Surf-era accessible tropical cocktails from the Tiki era.

Zombie

1 1⁄2 oz Jamaican rum, Appleton V/X
1 1⁄2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (gold)
1 oz Demerara Rum, Lemon Hart 151
3⁄4 oz Lime juice
2 t Grapefruit juice
1 t Cinnamon syrup
1 t Grenadine
1⁄2 oz Falernum, Velvet Falernum
1⁄8 t Pastis, Pernod
1 ds Bitters, Angostura
3⁄4 c Crushed ice
1 spg Mint (garnish)
Instructions

Blend briefly, pour into ice-filled collins glass. Garnish

Notes

Feel free to garnish extravagantly with fruit and an umbrella. A very powerful drink that doesn't taste strong.

Zombie
2008, Creative Commons, Magnetic Rag, Wikipedia
YieldsDrink
Year
1930
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood, CA, as reproduced by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
Source reference

Sippin' Safari, as quoted by Chow e-mail

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Tiki and exotic cocktails
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(21 ratings)
From other users
  • Should try this again with lower proof rum. Way too strong for me though.
  • Grand Daddy of the Tiki Drinks. Memorize this recipe. Don't add too much Cinnamon syrup or else you'll create a lazy Steve Crane Jet Pilot flavor....which is still an awesome flavor. — ★★★★★
  • Powerful, all right, but tasty
  • One of the all-time Tiki classics, but recipe serves two in terms of alcohol.
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  • Smoky Iced Tea And Whiskey Cooler — Ginger liqueur, Rye, Bitters, Tea, Lemon juice
  • Tropicale Nuvole — Light rum, Rum Cream, Coconut Water, Orgeat, Lime juice
  • Mistaken Ray — Light rum, Gin, Jamaican rum, Bitters, Falernum, Crushed ice, Soda water, Lime juice, Honey syrup, Passion fruit syrup, Pineapple juice
  • Havana Harbor Special — St. Lucian Rum, Sweet vermouth, Cherry Liqueur, Absinthe, Bitters, Club soda, Lemon juice, Simple syrup

I tried this with Smith & Cross for the Jamaican rum. Bad idea. The sour/leather taste of that rum pushes everything else aside, even bullies like the Lemon Hart, and the high proof makes a strong cocktail downright deadly. Delicious and dangerous with a mellower Jamaican rum, though.

Mai Tai (Trader Vic's)

1 oz Jamaican rum (dark, 7-15 year old)
1 oz Rhum Agricole, St. James Ambre
3⁄4 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Curaçao
1⁄4 oz Orgeat
1⁄4 oz Simple syrup
1 spg Mint (as garnish)
Instructions

Shake, pour into low-ball without straining, garnish

Notes

Some use more orgeat instead of simple syrup. Some use Clément Créole Shrubb instead of Curaçao. Smith & Cross is a nice choice for the Jamaican rum.

Picture of Mai Tai (Trader Vic's)
2007, Creative Commons, Duluoz Cats, Astoria, NY, Wikipedia
YieldsDrink
Year
1944
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Trader Vic's, Oakland, CA, or Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood, CA. Disputed.
Source reference

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Bartending/Cocktails/Mai_Tai

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Tiki and exotic cocktails
Curator rating
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Average rating
4.5 stars
(61 ratings)
From other users
  • Used Trader Vic's Amaretto in lieu of orgeat. Don't forget the mint Alternative: Old Road: 2oz pineapple; 1/4 each: Amaretto, Simple Syrup, Cointreau, lime; 1 oz Old Road Rum; 3ds Angostura. Shake, serve rocks and float more rum {DLL]
  • No simple…orgeat is plenty sweet for me. Also tried w spritz of mezcal (similar to the Tia Mia profile) - great addition! — ★★★★★
  • classic
  • 8/16/20: 1/2 oz S&C, 1/2 oz Appleton Sig Blend, 1/2 oz El Dorado 12, 1/4 oz Barbancourt 8, 1/4 oz La Favorite Blanc, 1 oz lime, 1/2 oz PF curacao, 3/4 oz Liber and Co orgeat.
  • 1/2 oz Orgeat
  • fresh lime juice makes all the difference here
  • Yup use orgeat, skip simple. Used S&C, Barbancourt 8 yr
  • Spring Break
  • Made with S&C and Rhum JM, and more orgeat than simple. Strong! — ★★★★
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  • Anne Bonny's Last Call — Light rum, Orange liqueur, Coconut liqueur, Lime juice, Pineapple syrup, Pineapple, Basil, Lime

Here's a vote for the RumDood method: 1 oz each light and dark rum, 3/4 lime, 1/2 oz each Clement Creole Shrubb and Orgeat, 1/4 oz simple, shake, strain over crushed ice, garnish with a spent lime shell and mint. I used Smith & Cross and St. James Hors d'Age.

I think the main problem with Tiki drinks is that they all serve as dump buckets for every crazy flavored syrup in the repertiore - falernum, orgeat, grenadine, curacao, Pimiento Dram... they all go in, and it ends up being a messy drink without discernable flavors.

