I’ve been so inspired lately by all of the great tiki cocktails floating around Instagram and cocktail blogs. Especially Home Bar Girl’s #TikiTheSnowAway movement. Tiki cocktails can be very involved. Sometimes having up to 15 ingredients! The rise of tiki culture come around after the post-prohibition era. You are probably familiar with Don the Beachcomber or the Mai Tai cocktail. There’s a great tiki read here and here. Rum and tiki go hand in hand, obviously. But, other spirits like Gin and Brandy find their place in some classic tiki cocktails as well. And, then there’s Blue Curacao. We’ll get to that in the next few posts for Mixology Monday’s “Blue” theme. It just screams tiki! Pain Killers, Pina Coladas, you kind of can’t go wrong with tiki.

For this original tiki cocktail, we’re going back to the Chinese Five Spice infused Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. A Bermudian rum. The rum brings this cocktail into tiki territory without using 10-15 ingredients.

I like to pair vanilla flavors with five spice. I think the flavors work fabulously together. So, for this cocktail, our sweetener is a Vanilla-Ginger syrup. It’s really easy to make.

For Vanilla-Ginger Syrup:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 Vanilla Bean [Split]

~1/4 Cup fresh sliced Ginger

*Bring all contents to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes. Let mix cool, leaving sliced ginger and vanilla bean in syrup. After cooling, remove ginger and bottle. I like to leave the vanilla bean in the syrup.

This cocktail is perfect for winter sipping. You get the warming notes from the five spice and tropical notes from the pineapple and angostura bitters. And, you can pretend your on a warm caribbean island with sand, sun and all of the tropical goodness you deserve.

St. Bermuda:

2 1/2oz. Five Spice Infused Goslings Black Seal Rum

1 1/2oz. Vanilla Ginger Syrup

1oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice

1oz. Fresh Lime Juice

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

*Add all ingredients to shaker and fill with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into large snifter or highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with lime wheel. Cheers!