simple Syrup)
• Half of a ripe banana
• Crushed ice
• 2–3 dashes Bittercube Blackstrap Bitters

Add all the ingredients to a blender, except the blackstrap bitters, then add 1 cup of crushed ice. Blend until mixed thoroughly to your liking. Pour the mix into a tiki mug. Finish with 2 to 3 dashes of blackstrap bitters. Garnish with a banana octopus or dolphin.

To make the banana octopus:

• 1 ripe banana, in peel

• 2 cloves

Cut off the bottom third of a banana. Then, cut 1-inch strips, or legs, into the rind and core out the inside of the banana. Insert 2 cloves as eyes for the octopus and place on top of your drink.

To make the banana dolphin:

• 1 ripe banana, in peel

• 2 cloves
• 1 maraschino cherry
• 1 pineapple leaf

Cut off the top ⅔ of a banana and leave the stem on. Split the stem in half to make the dolphin’s mouth. Add 1 maraschino cherry to the mouth. Insert 2 cloves as eyes. Finally, cut a small slit halfway down the dolphin’s back and insert a pineapple leaf as the fin. 

Tiki Cocktail The Eddie Would Go

Drink: The Eddie Would Go

Photo by Rey Lopez

Find it at: Radiator, 1430 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 202-742-3150, radiatordc.com

What is it? The drink packs a powerful punch and comes served in a tiki mug, topped with a cinnamon stick, pineapple wedge and purple orchid.

How to garnish: Rosner recommends going all-out on tiki accessories. “That’s half the fun,” she says. Pretty much anything is allowed, except mint, she says. “It ruins the drink’s flavor.”

How to make:

• ½ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 ounce fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice
• ½ ounce honey cinnamon syrup
• ½ ounce Chartreuse
• 2 ounces Haleakala Distillers Maui Okolehao (from Hawaii) or 1 ounce Cotton & Reed Dry Spiced Rum and 1 ounce of Cotton & Reed White Rum (from DC)
• Pebble or semi-crushed ice
• 2–3 dashes of Angostura bitters

Add the lime and grapefruit juices to a glass, then add the honey cinnamon syrup, Chartreuse and your pick of either Okolehao or a 1:1 ounce mix of Cotton & Reed white and dry spiced rum. Add ice until the drink is topped off. Use a stir stick to lightly mix. Finish with 2 to 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.

To make the honey cinnamon syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 1 spoonful raw honey (Rosner uses Really Raw Honey from Baltimore)

Stir all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the mix reduces to a syrup-like consistency. Let the syrup cool, then cover and store in a refrigerator.