Falernum is a staple in the world of Tiki cocktails, combining flavors of ginger, lime, almond, and spices into a sugary tropical melange. Available in both liqueur (~11% ABV, from rum) and non-alcoholic syrup forms, a splash of it goes well in almost any Tiki concoction you can think of.

John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum is the most common brand, and the type I keep on my cocktail shelf (still working on the same bottle from when I first got into cocktails 4+ years ago – it doesn’t go fast). But it’s also frequently homemade, using the same basic methods that originated on Barbadian sugar plantations in the 1700s.

Cocktail Recipe: The Dark and Tropical Stormy

Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Polynesian Resort offers this take on the classic Dark’n’Stormy. The familiar background highlights the specific flavor notes that falernum is bringing to the table. Here’s how I make it at home, building in a highball filled with ice cubes:

• 2 oz. Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
• Juice from half a lime
• 0.75 oz. Velvet Falernum
• Fever Tree Light Ginger Beer (to top, use most of a 200ml bottle)
• Garnish with lime wheel
• To make a Category Five: float Gosling’s Black Seal Rum 151, add a mangled cocktail umbrella.