Secret tiki recipes...
A definitive guide to Don's Mix, Spices #2, #4 and Gardenia
Are you confused as to the difference between Don’s Mix and Don’s Spices? Do you know what’s in his Spices #2? Have you asked yourself WHY Spices #4 is even a thing?
Good.
That is exactly the state of mind that Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, AKA Donn Beach, AKA Don The Beachcomber, wanted you in.
South seas bootlegger. Technical film advisor to the stars. Hollywood bar owner. Donn put the ingredients of Tiki together based on the experiences he’d had in his life. Compelling adventures (both physical and financial) that he thrust himself into with an innate eye for opportunity and capitalisation.
Looking back, he very much fit the blueprint of those entrepreneurs we place so highly on our celebrity pedestals. Hungry, driven, connected and street smart, Donn took his experiences and codified them into a business venture catalysed by the zeitgeist of a nation. A desire to escape from the shackles that had constrained it for so long. Prohibition. Unemployment. The 9-5 grind of lives that were damn hard.
And Donn provided it. Hand over fist.
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His secret recipe to a better life?
There are many interpretations of what he created, but if we had to deconstruct and make it anew, I’d say Donn’s formula for Tiki was:
2 parts Escapism + 2 parts Theatre + 1 part Arcane Knowledge, and of course 1 part Don’s Mix of messing with his competitor’s heads.
And he applied this codification across his business, not just in terms of workflow systemization, but by literally encoding many of his recipes and ingredients. Competition was rife, bartenders would take trade secrets from one job to the next. And tiki was a wave being driven by an almost unstoppable tide.
These drinks, in their original form, were like marketing gold dust. And if you knew what was in them, the power you held was akin to alchemy.
Those close enough to the source, or smart enough to extrapolate and riff their way to their own versions and variations did so with vigour and enthusiasm. Sadly, the further this ride went, the more knowledge was lost and the more these drinks were bastardised to the point where even Jon Snow would have had trouble making it back from the dead.
And so it was that the once mysterious and beguiling ‘Tiki’ turned ubiquitous… then faded slowly over the decades into a jaded pastiche of itself. Ironically, at least partially thanks to the overly-secretive ways of its founder, Mr Donn Beach.
Then, when all was thought lost… a certain Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry (the Red Witch? Nope. No. That’s definitely taking a rather indulgent analogy too far), entered stage left. Esteemed tiki archaeologist and cocktail historian, Mr Berry’s ceaseless dedication to the cause has seen many lost tiki drinks and ingredients surface to see the light of day once more – including the now infamous mixes and spices we cover in this article.
Now, for those of you who have waded through enough of this verbosity. And. Just. Want. Some. Answers. Here’s a brief summary of how these arcane ingredients break down. You can also click on them to jump straight to the relevant recipe if you’re feeling a little pushed for time.
- Don’s Mix = Cinnamon Syrup + Grapefruit Juice
- Spices #04 = Cinnamon Syrup
- Spices #02 = Vanilla Syrup + Pimento Dram
- Gardenia Mix = Cinnamon Syrup + Vanilla Syrup + Pimento Dram + Butter + Honey
- (Ie. Don’s Spices #04 + #02 + Butter + Honey)
- (AKA Don’s Honey Butter mix, AKA Pearl Diver mix)
Don's Mix
This fiercely guarded Donn Beach recipe was the elusive key to the original Zombie. Double-encrypted, Don's Mix was finally decoded by Jeff Berry as a mixture of white grapefruit juice and Spices #4... ie. cinnamon syrup. When combined, you get the baking spice of the cinnamon and an earthy sweetness from the grapefruit, a taste that's almost like that of apple pie. Dee-lish!
Ingredients
- 1 part Cinnamon Syrup - ie. Don's Spices #4
- 2 parts Fresh, White Grapefruit Juice
Method
- For such a near-mythical ingredient, it's almost too easy to make - simply squeeze your grapefruit/s and combine the juice with your cinnamon syrup at a ratio of 2:1 (grapefruit to cinnamon). And if you don't have any cinnamon syrup, see our recipe below.
