Painkiller

Painkiller
from Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s Grog Log

4 oz Pusser’s Rum
4 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Coconut Cream
1 oz Orange Juice
8 oz Crushed Ice

Mix all ingredients in a blender and blend for approximately 3 seconds.  Serve in a tiki mug and dust with nutmeg, cinnamon, or both.

I know that one or two people out there are hoping for a write-up of what went on at Drink.Write and Tales of the Cocktail.  I have some thoughts and notes jotted down in my notebooks and I have a draft of a post awaiting approval over at TalesBlog.  These things will come.

Anyone who knows me personally (or follows me on Twitter for that matter) is aware of the fact that my back is a tad, well, sketchy.  I injured it a number of years ago while helping my brother move and it’s been prone to “tweaking” ever since.  On most days I have no issues with my back, but I’ve thrown out my back doing anything from slipping on a wet floor to lifting something that was too heavy to (and this is the truth) sneezing.  Such is the life I lead.

The day before I left for New Orleans and my duet of conferences, I attended the wedding of some very good friends of mine.  It was a happy day.  It was a gorgeous day.  It was a day in which I tweaked my back rather severely and ended up on the floor for about 5 or 6 hours before flying out to spend a week in New Orleans.

I normally treat my back by taking ibuprofen all day and occasionally a muscle relaxant at night before bed if it’s particularly bad.  Wouldn’t you know it?  Alcohol can help relax your muscles and help you forget about pain as well!  So this rather appropriately named drink has been something of a staple for me since my return to sunny Southern California.

The painkiller is a drink that specifically calls its rum.  Technically you can’t make one unless you’re using Pusser’s Navy Rum.  Pusser’s is a delightful rum based on the rum used by the British Navy until July 31, 1970.  It has a great funk to it and really comes through in drinks (it makes an awesome Mai Tai).

Of course, I have one or two rums to choose from at home, so I’ve been trying different rums in my painkillers all week.  Contrary to what Pusser’s might tell you, there are some other rums that work wonderfully in a Painkiller.  My personal favorite substitute is Scarlet Ibis out of Trinidad.  Rick over at KaiserPenguin also suggests that you can create a good experience by mixing several rums instead of a single subsitution.

If you’re feeling adventurous or can’t find any coconut cream, you can also dabble a bit in this area.  Blair Reynolds at TraderTiki has a great recipe for making your own coconut cream that looks fun, fascinating, and fantastically messy.  I’ve also been toying with using other creams and adding coconut extract (heavy cream and coconut extract can work with the right proportions – or so I’ve been told).  Last night I even took it a step further (too far?) and used El Dorado Rum Cream and coconut extract in the place of the coconut cream.  I can assure you that by the end of that mug, my back and I were best friends again.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Dr. Bamboo

    July 16, 2009, 18:51

    Matt- Your recipe here and the one at Rick’s site both call for 4 oz. of rum, but in my copy of Grog Log, it calls for only 2 oz. What gives?

    Cordially confused,

    ~ Dr. B.

  • Jeff Johnson

    July 16, 2009, 19:19

    Nice write up…and sorry about your back. 4 oz of rum would make my back feel great!

  • Matt Robold

    July 16, 2009, 20:07

    Dr. Bamboo:

    You’re right, Jeff only calls for 2 oz of rum. I happen to think that the current incarnation of Pusser’s gets overwhelmed by the fruit juice and coconut cream at such a low amount though, and heartily agree with Rick’s suggestion that 4 oz is the way to go. I probably should have mentioned that in my post.

  • AlchemistGeorge

    July 16, 2009, 20:34

    OK, I believe now.

    I’d been thinking for a while that Pusser’s was just too cheap to be good – out here in California Trader Joes’ sells it – but I guess they aren’t spending millions of dollars marketing it.

    So we’ll have to do painkillers as a sun-downer.

    That is a big, strong drink. “One per customers folks!”

  • ChinaNob

    July 17, 2009, 22:54

    I have seized by an overwhelming urge to go to BevMo and purchase some Pusser’s.

    Sorry about the back – I had similar lower back issues for several years – like you, I even once threw it out sneezing. Finally took the doc’s advice and fixed it the old fashioned way – diet & exercise – lots of core training (abs, glutes, lower back, hamstrings)combined with daily strecthing.

    That and losing the beer gut worked wonders – seriously.

  • Matt Robold

    July 18, 2009, 01:09

    Thanks for all of the empathy/kind words everyone. I can tell you that spending the past week NOT in New Orleans has worked wonders and it’s getting better every day.

    Looks like a lot more people are buying Pusser’s…maybe I should ask for a commission. 😉

  • The Concierge

    July 19, 2009, 19:05

    My friend recently requested a really strong rum drink with coconut and pinneapple, and thus I grabbed the GrogLog and thumbed through the pages quickly and landed on the Painkiller, which I thought was too weak with 2 ozs or rum, so I subsituted Stroh80 in a 2 oz dosage, and using fresh squeezed pineapple and orange from Whole Foods, cut the pineapple down significantly and added a dash of angostura bitters. I shaked with cracked ice and strained into glass of crushed ice.

  • Tiare

    July 23, 2009, 13:16

    I can really see the 4oz instead of the 2..

    I`ve had a bad back too ever since my years in restaurants but i sort of fixed it with exercise too, but i can`t lift too heavy things anymore.

    Nice post.

  • Jessica

    May 26, 2011, 15:51

    Yum. I feel like I’m at Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost. Thanks!

  • Matt S.

    March 23, 2012, 12:29

    I have had a few down in Key West that put a 1/2 to a shot of Banana Liquor in them & wow so good. I know make them at home all the time.

  • JFL

    October 3, 2012, 11:57

    This would be I guess what they call the Painkiller #4. the number denoting the oz pour of rum. This is a great drink! I’ll have to try that rum cream version.