Call to Arms: DIY – Falernum Cn #1
Call to Arms August 2nd, 2007
First off, yes, I know; I need a new camera. Look at that crappy focus and resolution. *sigh* But, I wasn’t going to do a post on this without taking shots (har har) of what I’d made. I went on a ‘DIY’ binge while the Tales of The Cocktail was happening out of sheer frustration at not being able to go and to fend off the pending ennui I was bound to fall into once said frustration had spent itself on Gin Fizzes and Gimlets. I’m a single day’s drive away from NOLA and, alas, forces conspired to release the Harry Potter book that weekend, have a friend from 15 years past call me out of the blue for a Saturday meet-up, and have my work call me out-of-town that Sunday. But, enough about me…you’re here for the quotidian cocktail™.
After Paul Clarke’s wonderful analysis of rare cocktail ingredients in the last Imbibe and my inability to make several of the drinks in Berry’s Grog Log because of my lack of Falernum (not to mention not wanting to pay the price + shipping of Velvet Falernum, if I could even get it) I tackled making homemade Falernum first.
I actually decided on a blended approach to this using a bit of a hash of Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s adjustment to the recipe as well as Paul Clarke’s Falernum #9 in Imbibe (his Falernum #8 recipe can be found here). I’ll note where I deviate from Paul’s Falernum #9 or where I deviated from both Jeffrey’s and Paul’s.
Soak together for 24 hours33
Step 2:
- Zest of 9 medium lines
- 1 1/2 oz peeled and julienned fresh ginger
Zest 9 limes using a microplane (if available) or a fine grater. Peel and julienne 1.5 ounces of fresh ginger. Add both ingredients to the soak mixture and let mixture soak for another 24 hours, shaking occasionally.33
Step 3:
- 14 oz 2:1 simple syrup
- 4 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
Strain the mixture from step 2 through cheesecloth and squeeze the solids to etract every last bit of goodness from them (the ginger’s asking for it, you know it wants it). Add the simple syrup, lime juice, and almond extract to the strained liquid and pour all of it into a jar, bottle, or other container (more than 750ml but less than 1L). Shake, refrigerate, and enjoy.
This stuff has a striking flavor. It’s heavily candied, and the soaking of the cloves on their own seems to have really brought that flavor forward with the limes running a close second. The ginger adds a long note to the finish but mostly you get candied limes coated in clove oil. It’s very pleasant and much more complex than I expected. I even had to check in with Paul regarding just how sweet and heavy it is given my surprise. And in his words, ’Keep in mind it’s a syrup’, and boy, it sure as hell is.
The only thing I would change in the above recipe is straining the lime juice, which both Paul and Jeffrey recommend and I just overlooked. Given that I have no ‘control group’ to compare taste against I would also say that going the extra step of toasting and soaking the almonds might be worthwhile as the 1/4 oz almond extract doesn’t seem to do much. I went ahead and added some almond oil my wife had to the mix and it made a slight difference but it didn’t add as much character as I think Paul’s toasted almond slivers would bring to it, especially with the soaking.
As for the changes and choices I made; I liked the idea of soaking the cloves on their own for 48 hours. But, I only did it for 24, got impatient, and went ahead and zested the limes and julienned the ginger and started them soaking for the next 24 along with the cloves. I think the 48 hours does well for the whole ordeal, so I prefer Jeffrey’s technique to Paul’s on that point. It’s well worth the work to make and experience this on your own, now if I could only find the rums and what-not that are called for in Grog Log’s recipes using Falernum… Rick suggests trying some Corn ‘n Oils in the meantime, but based on the comments I’ll probably go with a lighter rum, like Appleton Estate, before diving into blackstrap. Ugh, this quest never ends, I swear…and, thank goodness.
Next up on DIY; grenadine, tincture of lavender, and maraschino cherries.
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- heh, if Jeffrey can do it, why not me…333
- using Jeffrey’s here, Paul’s calls for 6oz Overproof White Rum – which I don’t have and can’t get, oi vey333
- this deviates from both Jeffery’s and Paul’s versions – Jeffrey has you soak the cloves alone for 48 and Paul has you soak the ginger, toasted almond slivers, and lime along with the cloves for 24 hours333
- Jeffrey adds these two things after the initial 48 hours and then lets it sit another 24 with the ginger and lime zest. As mentioned above, Paul has you do all three ingredients at once for 24 hours333
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Another bottle of homemade falernum. Joe Fee is going to be knocking on doors soon.
Good work! I’m going to have to try the toasted almonds for my next batch. I got a good bit of clove flavor out of Paul’s method of just soaking them with the rum, zest, and ginger for 24 hours. I would be afraid of the clove overpowering if soaked longer. The comments by Paul and Jeffrey over on Jeffrey’s falernum post pretty much say exactly what I was going to, so I won’t repeat it.
Maraschinos! I’ve been getting ready to do a side-by-side comparison of the recipe Robert posted with my standby Nick Mautone recipe. I feel a cocktailnerd-Sloshed! cherry-off in the making…
Also, if you’re in need of unusual ingredients I live in a liquor wonderland and shipping from CA to OK isn’t terrible—especially for, say, a bottle of Velvet falernum.
Rick: The clove is there but definitely takes a back seat to the lime in this version, though the finish is almost entirely clove and ginger, and boy is the finish looooong. I should clarify that I didn’t use Paul’s ‘cold process’ simple syrup for this (i.e. shake it in a container and call it a day); I went stove-top because I wanted a richer and thicker flavor. Whether this is on or off-target, who knows, but I like it.
Marleigh: Well aren’t you as sweet as a Georgia peach in August! I’ll gladly take you up on that and, of course, prepay through PayPal or other means beforehand. I’m making my next trip to Denver with a shopping list (and more luggage-space) and whatever I’m unable to get I will send your way to see if it’s available there. Thanks! If I can send you any… well, I have nothing to send you from OK; you’ll have to settle for cash. heh
Nice cocktail glasses. I just bought the same set, as you probably noticed in the picture from my latest post!
Get yours at Kohl’s too?
I like them for a couple of reasons:
1)They make for a photogenic picture for one’s cocktailblog!
2)They are quite small, so you can split one experimental mix into two glasses and not look chintzy.
Now, if I could just figure how to easily CLEAN the little buggers!
Well, they were a gift to me (I got two sets actually) but I think they came from Kohl’s, Ross, Gordman’s, or two of the three.
I agree that they’re nice for small portioned drinks and I use them as pousse-cafe glasses. My primary complaint is that they’re a little overly delicate. As for cleaning, well, I’m a heathen; they go in the top rack of the dishwasher…
Wow. In the dishwasher? And you give me grief about bottled lime juice! You are dead to me, sir!
Seriously, do they stand up to it? I’ve lost too many glasses to chips caused by the Bosch Beast. And lost a few I REALLY likes to etching.
Of course, these WERE seriously cheap on mega-clearance….
[...] you use relative to the Blackstrap will depend heavily on the character of your Falernum. My falernum1 , which is a blend of Morgenthaler’s and Paul’s techniques, is very heavy, spicy, and [...]
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