Batavia Arrack van Oosten

[Edward Hamilton]

From the island of Java, Indonesia this sugar cane based spirit is now available in Europe and the US. Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz (http://alpenz.com) is importing this and other specialty spirits from Europe and around the world.

[Dood]

So what is this like? Is it similar to a molasses rum? Rhum agricole? Cachaca? Deep-fried Donut in a glass?

Inquiring palates want to know! :)

[Edward Hamilton]

It is made from a combination of molasses based spirit and a small percentage of fermented rice. This white spirit has a lot of flavor and is used in chocolate making in Holland.

[Dood]

Wow...sounds very cool. I'll have to see if I can get any of my local stores to bring some in.

[Edward Hamilton]

This won't be widely available any time soon. I'll see if I can persuade Eric to give us more details on this forum.

[eas]

Many comment on the Batavia Arrack's smokey and teak notes, also some rather intensive back-palate effect. It's at a proof and aroma/flavor intensity more suited to mixing - and so selected - so I'd suggest start first mixing with water and maybe a bit of simple syrup. But of course you'll probably try it straight anyway.

In Europe, the majority of sales go to chocolatiers and pastry chefs, so consider how both work on the palate.

It's available at a number of SoCal locations, including Hi-Times and Wally's. Be sure to call first.

[RumBarPhilly]

I see that Eric does sell to PA, and I want to order his product. Do you know what it can be mixed with to make a good drink? Does it taste like chocolate?

[eas]

Hi there - the Batavia Arrack is available in SoCal (try Hi-Times or ask to order from Wally's or Beverage Warehouse) New Jersey and Pennsylvania (special order). For NJ, best to have your store contact us at Haus Alpenz.

We've posted a few recipes we've received back at the Haus Alpenz (http://www.alpenz.com) website, also there were some great recipes from Jardiniere in Camper English's recent San Francisco Chronicle article.

[perfumekev]

Hey Gang,

I am new to this forum but I wanted to post some of my experiences with the Batavia Arrack

Batavia is a wonderfull full bodied "rum - like" product, it has a soft nutty aroma from the red rice it is distilled with and a pronounced woody smoky sugar cane note.

It. is also great because it is 100 proof and has a wonderfull vibrancy

It is rum like but has a unique quality that no rum has.

It mixes very well with other base spirits such as Rum, Brandies, Rye Whiskey.

I have found that it mixes well in sour formations (aka) Gary Regans Joy of Mixology just follow sour constuctions already listed in the book substuting where nessisary. nice liqueurs to use are apricot brandy, Creme de cocoa, creme de bannane,Cointreau

Batavia is wonderfull when spices are added to it either via a spiced simple syrup or adding or grating spices into the shaker or on top of the finished drink.

spices I have tried and like in simple syrups in combos and seperately

cardamon
nutmeg
star anise
allspice berries
ginger
chinise five spice
vanilla pods

Batavia also mixes very well with most citrus juices and combos of them.
Pineapple juice is also very complimetary to it's flavor

bitters especially Fee's old fashioned barrel aged are great
tiny dashes of absitne are nice as well.

This is a unique spirit and is fun to play with
I will be posting some of my more succsesfull recepies soon.

So what I am trying to say is go get some it is unique and equaly as good.

[Tiare]

The more I read the more curious I get..;) But checking out the website I found that minimum order for export is pound 100...and that`s too much for me who just want to try it, I checked the German EBay but found only one 40 proof arrak.
Have anyone tried that one?

[scheer]

It is made from a combination of molasses based spirit and a small percentage of fermented rice. This white spirit has a lot of flavor and is used in chocolate making in Holland.

Dear all,

Batavia Arrack is in fact rum, its molasse based and only in the fermentation process local fermented rice is added just to start the fermentation. The specific local yeast which is used as well contributes to the specific and unique taste and flavour. Furthermore like in almost all rum distilling cases, the distillation is done in very specific pot stills, based on history; Chinese pot stills, since the Chinese brought distilling to Indonesia. it is still distilled in that "egg" shapped kind of pot still.
it is used in the famous Swedish national drink: Punch, its used in bitterliqueurs as "the secret ingredient since its a booster for the spices and herbs, its used as a rum flavour booster toghether with/ blended/ mixed with flavourfull rum in the confectionery industry and its used as a raw material in the flavour industry to create other aroma's and flavours. Or for the die hards it can be drunk neat as well. Any more questions just let me know.

