“Hand me that passionfruit syrup,” Wendy asked.
Mixing a Tiki cocktail is an iterative process. Each cocktail informs the next. Bob and Wendy know this process well. Bob likes his drinks a little boozy. Wendy aims a little sweet.
Choices of rums greatly influence flavors. Home elixirs can be created to push a cocktail in one direction or another. Wendy makes her own falernum, a spiced syrup with limes,
allspice, ginger, and more. There’s an art to creating just the right balance of spices, and Wendy has perfected that art. She likes her homemade version much better than those on the
market because she can punch up the spice. Is falernum hard to make? Wendy said it could be a bit challenging, but once you’ve made it that first time, it gets easier.
Read the rest of the story in Polynesiacs: Tiki at Home, page 366.
Mai Tiki Bar, Indianapolis, Indiana
