Shrunken Skull - How to Make an Easy Tiki Drink and the History Behind It
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- How to make the Shrunken Skull, the mid-century tiki cocktail made with Demerara Rum, Dark Cuban-Style Rum, Lime Juice, Grenadine and, optionally, a lime husk and pomegranate seeds for garnish and served in a skull Tiki mug. It is like an exotic Daiquiri, but is more closely related to Don the Beachcomber’s Skull & Bones.
As far as Tiki drinks are concerned, this one is just about as simple as it gets: four common ingredients in equal parts, cubed ice (not crushed) and garnish optional. And it’s good. Really good. It’s basically a 2:1:1 grenadine Daiquiri (aka Bacardi Cocktail • Bacardi Cocktail - a D... ) on the rocks.
Tiki began with Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt) in the 1930’s in Hollywood at his bar, Don the Beachcomber. Donn served an array of original rum drinks, which were essentially all riffs on Jamaican Punches and Cuban Daiquiris, only made with multiple rums and exotic syrups (grenadine, Falernum, pimento dram, passion fruit, etc.) instead of sugar.
Donn created drinks like the Missionary’s Downfall ( • Missionary's Downfall ... ) which was cross between the Hotel Nacional and a frozen Daiquiri, with a touch of Mojito. It’s a really great drink and one that works with everyone’s palette. However, you’re going to have a hard time convincing your average, Depression-era male that this drink fits in with his fragile conception of his masculinity.
So to counteract this insecurity, Donn took the same, sweet and sour, exotic rum drink templates and changed their branding. He created a line of drinks with names like Skull & Bones, Cobra’s Fang, Test Pilot, Zombie, Navy Grog, Shark’s Tooth, etc. that played better in the male comfort zone. Then to poke the ego with a stick, he offered up a challenge on some drinks of a 2 (or sometimes 3) per person limit, making it seem dangerous to go over that number. The strategy worked and lured in the hard drinkers. It gave them the permission to enjoy the drinks. This tradition was carried on by nearly all of the Tiki bars that came after.
Mariano Licudine was a bartender at Don the Beachcomber for 17 years. He started in southern California, but ended up spending most of is tenure at the Chicago location. He was then poached by developers in Florida to open up and run the bar program at Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale. Licudine’s Mai Kai menu, like a lot of other Tiki bars that integrated drinks from Don the Beachcomber on their menus, changed the name of several Beachcomber classics. Dr. Funk became Dr. Fong, the Pearl Diver became the Deep Sea Diver, the QB Cooler became the KO Cooler, and the Skull & Bones seems to have morphed into the Shrunken Skull. Presumably, just like the names, the recipes on Licudine’s menu were modified slightly as well.
This recipe may be slightly different than what Mai Kai served in the 1950’s, as on their menu, the drink was pictured with an extra shot of rum. Perhaps that was there to make up for the difference in strength between the Skull & Bones (which used 151 Demerara Rum) and the Shrunken Skull (which used 80-90 proof Demerara).
In Polynesia, they ceremonial preserved heads were called mokomokai. The heads would still bare the traditional, carved facial tattoos known as moko. This traditional Polynesian art was the inspiration for the carvings on this Shrunken Skull tiki mug. This mug is made by Shima Ceramics, a ceramist and bartender from The Bay Area who likes to make unique and usually non-traditional Tiki mugs and bowls (link to his site below). Check it out. You’re going to love his stuff! Okole Maluna!
Recipe:
1 oz (30ml) Dark Cuban-style Rum
1 oz (30ml) Demerara Rum
1 oz (30ml) Grenadine
1 oz (30ml) Lime Juice
garnish Lime Husk, Pomegranate Seeds (optional)
Shake with ice cubes. Pour unstrained into a skull mug (or double old-fashioned glass). Add garnish and straw.
