Dueling spies
Tasting Notes
Rory: They’re surprisingly different! We’d tried Giffard Banane vs Tempus Fugit Banane last night; they smell very different yet taste very similar.
The Giffard version, to me, tastes like a green banana with stuff. It’s good! It’s also definitely not what we’d envisioned with the drink’s spec. The Tempus Fugit version is the drink form of heavily-spiced banana bread.
I think I’ve seen a lot of people describe the Giffard Banane as like banana-candy flavor, and that comes out pretty strongly in the Spy Party. (I’ve heard as well that “banana-candy flavor is gros michel flavor!” but I can’t get my grubby mitts on a fat mike, so who’s to say?)
Ryan: We got a bottle of Giffard banana, and wanted to try the Spy Party with the new liqueur, compared against the original Tempus Fugit. Both drinks are well balanced and go in roughly the same direction, but there’s noticeably more baking spices and cooked banana flavor in the Tempus Fugit based drink. The Giffard is brighter, fresher, and “cleaner”, more straightforwardly bannaa. The Tempus Fugit version is definitely how we “intended” the drink, but both work! The Giffard’s “banana candy” smell isn’t as prominant here–it more feels like fresh banana than an artifical flavoring.
Recipe
- 2 oz demerara rum (Hamilton 86)
- 3/4 oz banana liqueur (Tempus Fugit / Giffard Banane de Brasil)
- 1/8 oz allspice dram (St. Elizabeth)
- 1/2 oz rich cinnamon syrup
- 1/2 oz lime juice
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Source: Original