- Then, decant the mixture into a sterilised bottle... and you're good to go!However, we'd recommend not combining this as a pre-mix unless you know you're going to be using a good amount of it for a specific occasion.The reason being that Cinnamon Syrup has a decent shelf-life but the addition of a juice will drastically reduce this. Also, the flavor of the grapefruit benefits from being used when it's freshly squeezed.
Notes
Fresh white grapefruit is used due to its bitterness and acidity, but if you only have pink or red grapefruits to hand, it's fine to use them instead. Though as they're a little sweeter, you may want to use slightly less juice.
Or, if you're looking to make the whole thing as easy as possible then shop bought grapefruit juice and BG Reynolds Cinnamon Syrup will get you there faster - though depending on the juice you bought it may be quite sweet, so adjust quantity downwards accordingly.
History
In 2005, Jennifer Santiago, the daughter of Dick Santiago (a former barman who was hired at Don the Beachcomber’s in 1937), produced a notebook of her fathers, which she then copied and handed over to Jeff Berry. Inside were a number of recipes that had been put together from the original Beachcomber’s menu, with one in particular that was highly likely to be the original 1934 Zombie. The only problem was that one of the ingredients was in code… the now legendary Don’s Mix.
On the last page of the notebook however, was a breakdown of what this elusive ingredient entailed… two parts grapefruit to one part… ‘Spices #4’. Aarghh.
Jeff turned to Mike Buhen of Tiki-Ti for aid - and although his dad, Ray (another of the original Beachcomber barmen from the early 30's), had told Mike stories of how the secret ingredients were made - he was unable to enlighten Berry as to the answer of this secondary encryption.
It wasn’t until a year later that Berry was introduced to Bob Esmino, another tiki bartender from back in the day. When asked whether he knew what Don's Spice #4 was, he replied... “Cinnamon syrup”.
The code was cracked. Davinci eat your heart out. And then and there Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry re-gifted the world ‘Don’s Mix’ and subsequently Don’s original 1934 Zombie Punch!
Cocktail Recommendations
You've GOT to give the 1934 Zombie a go (surely that's why you want to make this mix in the first place, eh? 🧟♂️) and of course the Donga Punch is also a must.Don's Spices #4
The simplest and easiest of Don's secret mixtures, his Spices no.4 is literally just Cinnamon Syrup! A vital ingredient in many a tiki drink and craft cocktail, there are many variations on how this syrup can be steeped and infused - in this recipe we've settled on a classic combination, but for more options take a look at our Essential Guide to Making Cinnamon Syrup.
Ingredients
- 3 large Cinnamon Sticks - use 6 if they're the smaller stubby ones
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (approx 236g)
- 1 cup Water (approx 236ml)
Method
- Break the cinnamon sticks into coarse pieces and place them in a saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the water has turned brown and clear (about 5 minutes in total).
- Lower the heat, cover the saucepan and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, keep it covered and allow the mixture to steep for 2 hours. Go longer if you want, but taste test every now and then.
- Strain your infusion through cheesecloth (or muslin) to remove any of the cinnamon pieces and then decant into a sterilised glass bottle.
Notes
If you made sure your bottle was sterilised (a cycle in the dishwasher will do) and it has an airtight seal, then your syrup should keep for up to a month in the refrigerator. But if you want to extend its shelf life for another month or so, add in an ounce of 80 proof / 40% ABV vodka - just remember to keep it away from children's pancakes!
Variations
- Demerara and turbinado sugars are both very popular alternatives to using processed white sugar. The molasses in them adds greater depth and richness to your finished syrup.
- You can also use brown sugar but we’d recommend using it in a 1:2 ratio with white sugar as it can quickly overpower the cinnamon.