Music:
Twist of Mentality by Kikoru
(formerly titled: Twisted Mentality 1 by Magnus Ringblom)
via Epidemic Sound
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Featured in this Episode:
Panamá-Pacific Rum 9-Year
bit.ly/2fUSSDr
Hamilton Demerara (Guyana) Rum 86 Proof
bit.ly/2vtEXea
Shrunken Skull Tiki Mug (Lime Green) by Shima Ceramics
bit.ly/2tOOSLg
Beachbum Berry Remixed by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
amzn.to/2IMrvYs
Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari 10th Anniversary Edition by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
bit.ly/2H1zhgJ
Bar Tools:
Double Old Fashioned Glass
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Cocktail Pick
amzn.to/2yPImd3
Japanese Style Jigger (Gunmetal Black)
amzn.to/2lLRN41
Usagi Cobbler Shaker
amzn.to/2JNC27h
Bamboo Straw
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Citrus Juicer (Lime)
amzn.to/1YKJ4u1
Cutting Board
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Small Knife
amzn.to/1KDFQoc
MOOOOORE Tiki Dirnks thanks mate :), that mug is the bomb for it *thumbs up*
Haha. Glad you liked it. Check out Shima Ceramics' mugs here: bit.ly/2tOOSLg
He makes awesome stuff, plus he's a bartender, so he knows both sides of the game. Prost!
Goodness I love a Tiki drink, and you are right that Mug is AWESOME!!!
Yes. It. Is! Shima does some awesome work. Cheers!
Definitely, great job on the videos - lovin' this Tiki series!
Cheers!
Shrunken Skulls & Suffering Bastards: makes for one incredible night, & one hell of a morning.
Haha. Indeed.
Best channel on TH-cam
Cheers! Thanks for the love.
Really digging the new shooting style. Well done sir.
Excellent! Thank you!
I tried this.
I found a pair of Pirate-skull novelty mugs at the thrift store for $1.50 ea. Tonight, I used them for a couple Shrunken Skulls -- since I happened to have all the components to hand.
In a Boston can, add 2 oz Havana Club Anejo, 2 oz Hamilton's Demerrera 86, 2 oz Grenadine, and 2 oz key lime juice. [About 8 small limes]. Because of the size on the lime husks, I had to adapt and overcome by rafting 2 of them in tandem [speared by a toothpick] and filled with pomegrenate seeds -- drizzled w/ 151 and dashes of Grenadine] Result was a couple Red Eyes staring back at you from the top of the mug.
A frozed solid pint plastic water bottle, was smashed with a wooden mallet in a canvas bag. Most of the ice was consumed.
A Short Life and a Merry One. Lads.
Sorry, I'm just finding this video now. Great job! FYI: The current Mai-Kai version is a lot more robust, featuring allspice, falernum and more rum (including a shot of 151). The recipe on The Atomic Grog blog was updated with a tribute recipe in 2019. We just updated the page again and added a link to this video. Okole maluna!
This is one most beautiful cocktail I ever seen!
The garnish is genius!
Wow! Thanks. Great to hear you liked the garnish so well. Cheers!
I concur! Three Dots and a Dash is a lot of fun!
I really appreciate all the history you put into your videos. Every time I watch one, I learn something new. This one was awesome
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words. Glad you dig the format. Cheers!
Another amazing video. I love the history. You truly have the best cocktail channel on TH-cam.
Thank you for the support. Cheers!
A great historian of beverages. LOVE IT!
Cheers! 🙌
Tiki time is all the time. Love your tiki videos above all your very good at your work
totaly agree, sadly apart from the trader vic in Muinich tiki culture is basically non exsitent here in Germany... i once had a feverish idea of opening na a tiki style bar with more af an Strandrobber or Viking style theme to cater for a more continental "tiki" Need...maybe some day if i get bored of my dayjob
DO IT DO IT DO IT
That's the best way to make use of all the Polynesian junk you've been accumulating.
Thank you, Herman. Glad to hear you dig them. Cheers!
Ha! Do it, Kai!
ALWAYS great to see a new tiki drink! Another great and perfectly executed video mate.
Cheers! Glad you dug it!
"Pink daquiri wrapped in danger." Bravo.
😉👍
This is a nice drink for a hot day. Sipping one now. I don't have any of the runs you suggested but the Appleton 12 year shines in this tiki.
That'll do. Glad you made it work for you. Cheers!
Only just discovered your channel recently. At first viewing of a video I was a bit put off, I thought there was too much talking but then I was hooked. I really like the detail you go into about a drinks history and your narrative style, makes for a really interesting video and gives each drink a personality.
Keep up the excellent work, I have lots of your videos to binge on now.
Haha. Excellent! Glad you came around to it. I know some people prefer to get straight to the drink, but on my more recent videos, I've been spending a lot more time on the stories behind the drink. Anyway, great to hear that you dig them. Cheers!