[Edward Hamilton]

Thank you for that perspective from Europe, in the US it is not classified as rum. I spent a number of years around Indonesia and although I was introduced to a few arracks, it wasn't generally drunk except in special drinks for special occasions.

[Tiare]

See how educated one gets here..I didn`t know it was a part of the Swedish punch..that punch is something I haven`t drunk for years...:)

[scheer]

Note that Arrack is a generic name its arabic for eaux de vie. You can find Arrack everywhere but Batavia Arrack is unique. I know Arrack made from all other raw material than sugar cane originating from e.g. lebanon or Sri Lanka. The last two are totally different types. From lebanon e.g is a kind of aniseed drink like ricard from france and has nothing to do with Batavia Arrack.
Since Indonesia is a muslim country you will not find easily the Batavia Arrack which is exported to Europe. My company is importing this spirit in Bulk since the very beginning of the founding of our còmpany in 1712, and still is an important player in creating unique blends for our customers.
it is impossible to create Swedish punch without Batavia Arack and this drink dates back many many years. Normally it was a tradition in Sweden to drink this with hot pea soup by the army and the students, but tiare would be able to tell yo more about this ancient tradition I guess.

[Tiare]

Thanks for telling us about the Batavia arrak, its indeed very interesting..I think I must get some..
The habit of eating hot peasoup in Sweden is still in practise, not only among the army, its widely eaten usually on thursdays. Thursday is "peasoup and pancake day" here, especially in schools.
But the punch is a old habit that maybe i`m afraid is not practised so much by the generation born after the 60s, like myself. I don`t know any of my friends that drinks it..
But I remember my aunt and my grand parents used to drink this punch, not to peasoup,but to a fine dinner.
When I tasted this punch I was a child and didn´t like it..maybe I would like it better now? ;)
What is interesting is that it can be used for drink mixing and in diverse syrups, time for new experiments?

[Michael]

We previously encountered Swedish Punch or Punsch as an elusive ingredient in some of the "forgotten cocktails" which Ted Haigh, Dr. Cocktail, included in his recent book. Although a premixed, expensive version from Carlshamns is available online, it would seem preferable to make it from scratch, if Batavia Arrack and other required ingredients are available.

Is the recipe for the Punch, Tiare, standard and readily available in Sweden? If so, we would be most grateful were you to post it here, as many of Dr. Cocktail's suggested recipes were already found to be quite wonderful and my wife and I would love to try those calling for Swedish Punsch.

Of course, the Batavia Arrack seems to have many additional intriguing uses.

[Tiare]

I know for sure there are quite a few and quite a few very old recipes on some Swedsih websites..i made a quick scan last week as iґm aiming to collect the most authentic recipes. I think some are from the 1800 something.
Sadly for me the Batavia arrak is no longer sold here and i can get if from the US but the shipping price is a whopping 70 usd..
The pre bottled punsches are available here though in a few varietes. So i`m thinking of buying some and modify them a bit.
Let me do some research and i`ll post it here.

[Tiare]

I have never tried these recipes myself so i don`t know the result..

SWEDISH PUNSCH RECIPE

About 2,25 litres
8 dl water
11 dl sugar
9 dl 40% spirit
35 cl "Extra Fine Batavia Arrak"
37 cl white wine or lemon juice according to taste
simple syrup
1 dl strong tea.

Heat the water and dissolve the sugar. Cool. Mix the simple syrup, spirit, arrak and wine or lemonjuice.
Add some tea for color.

RECIPE FROM ABOUT 1950

1,5L water
1 kg sugar
3 tbslp dark sugar
1 tsp citric acid
6 tblsp vinegar (15%)
1,4L vodka or spirit 96%
350 ml extra fine Batavia Arrak
350 ml dark rum
350 ml dry sherry (ex amontillado)
60 ml good cognac


Take a large pot and add 1 1/2L water.Add the sugar and the dark sugar,citric acid and the дttikan.The citric acid and the vinegar adds a bit of tartness and that special yellowish color so nessesary for a true Punsch.
Bring to a quick boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Leave to simmer for a couple of hours. Leave to cool before adding the spirits.
Stir real good for at least 20 min before bottling.

