Small confession time — I recently realized Minimalist Tiki‘s falernum recipe could be improved. The lime dominated, and I barely noticed the other ingredients: toasted almonds, cloves, and ginger. With the last of my current batch consumed, I set out to rebalance the recipe.
Anticipating the usual commentary on the subject of falernum, I distinguish the traditional falernum of the West Indies (notably from Barbados) from what I call “modern falernum.” The former is nearly clear, relatively light in flavor, low in alcoholic strength, and available in most well-stocked liquor stores. The latter came about during the cocktail renaissance of the last 20 years and is much more intensely flavored. Among several recipes shared online circa 2007, Paul Clarke’s Falernum #9 gained a following within the burgeoning tiki revival moment. Many bars started making falernum tuned to their particular flavor preferences. Others stuck to the commercial Barbados-made version as it’s less work and consistent from bottle to bottle.
Putting aside any value judgment about which falernum is better, more authentic, or should be named differently, the modern, flavor-packed falernum has found a home in many cocktails. Bitter Truth’s Golden Falernum is a well-respected “modern falernum” — or whatever you think it should be called.
As a brief historical note, the common thread in the late 1800s/early 1900s descriptions of falernum is rum, lime juice, and sugar. The 1922 Red Book of the West Indies notes:
Thus the connoisseur in alcoholic liquors is provided with a splendid selection in wines, spirits, and malt brews, including the famous Falernum of Barbados. That excellent beverage is made by Messrs. Johnson and Redman from pure native lime-juice, sugar, and rum, and contains no chemicals, nor ingredients injurious to the system. It is delicious as a liqueur, or mixed with aerated water, or swizzled with a teaspoonful of “ Caribbee Bitters ” —another speciality sold by the firm.
Some era’s descriptions also mention almonds and, in some cases, egg white.
Revised Recipe
The recipe I included in Minimalist Tiki is my adaption of falernum #9 and represents my thinking circa 2018. My revision here makes strategic tweaks to the core structure. In essence, you make an infused rum to combine with rich simple syrup. Simple, no? Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unaged rum (ideally 50 – 65% ABV)
- 40 whole cloves
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- 1 oz ginger
- 2 fresh limes
- 2 cups white table sugar
- 1 cup water
Day 1
Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.
Add cloves and sliced almonds. Stir every 5-10 seconds to ensure both sides of the almonds are toasted. You want the almonds browned to a medium-dark tone without burning them. It took me about 5 minutes but use your best judgment.
Spoon the cloves and almonds into a clean 1-quart mason jar. Add the rum and cover with lid. Let stand overnight, gently agitating every few hours.
Regarding the rum: I’ve used Wray & Nephew Jamaican Overproof in the past. I used 6 oz of Cockspur 130 and 2 oz of Rum Bar Silver this time. Feel free to experiment with the rum(s) you use while keeping the target ABV of 50% – 65% in mind.
Day 2
Thin slice the ginger. I used a vegetable peeler and then switched to a knife when the piece was too small for the peeler.
Peel two limes, focusing on removing just the outer layer with as little pith as reasonably possible.
Add ginger and lime to the rum/almond/clove mixture in the mason jar. Stir/agitate with a spoon to fully submerge everything.
Let sit overnight, agitating every few hours.
Day 3
Sterilize a separate quart mason jar. Wetting the inside and 60 seconds in the microwave works well.
Make cold process simple syrup. Add one cup of water, then two cups of white table sugar. Close with lid and occasionally shake until the sugar is gone and the liquid is clear.
Now we’re ready to combine the infused rum and rich simple syrup.
Strain the infused rum into the mason jar containing the simple syrup. I used a fine mesh strainer (chinois) and a funnel. I let the infusion solids fill the strainer basket and gently press with a spatula to squeeze out as much infused rum as possible.
Cover and shake to combine. Try a small sample and see what you think.
Final Thoughts
Having laboriously grated two limes on a very fine grater, and after a few hours of infusion, the lime flavor just wasn’t there. I decided that a little care with a vegetable peeler would yield more per lime with less effort.
In retrospect, I should have first filtered the infused rum through a metal coffee filter first to remove more solids. Lesson for next time.
With this recipe, the toasted almond flavor is notable while the lime hangs in the background. The ginger and cloves are a bit harder to pick out. Next time I may slightly bump up their quantity. I may also experiment with a 1.5/1 sugar/water ratio for the simple syrup.
Let me know your thoughts and results in the comments!
Nice! I wonder about how shelf stable it is. I’d expect it to last a lot, given the filtering and the high ABV, but what’s your experience with previous batches?
Generally speaking, my 2:1 simple syrups (including this) last a very long time. I steralize the jar first, and keep things like spoons out of it to prevent adding external contaminants.
Hi Matt, Love the blog! I have always used Paul Clarke’s Falernum #9 recipe with great success. I add the ginger, lime zest, cloves and almonds to the W&N overproof at the same time and muddle every few hours, leaving it to steep overnight. A cold press 1:1 simple syrup works best for me.
To reduce wastage, I always make a half batch and avoid adding any lime juice to extend the shelf life. You can always adjust the lime in your cocktail accordingly if you feel if needs that extra citrus.
This is easily my favorite homemade Falernum recipe that I’ve tried so far.
I agree it could use a little more lime flavor, I think I’ll add the zest of a third lime next time I make it. I used a micro plane to zest the lime peel which seemed to work pretty well.
I added one broken up star anise to the almond & clove blend that provided a very subtle anise flavor to the finished product.
I went with a 1.5 to 1 ratio for the simple syrup which yielded a sweetness and thickness that I’m quite happy with.
I recently came across a Tiki cocktail, Saturn, which called for Falernum as one of the ingredients…for whatever reason, I was unable to locate a bottle shop (Ballarat, Australia) that carries it and the only one I can order online is the Bitter Truth’s Golden Falernum 500ml ($50AUD). Undaunted, I looked for a recipe and found yours; so I’ve made a batch of my own after reading through your recipe and your subsequent ‘thoughts.’ Alcohol is heavily taxed here and alcohol with a 50-65% ABV is just not on any shelf (tax alone would be roughly $50-$63 per litre). I just used Bacardi White Rum (37.5% ABV), as per your ‘Final Thoughts’ I added 50 whole cloves & a bit more ginger. I carefully zested the two limes and added a broken up star anise as per Ron K’s suggestion, as we, too, like a subtle anise flavour. I used an Aerobie AeroPress to squeeze as much rum out of the almond/clove/ginger/lime mixture as possible whilst also removing the solid bits for a golden clear liquid…it worked well and didn’t lose a drop! As this is my first experience with Falernum, I can’t offer a comparison for flavour, but I’m pleased with the results and I’ve found it absolutely delicious. Thanks for your post!
Thank you! I’m so glad it worked out for you.