- For that extra cinnamon kick, put a couple of sticks into your bottle for good measure. Just bear in mind that it’ll continue gently infusing, so you won’t really know how strong the flavor is going to be until you pour it. 🤯
Cocktail Recommendations
The list of drinks using cinnamon syrup is huge, but here are a few great tiki combinations to start you off:- Zombie (Simplified in 2007 by Beachbum Berry)
- Tropical Itch (Kon Tiki version)
- Jet Pilot (By Steve Crane)
- Baron Samedi (another by Beachbum Berry)
Don's Spices #2
Created by Donn Beach in 1937, the recipe for his secret Spices No.2 is a blend of equal parts Vanilla Syrup and Allspice Liqueur (also known as Pimento Dram). Allspice liqueur is often used to add an intricate background note to cocktails - combining it with vanilla syrup creates an even bolder flavour profile.If you have both of these ingredients, simply mix them together in a 1:1 ratio and you're done! But for those of you who don't (and not many people do), we've put together a recipe on how to easily make and combine them.Now... with that in mind, Allspice Liqueur normally takes a good month or so to infuse and for the ingredients to settle down, which is no bad thing as the flavor that develops over time is quite exceptional. But for those of you who don't want to wait, the method we're using here is based on the much vaunted Kevin Liu's 'Almost-Instant Allspice Dram'. However, if you'd rather go for a longer infusion then take a look at the expanded recipe in our Definitive Guide to Allspice Liqueur.
Ingredients
Allspice Liqueur
- ½ cup Allspice Berries (approx 50g)
- 6 Black Peppercorns
- 10 Whole Cloves
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- ½ a whole Nutmeg
- 1 cup 151 Overproof Rum (approx 236 ml) - a demerara works really well
- 1 ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (approx 300 ml)
- 1 ¼ cup Water (approx 300ml)
Vanilla Syrup
- 2 cups White Granulated Sugar (approx 475g)
- 2 cups Water (approx 475ml)
- 1 Vanilla Bean
Method
Allspice Liqueur
- Combine all ingredients except the sugar and water in a blender. Blend on low for 5 mins. Whilst you're waiting, start on the next step.
- Make a 1:1 simple syrup by adding your sugar and water to a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear once more (about 5 mins). Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Remove the now obliterated spices and rum from the blender and strain through triple layered cheesecloth (or muslin) into a jug.
- Combine your rum infusion with the simple syrup in a sterilised glass bottle. Give it a good shake.
Vanilla Syrup
- Cut your vanilla bean lengthways and scrape out all the seeds with the back of a knife. Put it to the side on your chopping board for a moment.
- Make a 1:1 simple syrup the same way you just did for the Allspice but this time add your vanilla pod and seeds into the mixture and bring it to a gentle boil, stirring as you go until the sugar dissolves. Drop the heat down and let it simmer for another 3-5 mins. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 15 mins.
- Remove the pod from your vanilla infusion and then decant into a sterilised glass bottle. Leave the small floating beans in there as part of the mix - they add visual interest but most importantly, flavor!
Finishing off
- We recommend keeping your Vanilla Syrup and Allspice Dram in separate bottles. This is for two reasons i) they're both versatile ingredients that can be used in distinct cocktails, and ii) homemade Vanilla Syrup has a shelf-life of around 2 weeks, whilst Allspice Dram can easily last 6 months - if they're combined, the shelf life will drop closer to that of the syrup, due to the dilution of the alcohol and the foreign bodies in the mixture.
- But if you know you're going to be using a fair amount of Don's Spice #2 for an upcoming occasion then go ahead and decant them into a sterilised bottle in a blend of 1 part Allspice Liqueur to 1 part Vanilla Syrup.
Notes
Make sure you store your Pimento / Allspice Dram in a cool, dry place away from sunlight and keep the Vanilla Syrup in the fridge. If small green dots start appearing in the syrup then it's gone bad - time to throw it away!
If you want to extend the shelf life of your syrup by a couple of weeks, add in an ounce of 80 proof / 40% ABV vodka. Obviously you can’t then serve this to your kids in hot chocolate so make sure they know not to touch it.
To sterilise your containers, simply pop them in your dishwasher on a standard cycle.
