For a latest challenge, I analyzed a whole lot of tiki recipes from each the “golden period” and fashionable occasions, together with these in Minimalist Tiki, Smuggler’s Cove, Tropical Normal, Tiki: Trendy Tropical Cocktails, and, in fact, Jeff Berry’s books.
The largest hurdle for my evaluation was the completely different names for a similar ingredient. In a couple of instances, the issue was reversed, i.e., the identical identify used for various substances. The latter is at the moment’s matter. Extra particularly, falernum — a staple ingredient in lots of basic and fashionable recipes.
Earlier than the 21st-century Tiki Revival, you possibly can fairly assume that falernum meant the low-strength, frivolously flavored liqueur from Barbados; John D. Taylor is the canonical instance at the moment. However because the Tiki Revival gained steam, bartenders began making liqueurs that differed dramatically from Barbados-made falernum, however nonetheless known as them falernum. These liqueurs have a far spicier taste and alcoholic punch to them. The distinction is giant sufficient that the 2 types aren’t interchangeable in a recipe calling for “falernum.”
Till now, I’d handwaved previous this disconnect. However after analyzing the substances of a whole lot of recipes, I needed to confront the subject head-on. First, I needed to validate what I believed about falernum, which meant digging into long-past and more moderen historical past.
A (Too Transient) Historical past of Falernum
Two millennia earlier than the Caribbean-made falernum liqueur was first made, falernian (Latin: falernum) referred to a powerful white wine standard within the Roman period. This could be of little notice if wine falernum didn’t proceed to look in scholarly books nicely previous the time when Caribbean falernum appeared. The upshot is that researching falernum in digital archives requires further effort to find out which falernum a e-book refers to.
An early reference to what’s very probably Barbados-made falernum comes from a discover in a 1787 Barbados newspaper: [i]
RULES-to be noticed by those that come to Bathe and drink the Waters on the BARBADOS SPA… The dinner all the time contemporary, and the appetites of the sick consulted, with Madeira or port wine, (1 bottle for each two) in addition to punch and falernum.
By the primary decade of the 1800s, references to falernum liqueur in Barbados newspapers had been commonplace.
An early itemizing of falernum’s substances seems in an1866 e-book about British Guiana:[ii]
Falernum, or drink of contradictions. —Falernum is made in the identical method, and incorporates the identical substances, in the identical proportions, as shrub; with the addition of 4 gallons of water to each three gallons of rum. The proportions are thus—one, two, three, and 4.
Of lime-juice one, to make it bitter
Of sugar two, to make it candy;
Three of rum, to make it robust;
Of water 4, to make it weak.Falernum was at one time a typical and favorite beverage with Europeans in Guiana…
You might acknowledge the Caribbean rhyme, “Certainly one of bitter, two of candy, three of robust, and 4 of weak.” The identical bitter/candy/robust/weak elements seem in an 1896 newspaper article that additionally brings almonds into the combo:
One pint of bitter, that’s, lime juice (or lemon juice); two pints of candy, that’s, of sugar; three pints of robust, that’s rum (the most effective you will get); 4 pints of weak, that’s, water. Taste the concoction with bitter almonds. Let It stand in a cask for every week or so, then pour off in bottles.[iii]
Of notice earlier than urgent on — whereas falernum is carefully related to Barbados, it was additionally made elsewhere within the Caribbean. Documented examples in different colonies embrace:
20th Century Falernum
The few historic paperwork describing falernum’s substances usually point out simply rum, lime, sugar, and generally almonds. Successfully, a lime/almond liqueur. Nonetheless, a report from 1910 hints at extra happening:
Falernum—Rum, lime juice and sugar are the important substances, with numerous flavouring supplies.
What these flavoring supplies are isn’t disclosed, but it surely’s honest to imagine that anybody making falernum had their secret recipe utilizing native substances. Alternatively, if everybody had been utilizing a typical spice like clove or ginger, it could be odd to not point out it.
A narrative concerning the Barbados agency of Johnson and Redman within the Pink E-book of the West Indies (1922) doesn’t point out every other substances, however there have been any, assured readers they wouldn’t trigger bodily hurt:
…the well-known Falernum of Barbados. That wonderful beverage is made by Messrs. Johnson and Redman from pure native lime-juice, sugar, and rum, and incorporates no chemical compounds, nor substances injurious to the system.
