Matt Pietrek March 4, 2023 Posted in tiki recipes
Small confession time — I recently realized Minimalist Tiki‘s falernum recipe could be improved. The lime dominated, and I barely noticed the other ingredients: toasted almonds, cloves, and ginger. With the last of my current batch consumed, I set out to rebalance the recipe.
Anticipating the usual commentary on the subject of falernum, I distinguish the traditional falernum of the West Indies (notably from Barbados) from what I call “modern falernum.” The former is nearly clear, relatively light in flavor, low in alcoholic strength, and available in most well-stocked liquor stores. The latter came about during the co*cktail renaissance of the last 20 years and is much more intensely flavored. Among several recipes shared online circa 2007, Paul Clarke’s Falernum #9 gained a following within the burgeoning tiki revival moment. Many bars started making falernum tuned to their particular flavor preferences. Others stuck to the commercial Barbados-made version as it’s less work and consistent from bottle to bottle.
Putting aside any value judgment about which falernum is better, more authentic, or should be named differently, the modern, flavor-packed falernum has found a home in many co*cktails. Bitter Truth’s Golden Falernum is a well-respected “modern falernum” — or whatever you think it should be called.
As a brief historical note, the common thread in the late 1800s/early 1900s descriptions of falernum is rum, lime juice, and sugar. The 1922 Red Book of the West Indies notes:
Thus the connoisseur in alcoholic liquors is provided with a splendid selection in wines, spirits, and malt brews, including the famous Falernum of Barbados. That excellent beverage is made by Messrs. Johnson and Redman from pure native lime-juice, sugar, and rum, and contains no chemicals, nor ingredients injurious to the system. It is delicious as a liqueur, or mixed with aerated water, or swizzled with a teaspoonful of “ Caribbee Bitters ” —another speciality sold by the firm.
Some era’s descriptions also mention almonds and, in some cases, egg white.
Revised Recipe
The recipe I included in Minimalist Tiki is my adaption of falernum #9 and represents my thinking circa 2018. My revision here makes strategic tweaks to the core structure. In essence, you make an infused rum to combine with rich simple syrup. Simple, no? Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unaged rum (ideally 50 – 65% ABV)
- 40 whole cloves
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- 1 oz ginger
- 2 fresh limes
- 2 cups white table sugar
- 1 cup water
Day 1
Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.
Add cloves and sliced almonds. Stir every 5-10 seconds to ensure both sides of the almonds are toasted. You want the almonds browned to a medium-dark tone without burning them. It took me about 5 minutes but use your best judgment.
Spoon the cloves and almonds into a clean 1-quart mason jar. Add the rum and cover with lid. Let stand overnight, gently agitating every few hours.
Regarding the rum: I’ve used Wray & Nephew Jamaican Overproof in the past. I used 6 oz of co*ckspur 130 and 2 oz of Rum Bar Silver this time. Feel free to experiment with the rum(s) you use while keeping the target ABV of 50% – 65% in mind.
Day 2
Thin slice the ginger. I used a vegetable peeler and then switched to a knife when the piece was too small for the peeler.
Peel two limes, focusing on removing just the outer layer with as little pith as reasonably possible.
Add ginger and lime to the rum/almond/clove mixture in the mason jar. Stir/agitate with a spoon to fully submerge everything.
Let sit overnight, agitating every few hours.
Day 3
Sterilize a separate quart mason jar. Wetting the inside and 60 seconds in the microwave works well.
Make cold process simple syrup. Add one cup of water, then two cups of white table sugar. Close with lid and occasionally shake until the sugar is gone and the liquid is clear.
Now we’re ready to combine the infused rum and rich simple syrup.
Strain the infused rum into the mason jar containing the simple syrup. I used a fine mesh strainer (chinois) and a funnel. I let the infusion solids fill the strainer basket and gently press with a spatula to squeeze out as much infused rum as possible.
Cover and shake to combine. Try a small sample and see what you think.
Final Thoughts
Having laboriously grated two limes on a very fine grater, and after a few hours of infusion, the lime flavor just wasn’t there. I decided that a little care with a vegetable peeler would yield more per lime with less effort.
In retrospect, I should have first filtered the infused rum through a metal coffee filter first to remove more solids. Lesson for next time.
With this recipe, the toasted almond flavor is notable while the lime hangs in the background. The ginger and cloves are a bit harder to pick out. Next time I may slightly bump up their quantity. I may also experiment with a 1.5/1 sugar/water ratio for the simple syrup.
Let me know your thoughts and results in the comments!
