Rum Punch

So here it is, my first proper weekly Cocktail Recipe, direct to your inbox!!  I’m gonna start rolling these out Every Friday with the specific intention of making them easy enough for you to understand and make at home. And for you to be able to source all the ingredients at the same time as your weekly shop from your local Supermarket. No more need to default to the Pimms and Lemonade for your Saturday afternoon BBQs!

The Rum Punch is the ultimate Party Drink. And one of my favourites as I love all things Tiki. Kind of fits with my personality and shirt collection! Tropical, Sweet, Colourful and instantly puts a smile on your face.

At a young Bartending age, I was taught this very simple Formula that you can use to make any kind of Punch! Whether that’s Rum, Vodka, Brandy or Whiskey!

Its the 1, 2, 3, 4 Rule

If you break your Cocktail up into 10 parts, you can follow the simple formula and I guarantee you can make an amazing Punch every time…whether that’s individual punches, in a jug, or in a giant fish bowl to create that central masterpiece at your next party. But how does it work?

• 1, is 1 part Sour. So Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit etc
• 2, is 2 parts Sweet. Mainly your Sugar Syrups in the booze aisle (Grenadine, Sugar) or syrups like Vanilla, Almond/Orgeat, Caramel in the Coffee aisle. Or even posh cordials like Elderflower and Ginger in the drinks aisle.
• 3, is 3 parts Strong. Your Rums, Vodka’s etc
• 4. is 4 parts Weak. Juices, Lemonade, Ginger Beer etc

You also have what I call ‘Crossover’ Spirits…Liqueurs. Supermarkets now sell fruity liqueurs like Strawberry, Raspberry, Cassis…heck even Peach, Banana & Lychee these days! Plus there’s liqueurs Llike Passoa, Midori, Tia Maria, Archers etc. They’re not as strong (about 15-25% abv).  So you could in fact use 2 parts Rum and 1 part Banana!

Now you’ve got the inside track, here’s my tried and tested Rum Punch Recipe…

StBs Rum Punch!

Steve the Barman’s Rum Punch

 

3x nice and juicy Lime Wedges
15ml Grenadine
15ml Orgeat Syrup
50ml Kraken Black Spiced Rum
25ml Strawberry Liqueur
50ml Tropicana Orange Juice
50ml Tropicana Pineapple Juice

Just a side note to this, firstly on Thirsty’s Bars, I use Old J Spiced Rum. I love it.  It’s the old Sailor Jerry we all use to love back in 2009 before they changed the recipe. And as for the Juices, I use a Brand called Eager. The important thing to take away is, don’t compromise! I purposely listed Tropicana as they are the best 100% pressed and squeezed juices you can get from a supermarket. DON’T SKIMP. Don’t go down the Concentrate Juice route as most Bars would do, just to save a few pennies. You have to appreciate, if you want to drink something, you want it to taste as good as it can do. So spend that extra 50p/£1 on real juice. I promise you, you will taste the difference.

So there you have it.  Thats my own personal recipe. But the combinations are endless. Just follow that 1,2,3,4 formula and get cracking!

 

Tell you what I’ll also do.  There’s a FREE Cocktail Kit up for Grabs!

To win, upload a piccy of yourself enjoying your own Punch creation, to either Facebook or Twitter and use the Hashtag #StBRumPunch. You have until 8pm on August 31st, 2015.

Win our very own Cocktail Kit

 

 

 

 

 

Can a Cocktail Recipe be wrong?!

A few weeks ago, I published my recipe for MY version of the Porn Star Martini.  Its a tried and tested recipe that I’ve used for the last 3 years, simply because you guys love it.  As in Absolutely LOVE it.

Steve the Barman’s Porn Star Martini

However it drew some amusing comments from other bartenders and bars about how it wasn’t the proper recipe…

Now granted, its not exactly the same recipe that legend Douglas Ankrah created way back in 2002. However when you read his recipe, it is in essence just a Vanilla and Passion Fruit Martini served with a shot of Prosecco. When you look at my recipe, my take on the Porn Star Martini is again, a Vanilla and Passion Fruit Martini…and in actual fact, not wildly different at all.

So this begs the question;
Can a Cocktail Recipe be wrong?

As most of you reading this know, I’ve been behind the Bar for 20 years now.  I’d say that’s a shed load of experience.

But am I the best Bartender out there? Am I the Authority on Cocktails?
No.

I can’t claim to be, as I never really got involved in Cocktail Competitions during my youth. Nor do I wish to be. I never had the ego to want to be the best.  Instead, I chose a different route. I dedicated my career to making the tastiest drinks I could possibly make, that my type of customers would actually order and want to drink….not just once to try it, but over, and over….and over again!

You see in Bartending, there is no right or wrong recipe. There is no one individual or organisation who can say that’s right or wrong.  Take the humble Sex on the Beach for example. A quick Google search results in 3 equally as tasty recipes, all from 3 leading UK Bar Chains. Which one of them has the correct recipe?  And is the correct recipe tastier than the other 2?  Also the amazing Espresso Martini has a different recipe in every bar you walk in to. The ONLY people that can judge that, are the actual customers buying the drinks.

The same can be said the same about Cooking. When researching this Blog post, in 2 minutes I found 6 different Roast Chicken recipes and 3 different Lasagne recipes. Which one of those is correct?!

Over my 20 years or Bartending…16 of which have been out and out Cocktails…I’ve recreated a lot of popular Recipes and put my own twist on them, using the ingredients I could easily get from my Suppliers.

