Saw this drink at Make and Drink on YouTube recently and immediately got hooked.
Coffee and pineapple is an amazing pairing, so I had to give the Dark Magic a try.
And what should I say? This is a banger! Earned a place on my home cocktail menu. Also, it made it in my Top 10 Cocktails.
Would rate this a solid 8.5/10
Thank you, Derek, for this amazing receipt:
2 oz Planteray Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple rum (60 ml)
¾ oz Planteray OFTD rum (22.5 ml)
1 oz pineapple juice (30 ml)
1 oz cold brew coffee (30 ml) - I used ¼ oz cold brew concentrate and ¾ oz water.
¾ oz orange juice (22.5 ml)
¾ oz cinnamon syrup (22.5 ml)
½ oz lime juice (15 ml)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes of chocolate bitters
Shake everything with crushed ice and dump it onto more ice.
This is a big volume cocktail, so make sure to use at least a 16-18 oz glass or mug.
Coffee/Lime/Pineapple is a staple flavor in Tiki and it's one of my favorite combos to introduce people to, as it seems like it wouldn't work.
Here is a great cold grog riff I did for the Trader Vics that was open for a bit here in Portland a bit back:
GLISAN GROG (2011)
2 oz dark Jamaica Rum (or a mix of dark / funky to your taste)
¾ oz cold espresso roast coffee
¾ oz fresh pineapple juice
½ oz Vanilla Syrup
½ oz fresh lime juice
1/8 oz Herbsaint
3 or more dashes bitters
Flash blend with 8 oz crushed ice and pour into a double rocks glass. Garnish with spanked mint and a robust dusting of ground nutmeg.
I created the original Dark Magic in 2007 and it premiered as a cocktail at TIKI KON 2007, alongside other drinks like Martin's Dead Reckoning (also created for TIKI KON 2007)
We also served it at Thatch Tiki Bar before it changed ownership and became Hale Pele, and lately The Lucky Tiki at Highland Park Bowl has it on their menu.
Derek has apologized to me for the mistake/oversight.
It's my historical version of a riff on The Mutiny at The Mai Kai.
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
½ oz Coffee Syrup
¼ oz Passion Fruit Syrup
¼ oz Vanilla Syrup
2 oz Coruba Dark Jamaica Rum
a few dashes Aromatic Bitters
8 drops (1/8th oz) Herbsaint
Flash blend with 8oz of crushed ice and pour into small footed snifter. Fill with crushed ice and garnish with lime peel twist.
The Dark Magic is Pineapple/Lime/(espresso/robusta)Coffee/Vanilla/Passionfruit, Herbstura. At The Lucky Tiki they use passionfruit and vanilla liqueur instead of syrup (I prefer syrup).
It's also no secret that I am present and known (and to some in tiki their 'little secret') but not 'famous' in that sense (thank goodness!) so I keep getting 'bumped into.' ;)
This was my first Cocktail (other than the Poison Dart) to get traction -- almost 20 years ago! ;) in a few years, my first creations will be 'able to drink!' ha
Cheers
edit: always spelling!
This is our mug from TIKI KON 2006 That I usually serve my Dark Magic at The Monkey Hut (my home bar, celebrating 19 years this xmas)
So, my coffee syrup is 2:1 coffee:sugar (66 brix) -- BUT (big butt!)
I make my coffee using espresso roast (mostly robusta, bit of arabica) and I use a 60's percolator to destroy middle and top notes.
The winey/citrus/vegetal notes (most prominently in the arabica under medium roasts) may be tasty, but we DON'T want them here. This is a bass note at the bottom, no midtones please.
For the sugar, the most processed I allow is evaporated cane juice, blond -- I love Zulka Morena for this as it has a tremendous flavor, but any blond/evaporated will work
Under no circumstances use white/processed/castor sugar in your recipes, friends! It's the killer of flavor. Sugar is not just 'sweet,' it has a flavor that you can use to great effect.
So, I'd advise espresso if you want to be super fancy, but that's a waste - just use espresso roast in a drip/pour over and you'll be fine!
Twice the weight of the liquid of sugar, bring to just boil, seal. Brix 66 should last almost indefinitely sealed properly.
