My Own Ferdinand-and-Isabella Punch Bowl
Next weekend is the Eurovision final, and we have friends coming over to watch with us. I spotted a drinking game official enough to have its own domain and twitter account (ie, not very official, but certainly interwebs savvy) - and that they recommended their rum punch.
...but I didn't much like their punch recipe.
So I looked around for alternatives, and ran into Ferdinand and Isabella's Punch. This looked a lot better to me, but still I wouldn't want to make it without a few tweaks here and there.
So I tweaked. And for some ingredients that I didn't have at home, I replaced, or I went with DIY.
I plan to go back and edit this post as I settle on some of the amounts, and possibly add more spices than currently planned to the falernum.
Velvet Falernum Batavian Falernum
Since I didn't have any falernum at home, and want to largely avoid purchasing extra booze at this point, I decided to make my own falernum.
And since many historic punches used Batavian Arrak, and while I don't have any white rum at home, I do have Arrak, I decided to build my falernum on that instead.
So, here comes the Batavian Falernum. Based largely on the DIY recipe from Serious Eats.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup raw almonds
30 cloves
2 sticks of cinnamon (added by me)
30 allspice berries (added by me)
1 inch ginger (added by me)
1 cup Batavian Arrack (changed by me)
8 limes
520 g Demerara sugar [actually used: palm sugar + white sugar] (changed by me)
130 g (~1/2 cup) water
Day 1:
Coarsely chop and toast the almonds in a dry (non-stick) pan over medium-high heat until fragrant but before they burn (approx. 5 minutes).
Place almonds, cinnamon and cloves in a tight-sealing jar, cover with arrack. Steep for 24h.
Day 2:
Add allspice berries. Steep for 24h.
Day 3:
Finely zest 8 limes, with as little pith as possible. Put limes in ziploc bag in fridge to juice them later for the syrup and even later for the punch.
Thinly slice ginger.
Add zest and ginger slices to infusion. Steep for 24h.
Day 4:
Juice 4 limes (from the fridge stash), strain into pot. I got 130 g juice from this. Add water (equal amount, so 130g) and sugar (quadruple that, so 520g, to make it 2:1 sugar to liquid by weight), and cook a 66 brix (rich) sugar syrup, until sugar is fully dissolved.
Let it cool, then strain infusion and combine infused arrak and syrup in 1:2 proportions by weight.
Shake/stir until fully combined, strain through coffee filter, and let it rest for 12h.
Ferdinand and Isabella's Batavian Punch
Ingredients
1 lemon
2/3 cups sugar
2-3 tbsp Imperial Earl Grey
1/2 bottle (375ml) Ron Zacapa 23
1/2 bottle (375ml) aged Malmsey Madeira (changed by me)
1/2 cup lemon juice (squeezed from reserved fruit)
1/2 cup lime juice (squeezed from reserved fruit)
1 tsp Angostura Bitters
1/2 cup Batavian Falernum (see above)
Extra additions chosen day of:
Not enough Madeira: swapped half for Lillet Blanc
1 tbsp rich gomme syrup
1/4 tsp 4:1 saline
1/2 tsp Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
1/2 tsp Fee Brothers Molasses Bitters
1/2 tsp Angostura Orange Bitters
Day 1:
Peel or zest the lemon, avoid the pith. Combine with sugar, muddle slightly and let it rest to produce oleo saccharum. Put the zested lemon in the fridge in a plastic bag to squeeze later.
Fill baking tray or bundt pan partway with water, put in freezer to produce ice block for the punch bowl.
Day 2:
Steep 1.5 cups of boiling hot water with the tea leaves for 3 minutes. Strain and set aside to cool.
Squeeze lemon and lime from the fridge and measure out the required amounts. (if not enough, fill it up with the Meyer Lemon super juice in my fridge)
Combine rum, madeira, lemon juice, lime juice, and the oleo saccharum. Stir to combine, and then strain to remove lemon zest from the mix. Pour into punch bowl.
Add tea to punch bowl.
Add ice block to punch bowl.
Garnish with lemon and lime wheels studded with cloves.
Timing for this time around:
May 7: Day 1 of Falernum
May 8: Day 2 of Falernum
May 9: Day 3 of Falernum
May 10: Day 4 of Falernum
May 12: Day 1 of Punch.
May 13: Day of Eurovision show. Day 2 of Punch.
