You know what they say; history is always a little cloudy because everybody was drunk. Even Tiki, the popular cocktail trend has a rich, complex and highly controversial origin story. It is said the origins of the Tiki culture spawned when GI’s were sent to the South Pacific in the wake of World War II. Taken with the new flavors, spices and culture they found there, a sort of faux Polynesian “Tiki” world was born. Yet the controversy is who. Some say that Don The Beachcomber is the father of Tiki and others vouch for Trader Vic. Despite our perseverance, perhaps only spiced rum truly knows.
Of course, these details have only been braved by a select few resident cocktail aficionados, including Boulder’s very own Patrick Noel and Glenn Pollak, founders of Bougie Syrups and purveyors of craft cocktails. The newest addition to their host of finely crafted, high-quality syrups is the Tiki syrup, a homage to this history.
Driven by the passion of cocktail archeology, Bougie creates cocktail syrups using fresh ingredients. Their company represents elevated taste and conspicuous consumption of the finer things in life, reflecting much of the ideals of the 19th-century bourgeoisie from which their name is derived from.
The guys have graciously shared a few of their inspired cocktails recipes for us to let loose on our own guests—and guest bartender Alex Jump also concocted a special cocktail using Bougie's ginger syrup.
In the spirit of Bougie, and the words of cocktail god David Wondrich, “A proper drink at the right time—one mixed with care and skill, and served in a true spirit of hospitality—is better than any other made thing at giving us the illusion, at least, that we’re getting what we want from life.”
The Barbados Slim
Ingredients
- 1.5 ox London Dry Gin
- .5 ox Bougie Tiki Syrup
- .5 oz Lemon Juice
Instructions
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Shake. Strain. Strain contents of the shaker into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
The Mai Tai
Ingredients
- 1.0 oz Jamaican Rum
- 1.0 oz Martinique Rum
- .5 oz Dry Curacao
- .5 oz Bougie Orgeat Syrup
- .5 oz Lime Juice
Instructions
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake. Strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime cup and mint. Sink your toes into the sand and listen for the ocean.
Ginger in Grenada
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz London Dry Gin
- 0.5 oz Aperol
- 0.75 oz Bougie Ginger Syrup
- 0.5 oz Lemon Juice
- Egg White
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin, shake first without ice, then top with ice and shake with ice. Fine mesh strain into a cocktail glass. No garnish.
