Tomorrow morning, I leave Portland for New Orleans. For the next week or so, I will be live blogging from Tales of the Cocktail. I’ll be posting reviews of Restaurants and bars. I’ll be writing summaries and epiphanies based on the seminars I’ll be attending. I’ll be putting up interviews of bartenders, mixologists and fellow cocktail lovers who I meet and whom I’ve met that drive me in this pursuit.

I’m packed and ready to go. My liver is girded, my fingers are nimble and my senses are keen. Next stop NOLA.

Ah, Bourbon.

Summer means bourbon in our household. When I’m not making a home-made version of Southern Comfort (recipe courtesy of Martin Cate) or Stone Fences (courtesy David Wondrich), I’m drinking it straight, in Manhattans, as an improved cocktail, or as my current favorite featured in this very MxMo.

The Live Journaling mastermind(s) at Scofflaw’s Den are hosting this round of MxMo. It’s the last MxMo before the big bash in the big easy. I can’t wait.

Now, Trader Vic had a great recipe for the Honi Honi that you can find at my good friend Blair’s site. Apricot Brandy, Lemon and Rum mixes together as a gorgeous double Kiss (honi honi is kiss kiss in Hawaiian). However, as time went on, the Honi Honi that Trader Vic served in his restaurants changed recipes to be become a Mai Tai with bourbon.

Don’t let that seemingly lazy change fool you: this concoction is a masterpiece. This is far more than a bourbon Mai Tai. I thought this a perfect occasion to open my bottle of Trader Tiki’s Vanilla Cane Orgeat and it really shines. You see, when I make my domestic SoCo, I use vanilla syrup instead of Martin’s suggested Honey. The wife has a fondness for Vanilla (and bourbon), and I thought the Orange-vanilla aspect would suit the round sweet undertones of a decent sour mash. And it does. Oh, does it. I wanted to repeat that success in this Honi Honi with Trader Tiki’s specialty Orgeat and the Orange of the Clement Creole Shrub. I personally add Regan’s Orange bitters to round out the drink. Delicious.

Honi Honi

2 oz Bourbon
1 oz fresh lime juice
½ oz orgeat (Trader Tiki’s Vanilla Cane Orgeat)
½ oz Orange Curaçao (Clement Creole Shrub)
dash Regan’s Bitters

shake with 4 oz crushed ice and pour into a double rocks glass.

I am proud to announce that I’ve been chosen to participate as a contributor at the Blogging tales of the Cocktail: 2008. I am humbled to be in such wise and warm company. Paul Clark is our ringleader and taskmaster. I hope he knows what he’s gotten himself into.

I know it’s early: Tales runs 16-20 July and it is currently April. We’re launching early because we’ll be covering pre-reviews of all the wonderful seminars and topics and events. Oh, Yeah: Tickets are now on sale. Get yours while the getting is good! If you happen to miss out on the actual event, just keep an eye on the RSS feed and let our experienced perceptionists bring Tales of the Cocktail to you.

Dry, little molds. Dry!

Here’s what happens to the sculpt after I get it.

I make a negative mold of the sculpt with which to make multiple sculpt copies. These Will be used to make plaster slip molds. The plaster slip molds will go to our ceramicist for mug creation.

Here’s the first batch of pictures:

After creating a mold box ¾” larger than the sculpt (in each direction) out of art board and hot glue. I’ll pour each half of the mold separately. To masque out 3-d areas for where I don’t want the polyurethane to go, I use modeling clay:

To help keep the two halves of the mold together, I make impressions for use as a key to align. Here you can see a closeup of one in the clay masque.

So, how to find out how much of the casting material you’ll need? I use rice to approximate the volume.

Now it’s full.

And now it’s measured.

After the rice is removed the whole thing gets sprayed with Tap Plastics Mold Release.

The Materials: Polyurethane Casting Resin system from Tap Plastics.

I mix half the measure of each of the 2-part polyurethane and mix like ‘taint no mixing been done.

The trick is to scrape the sides and the bottom of the container with something square. I use chopsticks. Next, I pour evenly and slowly into a corner of the box. I let the material slowly seep around and up the sculpt. As it’s pouring I notice how like a chocolate bar it looks. Here see it filling in the keys - caramel spilling into chocolate caverns surrounded by creamy white nougat:

Delicious caramel will be the last breath of this tiki mug!

Almost there:

The complete pour.

Once a day has passed, it is safe to attempt the other half. It takes a couple more than a few days to fully cure. I take off the bottom of the mold and flip ‘er over. All that clay we put in has to come out.

The same process is repeated (It usually happens that the rest of the containers are the perfect amount of material) on the back. Mold release, mix half of each, pouring into the corner:

Slowly to the top it pours.

This is the End product. 2 Halves which allows us to make copies of the scupt to use and not have to suffer a meltdown if it becomes damaged. We can just make another. And another. And another.

Next update coming when I get the pics prepared!