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Spring has sprung.
It's Spring time in DC,which means we get to enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms. The weather wasn't so great this year,but they were still pretty.
(actual cherry blossom pic taken by Uncle Giltron)
And of course,there are Tiki drinks for this occasion.
Mix #160 Cherry Blossom
1.5oz white rum
1oz pineapple juice
1oz cream of coconut
3/4oz lime juice
1/2oz blue curacao
1/2oz cinnamon syrup
Shake well with plenty of ice and pour into hurricane glass.
Created by Justin Wojslaw,from the book Minimalist Tiki. Despite the name,there is no cherry in the drink,and it's actually turquoise colored instead of red. So it's pretty much the perfect drink for the way things work in DC. It's sweet and creamy with a cinnamon profile. Pretty good,if a bit touristy.
Mix #161 Cherry Pie Tai
1.5oz Demerara rum
1/2oz rhum agricole
3/4oz Cherry Heering
3/4oz lemon juice
1/2oz orgeat
Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.
I love Mai Tais,so a cherry version was perfect to go with the blossoms. Created by Nathan Robinson,it pretty much tastes like a tart cherry Mai Tai. Quite nice.
Mix #162 Paradise Cooler
2oz white rum
1/2oz Cherry Heering
1oz velvet falernum
2oz orange juice
1oz lime juice
Shake with ice and pour into double old fashioned glass. Garnish with cherry speared with an apple slice.
This was the house drink of the Denver Hilton in the 1960's. It's tart and citrus-y with some spice and a bit of cherry finish. Very nice. A good Tiki drink for cherry fans.
Mix #163 Hemingway Daiquiri
2oz white rum
3/4oz lime juice
1/2oz grapefruit juice
1/2oz maraschino liqueur*
Shake with ice until chilled,then strain into coupe glass.
*I used Cherry Heering.
So,the story goes that Ernest Hemingway went into the El Floridita bar in Havana to use the restroom. On the way out the bartender was setting up a line of daiquiris and Hemingway decided to try one. He commented that it wasn't bad,but he preferred twice the rum and no sugar. So the bartender made one his way and named the drink after him. And over time it has morphed into the recipe above. No idea if any of this is true,but it's a good story. Since Ernest was a man's man,I decided to use Smith & Cross navy rum instead of white rum. The result was a VERY tart drink. And I used Heering which is sweeter than maraschino liqueur. I didn't want Ernest's ghost to haunt me and call me a wuss,so I finished it,but if I were ever to make another I'd definitely dump in some simple syrup. If tart's your thing,then you might like this.
Mix #164 Ankle Breaker
1oz 151 rum*
1oz Cherry Heering
1oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Shake with ice and pour into double rocks glass.
*I used Wray & Nephew Overproof.
I came across this recipe in a Facebook group. According to Beachbum Berry's book Remixed,this was created in the Swamp Fox Room bar in the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina sometime in the 1950's. It was inspired by a story about hero of the Revolutionary War,General Francis Marion(AKA,the Swamp Fox),who supposedly broke his ankle jumping from a second-story window of the hotel while trying “to escape sober from a party at which this drink was flowing too freely.” Again,no idea if this is true but a good story is a good story. While 151 rum is intended for this,the poster used Wray & Nephew Overproof(which is "only" 126 proof) and since I have W&N and have been meaning to use it more,I used it too. And since I like funk I also doubled down and used Demerara syrup instead of regular simple. Very nice. This drink is very daiquiri-like. The rum really came forward with just a bit of cherry finish. Of course with overproof rum it had some kick. I'm going to make this again with some other rums just to play around with it.
So until next time,have a cocktail and enjoy the pretty flowers.
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Galaxy's Edge Foodstuffs & Drinkstuffs Reviews!
So last month, I was able to finally visit Black Spire Outpost, aka Batuu, aka Galaxy's Edge, aka Star Wars Land @ Disneyland!
This is a roundup of photos + reviews of all the themed foods & beverages that mum and I enjoyed during our trip.
Note that I visited Batuu West, in Disneyland California. Florida may have slightly different menus, and I know that menus change seasonally too! My visit was in January, 2023.
The rest of the photos + reviews under the cut!
Oga's Cantina
In the early morning on the very first day, we stopped by Oga's! We got some non-alcoholic drinks + some small eats to start the day off.
