Connected – A Whisk(e)y Mai Tai
For those hot summer days the obvious choice of base spirit seems to be rum. However, I while ago I came up with a Mai Tai variation using two different whiskies. While this version might indeed be a bit too much for the really hot days, it turned out delicious nevertheless.
Inspired by the Blue Grass Mai Tai, I combined a light Irish Whiskey with the vanilla-forward Nikka Coffee Grain whisky. I also switched out the curacao in the original recipe for the Giffard Pampelmouse Liqueur. This already worked very well in my ‘In Degrees’ cocktail.
More modifications
Yet, I was not done with the changes. Similar to the Blue Grass Mai Tai, I used lemon instead of lime. It just works better with whisky. Furthermore, to underline the oak flavours, I used some walnut bitters from Quebec. Last but not least, I omitted the sugar syrup in the Mai Tai and just went with Orgeat.
3 cl Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky
1,2 cl Giffard Pampelmouse Liqueur
2 Dashes Amer Kebek Noix de Noyer Bitters
3 cl Lemon Juice
2 cl Meneau Orgeat
Garnish: Dried Orange Wheel; Song: Caught A Ghost – Connected;
First off, you notice quite the similarity between the ‘Connected’ and the Cameron’s Kick. However, the bitters and the grapefruit liqueur take the drink in a different direction. The grapefruit flavours make the drink more refreshing, while the bitters go very well with the whisky combination.
