Episode 51: Ancient Mariner Cocktail and the Call of Cthulhu

Hi Folks,

I hope everyone is doing well and we are glad that we get to bring you the show while you are stuck at home.

This episode's drink that we will be covering is called the Ancient Mariner which is a Jeff "Beachbum" Berry cocktail. This drink was created by accident as Jeff was reverse engineering one of Trader Vic's recipe "The Navy Grog". This cocktail was a result of trying to re-create the drink and I must say that I'm glad he did as it is delicious. The two items of Trader Vic's that gave Jeff a hard time to figure out was the rum mix and the navy grog mix. Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber would mix different rums from around the world to make their own special blend to make drinks. We found through time that Don would use honey syrup in his Navy Grog and Vic would use Pimento Dram and simple syrup.

For the recipe to this drink, check out our website recipe page: https://tikicentralcanada.ca/recipes/

The reason for the name of the drink is not the Rime of the Ancient Mariner poem that most people would think but a play on words with Jeff as it took so long to make the drink and perfect it that they felt like ancient mariners.

This drink has a nice mix of blended rums, pimento spice, grapefruit juice and lime juice. For the summertime, it's very refreshing. Tip: wait a bit for the ice to melt to get a better result as we found of the flavors.

On "Mark's Adventures" segment: we will be talking about Jeff's place called Latitude 29 which is based in New Orleans. This unique bar is inside a classic hotel called the Bienville Hotel. This historical place was built in 1835 and named after Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the French founder of New Orleans, the Bienville House Hotel originally served as a manufacturing plant for Planters Rice Mill in the newly established state of Louisiana. It is modest in size with about 15 tables and 12 or so seats at the bar. It has an entrance from the street and one from the hotel, and one side over-looking a small indoor pool. Some of the drinks to mention are the Pontchatrain Pearl Diver, the Latitude 29, and Hell in the Pacific.

On "Did You Know" segment: we go into our research to find out about an ancient mariner story based on a book written by H.P. Lovecraft called The Call of Cthulhu. This book depicts a unmapped island which is placed in the Cthulhu Triangle (real location between New Zealand and South America). A sailor who makes it back to New Zealand lives to tell the tale of horror and tragedy where all of his crew members died. A horrifying creature describe as having a "cuttlefish head, dragon body, and scaly wings. To hear more about this tiki tale, listen to the show!!!

Here is a link to a YouTube video to make the drink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTYk1UQQZOk&t=228s

YouTube video of the Call of the Cthulhu explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HL-VCG4l-0

For more information on Latitude 29, go to Mark's Tiki page: https://tikicentralcanada.ca/marks-tiki-page/

So don't forget our #hashtag competition for the best garnished drink of the month!! For more details, check us out on any social media platform (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).

Next episode to come is the Mai Tai....who made it and why??