Non-Alcoholic drinks:
Memory's foggy, but I *think* the drinks are:
Blurrgfire: Minute Maid® Lemonade, Pomegranate Juice, and Habanero-Lime
Review: Mildly zingy? but otherwise a pleasant juice drink.
Black Spire Brew: Cold Brew Joffrey's Coffee®, Honey, Falernum, Passion Fruit, and Citrus
Review: Probably the most questionable drink we had, but glad we tried it! The coffee + citrus gave it a sorta...sour? taste? and I'm not sure how I felt about that in my coffee! But it was certainly unique.
Blue Bantha: Blue Milk served chilled with Bantha-inspired Brown Butter Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cookie
Review: Realizing now we didn't get the cookie, sad ;_; It was ok, but idk it felt like it tasted a lot better from the Milk Stand! It was also kinda room temperature, though we *were* in the very first early morning round of people. Overall didn't stand out too much, but wasn't bad either!
Jabba Juice: Simply Orange® with Pineapple, Kiwi, Cantaloupe, and Blueberry Flavor-filled Boba
Review: A slightly mixed-juice but mostly orange juice with some blue popping boba! Was good in a normal, could probably make it at home sorta way.
Food stuffs:
Five-blossom Bread: Warm Pretzel Knot with Hawaiian Black Sea Salt, served with Calabrian Cheese Sauce
Review: It was super warm 'n toasty, surprisingly filling! It was a pretty normal pretzel and the sauce was a pretty normal slightly spicy cheese sauce, but it was still delicious!
Spiced Wroshyr Pods: Seasoned Edamame, Sliced Cucumbers, spicy Citrus-Gochujang Dip
Review: Ngl, these were just straight up plain edamame ^ ^;;; BUT the sauce was really good, preferred it to the pretzel sauce even!
I had another reservation at Oga's on a different night, and this time we tried some alcohol. Now, tbh I am not a huge fan of alcohol; I can drink it, but I just don't really like the flavor, and have never gotten drunk (nor do I really want to), and all it makes me feel is the vague urge to pee. But, I felt obligated to try something alcoholic at the cantina, so here's what I *think* we got!
Jedi Mind Trick (alcoholic): Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit and Rose Vodka, John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, Bols Blue Curaçao, White Grape Juice, Lime Juice, and Grapefruit Bitters
Review: It was defs sweet? Fruity? But alas, Alcohol taste was strong for me ;_;
Hyperdrive (Punch It!) (Non-alcoholic): Powerade® Mountain Berry Blast, White Cranberry Juice, Black Cherry Purée, and Sprite®
Review: Got one non-alcoholic drink, and ngl it was definitely my fav drink out of the 3 ^ ^; Unfortunately don't remember much of it, other than that I was using it to cleanse the alcohol flavor...
Fuzzy Tauntaun: Cîroc Peach Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps, and Simply Orange® topped with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, "Buzz Button Tingling" Foam
Review: This was the most recommended drink by people we spoke to + blogs I read, so I figured hey let's try it. Other people have described the foam as "tingly," but tbh...neither mum nor I really felt it? It was very foam for sure, messy, hard to get at the drink without getting foam all over your face. Taste was pretty mild (+ alcohol, LMAO).
In conclusion: Kazu, u know u don't like alcohol, plus it's expensive. Let's just stick to non-alcohol next time and save our credits, yeah? ^ ^;
Docking Bay 7
I LOVED Docking Bay 7! It was surprisingly spacious, and perhaps because we went when it wasn't too busy, but there was never any trouble getting seating. With mobile pickup food was ready almost instantaneous, and the whole interior had such an awesome aesthetic with tons of cool design details!
Trandoshan-style Pasta with Braised Bantha: Chile-braised Beef, Buttered Garlic Cavatelli, Seasonal Vegetables, Zesty Avocado Sauce, Balsamic Glaze
Review: This is the green-lookin' dish! I LOVED this one, so much I went and got it again on a different day. It's pasta, which I'm naturally biased towards, but also a lotta meat and veggies too, and pleasantly spiced. It felt like a Good Food, while also being unique and interesting enough it felt sorta Star Wars, I really enjoyed it!
Endorian Fried Chicken Tip-Yip: Crispy Chicken, Roasted Vegetable Potato Mash with Green Gravy
Review: Also good! But tasted a lot more "normal." It's a nice piece o' chickin floating in a ton of mashed potato gravy. Warm and filling, but didn't really feel as themed.
