If at first you don’t succeed…
Falinum, Falinum again
Twice as Nice
Indeed, we made Falinum twice for the project. Hear us out.
The glassware specs offered two options: a double old-fashioned glass or a tiki mug. As not many of the recipes call for use of a tiki mug — and because we wanted ours to see more action — that was the choice for the first go-round. The final product looked something like this:
As the astute readers of the Tiki subreddit pointed out, you cannot tell that anything is in the mugs, which is indeed a fair point. We also received feedback around posting recipes with photos. While we still don’t feel comfortable doing this, we decided to display the ingredients on the second take, both to showcase our rum choice and give readers an idea of what the drink might taste like. Plus, as you can see, we used a transparent glass, a trend we will continue where a choice exists.
We need to talk (briefly) about Kevin
It is also notable that Hazel produced Falernum: Round 2 solo, as Kevin is resting up post-surgery. Good vibes for a speedy recovery appreciated!
Keeping tabs
You may also notice the bits of paper poking out of the top of the book. As we accumulate bottles and inventory space is precious, we sifted through the book and identified recipes that we can readily make with what we have (blue) or that require procurement of only one additional ingredient (purple). As the holiday gauntlet begins, this will be helpful in keeping the engine running.
This system led us to Falinum. Lemon juice: check. SC Coconut Cream: check. John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum, seltzer, orange bitters: check, check, check. That only left the rum: the first project appearance of a №4 (column still aged). We strayed from Angostura 7 Year to test drive Bacardi 8 (Total Wine, $24.99).
Putting it together
Verdict
While not particularly pretty — we decided that it looks a bit like a glass of saliva — Falinum is perfectly serviceable and easy to scale. But, as we like this cocktail slightly less than the others we’ve made so far and found our perception of its potency to be higher (plus… glass of saliva) we’ll likely give scaling a pass. It seemed like something we would only make if we happened to have all of the ingredients — which, of course, was why we made it. Not the best drink we’re likely to consume on the project, but certainly not the worst. A little garnish would’ve gone a long way — maybe a flavored tongue depressor as a swizzle stick, if we’re keeping with the saliva theme?
Obligatory food & beverage blogger fun facts
The most fun thing about this recipe is that it is named after the ceramic artist Falin Minoru, who is a friend of Martin Cate. You can check out more of his work at Tiki Kaimuki Fine Boozing Vessels, which features these fierce “Squatch” mugs:
Makers’ Notes
- If using a mug, load it up with ice! We found the volume of this cocktail (even with requisite ice) wasn’t enough to fill the mug (see photo of empty-looking mugs above).
- If serving in a double old-fashioned, a little garnish never hurt anybody, IOHO.