RECIPE FROM 1755:

"Boil water in a tea pot and pour the hot water in your Punsch bowl and add lemonjuice and sugar and then the Arrak."

Start adding the sugar in the bowl, then add lemonjuice and hot water.Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the Arrak and stir.
Add the peel of a fresh lemon. Cool before bottling.

7 dl arrak
2 l water
3,5 dl clear strained fresh lemon juice
700 g sugar

ANOTHER RECIPE

2 oz. Batavia-Arrack van Oosten
1/2 oz. Rum
3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
3 oz. Water
A pinch of ground cardamom or nutmeg.


OLD PUNCH COCKTAIL RECIPE

Doctor": 1/3 gin, 1/3 punsch, 1/3 pressed fresh lemon juice.

[Tiare]

I got a few more requests for Swedish Punsch recipes so i also posted these recipes here:

http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=27459&forum=10&3&PHPSESSID=01404c2264eb84aff9c5d82923b2e85b

And there are some more postings there now with additional recipes.

[Michael]

I didn't notice your recipe posts until today, but just discovered the following response to an article with respect to Batavia Arrack:

"Swedish Student said:

I must say that the swedish punch or well "punsch" as we say it actually isnt made with Jamaica rum as stated in this article.

Here is a nice recipe:

for approx 2-2,5litres
use 0.35litre Arrack
approx 1 litre of 40% vodka
tea, earl grey or something similar
lots of sugar (and sometimes some honey)
something that adds some bitternes (lemonjuice, white wine, sulfuric acid...)

How to?

Well, make the tea according to the old recipe one spoon for each cup and one for the pot. A pot you get approx 5 cups from so thats one extra per 5 cups of water

After the tea has been made remove the tea-leafs and start adding sugar.
Once you added enough sugar (when its about to become to sweet for you to drink) this is also the stage you can replace some sugar for honey; then let it cool to room-temperature.

Add in just a bit of lemonjuice or whatever you use then add the vodka and the arrack and voila, you got punsch. Genuine Real Swedish Punsch"

http://www.artofdrink.com/2006/10/batavia-arrack.php

The article author appears to have confused Sri Lankan Arrack with Batavia Arrack from Java, but perhaps the response contains a useful recipe for the elusive Swedish Punsch.

This one is a bit vague, particularly with respect to the amount of sugar and lemon required, but seems promising. We'll have to get a bottle of Batavia Arrack and experiment.

[Tiare]

Thanks for the link. There seem to be a few different recipes floating around..
Those i found was from swedish websites.
Now..the big problem is..how find Batavia arrak.

[Michael]

Perhaps if we combine the first recipe you quoted with the one I found on the web, we'll have better guidance to start. Both use the same amount of Batavia Arrack, since .35 L = 35 cL and similar amounts of spirt or vodka, but your recipe specifies the amount of sugar and white wine to use. The first recipe seems to require some experiment or interpretation to determine the proper amount of lemon juice ("or lemon juice according to taste"). One also wonders why simple syrup would be added in addition to 1.1 L sugar, but those seem like minor quibbles.

It would probably be preferred to stay away from sulfuric acid and to use citric acid or something equally safe instead. I think that we'll stick with lemon juice or citric acid, although the second recipe uses a comination of citric acid and vinegar.

[Tiare]

Perhaps if we combine the first recipe you quoted with the one I found on the web, we'll have better guidance to start. One also wonders why simple syrup would be added in addition to 1.1 L sugar, but those seem like minor quibbles.

It would probably be preferred to stay away from sulfuric acid and to use citric acid or something equally safe instead. I think that we'll stick with lemon juice or citric acid, although the second recipe uses a comination of citric acid and vinegar.

Maybe like this?

8 dl water
11 dl sugar
9 dl 40% spirit (I prefer Jamaican rum)

35 cl "Extra Fine Batavia Arrak"
37 cl white wine or lemon juice according to taste
1 dl strong tea.
1 tsp citric acid
6 tblsp vinegar (15%)

Heat the water and dissolve the sugar. Cool. Mix the simple syrup, spirit, arrak,wine or lemonjuice,citric acid and vinegar.
Add some tea for color.

-----------------------------------------------

"something that adds some bitternes (lemonjuice, white wine, sulfuric acid...)"