Distinguished Spirits I think the only thing your videos are missing now are them being filmed at a Tiki bar that overlooks the ocean. Exact same shooting style just with a tiki bar as the decor. There is the challenge. Looking forward to the next video.
Haha. Sounds expensive. But yeah, that'd be cool.
I just gave this a try with the Hamilton and bacardi gold... Delicious! This recipe is genius yet so simple. I didn't even have to scour the liquor store to gather ingredients!
Yeah, huh? I was pretty surprised how well those ratios worked. Glad you dug it.
Distinguished Spirits Can I use Plantation VSOP instead of Bacardi in this one ?? ❤️🍹
your videos are amazing please make more Tiki ones
For sure! New one out today.
Hey DS, first off, please keep these coming because they're wonderful and there is so much cocktail mediocrity out there. Second, I love that you support all these talented Tiki ceramists and artists. Btw, where did you get that fantastic skeleton arm stir stick for the Skull & Bones?
Thanks for the love. There are some really great Tiki artisans out there and they deserve credit for their excellent work. The skeleton arm swizzle stick comes from VanTiki and the swizzle is called The Spook (bit.ly/2ypdf5E). Cheers!
I thought I recognized that mug from the thumbnail. Shima ceramics makes some awesome stuff, I'm glad I discovered it at the bull valley roadhouse!
Hell yeah! He does some great stuff!
Awesome, now I'll have to try this one as well. After making lime cordial, I can say the Suffering Bastard is next and then this one. Thanks for the informative, entertaining videos.
Excellent. Let me know how both turn out, but that Lime Cordial is something magical, huh?
I was just wondering yesterday when your next upload would be.
This cocktail looks fantastic and elegantly simple for a tiki drink. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Ha! For sure. Glad you dug it!
Hey, was that some kind of tiki style "Dexter" theme music in the background ?? Great video as always
Hahaha. Yeah! Good ear.
My friend Jeff made that Beetlejuice inspired shrunken head mug.
Oh, no way. You know, Jeff? It’s too bad he got out of the mug making game. He made some great stuff.
I was about to ask who made that! That’s awesome!!
Goodness I love your channel. And I love your drinks even more! Please keep them coming complet with the history! Cheers, -J.O.
Thank you! Glad you liked it so much. Cheers!
Gonna try this soon. Dont have any better Guyana than Eldorado 15 and I think Bacardi 8 will be ok.
Should be fine. Let me know what you think of it.
Love the reference to It's a Wonderful Life. You MUST invent a drink as an homage to Nick the bartender, that is, one made with hard liquor for men who wanna get drunk fast. Or do I have to slip you a left for a convincer? ;-)
Haha. Yeah. There's your name for it, the Left Convincer.
Glad you liked the nod to Nick. Figured you might. 😉👍
I'll never be able to do any of the drinks you teach, but I love your videos
Why not? This one's pretty easy.
Distinguished Spirits It is! But those kinds of rum and some of the fruits you use (pomegranate, for example) are super expensive in Brazil, where I live. But.. you know.. maybe one day 😉
Whoops. I misread your comment. I thought you said you could not find it, but you said they are just unaffordable. Yeah, that's a bummer. However, it might be worth it. It's really good. Haha.
Original comment:
You can't find pomegranates? What about a middle eastern grocery store or something? If they don't have the fruit, they should have the syrup.
AWESOME!! now I have to find Hamilton demerara rum. It's the only I can see that dosen't have added sugar.
Yeah, it's great stuff. I'm sure they have it in NOLA, so they probably have it throughout the state as well. Good luck running it down. Cheers!
Got mine through Cask Cartel ... took a while but it arrived this week 🍹
Great video
🥳
Do we. Know what kind of rum they would use for the extra shot at Mai-Kai ? The character of the rum makes such a difference with tiki drinks so it may make a difference.
Love your channel. Give us your take on the hurricane. Dying to see the history of it.
Still working on that one. Stay tuned...
Looking forward to it
Anyway we can see you make the pearl diver? That drink alludes me. Especially the gardenia mix.
We'll see. That mix is tricky. Haha.
I definitely wasn't expecting this!
Also got the 10th Anniversary version of Sippin Safari last week. Great book, but the shipping & handling is a jip.
I think you mean "gyp", but in any case, it's not free, but worth it because the alternative is a trip to NY to pick it up in person. That book is excellent and the new edition is really polished. Check out Potions of the Caribbean too. Also, amazing.
