It’s Happy Hour! We’re sharing balancing failures (ours and others) and successes. We’ve got volcanoes, torches, funky rum, giant thistles and enough nuts to feed a forest of squirrels*.

Ben presents his Typical Ben Rum Drink a wild tiki-inspired mix of Jamaican rum and orgeat with a snowy mountain of crushed ice. Which will you drown in first, the rum or the water from all that ice?

Matthew reworks a restaurant cocktail originally called the BronArmy Navy. It was a sugar bomb with a with star ingredient that wasn’t allowed to shine. Matthew lets the artichokes free! You’re welcome Castroville.

*Justice for Peanut

(00:00) Opening and Squirrel Nut Factories

(02:44) The end of our first “arc” and a look forward

(12:15) Salvaging failed cocktails and stubborn recipes

(14:17) Ben’s muddy mess

(16:20) Cocktail: Typical Ben Rum Drink

(19:59) Tiki is a vibe

(32:58) Cocktail: Matthew’s BronArmy Navy

(44:25) Episode close

• 1 oz Smith and Cross Jamaican rum
• 1 oz Planteray Stiggin’s Pineapple rum
• 1 oz Orgeat
• 3/4 oz lime juice
• 1/4 oz Falernum (to top)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Instructions: Combine rums, orgeat, and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a rocks glass packed with crushed ice. Top with Falernum and Angostura bitters. Garnish with pineapple fronds or other tiki-inspired decor.

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz Cynar
• 3/4 oz Orgeat
• Pinch of salt
• Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Double strain into a chilled glass and serve with or without a lemon twist garnish.

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We own and recommend these books:

The 12 Bottle Bar: Make Hundreds of Cocktails with Just Twelve Bottles by David Solmonson, Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by Dave Arnold

Imbibe! by David Wondrich

Cocktail Codex by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan

Products we own, like and use:

• Measuring tools
• OXO Good Grips Mini Angled Measuring Cup, 2 Oz capacity
• OXO Metal Angled Measuring Cup
• OXO SteeL Double Jigger
• Shakers
• This shaking set is sold as two separate items on Amazon, you will need both
• Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Small Weighted Shaking Tin
• Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Large Weighted Shaking Tin
• Mixing Glasses/Tins
• Viski Crystal Mixing Glass, 17 oz
• Pint glass: you don’t need a link for this do you?
• Peelers
• OXO Good Grips...