A 1962 British newspaper story notes herbs and flowers in Mount Homosexual’s falernum:[viii]
One other importation by the identical agency from Barbados is Falernum, which is described as an Alcoholic Cordial comprised of distilled sugar-cane syrup, flavoured with almond and lime and the essence of varied herbs and flowers indigenous in Barbados.
Barbados Falernum
For a lot of the 20th century, many Barbados retailers who bought rum additionally had a home model falernum. As consolidation swept via the Barbados rum trade, many falernum manufacturers modified arms and/or had been discontinued. The Mount Homosexual falernum talked about above is one such instance.
The traditionally indispensable e-book Rum, Yesterday and Right now says this about one of many survivors:
A weaker ‘Liqueur Falernum’ consisted of impartial spirit, lime juice, sugar syrup and almond essence, and when blended with rum and ice was generally known as ‘Corn and Oil’, which may very well be purchased made up in bottles underneath that name-John D Taylor’s ‘Corn n’Oil’, a Conventional Mix of Outdated Barbados Rums and John D Taylor’s Velvet Falernum. [ix]
As a private notice on the above, the substances listed match the flavors I understand in John D. Taylor falernum.
In 1993, R.L. Seale & Co. acquired the John D. Taylor (JDT) model and changed its home model falernum with the John D. Taylor recipe.[x] The opposite commercially made Barbados falernum is Cockspur’s, made on the West Indies Rum Distillery, per my understanding. Sadly, it isn’t broadly accessible outdoors of Barbados.
Each the JDT and Cockspur falernums are bottled at 11% ABV. I discover the Cockspur a contact extra flavorful, though each reside on the refined finish of the flavour spectrum. And in the event that they embrace ginger, clove or one thing related of their recipes, my palette doesn’t readily detect them.
Enter the Revival
When first coming into a tradition, it’s arduous to know what “tribal data” is historic historical past and what’s a latest improvement. Such was the case for me with falernum once I first fell down the tiki rabbit gap. Recipes for house-made falernum with clove, ginger, and a wholesome dose of unaged Jamaican rum had been well-circulated inside the group, and I used to be in no place to query it.
However as time handed, I seen that these recipes, whereas undeniably scrumptious, had been noticeably completely different from Velvet Falernum, not solely of their taste profile but additionally of their alcoholic energy. Within the grand scheme of issues, it wasn’t a urgent problem till I began assembling recipes from dozens of bartenders for Minimalist Tiki. I misplaced monitor of how typically I needed to ask a recipe creator, “Which sort of falernum do you imply?”
How did this ingredient divergence occur? Was it a easy mistake or one thing deliberate? Right here’s an abbreviated timeline of what I realized:
Across the flip of the 21st century, Dale Degroff (King Cocktail) and Ted Haigh (Dr. Cocktail), early pioneers within the craft cocktail motion, couldn’t get Barbadian falernum any longer, so began in search of another. Circa 2002, Haigh satisfied Charge Brothers to bottle a falernum syrup.
In early 2003, DeGroff revealed a recipe for Velvet Falernum syrup on the eGullet discussion board:
10 Limes
10 Cloves
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 l white rum
Zest the ten limes, reserve the zested limes for juicing for the Flaming Orange Gully. Marinate first three substances within the rum for twenty-four hours. Pressure and bottle the rum. Retailer in a cool place. To make syrup, add 8 oz. of rum marinade to 1 quart of straightforward syrup (2 elements water to 1 half sugar). Modify to style.
The fascinating a part of this recipe is the clove. No matter whether or not both of the Barbadian falernums makes use of clove or one thing related, DeGroff’s recipe brings clove a lot nearer to the entrance of the stage.
In 2005, Paul Clarke (present Editor-in-Chief of Imbibe Journal) began a sequence of posts about falernum on his Cocktail Chronicles weblog. Clarke later famous that he was impressed by the early eGullet posts and made a number of recipe iterations, notably Falernum #8, #9, and #10. Of specific curiosity right here is that Clarke’s first article notes, “First, I’d introduce a little bit of ginger to the combo, to provide it somewhat extra zing…”
Was this the place ginger entered into fashionable falernum recipes? (Inquiries have been made.) Regardless, these posts, together with different posts from Kaiser Penguin and others, kicked off a wave of bartenders and lovers making their very own falernum—if that’s what we should always name it. Even yours really shared their falernum recipe.
For anybody wanting extra backstory on the story of falernum’s ascendance within the craft cocktail revolution, see Bob Simonson’s Paradise Discovered article in PUNCH.