What were you expecting? Just curious. Haha.
I didn't expect free shipping, but when it almost doubled the price of the book, that annoyed me.
Haha. I hear ya.
Distinguished Spirits just picked up Potions this week ... my Summer reading 🙂
You should make barrel aged maple syrup I have and it is so good
Oooh. Sounds good. I'll have to check those out.
What is the name of your theme song? I can't get it out of my head!
The opening theme song is a snippet of Kiss Me Deadly by Foxy Basey. The Shrunken Skull episode theme song is Twist of Mentality by Kikoru. It's basically a rip off of the Dexter theme song. Cheers!
Can you list the steps/measurements for the "Skull and Bones"
Or is that already in the works for a future video? 🤔😉
Skull & Bones
1.5 oz 151 Demerara rum
0.5 oz gold Cuban rum
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz passion fruit syrup
0.5 oz grenadine
1 dash absinthe
1 dash aromatic bitters
8 oz crushed ice
@@DistinguishedSpirits /\ one of my favorite drinks now, thanks
Great tutorials and entertaining to boot. Many thanks! May I ask:
I reside in Japan and very much want to order some interesting Tiki mugs. Are there any ordering sites you’d recommend? Thanks in advance.
Here are some excellent mug makers that I love. You'll have to ask them if they ship to Japan. I know Pie Eyed Tikis have shipped internationally in the past. TikiRob is closer. He's in Hawaii. Haha. Shima made the skull mug in this video. You'll have to ask him if he ships to Japan. Cheers!
Pie Eyed Tikis (etsy.me/2y8nfAF)
TikiRob (bit.ly/2ruxrkX)
Shima Ceramics (bit.ly/2tOOSLg)
Is there a vid for the Skull and Bones in the pipeline? It looks amazing
Not sure. If so, it wouldn't be for quite a while.
What are your thoughts on El Dorado 5 and Bacardi 8? I wanna start making some Tiki drinks and this seems fairly easy. However I can’t find the same bottles you’re using anywhere.
For sure. Should make for a good Shrunken Skull. Let me know how it turns out. Cheers!
It was great! It’s my first Demerara and aged Spanish rum so I don’t have much to compare it too. I look forward to making it with the Hamilton and Panama Pacific some day. I might need to do a special request from one of my local liquor stores though. Thanks for your videos and looking forward to the next one!
The Bacardi 8 should be spot on. The El Dorado might be a little different. If you can't find Hamilton Demerara 86, I'd say look for Lemon Hart 1804 (or whichever 80-proof expression is available). Cheers!
I’ve had recent luck with Cask Cartel
aeropilot a year later I’ve been able to find all Hamilton runs that Distinguished Spirits uses. I highly recommended them!
Havana Club 7 and Ron Del Barrilito 3 have replaced Bacardi 8 as my “aged Spanish rum” of choice for cocktails.
What is the recipe for the sippin Safari shrunken skull cocktail the one with passion fruit, absinthe, and bitters?
Skull & Bones
1.5 oz 151 Demerara rum
0.5 oz gold Cuban rum
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz passion fruit syrup
0.5 oz grenadine
1 dash absinthe
1 dash aromatic bitters
8 oz crushed ice
You should do scorpion bowl next.
On the docket. Stay tuned...
Uh oh, the Spirits got him again!
th-cam.com/video/pcWVBC9wY70/w-d-xo.html
The prices on those old menus!!
Haha. Yeah, don't think about it too much. It'll stress you out.
😂
Any chance of doing a video on the skull and bones?
Got a few other videos to do in the meantime. So I'm not sure. But it is tasty.
Sorry,..really weird,.i learned that this is the planters punch,..original without juice..just rum and lime and grenadine
I'm guessing you're a fan of 5 Minutes of Rum?
You may have to convert me to one. What is that? TH-cam channel?
Distinguished Spirits it's a rum podcast! His latest review used that Cuban Style rum you used
Oh right on. I'll have to check it out.
I didn't go into detail on that rum in the video, but it's a rum made in Panama by a Master Distiller who made rum in Cuba for 30+ years, so it's definitely made in the Cuban style. It's the same rum producer who makes the juice for Caña Brava. It's a different blend and aged for 9 years. It's really good stuff. Worth picking up a bottle. Cheers!
mmmm ya not buyin it thats not your natural voice but hey do you im just a pessimist
Who told you to buy it?