One may wonder why you should add lemon juice again..?
Isn`t one time enough? or maybe the combo of citric acid and vinegar would do?

There is no need to use both sugar and syrup..

I can`t find the Arrak so you`ll have to make the first experiment.

[Michael]

We might try something more like this:

For 2 -2.5 L

4 cups strong tea (5 tsp/pot)
0.35 L Batavia Arrack
1 litre of 40% vodka
1.1 L sugar
lemon juice to taste

For the first try we'll stick with readily available vodka, although sugar cane vodka might be a good alternative. The white wine, lemon juice, citric acid and vinegar seem to be alternative sources of the sour element needed to balance the mix. We'll probably try lemon juice alone initially, since the acidity of white wine would seem pretty variable and the alternatives sound less palatable. The simple syrup would seem to be needed only to adjust the punsch if too much sour were added.

Starting with a nice hot pot of tea offers an easy way to dissolve the sugar (letting it cool, of course, before adding the spirits and other ingredients). It also seems more natural than using tea for coloring, although it likely comes to the same effect.

Scented tea like Earl Grey might be best as the student indicated, but we wonder whether it might determine too much of the flavor. Most tea pots have a four cup capacity, five is unusual and the poster mixed measures, so the change in quantity seems justified.

For cocktail use the quantity seems a bit large, particularly when the recipe might require some adjustment or additions. Scaling it down to two cups or so is probably best until we're done experimenting.

[Tiare]

Scaling it down to two cups or so is probably best until we're done experimenting.

I agree with that, letґs scale it, I won`t use it for anything else but as cocktail ingredient. I still feel a bit hesitant about using vodka though..maybe that`s because I don`t really like vodka. What about the WJ&N overproof rum?

[Michael]

For a scaled recipe yielding just over 2 cups of punsch:

6.5 oz strong tea
7.5 oz sugar (one tbs less than a cup)
2.5 oz Batavia Arrack
7 oz 40% vodka (or other spirit)
lemon juice to taste

The order of ingredients was changed to reflect order of use and the quantities were adjusted for easier measure.

The scaled metric version yielding about 1/2 L:

1,8 dl strong tea
2,25 dl sugar
0,7 dl Batavia Arrack
2 dl 40% vodka
lemon juice to taste

My apologies if the quantities are hard to measure, as I'm not familiar with bar tools in Europe.

The Wray & Nephew overproof is 63%, if memory serves, so you'd have to use about:

1,25 dl W&N
0,75 dl water

to avoid raising the strength of the punsch.

We want to try Dr. Cocktail's Doctor Cocktail recipe:

2 oz (6 cl) Jamaican Rum
1 oz (3 cl) Swedish Punsch
1 oz (3 cl) lime juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

It is actually a Trader Vic variation, but Dr. Cocktail's selections (aside from some odd quantities at times, easily remedied) are often delectable.

[Tiare]

,
We want to try Dr. Cocktail's Doctor Cocktail recipe:

2 oz (6 cl) Jamaican Rum
1 oz (3 cl) Swedish Punsch
1 oz (3 cl) lime juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

It is actually a Trader Vic variation, but Dr. Cocktail's selections (aside from some odd quantities at times, easily remedied) are often delectable.

Nice recipe work! and the quantities are not hard to measure. What is hard is to find the arrak.
It feels quite strange to me to live in a country where that arrak used to be quite common, i suppose and now its gone..not sold here anymore.

You also choosed the just right cocktail for this punsch.

[Michael]

Since the Dutch are the major consumers of Batavia Arrack for the flavor deepening qualities with chocolate and citrus, pardon my ignorance, but isn't there some way to get some from Holland to Sweden?

[Tiare]

I`m lucky, someone found me and wants to swap bottles. So i`ll be able to get the arrak and etc.

[Michael]

Coincidentally we just ordered a bottle each of Batavia Arrack and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram. The Dram will give us some basis for comparison when we try your Pimento Dram recipe and something to enjoy until that time.

BTW I didn't notice until after ordering that the Dram was listed as "product of Austria". Up to that point I'd had the impression that it was made in Jamaica. It just seemed natural that Pimento Dram made with pot still rum and Jamaican Allspice would originate in Jamaica. :)

Good luck with your experiments and please post your results.

