Visitors to Austin’s Deep Eddy Pool this summer could be forgiven for doing a double take: is that a secret tiki hut behind iconic dive bar Deep Eddy Cabaret? With a 1968 Airstream food trailer, a tropical-themed interior and patio, and beachy beverages, Pool Burger became a neighborhood favorite after McGuire Moorman Hospitality (Perla’s, Elizabeth Street Café) opened it in October. MMH assistant beverage director Alex Holder provided us with recipes for a few very summery, very refreshing tiki-style cocktails you can make at home.
Tradewinds
A creamy, fruity new rum favorite.
1 ½ ounces Appleton Estate dark rum
¾ ounce apricot liqueur
¾ ounce lemon juice
1 ounce coconut cream
Shake all ingredients in a mixing tin, strain, and serve over crushed ice. Garnish with a flower and an overblown umbrella.
TM tasting notes: A creamy coconut aroma leads to a surprising first sip: this is fruity but also rum-forward and boozy. Bracing lemon zestiness and tart-sweet apricot are here too but are balanced by the bold Appleton Rum and smooth texture of coconut cream.
Pairs well with: Coconut shrimp or a fish fry.
(Six) Frozen Hurricanes
Refreshing rum and passion fruit, frozen and batched for parties.
14 ounces Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black Rum
12 ounces Liber & Co. Passion Fruit Syrup
10 ounces lemon juice
10 ounces water
¼ ounce Angostura bitters
1 teaspoon salt
Build ingredients in a large bowl. (Don’t add extra rum, or it won’t freeze properly.) Portion mixture into one-gallon freezer bags. Freeze for at least 24 hours. When ready to serve, pour bag contents into mixing tin and shake for 2-3 seconds, then serve immediately. Garnish with a flower and swizzle stick.
Makes about six 8-ounce cocktails
TM tasting notes: Sweet passion fruit is the predominant flavor here—subtlety need not apply. There’s a strong rum backbone as well as some bitterness and salt to balance the sweetness: this is a crowd-pleaser and a classic summer punch.
Pairs well with: Burgers or pulled-pork sandwiches.
Shipwrecked
Mezcal and rhum agricole collide in sophisticated island fashion.
1 ounce Union mezcal
1 ounce Rhum Damoiseau (agricole)
¾ ounce pineapple juice
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce cilantro simple syrup*
Float: ½ ounce 151 proof rum (see Garnish, below)
Add ingredients to mixing tin, then add crushed ice and swizzle. Pour into a cocktail glass.
Garnish: Add an inverted lime hull (half-shell) filled with a sugar cube and ½ ounce 151 proof rum float. Ignite rum, dust with cinnamon, and serve.
For cilantro simple syrup: Boil 1 quart water. Blanch 1 cup cilantro leaves in boiling water for three seconds, then cool in an ice bath. Add 1 quart granulated sugar to cilantro-water and stir to make a syrup. Cool syrup to fridge temperature. Blend cold syrup with blanched cilantro and 1 new cup of fresh cilantro leaves in a food processor. Pour through a fine mesh strainer.
TM tasting notes: The smoky and herbal notes of mezcal play well with tiki flavors of lime and funky, grassy agricole (sugarcane) rhum. This is the most intense and complex drink of the lot and will appeal to more seasoned cocktail drinkers.
Pairs well with: Grilled fajitas or brisket.
