The Falernum Files — Will the Real Falernum Please Stand Up?

For a recent project, I analyzed hundreds of tiki recipes from both the “golden era” and modern times, including those in Minimalist Tiki, Smuggler’s Cove, Tropical Standard, Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails, and, of course, Jeff Berry’s books.

The biggest hurdle for my analysis was the different names for the same ingredient. In a few cases, the problem was reversed, i.e., the same name used for different ingredients. The latter is today’s topic. More specifically, falernum — a staple ingredient in many classic and modern recipes.

Before the 21^st-century Tiki Revival, you could reasonably assume that falernum meant the low-strength, lightly flavored liqueur from Barbados; John D. Taylor is the canonical example today. But as the Tiki Revival gained steam, bartenders started making liqueurs that differed dramatically from Barbados-made falernum, but still called them falernum. These liqueurs have a far spicier flavor and alcoholic punch to them. The difference is large enough that the two styles are not interchangeable in a recipe calling for “falernum.”

Until now, I’d handwaved past this disconnect. But after analyzing the ingredients of hundreds of recipes, I had to confront the topic head-on. First, I had to validate what I believed about falernum, which meant digging into long-past and more recent history.

A (Too Brief) History of Falernum

Two millennia before the Caribbean-made falernum liqueur was first made, falernian (Latin: falernum) referred to a strong white wine popular in the Roman era. This would be of little note if wine falernum didn’t continue to appear in scholarly books well past the time when Caribbean falernum appeared. The upshot is that researching falernum in digital archives requires extra effort to determine which falernum a book refers to.

An early reference to what is very likely Barbados-made falernum comes from a notice in a 1787 Barbados newspaper: [i]

RULES-to be observed by those who come to Bathe and drink the Waters at the BARBADOS SPA… The dinner always fresh, and the appetites of the sick consulted, with Madeira or port wine, (1 bottle for every two) besides punch and falernum.

By the first decade of the 1800s, references to falernum liqueur in Barbados newspapers were commonplace.

An early listing of falernum’s ingredients appears in an1866 book about British Guiana:[ii]

Falernum, or drink of contradictions. —Falernum is made in the same manner, and contains the same ingredients, in the same proportions, as shrub; with the addition of four gallons of water to every three gallons of rum. The proportions are thus—one, two, three, and four.

Of lime-juice one, to make it sour
Of sugar two, to make it sweet;
Three of rum, to make it strong;
Of water four, to make it weak.

Falernum was at one time a common and favourite beverage with Europeans in Guiana…

You may recognize the Caribbean rhyme, “One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, and four of weak.” The same sour/sweet/strong/weak components appear in an 1896 newspaper article that also brings almonds into the mix:

One pint of sour, that is, lime juice (or lemon juice); two pints of sweet, that is, of sugar; three pints of strong, that is rum (the best you can get); four pints of weak, that is, water. Flavor the concoction with bitter almonds. Let It stand in a cask for a week or so, then pour off in bottles.[iii]

Of note before pressing on — while falernum is closely associated with Barbados, it was also made elsewhere in the Caribbean. Documented examples in other colonies include:

• British Guiana [iv]
• Jamaica [v]
• Trinidad [vi]
• Grenada [vii]

20^th Century Falernum

The few historical documents describing falernum’s ingredients typically mention just rum, lime, sugar, and sometimes almonds. Effectively, a lime/almond liqueur. However, a report from 1910 hints at more going on:

Falernum—Rum, lime juice and sugar are the essential ingredients, with various flavouring materials.

What those flavoring materials are isn’t disclosed, but it’s fair to assume that anyone making falernum had their secret recipe using local ingredients. On the other hand, if everyone were using a common spice like clove or ginger, it would be odd not to mention it.

A story about the Barbados firm of Johnson and Redman in the Red Book of the West Indies (1922) doesn’t mention any other ingredients, but if there were any, assured readers they wouldn’t cause bodily harm:

…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.

A 1962 British newspaper story notes herbs and flowers in Mount Gay’s falernum:[viii]

Another importation by the same firm from Barbados is Falernum, which is described as an Alcoholic Cordial made from distilled sugar-cane syrup, flavoured with almond and lime and the essence of various herbs and flowers indigenous in Barbados.