[eas]

In the spirit of open source cocktailing, I'll try to dig up and post recipes that might strongly resemble commercial available Swedish Punschs.

This below (and posted on egullet) pays homage to one of my personal favoritess, Facile Punsch. I'm not sure if it is still in production - Tiare, might you know?

_______________________________________


The commercial variations made in Sweeden all have a Brix ranging from 35 to 42; today's batch clocked out at a Brix of 37. It's flavor profile is in the style of the Facile Punsch. Clock yourself, it should take no more than ten minutes. If you don't have or can't be bothered with the spice, it's still great.

Punsch "Josephine" Liqueur, 375ml @ ~24%

180ml Batavia Arrack
100ml Water
135g Sugar (Bakers)
3/4 tsp Natural Vanilla Extract (Penzey's)
6g Tea Leaves (Assam; equiv to 2 typical teabags)
Lemon peel, fresh ground cardamom

Prepare the cardamom: open the pods and crush the seeds. Either add to loose tea leaves or, if you want minimal sediment, place into a tea bag/sachet.

Prepare the tea with the cardamom and lemon peel - by this amount it should brew to twice normal service strength. After 4 minutes, remove the cardamom, tea leaves/bags and peel and mix together with the sugar, stir until syrup-like, then add the Batavia Arrack and vanilla. Give a quick stir to further dilute then immediately bottle.

[eas]

BTW I didn't notice until after ordering that the Dram was listed as "product of Austria". Up to that point I'd had the impression that it was made in Jamaica. It just seemed natural that Pimento Dram made with pot still rum and Jamaican Allspice would originate in Jamaica. :)


Michael - the St Elizabeth uses a very high grade Jamaican Allspice (only from Jamaica) and an old-fashioned, high ester Jamaican pot-still rum (again, only from Jamaica). To my knowledge, the latter is seldom to ever used in bottled rum anymore, as Mr Wondrich notes in his latest book Imbibe, and instead gets sold principally to food/flavoring/perfume overseas. The cane sugar is European as is the water. Incidentally, there has been a long history of using Allspice in many European cuisines since the Brits started selling hundreds of years ago (for instance, the distillery's partners in South Tirol/Alto Adige make a holiday bread each winter that relies upon allspice for its spice.)

[Edward Hamilton]

There are actually a few rums that still use aged high ester Jamaican rums. The highest ester rums from Jamaica aren't commonly consumed straight, for good reason, but they are blended, carefully, for some heavy type rums.

[Tiare]

,
This below (and posted on egullet) pays homage to one of my personal favoritess, Facile Punsch. I'm not sure if it is still in production - Tiare, might you know?

Yes Facile is still in production. It won a tasting contest together with Gronstedts bla.

[Michael]

eas,

Thanks for the description of the Allspice Dram; it sounds delightful.

Although my interest in the formulation of Swedish Punsch is recent, it already appears that there are some significant differences both between recipes for the traditional Punsch, made from scratch, and between the traditional Punsch and commercially available recipes.

All of the scratch methods seen so far use a large quantity of sugar, but balance it with a sour element (lemon juice, white wine, vinegar, citric acid, etc.). The commercial recipe you posted adds lemon peel, cardamon and vanilla extract, for a singular taste, but lacks any significant sour part.

Having never tasted Swedish Punsch, the "lemon juice to taste" instruction is a bit troubling. Since, it is my understanding, the Punsch was drunk as concocted, a balanced flavor profile might be more pleasing. The commercial recipe suggests a sweeter flavor might have been intended. The need to balance the full ounce of lime juice in the "Doctor Cocktail" recipe posted would seem to argue for a sweet Punsch as well.

[Tiare]

I have finally found a source for the Batavia arrak so later on i`ll be able to post the results of my coming experimentations..:)
I want to make small batches of all these recipes here and compare them.
And also compare them with a few of the commercial punsches like the Gronstedts,Facile and Carlshamns.

[Tiare]

Here are 3 other drinks using swedish punsch.

Havana Cocktail

1 dash lemon juice
1/4 Gin
1/4 Swedish Punch
1/4 Apricot Brandy


Diki Diki Cocktail

1/6 Grapefruit Juice
1/6 Swedish Punsch (Carlshams)
2/3 Calvados

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

For a subtle but noticeable difference try pink grapefruit juice.


