Sliced ice, baby.

The Claymore.

I’m a big fan of Glayva – a Scottish whisky based liqueur with hints of spice, honey and tangerine. Sounds a bit Tiki to me. Should we do some Tiki magic? I thought so. Glayva is strong enough (35% ABV) to use as a base in itself but it is also very sweet and needs a generous measure of sourness to bring it into balance. Since Scotch and lemon juice are best buddies let’s start there. Let’s also use Myers’s rum because you’re all tired of me calling for rums you can’t easily find and also because it’s a really under-rated dark rum. Myers’s is a little sweet and any sweetness in a spirit should always be taken into consideration but in this case the extra lemon juice has us covered. I’ve been tinkering with this basic idea for quite a while and it has taken me to an unexpected place – a massive dose of the lemon juice and a little simple syrup. In theory you could cut some of the lemon juice and all the syrup but it’s just not the same. Two dashes of orange bitters rounds the Claymore off rather nicely.

But what would Tiki be without a bit of icework? Luckily this one is a breeze: Fill your DOF glass of choice about a third full of water and put it in your freezer at an angle of about 45° (tip: a bag of frozen peas makes a useful prop). Next day you’ll have a beautifully frosted glass with a slice of ice in the base. If that sounds like too much work just use a chilled glass. For the full Tiki effect we’ll blend this one with crushed ice. It benefits from a little dilution in any case.

We could get all twatty and call this kind of thing NeoTiki or McTiki but that’s just not how we roll, is it? The name? Well, if you say “Glayva-Myers” quickly enough it sounds vaguely like “Claymore” – an enormous Scottish sword.

The Claymore.

1.5oz / 45ml Myers’s dark rum.

1oz / 30ml Glayva (if you really can’t find any try Drambuie instead).

2oz / 60ml fresh lemon juice.

0.5oz / 15ml simple syrup (1:1)

2 dashes orange bitters.

Blend with a handful of crushed ice for 5 or 6 seconds.

Pour into prepared DOF glass (see text).

Toast Jesse Ray – Claymore swinging 1980s, ahem, pop sensation.