Long, Strong and Dangerous
Beware the Tradewinds
Hello, Tradewinds, our old friend.
The first time we made Tradewinds together was the middle of a lazy Saturday. We’d like to say it was afternoon, but the thing about Tradewinds is that after the first one, the details start to get a bit hazy. They’re strong, they’re sweet and they go down deceptively easily. For this reason, they are very dangerous. But also very fun.
An executive decision
Before we start, we’d like to address a glassware discrepancy in the Smuggler’s Cove recipe. The line that specifies the glassware to be used states that we should use a zombie glass; however, the instructions say to open pour into a footed pilsener glass. The image featured in the book shows a zombie glass; however, we were eager to give our footed pilsener glasses their maiden voyage (purchased for $0.99 apiece at Goodwill), so we decided to go in that direction.
You put the cream in the coconut and drink it all up.
The most time-consuming part of making Tradewinds is making SC Coconut Cream, which involves first making SC 2:1 Simple Syrup, waiting for it to cool, then mixing it with coconut milk. This is much easier than it seems, though because it calls for a can of coconut milk, it is not as easily scaled down as many of the other syrups, and it has a much shorter shelf life (about two weeks).
Because we made a pitcher of Tradewinds not long ago, we had some SC Coconut Cream on hand, but not enough for two drinks. Fortunately, we had made extra simple syrup in anticipation of producing more coconut cream. Because the simple syrup has a much longer shelf life (several weeks), keeping the ingredients separate until you’re ready to mix it up is useful. We were able to whip up a fresh batch to supplement the existing supply in a few minutes. The recipe specifically mentions (but does not specifically call for) Thai Kitchen coconut milk; however, we used Goya with success.
Armed with fresh SC Coconut Cream and three lemons that narrowly dodged the giant compost heap in the sky, we were ready to add the booze. Tradewinds features two varieties of rum: a №2 and №5 (blended, lightly-aged and black blended respectively per Cate’s production method classification system). We went for Plantation 3 Stars for the former (for reasons of sentimental schmuckery) and trusty old Gosling’s Black Seal for the latter. Both are referenced in Smuggler’s Cove, affordable and widely available; we picked both up at the smaller of Tucson’s two Total Wine stores for $22.99 (Plantation, 750 mL) and $33.99 (Gosling’s, 1.75 L).
The final ingredient is natural apricot liqueur, specifically Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot or Giffard Abricot du Roussillon. We tracked the former down at The RumRunner, a local independent package store, for $24.99.
Putting it together
Once all the ingredients are squeezed and mixed and bottled, putting Tradewinds together is a cake walk. The measures are especially uncomplicated, so the recipe easily scales.
Verdict
This was not our first rodeo with Tradewinds, nor will it be the last. While the coconut cream requires a bit of planning — not something you can whip up on a whim if you don’t already have simple syrup on hand — it is worth the extra work. And though it is on the sweet end of the spectrum and perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea-ki (see what we did there?), we’ve generally found Tradewinds to be a crowdpleaser.
Obligatory food & beverage blogger fun facts
Trade winds are the permanent northeast-to-southwest prevailing winds that affect the climate around the Earth’s equator. The cocktail recipe was adapted by Smuggler’s Cove from a recipe by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, proprietor of Latitude 29 in New Orleans.
Weirdly, Patrón has published a spin on Tradewinds which subs one of the rums for Patrón Añejo and the apricot liqueur for Patrón Citrónge Mango. Maybe it’s good?
Makers’ Notes
- A batch of coconut cream yields about 27 oz — or just shy of 3.5 cups. Because this recipe is so easily scalable, Tradewinds presents an opportunity to invite friends over and produce in quantity to ensure the cream doesn’t go to waste.
- In a pinch, you could probably use store bought simple syrup to make the coconut cream.
Aloha,
Kevin & Hazel