Drinks!
Moof Juice: Simply Fruit Punch®, Simply Orange® with Pineapple, Chipotle-Pineapple
Review: Another pleasant fruit juice! Gosh there are so many fruit juice mixes here! Not complaining bc I love them. Don't really remember too much about this other than "sweet."
Phattro: Gold Peak® Unsweetened Tea, Minute Maid® Lemonade, Desert Pear
Review: Another mixed juice drink, mum and I could only tell it apart from Moof Juice bc this one was mildly less sweet, more tea. Both were good!
Cold Brew Black Caf: Cold Brew Coffee topped with Sweet Cream Cheese and Chocolate Puffs
Review: I actually really enjoyed this one!! Much more than the questionable coffee at Oga's. It's got literal cereal floating on top! One thing that we found was that it wasn't as sweet or well mixed right after picking it up (no duh), but if you wait for the cream cheese and cocoa puffs dust to trickle down (or just mix it), it's a lot sweeter and so much yummier!
Also from the Docking Bay:
Vintian Mineral Mousse: Banana Brûlée-centered Dark Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Mousse, Vanilla Chantilly, Chocolate Crumble, Cherry Garnish
Review: THIS THING. Y'all, if I had to pick just one food item to recommend from all of Galaxy's Edge, it would be this. Wasn't really sure what it was at first, and almost didn't order because I'm not a huge fan of banana flavor, but I'm SO glad that we did. Each of the blobs is a different flavored mousse, the banana being the largest, and i *think* the blue was Vanilla, pink strawberry, though those may be flipped. They each had a sorta shell like covering with soft mouse inside. They all tasted incredibly fancy and delicate, like very expensive patisserie quality, and each blob was so distinctive so you never got bored. I even liked the banana one, though I preferred the other two. The best way to eat is to take a spoonfull, and then scoop through the crumble to pick up as much of it as possible. The added crunch makes it even better!
Overall, this not only tasted phenomenal, but it had gorgeous and distinctively "Star Wars" visual presentation, and overall was so unique!
Moving on,
Milk Stand + Ronto Roasters
While the Milk Stand and Ronto Roasters are completely different shops and aren't even close, I picked up drinks from the Milk Stand for breakfast on our second day, so reviewing them together!
Blue Milk: Plant-based blend of Coconut and Rice Milk with alluring fruity characteristics
Review: The Iconic Drink. I hear that people have mixed opinions about this, but I actually really liked it—and it also tasted SUPER familiar. If any of you have had ramune before, the Japanese soda drink in a funky glass bottle that you can find at most Asian markets, it tasted SUPER similar. Perhaps part of me is biased bc my Japanese ass associates blue = ramune, but really, if someone made a ramune slush and maybe added a wee bit more citrus, this would be it. I also happen to love ramune, and slushes, so of course this was a win! If you want to taste ramune to see what Blue Milk tastes like (at least in my own humble opinion, backed by mum), make sure to pick up the "original" flavor! Overall this was super chilled and refreshing, I loved it!
Green Milk: Plant-based blend of Coconut and Rice Milk with zippy citrus and tropical characteristics
Review: I read some reviews that this was nasty, but I didn't think so, it was also pleasant. There was a bit of a strange, possibly slightly medicinal aftertaste, and it was also "milkier" than the blue so it felt less refreshing. Of the two, I definitely prefer blue, but enjoyed my cup of the green too!
Ronto Morning Wrap: Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Pork Sausage, Shredded Cheddar, Peppercorn Sauce, wrapped in Pita
Review: A very yummy wrap from Ronto's, only available in the morning! I felt like of the 3 wraps, this one was the richest, with a lotta cheese, egg, sausage. It was filling and super good! I wouldn't say that the food item itself felt particularly unique, but Ronto's has a super cool setup, so just being able to eat in the vicinity puts you into the universe.
Evening on a different day, we tried the other wraps!
Ronto Wrap: Roasted Pork, Grilled Pork Sausage, Peppercorn Sauce, tangy Slaw, wrapped in Pita
Review: The classic. I was expecting to like this one the most, and while it didn't disappoint, the others were actually so good they all sorta evened out? For being the meat option, it had a lotta veggies and didn't feel unhealthy, at least compared to my usual diet LMAO. I liked this a lot, and like the morning wrap, it was very tasty in a normal food sorta way!
