Corn ‘n Oil (Corn And Oil) – Classic Recipe & History

Corn'n Oil
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Corn & Oil

0 from 0 votes Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: Caribbean
Servings

1

servings
Calories

300

kcal
ABV

30%

Total time

3

minutes

How to make a classic Corn ’n Oil.

Ingredients

  • 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

  • 1 oz Falernum

  • 2 oz Black or Aged Rum

Directions

  • Technique: Tiki Dirty Pour
  • Combine all ingredients into a shaker with crushed ice.
  • Vigorously shake for 10 seconds.
  • Dirty pour the whole shaker into a glass. Crushed ice and all.

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History Of The Corn And Oil.

The Corn and Oil (also known as corn ‘n oil, or Corning oil) is a rum cocktail from Barbados, with the earliest records I can find of it coming from the 1911 book “West Indian and Other Recipes” by Mrs. H Graham Yearwood. Mrs. Yearwood calls the Corning oil traditional Barbados cocktail consisting of either rum, sugar, and Angostura bitters or rum, falernum, and Angostura bitters. She states the actual name of the cocktail is Corning oil, but it is mainly known as the Corn ‘n Oil.

It appears the corn ‘n abbreviation is meant to replace the “corning” and not “corn and” and be more like the abbreviation in “I was walk’n and talk’n to my friends.” and not “I was walking ‘n talking to my friends” For those reading this not fully fluent in English this is a feature in the English language called elision and its when a final sound, often a vowel, is left out of speech to help speak faster. Other languages have it, too, but it is used heavily in English, especially in poetry, to maintain the meter or in literature to convey the local dialect.

Mrs. Yearwood does not give an exact recipe for the corn ‘n oil, just that it’s made of Rum, bitters, and either falernum or sugar. To that point, there most likely isn’t a single recipe. Most regional drinks like Corn’n Oil have countless variations, and every family has its recipe. Many recipes include lime juice, and the addition of lime juice is excellent, but since Mrs. Yearwood did not mention it in her recipe, I will not add it to mine.

Oddly enough, beyond Mrs. Yearwood’s 1911 mention of the cocktail and its recipe, I couldn’t find any other reference to the cocktail till the early 2000s. Trader Vic never mentions it. It’s not even in any published books by Beachbum Berry. Not even Cocktail books from the Caribbean mention it. At least that I could find.

What Does The Corn ‘n Oil Taste Like?

The corn ‘n oil reminds me of a Caribbean Manhattan. It’s got the standard angostura bitters, but instead of whiskey, it’s rum, and instead of sweet vermouth, it’s falernum. There are no definitive proportions to follow, so you can make it more or less sweet depending on your taste. Thinking of it as a Caribbean Manhattan, I choose to make it with the same volumes I would like a Manhattan. There is also no definitive way to mix the corn ‘n oil, so I decided to shake and dirty pour in a way that would be refreshing on a hot tropical day.

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Saturn – Original Recipe & History

Saturn
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Quick Step-By-Step Saturn Recipe Video

Saturn

5 from 1 vote Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

224

kcal
ABV

20%

Total time

3

minutes

Make a Classic Saturn Cocktail

Ingredients

  • 1/2 oz Lemon Juice

  • 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup

  • 1/3 oz Falernum

  • 1/3 oz Orgeat

  • 1.5 oz Dry Gin

Directions

  • Technique: Blended
  • Combine all ingredients into a blender with a single scoop of ice cubes.
  • Blend on low for 10 seconds or till the ice is mostly pulverized. Now blend on high for 5-10 seconds to completely crush the ice and turn the drink into a slushy texture. Pour into a glass.
  • Garnish:
  • Long lemon peel circling a cherry

Recipe Video

The History Of The Saturn Cocktail.

The Saturn cocktail was invented by Filipino bartender Joseph “Po Po” Galsini as one of their entries for the 1967 IBA World Cocktail Competition. (In Filipino culture, it’s a term of endearment for older people to say a younger persons’ first name twice in some cutesy way. For example, someone named Tom would be called Tom Tom, Luna becomes Lu Lu, Mario becomes Mo Mo, etc.). Working as a school teacher in the Philippines, Joseph Galsini (I am not his senior and have no emotional connection to him, so I don’t feel right calling him Po Po) immigrated to the United States in 1928, where he began bartending in California. Joseph and his team eventually went on to win first place at the 1953 and 1954 IBA World Cocktail Competition. In 1967 one of the cocktails they entered was the Saturn, named after the Saturn V rocket also invented that same year. They didn’t win that year, but they still created a very memorable tiki-style cocktail with a fun garnish. The Saturn cocktail was rediscovered by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, who was able to save the recipe thanks to Bob Esmino, a fellow Filipino Bartender who got his start helping to open Don’s Beachcomber Cafe. Thanks to Bob Esmino remembering the recipe, Jeff “Beachbum” Berry was able to publish it in his 2010 book “Beachbum Berry Remix”. Sadly Joseph Galsini died in a car crash in 1982. Check out This lengthy article about Joseph on the Daily Beast by David Wondrich.

Is the Saturn Blended Or Shaken?