Thanks,

Zachary

Grenadine? Falernum? Light rum? Dark rum float? No curacao?
I think the current accepted standard recipe is 2oz of rum (both dark or amber, and of different styles in order to make for a more dynamic flavor), 1oz of lime juice, 1/2oz orange curacao, 1/4oz orgeat, 1/4oz simple syrup. Garnished with half a spent lime and a mint sprig.
Personally I double the orgeat, skip the simple syrup, and add a dash of Angostura. But I wouldn't put that in the recipe.

Dan commented on 12/03/2011:

Bingo. You're absolutely right. The previous recipe was a train wreck. Updated to the 1972 Trader Vic's recipe, which is a close approximation to the original, given that the origin 17 year old J Wrap Jamaican rum is no longer available. Thanks for pointing this out.

Dan commented on 12/03/2011:

After fixing this recipe, I merged two nearly identical recipes into this one (previously known as Mai Tai 2 and Mai Tai - Original Version). I hope everyone approves!

Shouldn't it be 1944 rather than 1972?

Adam,

The original 1944 recipe called for the legendary and impossible to obtain J. Wray 17 year old rum, and was designed to highlight that ingredient. The 1972 version referenced here uses an ounce of two different rums to try and approximate the flavor of the J. Wray.

Thanks,

Zachary

Perhaps the drink was originally created to highlight the J. Wray 17, but the rest of the formula is the same. I would argue that it's the same drink as long as it uses the same ingredients -- two ounces of some kind of rum -- and the same basic ratio.
Regardless of your feeling on that, where did you come up with 1972? That seems way too recent. For reference, see page 162 of Jeff Berry's "Sippin' Safari," which lists the same recipe, "as served at Trader Vic's in Havana, Cuba, 1958." Which is not to say that the formula was invented that late. Vic Bergeron apparently exhausted the supply of J. Wray 17 within a couple of years after creating the drink, so this two-rum formula was probably created in the late '40s.

Adam,

The link is under the reference section of the cocktail - it's a Wikibooks page that cites the original, then the 1972 update (which removed the J. Wray, added St. James Amber, and unspecified the brands of Curacao, simple, and orgeat).

Thanks,

Zachary

Dapuma commented on 4/17/2012:

jamaican rum should be appleton v/x
rhum agricole should be Clement VSOP
other than that it is good to go - personally i prefer juice of half a lime, but if using key lime i would use 3/4 oz

Samoan Fog Cutter

1 1⁄2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (Light)
1⁄2 oz Gin
1⁄2 oz Brandy
2 oz Lemon juice
1 oz Orange juice
1⁄2 oz Orgeat
1⁄2 oz Cream Sherry (or other sweet Sherry, as float)
8 oz Ice
Instructions

In a blender, add all ingredients except Sherry. Blend for 10 seconds and pour unstrained into a tiki mug. If necessary, add more crushed ice to fill. Float sherry on top.

History

A lighter update on the classic Fogcutter. Note this is blended, which cuts the strength considerably.

YieldsDrink
Year
1950's
Authenticity
Altered recipe
Creator
"Trader" Vic Bergeron
Source reference

Beachbum Berry Remixed, pg. 48

Quickstart
Tiki and exotic cocktails
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(4 ratings)
Similar cocktails

Singapore Sling

1 1⁄2 oz Gin
1⁄2 oz Cherry Liqueur, Cherry Heering
1⁄4 oz Triple sec, Cointreau
1⁄4 oz Bénédictine
2 oz Pineapple juice
3⁄4 oz Lime juice
1 ds Bitters, Angostura
1 Maraschino cherry (as garnish)
1 sli Pineapple (as garnish)
Instructions

Shake hard or blend for a foamy texture, strain into a collins glass. Garnish

Notes

Use fresh pineapple juice if at all possible

History

Many variations. Some recipes have grenadine and/or club soda. Others use lemon instead of lime.

Singapore Sling, Raffles Hotel, Singapore
2008, Creative Commons, Paul Fenton, Wikipedia
YieldsDrink
Year
1915
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Ngiam Tong Boon, Raffles Hotel, Singapore
Source reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Singapore_Sling.jpg

Quickstart
Tiki and exotic cocktails
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(34 ratings)
From other users
  • The balance is actually right with 1.5 oz. of pineapple juice. And I used 6 muddled fresh cherries instead of the liqueur. This is the best proportion of ingredients for this drink that I've used so far. — ★★★★
  • best ratio yet.
  • Up to 3 oz oj for a weaker drink, but it muddies the color.
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  • Martinique Hundred — Gin, Suze, Pineapple juice, Lime juice, Orgeat

Made this tonight, subbing Maurin Quina for the Cherry Heering. This is quite pleasant, and Tiki-ish. Pineapple's always good for texture, and there's something interesting going on between the pineapple and the Benedictine (which makes three winners in my book - pineapple + Cynar, or Benedictine or green Chartreuse). It's a bit sweetish, and quite easy to drink.

I enjoy the PDT recipe.  Nearly the same, but lime juice down to 0.25 oz and add 0.5 oz grenadine.

improved with 1/4 oz. grenadine (the horrible Rose's stuff) which adds needed sugar and color. Also a bit of club soda for the head.

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