This drink is a result of a few things coming together at the right time. We are on a tiki kick, because that is fun. We had fassionola, since Laura had made it for The Curse of Jean Lafitte the other day and I had this sweet rattlesnake mug that I have wanted to make a drink in. Since the stars aligned to make this drink possible, well mostly aligned anyway, join me as we stand and make the tiki classic, Cobra’s Fang.

First things first, no this is not a cobra mug, I get that, but the Rattlesnake cocktail is not a tiki drink and doesn’t belong in a big overdone mug. So this is where we get to use it. Besides I have never been bitten by a cobra unless you count an encounter with the exhaust pipe on a sweet 67 Shelby or even seen the Rikki-Tikki-Tavi kind in the wild. On the other hand, I have not only been bitten by a rattlesnake and lived to tell the tale, but I have met many of them in the wild. Growing up playing in the palmetto forests of Florida they were a fairly usual occurrence and honestly one of the preferable poisonous snakes, since they usually let you know they were around, as opposed to the cottonmouths and the coral snakes. So we are going with a rattlesnake mug, if someone wants to send me a cobra mug we can revisit this. There are two reasons I own this remarkably tacky mug. One, Craig Ferguson used to have one on his desk, and I like that guy. The other stems from a rattlesnake encounter in the desert wilds of Arizona. A very upset rattlesnake, stood up and saluted my brother and I while we were hiking back from Arizona’s oldest geocache. I thought that the whole curled into an S-shape standing on its tail thing only happened in taxidermy and cartoons, but I can testify that it is a real world thing, and it is straight up terrifying. Anyway, the next day we were making our way across old Route 66 and I discovered this beauty and knew it had to come home with me. Consequently, I have a great holder for my markers at the office and a suitable vessel for this drink. So, let’s make it.

Grab your tins and pop in 1/2 an ounce of dark rum, I went with Appleton Estate; 1/2 an ounce of 151 proof Demerara rum, I used Lemon Hart & Son; 1/2 an ounce of Velvet’s Falernum, 1/4 ounce of herbsaint or absinthe, I used Corsair Red Absinthe; and 1/4 ounce of that wonderful Fassionola, if you need the recipe check out the previous post for Jean Lafitte’s Curse. To that add 1/2 an ounce each of freshly-squeezed lime and orange juice, a dash of Angostura bitters, and a splash of grenadine. Add ice and shake well, before straining over pebble ice in a suitable vessel. Garnish with some fresh mint and a sweet orange peel sneaky snake, lovingly crafted by your spouse, if applicable. Pop in a reusable straw and serve.

What can I say y’all? It’s good. Two rums, falernum, a couple of fruit juices and fassionola, how could it not be? We ended up making a couple of these, kicking back and watching the rain roll in. I couldn’t help but think that with my past rattlesnake experiences, I am pretty lucky to be sitting here enjoying a drink with the wife, kid and puppy playing on the floor. As Dad says, sometimes you won’t be smart enough, but you can always be lucky enough. I’ll take the luck, you should too. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.