Karlstrommare

2 cl punsch
4 cl whiskey

[Edward Hamilton]

Swedish punsch and whiskey sounds interesting.

[Michael]

Here's one from Dr. Cocktail's "Forgotten Cocktail" book:

Modernista

2 oz (1/2 gill, 6 cl) Scotch
1/2 oz (1/8 gill, 1.5 cl) dark Jamaican rum
1 tsp pastis (Herbsaint, Pernod, Ricard or absinthe)
1/2 oz (1/8 gill, 1.5 cl) Swedish Punsch
1/2 oz (1/8 gill, 1.5 cl) fresh lemon juice
2 dashes orange bitters

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Add lemon twist.

We need to get back to our Swedish Punsch experiments.

[Tiare]

I have the Arrak but not the Punsch, I had one bottle left and I sent it to Australia in exchange for a Kimberley Cane Spirit.

Maybe i should make my own Punsch...

[bunnyhugs]

I finally got a change to try Eric Seed's arrack in San Francisco while passing through on my way to Tales. I spied a bottle on the shelf in Beretta (nice bar by the way) and asked the bartender to mix me something with it. To my surprise he was very unkeen on the idea. He basically said all of their bartenders had played around with it and eventually concluded it was unmixable. This guy had just made me a good Pisco Punch so I figured I'd just respect his judgment.

He gave me a sample of the arrack though. To me it just seemed like a funky and interesting tasting rum. It didn't seem all that weird, or like it should be unmixable. It reminded me a little of a Demerera, and maybe a little of an Agricole - it had that aromatic quality. It was very flavorsome and interesting anyway. I will have to get hold of a bottle at some stage.

[Dood]

At the "making your own ingredients" session at Tales (don't know if you were in that one or not), they made a big deal about the fact that the arrack is pretty much only used for punches - especially Swedish Punch.

I believe on the "Flowing Bowl" panel the punch was made using arrack as well. It has a rather unrefined, strong flavor to it that I think really needs the sweeter, more refined mixers. Fruit juices and cognacs and the like.

[bunnyhugs]

Yeah, I know its main application is punches. But how hard is it to whip up a punch in a glass? The guy had just made me a single serving of Pisco Punch.

The bartender seemed unfairly prejudiced against Batavia Arrack.

Having said that he gave me a free sample of the stuff so I can't complain. I thought it had a ton of potential. I'm sure it could find a home in the right Tiki drink.

[rumdog007]

Yeah, I know its main application is punches. But how hard is it to whip up a punch in a glass? The guy had just made me a single serving of Pisco Punch.

The bartender seemed unfairly prejudiced against Batavia Arrack.

Having said that he gave me a free sample of the stuff so I can't complain. I thought it had a ton of potential. I'm sure it could find a home in the right Tiki drink.

I don't know if you do the Tiki Drink thing, or not, but in several recipes calling for Okolehao (no longer available), I use the Batavia Arrack. Here's the thing, the BA tastes nothing like the Okolehao. But, the ti plant component of the Oke makes it a spirit which cannot be duplicated. So, why not use an ingredient as unique as the one it replaces? The BA is like nothing which I haqve ever tasted. I tried the substitution to great results. What I ended up with a new Tiki drink, and, a unique tasting drink, at that. BTW, try it with a splash of dry vermouth and dash of Fee's lemon bitters with a some ice! Now, I playing around with Mehkong, "the spirit of Thailand...". It's a rum-like variant made from 95% sugar cane and 5% rice. There's some other spices, too. Mind you, it's not in the same league as the BA, IMO, though..

[ejellest]

I think mostly Batavia Arrack has just not been available for bartenders to play with long enough for them to get a handle on its uses.

It's not unmixable, but it takes some getting used to.

It's easier to approach it as an accent in a cocktail, using it similarly to a dash of bitters or strongly flavored liqueur.

Make a nice, old fashioned grog, and add a 1/4 ounce of Batavia Arrack.

I've never had Okolehau, but sometimes think Batavia Arrack is to Rum as Mezcal is to Tequila. If you just make a Mezcal Margarita, it's going to be pretty undrinkable. On the other hand, a dash of Mezcal in a Tequila Margarita is pretty interesting.

