Tag Archives: old school

Spicy Bloody Mary in recognition of one more day of the weekend.

This recipe is from the South Seas restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii circa 1970. Not your standard Zombie recipe but a very nice version. Plenty of rum and fruit in this one, no surprise there!

Combine the following in a shaker ⅔ full of ice

1 ounce of orange juice
1 ounce of unsweetened pineapple juice
½ ounce of fresh lemon juice
½ ounce of sweet Italian vermouth
½ ounce of orange curaçao
1 ounce of dark Jamaican rum
½ ounce of light Puerto Rican rum

Shake well and strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Float

1 ounce of dark 151 proof rum atop the drink

Recipe adapted from the out-of-print Beachbum Berry’s Intoxica!, if you’re interested you may want to order his updated book Beach Bum Berry Remixed

The garnish here is from one of my favorite (also out-of-print) books, Pad: The Guide to Ultra-Living; it is made from skewer of candy Lifesaver Gummies. You can get the 6-inch Bamboo Skewers and the LifeSavers Gummies (Pack of 18) from Amazon.

Note: I do have a nice collection of tiki mugs but I really like how the rum drinks look in a clear glass so they don’t get used very often.

The daiquiri has gotten a bad rap. It’s not supposed to be blended or overly sweet; properly made, a daiquiri is a rich and refreshing combination of lime and light rum.

Combine the following in a shaker ⅔ full of ice

2 ounces light rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup

Shake well and strain into a double old fashioned glass filled ⅔ with crushed ice. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Per the William-Sonoma: The Bar Guide this drink was discovered by Teddy Roosevelt on Daiquiri Beach, Cuba during the Spanish-American War and it was popularized by Ernest Hemingway.

Adapted from William-Sonoma: The Bar Guide

Combine the following in a blender

2 ounces light rum
6 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces canned coconut cream (such as Coco López)
2 cups crushed ice

Blend well and serve in chilled glass. Garnish with pineapple wedge and Maraschino cherry.

Adapted from William-Sonoma: The Bar Guide

Bamboo Skewers and
Margarita Glasses available from Amazon.

This is not the original Trader Vic Mai Tai. What this is is a very nicely balanced version of the fruity one’s that we fell in love with while on vacation in Kauai. This recipe originates from Surf Room at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki circa 1940.

Combine the following in a shaker ⅔ full of ice

1 ounce Orange juice
1 ounce unsweetened pineapple juice
½ ounce fresh lime juice
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce orgeat syrup
¼ ounce sugar syrup
¼ ounce orange curaçao
1 ounce Demerara rum
1 ounce Jamaican rum
1 ounce Puerto Rican rum

Shake well and strain into a chilled double old fashioned glass. Garnish generously.

Recipe adapted from Beachbum Berry’s Intoxica!

For your garnish, get 4 inch Bamboo Skewers from Amazon.

Bloody Marys are a standard at weekend brunches and they’re hard to mess up but as far as I’m concerned this is the recipe to beat.

Combine the following in a shaker ⅔ full of ice…

2 ounces vodka
4 ounces tomato juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Generous pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
2 dashes of Worcestershire suce
2 dashes of Tabasco sauce

Shake well and strain into a chilled highball glass (the hurricane shown here is impressive as well). Garnish with a stalk of celery and a slice of lime.

Adapted from William-Sonoma: The Bar Guide

Grab a Hurricane Glass Set from Amazon.

Shake with ice:

Strain into a chilled martini glass.

I like to garnish with a skewered olive, cocktail onion and a Tomolive (pickled green tomato). I call it a “Triple” or “Garnir de Trois.” It’s very much worth trying.

This martini has what many would consider a shocking quantity of Vermouth but the truth is that most Vermouth tastes awful. Vya Vermouth is made by Quady and is quite lovely. If you sniff your current vermouth it will probably make you gag.

Shake with ice:
2½ ounces Maker’s Mark Bourboun
½ ounce Sweet Vermouth
½ ounce Dry Vermouth(without this it’d just be a Manhattan)
2 dashes of bitters

Strain the mixture into a chilled martini glass.

Garnish with a Maraschino cherry (add a second one and a tiny bit of the syrup to taste)