The most common way this drink is made is by shaking the ingredients, making for a delicious drink. But, according to Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, who got his recipe from Bob Esmino, who worked with Joseph Galsini, the original Saturn was blended. Both are great ways to make the Saturn, and it just comes down to texture.

How To Make The Saturn Garnish.

The Saturn is tasty, but it is the garnish that stands out about this cocktail. Joseph Galsini topped the Saturn off with a lemon peel circled around a maraschino cherry to resemble Saturn. The garnish is more aesthetic than functional, and damn, it looks good. The garnish is made by peeling the whole circumference of a lemon and pinning a cherry in the middle. I’m personally not the biggest fan of overly decorative garnishes and feel if a garnish does not contribute directly to the drink’s flavor, then it should be omitted. Still, I make an exception for this drink. Also, I am always a little disappointed if I order a Saturn at a bar or restaurant and don’t get the Saturn garnish. I don’t care whether it is blended or shaken; I just want to see that cute little cherry with a lemon peel around it.

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Pearl Diver – Best Recipe

Pearl Diver
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Quick Step-By-Step Pearl Diver Recipe Video

Pearl Diver

5 from 1 vote Only logged in users can rate recipes
Course: DrinksCuisine: American
Servings

1

servings
Calories

456

kcal
ABV

19%

Total time

3

minutes

Learn how to make the Pearl Diver.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 oz Lime Juice

  • 1 oz Orange Juice

  • 1/2 oz Simple Syrup

  • 1 oz Gardenia Mix

  • 1/3 oz Falernum

  • 1.5 oz Gold Rum

  • 1 oz Anejo Rum

Directions

  • Technique: Blended
  • Combine all ingredients into a blender with a single scoop of ice cubes.
  • Blend on low for 10 seconds or till the ice is mostly pulverized. Now blend on high for 5-10 seconds to completely crush the ice and turn the drink into a slushy texture.
  • Garnish:
  • Pour into a glass. and garnish with an orchid flower.

Recipe Video

Notes

What Does The Pearl Diver Taste Like?

The Pearl Diver is a unique cocktail. Even in the tiki world, its inclusion of Creamed spiced honey butter is unusual. The Gardenia mix adds a creamy texture and hot buttered rum flavor to a tropical drink. I have consistently found that people who don’t like hot buttered rum also don’t like this. I have also noticed that people who want hot buttered rum also like this. It tastes like a citrusy cold buttered rum, and I love it.

Don the Beachcomber’s Forgotten Recipes.

Immediately after the 21st amendment had repealed prohibition, Donn Beach opened Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood, California. Donn single-handedly created the first Tiki bar and, with it, tiki culture. But like most innovators, Donn was worried about others copying his Hollywood-style Polynesian-themed bar and profiting off his ideas. Donn would show up a few hours before the bar opened, mix large batches of his spice mixes and mixers, and give them nondescriptive labels like Donn’s spice mix #1, #2, #3, or Donn’s Zombie Mix, Grog Mix, Gardenia mix. This was all done to hide the recipes. Donn never told the other bartenders or published a recipe, and while he did open other bars, his recipes never got out. Thus Donn’s original recipes died with him in 1989. So keep that in mind anytime you see a Don the Beachcomber cocktail; it is never an original recipe, just the best guess. And some guesses are better than others. Tiki was a lawless free for all for a little over a decade with no continuity between drinks of the same name. There is still a lot of that today. How many Mai Tai recipes have you seen even though we know the original canon recipe for it?

In the late 90s, a Tiki cocktail enthusiast named Jeff Berry came along with the intent of preserving the old recipes and Tiki culture and helping revitalize the public interest in it. Jeff interviewed old bartenders of Donn the Beachcombers and set out to recreate Donn’s secret recipes to the best of their knowledge. Gathering whatever information he could and testing recipes against people who remembered what the old drinks tasted like, he is credited with having saved recipes that would otherwise be lost to time. Remember that these are not Donn’s original recipe but Jeff’s best attempts at recreating them and that Jeff Beachbum Berry is probably the closest one to get it right.

What is Gardenia Mix and How to Make It.

The secret Gardenia mix recipe Jeff Berry eventually settled on was:

  • 1 oz Honey
  • 1 oz unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Syrup
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup
  • 1/2 tsp Allspice Dram.

The stuff taste and smells fantastic. Although not everyone has vanilla or cinnamon syrup around, I wrote a recipe that is a bit more accessible. Here is my specific article on gardenia mix and how to make it.

The Most Important Part Of This Cocktail.

The most important part of the pearl diver is how you mix it. Butter is mostly milk fat and protein, and it does not stay emulsified in water. So you have two options. 1). Use a blender and turn it into a slushy. 2). Use an emulsifier like gum syrup or something to mix the gardenia mix while making it evenly and it is still warm. If you don’t blend it or use an emulsifier, the butter oddly sits at the top and looks pretty gross.

The first option of using a blender is the more common one. There will still be tiny butter particles, but the blender’s speed helps to mix them evenly, and the slushy ice prevents them from forming together. If slushies are not your style, then try option #2.

The second option is to use an emulsifier while making the gardenia mix while it is still warm. You’re not fighting the fat when the cocktail is cold. I’m not the most versed in that method but guides online talk about how to do it that way.

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