No Bang, Just a Whimper

Two drinks to report on today. The one from yesterday is called a Volcano Blast or something like that in my calendar. It's in honor (memory, maybe) of the eruption of Mount St. Helens.

It's supposed to be a layered drink, but my layering technique leaves a lot to be desired. I need a pro to show me how to do it properly. Blond, blue eyes, in shape, real age, not AOL age, applications will be available online. First Kahlua, but I substituted Starbux liqueur since it has more kick, then cointreau, then Captain Morgan's spiced rum, then papaya juice, then 150 proof rum flamed.

I bought one new taste sensation, the Capt. Morgan's, for this drink, so I wasn't going to get the high proof rum too just to pretend I was doing a 7th grade scientific experiment and scare the dogs. I don't think I've had spiced rum before. The Capt. Morgan's seemed a little tame to me (tasted right out of the bottle; my drinking habits have progressed in the last 5 months); I'm betting there are better spiced rums out there. (Oh, and raspberry syrup too: I picked up the little bottle in the coffee aisle, then discovered when I got it home it's made with Splenda.)

I went to a local "saver" grocery where I've seen a lot of Hispanic foods to look for the papaya juice; I thought I'd spotted it there. I found mango and guava nectars, but no papaya, so I used the mango. I'm not a big mango fan, I usually end up throwing them out when I buy one and try to cut it up, but the juice wasn't bad; it tastes a little bit like pineapple. With all the Mexican groceries popping up all over town, if I'd been a little more adventurous I'm sure I could have found the papaya juice. Maybe next time.

Verdict: it wasn't layered, or flamed, but not bad. Coffee and raspberry always work for me. Not a bad shot for a party to entertain your friends who've already had a few.

The second drink I mixed up was the imitation Pimm's Cup in the form of a margarita from a couple weeks ago. I used the good reposado tequilla, cointreau, a little superfine sugar, lime juice, muddled cuke in the bottom of the glass. I dug out my plastic but sharp mandolin (scar on my hand from several years ago to prove it) to slice the cuke, so it was paper thin and got well muddled with the sugar and lime.

Verdict: Good. Sweeter than the margaritas I made a couple weeks ago. I don't usually like sweet, but this margarita was closer to the ones I'm familiar with. And you get the subtle flavor of the cuke. I bet some herbs would work well in this in place of the cuke (lavender maybe?). Good drink. I'll have to try the muddled cuke with some Pimms, instead of just sticking a slab on the rim of the glass, and see how that works and let you know.