Substitutes
Don't have any vanilla beans? Not a problem, use some vanilla extract instead (but try and use a decent quality one). Simply make your syrup as per the recipe and then when bottling add 1 teaspoon of extract per cup of water used. Taste test and add a little more if you prefer it stronger.Cocktail Recommendation
It's almost mandatory that you should try your new Don's Spices no.2 in a Nui Nui (which also requires Cinnamon Syrup). The much deconstructed Mai Kai's 'Black Magic' is a must - as of course is anything requiring Don's Gardenia Mix (see below for more details).Don's Gardenia Mix
Silky smooth and with the consistency of maple syrup, when added to a punch the golden batter liquefies (with a little blending 
), creating a luxuriant and complex layer of flavors. Believed to have been named after the Mystery Gardenia - one of Beach’s earlier exotic concoctions - the butter should be almost undetectable, present only as a mysterious velvety mouth-feel.
), creating a luxuriant and complex layer of flavors. Believed to have been named after the Mystery Gardenia - one of Beach’s earlier exotic concoctions - the butter should be almost undetectable, present only as a mysterious velvety mouth-feel.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Honey - it needs to be the runny kind
- 1 oz Unsalted Butter - cut it at the 1oz line on the wrapper
- 1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup - see Spices No.4 recipe
- ½ tsp Vanilla Syrup - see Spices No.2 recipe
- ½ tsp Allspice Dram - see Spices No.2 recipe
Method
- Leave all your ingredients out of the fridge for an hour to allow them to come to room temperature. If you’ve a warm house then great - the softer the butter gets the better!
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and using a whisk (a fork will do), cream it like you would a cake mixture. You should have a lovely silky batter in around a minute or two.
- Now either put this golden delicious mixture straight into your next cocktail - or if you're making a batch, transfer it into a sterilized container.
Notes
This recipe is super easy, but it pre-supposes that you already have the different ingredients. If you don't, then we've supplied the individual recipes in the sections above.
Now, a lot of people seem to be fearful of putting this batter together, but it really isn't that tricky, and doesn't need to be that icky either. For starters, you don't need to heat any of the ingredients to mix them, you just need to i) make sure they're all at room temperature before you start, ii) use nice soft butter.
Mixing Tips
- If your butter is still solid and you need it in a rush, you may want to consider pinging it for 10-20 seconds to soften it slightly, but keep an eye on it and don't let it start to separate.
- And if you spritz your jigger with a neutral spray oil, the honey and the syrups just slip on out.
- It's these sweeteners that help the batter emulsify, but some bars take this a step further and add a little lecithin into the mix to make sure the butter doesn’t separate from the other ingredients when added to a cocktail.
Storage Tips
- Based on it being so simple to make, we recommend only mixing it up when you're about to use it.
- But if you want to batch it for an upcoming event, decant into a widemouthed container like a maison jar, so that you can scoop it back out with a spoon when you want to use it. Do not try and pour it in a bottle, as you're going to struggle getting it back out again.
- It should keep in the refidgerator for around a week. When you come to use it next, it will have reverted back to a solidified state, so make sure you leave it out at room temperature for an hour beforehand.
- If it's started to separate, give it a good stir, but don't worry about getting it back to its previous consistency as any cocktail that has gardenia in requires a helluva good blending before serving (around 20 seconds on high speed) - unless of course you're using it in a hot buttered rum, in which case it melts like a dream.
Cocktail Recommendations
- The Pearl Diver should of course be your go-to drink for Gardenia mix, and it's worth trying some of the many variations and riffs, such as the Mai Kai's Deep Sea Diver (one of Beachbum Berry's favourite drinks at The Mai Kai).
- Then there's the Year of the Rat, which is often described as a cross between a Pearl Diver and a Zombie.
- And don't forget Don the Beachcomber’s Coffee Grog, an intricate affair but well worth the end result!
We put a whole lotta love, lime and rum into our work, so if you think your friends would find this article useful, we’d be thrilled if you could share it with them!
Thank you. Mahalo.
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