~Erik

[Tiare]

To use BA instead of Oke..well THAT was interesting! knowing very well what Oke is but never having tasted it i realise these 2 are very different but the idea you have is brilliant! which Tiki drinks did you make with it? I`m ready for some experimentation with my BA!

BA can also mix in some vintage cocktails.

While in Thailand i did try the Mekong, lots of it and i found it interesting but a bit harsh though. But interesting to play with, maybe i should go and get myself a bottle, really i should.

You have some good ideas, keep them coming!

[forrest]

Here is a yummy cocktail i made up for a booze write up featuring BA, and if you prefer your drinks a touch sweeter exchange the Aguardiente with X'Tabentun..:

Orangutan

2 Oz Batavia Arrack
3\4 oz Aguardiente (1 oz if you use X'Tabentun)
3 Cardamom pods (crushed fresh, or a pinch of ground cardamom)
1/4 Lemon (squeeze it hard and drop the whole thing into the shaker)
1 Tablespoon of Passion Fruit Syrup (for extra sweetness add more of this!)

Shake vigorously, double strain into
Old Fashioned Glass with several ice cubes

i like the austere subtlety of an Old Fashioned Glass with a Few big rocks, but it you go for a sweeter version i would say cracked or crushed ice in a Hurricane glass (or a pint, or a zombie--- hell feel free.)

[Tiare]

It looks good..just don`t have any Aguardiente..what else would you sub it with?

[forrest]

It looks good..just don`t have any Aguardiente..what else would you sub it with?

Do you have any mild ouzo?

[Tiare]

Do you have any mild ouzo?

Yes i do..

[forrest]

Yes i do..

The flavors are similar (to ouzo).

Though Aguardiente is rum based, lighter bodied and creamier-- but similar.

[bunnyhugs]

Now, I playing around with Mehkong, "the spirit of Thailand...". It's a rum-like variant made from 95% sugar cane and 5% rice. There's some other spices, too. Mind you, it's not in the same league as the BA, IMO, though..

I used to live in a hostel in Taiwan and backpackers were always bringing that stuff back from Thailand. It was practically a form of currency with all the people traveling back and forth and swapping bottles in exchange for whatever else.

One guy used to make it into a cream liqueur. I think he mixed it with condensed milk and a little strong coffee. Then he'd bottle it and drink it over ice. It didn't exactly transform into a fine cognac, but the condensed milk sweetened it up and rounded off the rough edges.

I never realized it had rice in it. Interesting.

[Vanisher]

See how educated one gets here..I didn`t know it was a part of the Swedish punch..that punch is something I haven`t drunk for years...:)

Try Facile punch! The absolut best punch there is! /Johan

[Vanisher]

I have heard that Grцnstedts blе is a very good punch too with pretty hevy arrak notes! I havent taste it, but it is too bad that they have stopped selling it! /Johan

[Craig_Hochscheid]

My favourite use for Batavia Arrack van Oosten, Regent's Punch:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/37936-the-punch-topic/page__view__findpost__p__1613528

[scheer]

Ed,

just for your information; its used as an ingredient in other alcoholic drinks world wide, its used as a flavour enhancer with rum in the confectionery industry, in the chocolate industry but also in other applications like cakes, its used by flavour companies as a raw material for other flavours, aroma's and fragrances, as an ingredients in liqueurs in general, and its still the main ingedient for Swedish punch just to name a few applications, and volumes world wide are increasing again. So not just Holland but still world wide.

[Edward Hamilton]

Thanks for the information scheer. When you write that Batavia Arrack is used as a flavor in other alcoholic drinks, it should be known that most countries allow small amounts of flavors to be added and at amounts less than a percent or two the ingredients aren't always required to be listed on the label.

[scheer]

You do have to come by one time when you are around some time, you ae always welcome Ed in "rum paradise".

[ronnie]

Not too long ago, Paul McGee at the Whistler in Chicago mixed me up a fine cocktail that included the Batavia Arrack. Not sure of the proportions (I will try to find them out and report back) but it also had Banks rum, Ben Schiller's hand-made falernum, fresh lime juice and simple syrup. It was delicious; kind of like a twisty-turny daiquiri with some serious complexity up front and in the long finish.

=R=

[Jolipapa]

@ Tiare : somewhere, I remember you were writing about punsch.
I just came across of this, did you know it?
http://www.swedishop.eu/punsch-suedois,fr,3,49.cfm