The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess

I continue to enjoy Tiki/Exotic cocktails, and hope that we’ll soon see them become a little more common, and respected, at bars across the country.

When Trader Vic’s came back up into the Pacific Northwest a couple years back, opening a new restaurant in Bellevue WA, I thought that this might provide some interesting motivation for people around here to pay more attention to these Exotic Cocktails. But they closed down a few months ago unfortunately, so I guess the timing just wasn’t quite right for this yet.

Sigh…

-Robert

Hey Robert,
Long time no see.
Where have you been?
Well, glad you are back!
Keep ´em coming!
Cheers,

I’m thinking the mixologist, Ray Buhen, was the gentlemen known to those in our neighborhood as Ray Senior of the Tiki Ti.  His son (Mike) and grandson (Ray Junior) continue to tend bar at the Tiki Ti.  The Tiki is well worth a visit if you’re visiting the SIlver Lake neighborhood in L.A.  The cocktails and ambiance are fantastic.

One and the same. You can find some more details about Ray Buhen, and the Tiki Ti, here:
http://www.beachbumberry.com/pastmasters/

The Tiki Ti is indeed a “must see” when you are in LA, some important things to note before heading over there, it is SMALL, and they control the door to keep it from getting crowded, and last I heard they were still “Cash Only"… so leave your plastic at home!

And oh yeah… since the staff are all family/owners, they unfortunately (last I heard) are able to allow folks to smoke.

-Robert

Great idea to use this as a brunch drink, Robert ... I think you finally found a home for it, as it never seemed quite right as an evening tipple!

Hi Robert,

Really enjoying learning from your understanding of mixology and having a trustworthy source of quality cocktail recipies. Query for you: would cointreau be a worthy substitute for orange curacao both in this recipie and in general?

Tommy

Thomas,
When you get down to it, there are two different orange liqueurs. Curacao, and Triple Sec, and the primary difference between the two is that Curacao typically has a brandy base, while Triple Sec has a “Neutral Spirit” base. What this means in taste is that curacao will be slightly rounder in flavor, with a little more complexity, while Triple Sec will be somewhat bright with a very distinctly orange flavor.

When you want to go “premium” with either of these products you would want to do so with the premium versions of each. Cointreau is a premium triple sec (it is my understanding that it was the original triple sec, coining the term, which was then jumped on by imitators), and Grand Marnier is the premium Curacao.

I should also point out that Cointreau recently came out with Cointreau Noir, which is essentially their premium Curacao.

That said, when in a pinch, you can use any of these orange liqueurs to substitute for another, with out to much problem.

-Robert