One of the things I hoped would happen when I launched the Cocktail Club was that members would start teaching me things. Not in like a formal way necessarily... just the natural result of being in a "room" (even an online one) with curious, passionate people who are all working on something.
Pedro Pabon is a great example of that. I don't think he and I ever really crossed paths or interacted much on social media. But when he joined the Club, he made an impression pretty quickly: both on me and on other members. He's the kind of guy who shows up with fully developed ideas: I'm talking his own homemade syrups, spirit infusions, and cocktails built from multiple handcrafted ingredients. When he shared this Roasted Pineapple Falernum in the Club (with precise measurements, exact steps, and a no-waste roasted pineapple syrup) I knew I had to try it. And I knew it belonged here.
So this edition of Simple Syrup Monthly is a little different. This one is Pedro's.
A Few Minutes with Pedro
You're based in NYC... what does your home bar setup actually look like?
"Living in a New York City apartment, space is always at a premium, so my home bar has basically spread throughout the apartment. The kitchen countertop is where the real work happens. That's where I shake, stir, experiment, and make most of my cocktails. It may not look like a traditional home bar, but it works for me, and somehow the collection keeps growing."
Is there a drink or ingredient that completely changed the way you think about cocktails?
"If I had to pick one, it would be Green Chartreuse. I love it neat, chilled, or over ice, but in cocktails it's simply amazing. There's so much going on in that bottle: herbal, sweet, bitter, complex, and I love seeing what happens when you pair it with different spirits and ingredients. It definitely changed the way I think about building a cocktail."
Where does most of your inspiration come from?
"My bar days are mostly behind me. My connection to cocktails is much more about making things myself. I've always liked working with my hands, and I'm pretty creative– that translated into cooking first, and eventually found its way into cocktails. The COVID lockdown is probably responsible for turning that interest into the obsession it is today. These days most of my inspiration comes from watching bartenders and creators online. I'll see an ingredient or a technique that catches my attention and immediately start thinking: what can I do with that?"
Roasted pineapple falernum is a pretty ambitious project. What made you want to tackle it?
"The Unexpected Tiki Challenge within the Cocktail Club got me thinking about falernum, and I realized I didn't have any on hand. So naturally I thought, 'why not just make it?' I've been making infusions, syrups, tinctures, and acid blends for a few years now, so I figured how hard could it be? The roasted pineapple part came another Cocktail Club challenge: Iron Shaker 2. Since pineapple was the challenge ingredient, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and build it into the falernum."
What made you join the Cocktail Club, and what's surprised you most about it?
"The word community is really what appealed to me: not just joining another club. I had been following Jordan for a few years and always liked his down to earth vibe. My sounding board has been my wife and family. I'm usually more of a lurker online... some spaces can get unnecessarily negative and I'd rather not spend my time dealing with that. The HPP Cocktail Club has been completely different. I feel comfortable sharing what I'm working on and learning from other people. I feel at home here. And that, more than anything, is what surprised me." 🥂
The Recipe
Falernum is a Caribbean liqueur: a grip of island spices, a sweet element, with lime, almond, and clove doing a lot of the heavy lifting. It shows up in tiki drinks mostly, but it's one of those ingredients that earns its place in a lot of different contexts once you have a bottle of it. I usually buy a no-alchol version that I love adding to lattes.
This roasted pineapple version Pedro developed adds a layer of caramelized fruit depth that makes it something even more special than the standard recipe. Keep in mind, this is a two-day project at least, plus a few days of resting time. Plan accordingly. It's worth the time, I guarantee it.
Part One: Roasted Pineapple Demerara Syrup
Pedro's approach to the syrup portion is instinct-based rather than formula-based... but it works.
Slice fresh pineapple and roast it in a dry frying pan until you get a slight char on the surface (I went ahead and threw mine on the grill!) You're developing caramelized, smoky sweetness here, not burning it. Once it's roasted, layer the pineapple in a container and cover it thoroughly with Demerara sugar. No precise measurements. Just make sure every piece is well covered.
Seal it and give it a shake / stir on occasion, and let the sugar and pineapple juice and oils combine. You don't have to do much: the sugar will dissolve on its own over about 24 hours at room temperture. Strain out the solids and don't throw the pineapple away. Pedro recommends dehyrating the leftover pineapple, which I did as well and GOOD LORDT I now have the best pineapple candy ever.
You should get around 300g of finished syrup for the falernum.
Part Two: The Falernum
Images by Pedro Pabon
What You'll Need:
- 250ml Wray and Nephew overproof rum
- Zest of 8 limes
- 40g fresh ginger, sliced thin
- 1.5g whole cloves, lightly crushed
- 1.5g whole allspice berries, lightly crushed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 300g roasted pineapple Demerara syrup
- 30ml fresh lime juice
- 5ml almond extract
Day 1:
Combine the rum, lime zest, ginger, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon in a mason jar. Seal it and let it infuse at room temperature for 24 hours. Shake it occasionally when you walk past.
Day 2:
Strain the infused rum through a fine mesh strainer first, then filter it through a coffee filter until it runs clear. This takes some patience (note: when I recreated it, I swapped out the coffee filter halfway through).
Once it's clear, stir in the roasted pineapple Demerara syrup, fresh lime juice, and almond extract.
Bottle it, refrigerate it, and let it rest for about 3 days before using it. The flavors need time to come together.
A Note on the Almond Extract
Pedro was upfront about this one... he used almond extract instead of going through the process of making almond syrup from scratch. In a traditional falernum that almond note comes from orgeat or blanched almonds, which you can make here, but that's a whole other process. The extract is a practical shortcut that works. No shame in it.
If you want to go the longer route, or just happen to have made your own orgeat recently because you're a nerd like me 🤓, you can substitute a small measure of homemade orgeat. But honestly, for a first batch, the extract does the job.
How to Use It
Falernum is most at home in tiki drinks, so think Mai Tais, Corn and Oil, Zombie, anything with rum and citrus. But it's also good in:
- A Dark and Stormy variation with a small pour of falernum in place of or alongside the ginger beer
- Tiki Margarita? Try tequila blanco, fresh lime and Falernum inplace of the triple sec or agave nectar.
- Try it in an Old Fashioned (whether it's a Rum Old Fashioned, or Bourbon). It honestly plays really nicely with various bourbons and aged spirits... even cognac or brandy.
- As I mentioned: try it in your coffee or a latte. But this homemade version is a liqueur (so it contians alcohol). Just keep that in mind.
Final Pour
Pedro built this recipe for a challenge, nailed it on the first try, and then shared it openly with the whole Cocktail Club. That's exactly the kind of thing that makes this community worth being part of.
If you make this one, let me know! And if you're a Club member who has been sitting on a recipe worth sharing... this is your reminder that the next guest feature could be yours.
—Jordan
High-Proof Preacher
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