Business Falernum in Trendy Occasions
Given the curiosity in tiki cocktails and their sometimes-obscure substances, it’s not stunning that business falernum liqueurs like Bitter Reality and Maggie’s Farm got here to market. Their widespread denominator is that all of them pack far more taste and alcoholic energy than Barbados-made falernums.
- Bitter Reality Golden Falernum is bottled at 18% ABV.
- Maggie’s Farm Falernum is bottled at 25% ABV — twice the Barbadian falernums.
- Brovo’s Fortunate Falernum is available in at 35% ABV — 3X stronger than Barbados falernums
Throughout a latest journey to Marseille I even encountered a French-made falernum, Le Merveilleux, from Maison Ferroni. It makes use of three kinds of rums from Trinidad, Guyana, and Mauritius (cane juice), that are aged for 12 months. The spices embrace orange peel, lemons, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, and roasted almonds. Naturally, I introduced a bottle dwelling with me.
The newest addition to the business falernum household is from Avua Cachaça. It’s made by the identical distillery in Brazil that makes Avua cachaça and is bottled at 22% ABV. Reasonably than rum, the bottom spirit is cachaça; each unaged and Amburana-aged cachaça are used. I and others who’ve tasted it agree that the flavors are robust vacation spice and citrus to a lesser quantity. We additionally agree that it’s very completely different than Barbados-made falernum.
For the sake of completeness, it’s price mentioning that there are additionally many business non-alcoholic falernum syrups from manufacturers like Liquid Alchemist, BG Reynolds, Latitude 29, Charge Brothers, Monin, and plenty of others. Whereas they’ll undoubtedly convey welcome flavors to cocktails, they’re out of scope for this dialogue; the main target right here is falernum liqueur.
What Shall We Name Them?
You may ask if all this actually issues. It’s simply cocktails, in any case. Proper?
I disagree.
The care that at the moment’s top-tier bartenders use when crafting recipes extends to the substances used. Simply as Bacardi Superior can’t be subbed for Jamaican rum in a reputable Mai Tai, the identical is true for “modifier” substances like falernum.
Each basic Barbadian-style falernum and its higher-octane derivatives are present in well-stocked again bars at the moment. Nonetheless, we may and may deal with them as completely different substances with distinct names. The problem is persuading folks to undertake an altered nomenclature. We’ve seen this firsthand when encouraging folks to make use of higher rum descriptors than white, gold, and darkish.
I could also be tilting at a windmill, however I believe recipe creators ought to use extra descriptive phrases to point which sort of falernum to make use of. Listed here are my present ideas on naming:
For falernums made in at the moment’s Barbados fashion, e.g., John D. Tayler, I suggest “Traditional Falernum” or “Barbadian Falernum.”
For the brasher, bolder falernums, how about “Trendy Falernum,” “Spicy falernum,” or maybe “Tiki-style Falernum”?
Acquired higher concepts? Share them within the feedback!
Assorted Notes
- The agency of Peter Desnoes & Son was a predecessor to Desnoes & Geddes, aka D&G, finest recognized for making Pink Stripe beer. In 1999, Wray & Nephew bought D&G’s wine and spirits division.
- Johnson and Redman had been Barbadian retailers through the 19th and 20th centuries. Their legacy lives on at the moment through Stades J&R White Rum, nonetheless bought on the island.
- R.L. Seale & Co. bought the property of Arthur Alleyne in 1993, which included the John D. Taylor model. The falernum was first exported to the US circa 2000 however didn’t obtain widespread distribution till 2008, when Haus Alpenz took over its importation.
- The eGullet boards predate social media and are an unimaginable document of the craft cocktail renaissance. Lots of at the moment’s family cocktail and spirits-related names usually exchanged ideas on eGullet.
[i] Barbados Mercury, August 7, 1787
[ii] British Guiana: Being Notes on a Few of Its Pure Productions, Industrial Occupations, and Social Establishments, Robert Duff, 1866
[iii] The Cleveland Chief, August 2, 1896
[iv] British Guiana: Being Notes
[v] Reviews on the Colonial Sections of the Exhibition, H. Trueman Wooden, 1887
[vi] A Fortnightly Assessment of the Imperial Division of Agriculture for the West Indies, 1905
[vii] Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, Quantity 8, 1910
[viii] Good Dwelling, The Sphere, July 7, 1962
[ix] Rum Yesterday and Right now, Hugh Barty-King & Anton Massel, 1982
[x] Paradise Discovered, PUNCH, Robert Simonson, https://punchdrink.com/articles/paradise-found-velvet-falernum-tiki-cocktails/