Over the last 2 years though, I’ve discovered a new passion, a new USP.  I love to share recipes that you guys can make at home, by using ingredients that are readily available from your local Supermarket.

And while Thirst First’s Cocktail menu for Events is a tad different…there’s lots of weird and wonderful using some really cool brands…Steve the Barman’s personal Menu is all about the Supermarkets, simply because you guys don’t have access to a hell of a lot of products that us pros do.  I want you guys to be able to go away and make tasty drinks for yourselves. I want you guys to have more imagination than just defaulting to Pimms and Lemonade at your Saturday Afternoon BBQs. By taking great Cocktails and flipping up the recipes to make them more accessible to you guys, well, there’s nothing wrong with that…is there?!

Starting this Friday (14th August), I will be sharing amazing recipes each week, that you guys can make for yourselves at home.  Everything from very simple serves, right through to the more in-depth Cocktails. However, they will always have the common theme and will use ingredients that you can purchase from the big 3… Tesco’s, Sainsburys and Waitrose.

 

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Thirsty Social Club; the Aftermath

Thirsty Social Club @ The Red Lion, Whittlesford – 6th August 2015

What a night! It had everything. Cocktails, gorgeous people, giggles, networking, drunkenness, wedding prep…and some crazy arse Killer Rum!

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the largest party I’d ever put on. But in 4N terms, it was a Flagship meeting…and the 50% Social bit! I was really happy, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and we even ended up planning a 4N Wedding!

It all kicked off with the Old J crew.  They were on duty early doors dishing out tasters of their superb Old J Spiced Rum, which was quickly followed up by their Tiki Fire, weighing in at 75%.  Yeah that got the party started.

Our playlist for the night included 2 brands.  Obviously the Old J Spiced Rum, a smooth Vanilla & Lime Rum, closely resembling the Sailor Jerry that everyone knew and loved before SJ changed the recipe back in 2009/10.  And the brand new Jim Beam Apple variant which now sits alongside their Maple, Honey and Red Stag range.

I won’t go in to too many details about the Cocktail List, but the big favvies of the night were a Rhubarb Spiced & Stormy which was delish!!  Our Rum Punch, which is the ultimate Party Drink. An Apple Mojito with the Jim Beam and then a surprise candidate…an Espresso Martini made with Old J and Hazelnut Liqueur, which will definitely make it on to Thirsty’s next Cocktail List!!

I also hired an AMAZING photographer to try an capture the night.  Jean-Luc Benazet (check his www out) did a brilliant job.  This is just one of my favvies, but if you click this link, or the photo, you can see the rest of the Album.  There’s about 150 in it!!

Thirsty Social Club @ The Red Lion, Whittlesford – 6th August 2015

 

Plans are already being hatched for the next Thirsty Social Club.  We’re looking at a Friday in October.  The location is open to debate too.  There’s been lots of interest in Essex, in Hertfordshire and in Birmingham.  For now, I’m going to keep the next one closer to my neck of the woods, but hey who knows in the future.  If you want a Pop-Up Cocktail Party in your area, give me a shout.  Alls I need is a Venue that will let me do my thing!!

If you’d like to hear about the next Thirsty Social Club, or you would like regular updates…including Cocktail Recipes, then fill in this form below!

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Thirsty Social Club

Thirsty Social Club is a brand new Pop-Up Cocktail Party courtesy of the Thirsty Crew. I’ve wanted to create my own events for a while, however the long standing issue I’ve had, is finding somewhere that’ll (a) let me take my own booze and (b) that people can get to easily without having to drive!

Well, finally I’ve found success in the form of the Red Lion at Whittlesford Bridge, which is bang on the main Cambridge – Liverpool Street Train Line and last trains to London, Cambridge, Ely, Kings Lynn are at 11pm. Perfect!!

 

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You are Invited!
Thursday 6th August – 7 till 11pm
@ the Red Lion, Whittlesford Bridge
£20

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What is the “Thirsty Social Club”?

The idea behind the Pop-Up is mainly to create my brand of fun, mixed with really tasty drinks! My love is creating drinks that average Joe public can replicate at home, using ingredients that can easily be found in a local supermarket or from my favvy online drinks supplier. I love to give you ideas and Drinkspiration, but I also love to be different. So no, I’m not about the Pimms and Lemonade. I’m about the stuff you’re maybe too scared to try out.

The event is open to EVERYONE. Everyone that has a sense of Fun and a Smile!
Dress code is “Dress to Impress”

 

Each Pop-Up will showcase 2 different Brands!

At the moment, this is just a one off. But I’d love for it to go well, so we can run these regularly. Maybe every 6 weeks or so. The limit will always be 50-60 people…kind of exclusive.

The 2 brands I’ve chosen for the first ever Thirsty Social Club are the brand new Jim Beam Apple and Old J Spiced Rum.

We’ll create a small, but perfectly formed Cocktail list, that’ll cater for all tastes, that will best show off these amazing Spirits. Included in the ticket price will be 2 Cocktails and Canapés, but the Venue is also allowing us to sell our Cocktails on the night too. Their Bar will also be open for Beers, Wines and Softies.

 

So come on, get yourself booked in;

bit.ly/thirstysocialclub

Register your interest by filling out the Form. We’re doing this as cheaply as possible and circumnavigating Eventbrite’s fees and giving you the option to pay by BACS if you want to. All invoices will be sent out from Xero, and yes of course we can take Cards, but there will be a 3.8% fee.

 

Alls that’s left to say is, I look forward to seeing you there!!