As mortal creatures, bound to the inexorable march of time, the loss of the things we hold dear is an unavoidable reality. Though we may rationalise this as a natural part of the fabric of our lives, nothing can quite prepare us for the terrible realisation that a treasured relationship has come to an end. And so it was when stuntalbatross was greeted by the news that his passionfruit syrup had almost completely succumbed to a permanent low tide.

We’re great believers in the ancient Persian aphorism “if you’ve got to lose something, then you might as well be directly involved in it’s demise, and that demise might as well feature post-war, faux polynesian kitsch”, so tiki drinks involving the remaining syrup were obviously in order.

Unfortunately, we were rumless, ruling out many of the simple options, and leaving the syrup unguarded while we obtained some didn’t seem wise. We also couldn’t be arsed walking to the shop. Thankfully, however, we had bourbon at our disposal. This, plus a little research, led us to the Port Light.

First concocted in 1961 in a place sacred to tiki cocktails (Ohio), the Port Light is an interesting interpretation of a whiskey sour. For ours, we omitted the grenadine and replaced its volume with additional passionfruit syrup as we felt it sufficient to sweeten the drink, and wanted to enjoy the bourbon/passionfruit combination. This unfortunately meant the cocktail wasn’t red, and hence was no longer suitable for use as a regulation port side navigation light, though the fact that it was an alcoholic beverage rather that an IP rated water proof lamp may have already eliminated that as an option.

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Not Quite Port Light

45ml Bourbon (we used Maker’s Mark)
30ml Passionfruit syrup
(for a traditional Port Light use 15ml Passionfruit syrup and 15ml Grenadine)
30ml Lemon juice

Shake all ingredients over ice, pour into an Old Fashioned glass full of crushed ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
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Armed with the knowledge that bourbon and passionfruit mix extremely well, we tried our hand at a taller drink. Mint and ginger both play nicely around passionfruit, and are right at home in a summer cocktail.

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Shiver Me Gingers

45ml Bourbon
30ml Passionfruit syrup
Handful mint leaves
Ginger beer (to taste)

Stir bourbon, passionfruit syrup and a couple of mint leaves with ice until well chilled, then strain into a large Old Fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Top with ginger beer, garnish with a sprig of mint.
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