Barbados Falernum

For much of the 20^th century, many Barbados merchants who sold rum also had a house brand falernum. As consolidation swept through the Barbados rum industry, many falernum brands changed hands and/or were discontinued. The Mount Gay falernum mentioned above is one such example.

The historically indispensable book Rum, Yesterday and Today says this about one of the survivors:

A weaker ‘Liqueur Falernum’ consisted of neutral spirit, lime juice, sugar syrup and almond essence, and when mixed with rum and ice was known as ‘Corn and Oil’, which could be bought made up in bottles under that name-John D Taylor’s ‘Corn n’Oil’, a Traditional Blend of Old Barbados Rums and John D Taylor’s Velvet Falernum. [ix]

As a personal note on the above, the ingredients listed match the flavors I perceive in John D. Taylor falernum.

In 1993, R.L. Seale & Co. acquired the John D. Taylor (JDT) brand and replaced its house brand falernum with the John D. Taylor recipe.[x] The other commercially made Barbados falernum is Cockspur’s, made at the West Indies Rum Distillery, per my understanding. Unfortunately, it isn’t widely available outside of Barbados.

Both the JDT and Cockspur falernums are bottled at 11% ABV. I find the Cockspur a touch more flavorful, although both reside on the subtle end of the flavor spectrum. And if they include ginger, clove or something similar in their recipes, my palette doesn’t readily detect them.

Enter the Revival

When first entering a culture, it’s hard to know what “tribal knowledge” is ancient history and what is a recent development. Such was the case for me with falernum when I first fell down the tiki rabbit hole. Recipes for house-made falernum with clove, ginger, and a healthy dose of unaged Jamaican rum were well-circulated within the community, and I was in no position to question it.

But as time passed, I noticed that these recipes, while undeniably delicious, were noticeably different from Velvet Falernum, not only in their flavor profile but also in their alcoholic strength. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a pressing issue until I started assembling recipes from dozens of bartenders for Minimalist Tiki. I lost track of how often I had to ask a recipe creator, “Which type of falernum do you mean?”

How did this ingredient divergence happen? Was it a simple mistake or something deliberate? Here’s an abbreviated timeline of what I learned:

Around the turn of the 21^st century, Dale Degroff (King Cocktail) and Ted Haigh (Dr. Cocktail), early pioneers in the craft cocktail movement, couldn’t get Barbadian falernum any longer, so started looking for an alternative. Circa 2002, Haigh convinced Fee Brothers to bottle a falernum syrup.

In early 2003, DeGroff published a recipe for Velvet Falernum syrup on the eGullet forum:

10 Limes
10 Cloves
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 l white rum

Zest the 10 limes, reserve the zested limes for juicing for the Flaming Orange Gully. Marinate first three ingredients in the rum for 24 hours. Strain and bottle the rum. Store in a cool place. To make syrup, add 8 oz. of rum marinade to one quart of simple syrup (2 parts water to 1 part sugar). Adjust to taste.

The interesting part of this recipe is the clove. Regardless of whether either of the Barbadian falernums uses clove or something similar, DeGroff’s recipe brings clove much closer to the front of the stage.

In 2005, Paul Clarke (current Editor-in-Chief of Imbibe Magazine) started a series of posts about falernum on his Cocktail Chronicles blog. Clarke later noted that he was inspired by the early eGullet posts and made several recipe iterations, notably Falernum #8, #9, and #10. Of particular interest here is that Clarke’s first article notes, “First, I’d introduce a bit of ginger to the mix, to give it a little more zing…”

Was this where ginger entered into modern falernum recipes? (Inquiries have been made.) Regardless, these posts, along with other posts from Kaiser Penguin and others, kicked off a wave of bartenders and enthusiasts making their own falernum—if that’s what we should call it. Even yours truly shared their falernum recipe.

For anyone desiring more backstory on the story of falernum’s ascendance in the craft cocktail revolution, see Bob Simonson’s Paradise Found article in PUNCH.

