What is Falernum?

You can’t flip through a tiki cocktail book without finding at least a few recipes that call for falernum, and it is an ingredient that every well-stocked tiki bar – even if it is a home bar – should have. Falernum is a sweet cocktail syrup that is flavored primarily with lime, cloves and other spices, and is used to add more complexity to tiki and tropical cocktails. It is uncommon to see non-alcoholic falernums around these days (unless they are homemade), but they tend to be thick and syrupy, like orgeat. Velvet Falernum, a liqueur version of falernum syrup from Barbados, is much more widely available and can be picked up at most well-stocked liquor stores. Velvet Falernum is made with lime juice, sugar, almond, cloves and white rum. It has a slightly syrupy consistency to it and tastes like a spicy, sweet daiquiri. It is very low alcohol and is good enough to sip on its own over ice, but is even better in a Zombie.