Adventurous Toasts to the New Year!

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You may have noticed designer cocktails showing up more frequently on drink menus lately, and several gastro pubs are mixing drinks seriously in Honolulu.  With New Year’s celebrations ahead, HPR’s Noe Tanigawa offers these ideas from two experienced mixologists.

The Professor created the special drinks below for 2013 New Year Celebrations.  We wish a satisfying and fruitful new year to all!

Below, Robert Hoover, formerly with Drink in Boston, now bartending at Salt in Kaimuki, with the Ohai Sparkler. 

Robert Hoover, now bartending at Salt, with the Ohai sparklerOHAI SPARKLER

1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz dry curacao or triple sec
1 oz lilikoi bitters
Shake with ice; strain into a champagne flute. Top with ~2 oz bubbles. Garnish: ohai petals or lime twist. 
Makes a great "opener" drink -- easy to enjoy, use as a toast, etc. Also a nice opening line if you have two in your hands -- "Oh, hi, nice to meet you!" 
PAUSE FOR A FRIEND
1/2 tsp. dry spice mix (1:1:1 whole coffee, cloves, whole allspice; ground fresh in a spice grinder)
2 oz aged Jamaican rum (e.g. Appleton)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz creme de peche (e.g. Merlet)
1/2 oz cinnamon simple syrup (3:2 sugar:water, crushed cinnamon sticks; steeped & strained)
1 egg white
Dry Shake all ingredients. Add lots of ice to tin and shake hard. Double strain (hawthorne + tea strainer) into a coupe glass. 
A drink that encourages reflection on the year's activities. We forget to slow down and thank our friends for keeping us in good health and spirits!
THE HOLIDAY ABCs (Milk Punch)
2 L light rum (e.g. Matsualem or Cruzan)
20 g crushed allspice
20 g cacao
20 g minced fresh ginger
10 g torched orange peels
Let above ingredients infuse in large plastic container for at least 1 week.
8 oz fresh pressed ginger juice
8 oz burnt orange juice
8 oz fresh lemon juice
8 oz rich simple syrup (2:1 demerara sugar:water)
Add juices & syrup to container and stir well. Then add:
16 oz scalded milk (heat to 180 degrees -- just below boiling)
Mix well and let curdle. Curdling will happen immediately but you want it to sit for a while. At least 2 hours, if not 2+ days. 
Clarify using a chinois and coffee filters. You might have to do a few passes. The final product should be clear (albeit not colorless) with no curds or residue. Keep the curds in the filter so that they can help to constrict the flow of the liquid. 
Bottle and serve chilled or on the rocks. Garnish with grated nutmeg. 
All recipes (c) 2012 WAITIKI International LLC / The Cocktail Journal (www.cocktailjournal.com)
The Professor made his own lilikoi bitters, but a new company, Hawai'i Bitters, has just begun locally sourced concoctions.  http://www.hawaiibitters.com/
audio file: 

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