Doctor Funk - How to Make the Only Classic Tiki Cocktail with a Polynesian Origin

Here's how to make the Tiki drink, Dr. Funk, which is made with Jamaican Pot Still Black Rum, Absinthe, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Grenadine, Rich Simple Syrup, Soda Water and, optionally, Mint for garnish. This is Smuggler's Cover version (more or less), but it is the only Tiki cocktail that was actually imported from Polynesia.

Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt) was a rum runner during Prohibition and a world-traveler who spent time in the Caribbean and the South Pacific. It was during his time in Polynesia that he discovered a drink, a local favorite known as Dr. Funk.

The drink was created by and named after a German-born physician, Doctor Bernard Funk, who spent 31 years in the South Pacific practicing medicine. The original drink bearing Funk’s namesake was a bold, tart concoction made with Absinthe, Grenadine, Lime Juice and Soda Water.

In 1933 when Donn opened the first Tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, the Dr. Funk was on the menu. However, Donn adapted it. He lowered the Absinthe and added Light Rum to help fortify it.

Donn’s exotic bar served cuisine that was fairly exotic to the early 20th Century American palate, (Americanized) Chinese food. He hired a Chinese-American head chef and started a trend that continued in Tiki bars for decades. The whole Tiki bar experience was almost entirely fusion. It was a mix of faux-Polynesian, faux-Caribbean and faux-Asian that became it’s own thing.

This fusion, along with a couple other factors, lead to the Dr. Funk being renamed, depending on where it was served. It became Dr. Funk of Tahiti, Dr. Fong, Dr. Wong and Dr. Sam Tee. Some of the names evoked the imagery of a contemporary cinematic supervillain, Dr. Fu Manchu and the drink was commonly served in the iconic Fu Manchu Tiki mug.

I deviated from this, but kept the spirit of pop-culture fusion alive by serving this drink in a David Lo Pan mug from Boo Tiki. Jeff Wehenkel’s company, Boo Tiki, makes pop-horror-themed Tiki mugs and Lo Pan, the supervillain from Big Trouble in Little China, fits right in. It’s the perfect setting because Tiki cocktails, while sometimes exasperating to make, are really fun and are designed as escapism.

Vic Bergeron, who founded Trader Vic’s, tweaked Donn's Dr. Funk. He split the citrus, added a little sugar and swapped out the light rum for a dark Jamaican rum. This switch in the base spirit really helps balance the powerful anise flavor of the absinthe.

But like all the predecessors, Vic’s was still on the tart side. Decades later that was addressed by Martin Cate, founder of Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. Cate took Vic’s recipe and swapped out the sugar for rich simple syrup. He dialed up the level of sweetness so that it matched the level of tartness, thus achieving a better equilibrium. It may not have had a whole lot of resemblance to the doctor’s original drink, what Cate did was create the most evenly balanced version of the Tiki classic. One that’s sure to really shake the pillars of heaven. Okole Maluna!


Recipe:
2.5 oz Dark Jamaican rum
0.25 oz Absinthe
0.5 oz Lemon Juice
0.5 oz Lime Juice
0.25 oz Grenadine
0.5 oz Rich Simple Syrup
1 oz Soda Water
garnish Mint Sprig (optional)

Add all liquid ingredients except Soda Water into a shaker. Add 12 oz of crushed ice and 3-4 ice cubes. Shake. Stir in Soda Water. Pour unstrained into Tiki Mug or Double Old Fashioned Glass. Garnish with Mint or Pineapple Fronds. Serve with straw.


Music:
Far Away 2 by Peter Sandberg
via Epidemic Sound


Follow Us!
  / distinguishedspirits  
  / distinguishedspirits  
  / distinguishedsp  
  / distinguishedsp  



Featured in this Episode:

Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black Rum
http://bit.ly/2nEaBl0

Copper & Kings Absinthe Blanche
http://bit.ly/2pTFT8b

David Lo Pan Mug by Boo Tiki
http://bit.ly/2otOVr8

Smuggler's Cove by Martin & Rebecca Cate
http://amzn.to/2pEXt0m



Denizen Merchant's Reserve
http://bit.ly/2oTPDif


Bar Tools:

Double Old Fashioned Glass
http://amzn.to/2owVAF9

OXO SteeL Double Jigger
http://amzn.to/1Mlqj8z

Fine Mesh Strainer
http://amzn.to/1KDExWv

OXO SteeL Cocktail Shaker
http://amzn.to/1pJgEF0

iSi Soda Siphon
http://amzn.to/2otMODR

Citrus Juicer (Lime)
http://amzn.to/1YKJ4u1

Citrus Juicer (Lemon)
http://amzn.to/2m2NC2V

Cutting Board
http://amzn.to/1QgQTSW

Small Knife
http://amzn.to/1KDFQoc

Lewis Bag & Ice Mallet
http://amzn.to/2nz12CK