Commercial Falernum in Modern Times

Given the interest in tiki cocktails and their sometimes-obscure ingredients, it’s not surprising that commercial falernum liqueurs like Bitter Truth and Maggie’s Farm came to market. Their common denominator is that they all pack much more flavor and alcoholic strength than Barbados-made falernums.

• Bitter Truth Golden Falernum is bottled at 18% ABV.
• Maggie’s Farm Falernum is bottled at 25% ABV — twice the Barbadian falernums.
• Brovo’s Lucky Falernum comes in at 35% ABV — 3X stronger than Barbados falernums

During a recent trip to Marseille I even encountered a French-made falernum, Le Merveilleux, from Maison Ferroni. It uses three types of rums from Trinidad, Guyana, and Mauritius (cane juice), which are aged for 12 months. The spices include orange peel, lemons, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, and roasted almonds. Naturally, I brought a bottle home with me.

The most recent addition to the commercial falernum family is from Avua Cachaça. It’s made by the same distillery in Brazil that makes Avua cachaça and is bottled at 22% ABV. Rather than rum, the base spirit is cachaça; both unaged and Amburana-aged cachaça are used. I and others who’ve tasted it agree that the flavors are strong holiday spice and citrus to a lesser amount. We also agree that it’s very different than Barbados-made falernum.

For the sake of completeness, it’s worth mentioning that there are also many commercial non-alcoholic falernum syrups from brands like Liquid Alchemist, BG Reynolds, Latitude 29, Fee Brothers, Monin, and many others. While they will undoubtedly bring welcome flavors to cocktails, they’re out of scope for this discussion; the focus here is falernum liqueur.

What Shall We Call Them?

You might ask if all this really matters. It’s just cocktails, after all. Right?

I disagree.

The care that today’s top-tier bartenders use when crafting recipes extends to the ingredients used. Just as Bacardi Superior can’t be subbed for Jamaican rum in a credible Mai Tai, the same is true for “modifier” ingredients like falernum.

Both classic Barbadian-style falernum and its higher-octane derivatives are found in well-stocked back bars today. However, we could and should treat them as different ingredients with distinct names. The challenge is persuading people to adopt an altered nomenclature. We’ve seen this firsthand when encouraging people to use better rum descriptors than white, gold, and dark.

I may be tilting at a windmill, but I think recipe creators should use more descriptive terms to indicate which type of falernum to use. Here are my current thoughts on naming:

For falernums made in today’s Barbados style, e.g., John D. Tayler, I propose “Classic Falernum” or “Barbadian Falernum.”

For the brasher, bolder falernums, how about “Modern Falernum,” “Spicy falernum,” or perhaps “Tiki-style Falernum”?

Got better ideas? Share them in the comments!

Assorted Notes

• The firm of Peter Desnoes & Son was a predecessor to Desnoes & Geddes, aka D&G, best known for making Red Stripe beer. In 1999, Wray & Nephew purchased D&G’s wine and spirits division.
• Johnson and Redman were Barbadian merchants during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Their legacy lives on today via Stades J&R White Rum, still sold on the island.
• R.L. Seale & Co. purchased the assets of Arthur Alleyne in 1993, which included the John D. Taylor brand. The falernum was first exported to the US circa 2000 but didn’t receive widespread distribution until 2008, when Haus Alpenz took over its importation.
• The eGullet forums predate social media and are an incredible record of the craft cocktail renaissance. Many of today’s household cocktail and spirits-related names regularly exchanged thoughts on eGullet.

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[i]  Barbados Mercury, August 7, 1787

[ii] British Guiana: Being Notes on a Few of Its Natural Productions, Industrial Occupations, and Social Institutions, Robert Duff, 1866

[iii] The Cleveland Leader, August 2, 1896

[iv] British Guiana: Being Notes

[v] Reports on the Colonial Sections of the Exhibition, H. Trueman Wood, 1887

[vi] A Fortnightly Review of the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies, 1905

[vii] Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, Volume 8, 1910

[viii] Good Living, The Sphere, July 7, 1962

[ix] Rum Yesterday and Today, Hugh Barty-King & Anton Massel, 1982

[x] Paradise Found, PUNCH, Robert Simonson, https://punchdrink.com/articles/paradise-found-velvet-falernum-tiki-cocktails/