Source
r/Tiki•
AshLegend

Attempting Pearl Diver - Gardenia Mix Question

I've been reading through the various techniques and tips for making Don's Gardenia Mix and was wondering if anyone had attempted to make it starting with commercial Honey Butter like Downey's Honey Butter as opposed to creaming butter and honey together. I'm going to attempt both versions this weekend - wish me luck.

UPDATE First attempt went awesome this weekend! I used Downey's Honey Butter (just heavy cream and honey as ingredients) and sat it out on the counter for two hours before adding the other Gardenia Mix ingredients. It was very easy to mix and I used homemade Vanilla Syrup with BG Reynolds Cinnamon Syrup, BG Reynolds Falernum, and St Elizabeth Allspice dram. Definitely got the mouth feel I was hoping for going this route. It blended very easily in my blender (Vitamix) with no separation. The first batch had a bit too forward of a lime taste, so I adjusted the second batch by adding .25oz more of Vanilla syrup. My guess is the honey butter doesn't have quite as much honey as the from-scratch recipe. Next time I'll adjust by adding more honey to the Gardenia mix. All in all, definitely a success. The Gardenia Mix blends very easily at room temp. Other ingredients used were fresh Key Limes, freshly squeezed OJ from local producer, and of course the requisite ice ball and Pearl Diver glass. Totally forgot to take a photo but will next time!

Posted Nov 8, 2018, 5:21 PM UTC · edited

178
RabidRaider•

If you have one, I find an immersion blender works really well for combining the ingredients for the mix. This has been a drink I've tried to make off and on and could never get results I liked until very recently. Check out this thread. The OP and I have two different recipes. As it turns out, OP's recipe is called Pearl Diver's Punch in the Total Tiki app. I find it to be vastly superior to the recipe I mentioned in the thread (which is the Pearl Diver recipe from the app).

6
AshLegendOP•

I used my fancy Vitamix and got great results. The recipe I followed was Beachbum Berry's https://punchdrink.com/recipes/pearl-diver/

2
gooneybird12•

Mmm.... that is a tasty drink. I've never used commercial honey butter before; I'd be eager to hear how your's turns out.

3
MsMargo•

That's a clever idea. Never tried it, but I hope you do! (and report back!)

3
AshLegendOP•

Update: It worked quite well!

3
MsMargo•

Cool! I'll have to try it. I've never had any luck.

2
Drea1683•

Haven't done the Gardenia Mix with commercial honey butter, but have made orgeat with store bought almond milk- it works in a pinch. There are just so many fillers and chemicals in commercial things that the quality is not great and separation can occur. I'd stick with the real deal!

2
Dolvak•

honestly it's super easy to make on it's own. Literally just dump in a pot over low heat and stir. Now the thing is it has to be room temp or it WILL NOT WORK.

2