Ronto-less Garden Wrap: Plant-based Sausage, spicy Kimchi Slaw, sweet Pickled Cucumber, Plant-based Gochujang Spread, wrapped in Pita
Review: Usually not a huge fan of fake meat, but this vegetarian option was actually really good! Of the 3, I think I might have even liked the flavoring best? It had a bit of zing to it, possibly due to the kimchi. Either way, I'm glad I was able to split these with mum!
Hard to say which of the wraps I liked most, I think I liked all of them around the same! None of them stuck out as Exceptional, but they were all good!
Drinks from Ronto:
Tatooine Sunset: Gold Peak® Unsweetened Tea, Minute Maid® Lemonade with Melon and Blueberry
Review: Yet another pleasant fruity drink! Don't remember much about it, other than that I liked it, and it once leaned mildly less sweet than the other one ^ ^;
Meiloorun Juice: Pineapple Juice, Minute Maid® Lemonade, with Blueberry, Cranberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and Desert Pear
Review: THIS ONE. If I had to choose ONE fruit juice out of the tons I had, this one is my favorite. I want to say that "Meiloorun" in the name isn't biasing me (it may be), but no really, this one was genuinely so good. It felt denser? than the others, really citrusy but the flavors were really well mixed so it tasted like an all-new fruit, exactly what I'd expect a Meiloorun to be like! I chugged two of these lmao.
Got this on the final day, also from Ronto:
Destran Ice Cap: Sprite®, Orange-Tangerine Syrup, topped with Sweet Cream Cheese
Review: Wasn't sure about the whole "cream cheese in soda," but I'm glad I tried this because I actually really liked it! The cream cheese added a pleasant, well, creaminess to the orange soda of the rest of it, giving it a sort of ice cream float-like feel without the ice cream. Would defs get again!
Lastly,
Kat Saka's Kettle
Picked this up on the last day!
Outpost Mix: colorful blend of seasonal flavors (blend of Caramel and Chocolate-glazed Popcorn)
Review: Honestly just a pleasant popcorn mix! It was good, flavor wasn't too strong, pretty mild. Was a nice easily consumable crunchy snack. It says caramel + chocolate, but tbh I mostly just tasted "mildly sweet." I was hoping for the brightly colored purple/red mix that at least looks a bit unique, but perhaps that's for a different season? Either way, yeah, I enjoyed this but didn't feel it was particularly special ^ ^;
~~
Aaaaand that's my review! I didn't quite eat *everything* at Galaxy's Edge, but I tried a darn good majority.
Overall, the vast majority of food/drink was super darn good and well worth the money! Some was more unique than others, but the quality was consistently high throughout. I did not eat outside of Galaxy's Edge my entire trip and felt very satisfied with that!
My standout favorites were: the pasta & mousse dessert from Docking Bay 7, blue milk from the Milk Stand, and Meiloorun juice from Ronto's!
I also got all 3 of the thermal detonator-shaped water bottles, but well, the flavor inside was just your regular Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite. Still cool souvenirs!
But yes, in general, just so many fruit juices haha. Luckily I do love fruit juices, and also I'm glad that all of the bathrooms in Batuu were both clean, spacious, *never* had lines, and were also super cool-looking. Because given the amount of sugar water I was chugging, yeah. I visited them a lot!
While there's a good variety of food on Batuu and I think they did a great job with the menu, there were a few things that I hope they expand on in the future.
First, while there were some options for folks with dietary restrictions, they were extremely limited. Unsurprising, as most of the food shops already have an extremely limited menu with single digit menu items total. But it would still be nice to see these menus be expanded in the future, or possibly adding additional shops so that something, somewhere might work.
Next, I felt myself wishing for more take-home souvenir-type food. Liked boxed cookies, chocolates, y'know? Sure, you could technically take home the popcorn, but it's just in a brown bag. I'm genuinely shocked they didn't have Grogu's blue macaron cookies, I'm sure those would sell insanely well. Mouse-man, u listening?
Again, I know a lot of food menu items are seasonal/limited, so I hope I can visit again when things have switched around!
If you've been to Batuu, what were your favorite things to taste there?? Any hot items I missed?
Anyway, I hope you found this review to be interesting! Thanks for reading!!
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