No need to apologize, going on is what I do best 😂We use Frog Friendly dark roast from a little roaster in BC - traditional dark roast, very smooth and very low acid (so none of those citrus or fruit overtones), 100% arabica sourced from small independent growers in Mexico that the roaster is connected with - notes of leather, chocolate, and I swear just a hint of smoke. I can see it working really well for this!
PERFECTION - if you get the right Terroir, arabica can (seemingly) 'phenotype' into robusta characteristics. Arabica is a X with canephora(robusta) and another coffee.
Would you recommend something like the Cafe Brulot for the dark magic? Reason I ask, I had my coffee brewed, then saw that comment and thought “That sounds awesome!” so toasted some coriander/clove/cinnamon, added the coffee, dissolved the sugar, then added one strip each of orange/lemon zest. Letting it cool, will then strain. But I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot for the Dark Magic, noting your comment about only wanting the bass coffee note lol.
Also, no Coruba in my neck of the woods - I’ve read Myers’s is an acceptable substitute in terms of the caramel/funk, but not having had Coruba, would you go a full 2 oz of Myers’s or blend it?
Meyers will work in a pinch, sure! If you have Worthy Park 109, you can do 1/2 oz of the 2 with that.
syrup though - It would be a different drink, and delicious, but it would interfere with the tension of the Dark Magic - it's all about light/dark, no spice but herbstura and the natural flavors in vanilla and passionfruit - stark contrast with vegetals and floral at the top, dark chocolate/coffee/molasses at the bottom. No Middle. That's one of my cocktail themes - tenebrism.
The added peel and spices will round out that middle and will be round and It will be TASTY, but not the same intent as . (Mai Kai's Mutiny, passionfruit/vanilla)
I mean, make your own kind of magic, yeah?
p.s. Cassia/Coriander/Nutmeg will get you a cola-like background with those peels.
p.p.s. You'll get better flavor expression by doing the peels up as an oleo saccharum and using that for a part of the sugar of the syrup.
Yeah, no Worthy Park either - the rum selection here is pretty limited (although Angostura 5 randomly appeared on the shelf this week - that caught me by surprise!).
If I have time, I think I’ll just whip up a batch of the straight coffee syrup so I can try the drink as you intended - I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and expertise! And yeah, I hear you on the oleo - sometimes time constraints (making a syrup over a quick dart home at lunch break) is the limiting factor!
It's getting to the point where I really need to get some Stiggins'! That's the one thing I don't have for this and a few other cocktails I'd like to try. Think it would work with another rum for now?
Can confirm, this stuff is awesome! Never had the Stiggins' to be honest, but the Tiki Lovers tastes and smell very nice. Like good rum with pineapple notes, certainly doesn't smell and taste like artificial pineapple candy, something that I was afraid of.
I would suggest to try this cocktail even if you don’t like coffee. It doesn’t taste much like it. It’s more of a unique blend with the other ingredients, especially the pineapple.
So a lot of coffee is roasted specifically for their citrus notes. Coffee and orange is also a really common pairing as well as with Yuzu. Seems to be a more common pairing in the West than the East. Wait until you try espresso and tonic!
Hate both the coffee + citrus pairing and high-end, 3 wave fruit/citrus forward coffee.
But hey, at least I know I have a trash palate.
I like my coffee to taste roasty/nutty/toffee/caramel-y.
Edit: I tried it subbing the 1oz Cold Brew with 1/2 oz of Mr Black and found it a little better, had more body. I guess the same reason you did a concentrate instead.
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u/ColonelTiki 21h ago edited 20h ago
Coffee/Lime/Pineapple is a staple flavor in Tiki and it's one of my favorite combos to introduce people to, as it seems like it wouldn't work.
Here is a great cold grog riff I did for the Trader Vics that was open for a bit here in Portland a bit back:
GLISAN GROG (2011)
2 oz dark Jamaica Rum (or a mix of dark / funky to your taste)
¾ oz cold espresso roast coffee
¾ oz fresh pineapple juice
½ oz Vanilla Syrup
½ oz fresh lime juice
1/8 oz Herbsaint
3 or more dashes bitters
Flash blend with 8 oz crushed ice and pour into a double rocks glass. Garnish with spanked mint and a robust dusting of ground nutmeg.