A sumptuous mixture of lemon, lime and orange, delicious rums, brandy and orgeat – here´s a true tiki classic.
This was once the signature drink of the now closed down Luau Room at the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, CA. The Hotel del Coronado operated between 1940 to 1070. This drink is still served but now at the Forbidden Island Tiki bar as one of their specialty cocktails.
CORONADO LUAU SPECIAL
4 oz Orange juice
4 oz Sweet and sour ( 4 oz lime/lemon juice + 4 oz simple syrup
1/4 oz Orgeat syrup
1 oz Dark Jamaican rum
1 oz Light Puerto Rican rum
1/2 oz Grand Marnier orange liqueur
1/2 oz brandy
Blend with 1 cup of crushed ice for several seconds. Pour into a large tiki mug or tall glass.
Actually i did change the ratios in this, i took down the orange juice to 3 oz and the sweet & sour to 1 oz. The drink turned out very nice, a bit on the sour side but not too much. Then i added a small float of Pusser´s overproof – couldn´t resist.
I have also dug up a few links to other posts about this drink
Then i want to mention another drink that was served at that hotel that can be found in the Bum`s Intoxica and which was served with a thin ice mold in a pilsener glass. A tiki drink when served in an ice mold looks magic, especially if its dark and there´s light from candles around. It`s like a magic potion from an ancient time or something.
DEL CORONADO
1/2 oz Unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 oz Passion fruit syrup
2 1/2 oz Orange juice
3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz Fresh lime juice
1/2 oz Papaya nectar
1 oz Gin
1 oz Dark Jamaican rum
Shake well with ice cubes and pour into tall glass, or strain into pilsener glass coated on the inside with a thin ice mold.
Here`s stuff for ice molding! i don´t do that very often due to its quite a bit of work and i don´t have any ice-shaver, only a hand cranked ice-crusher.
So you need to first crush the ice, then either use a hand-mixer or beat the hell outta it with a huge wooden mortar before quickly and carefully molding it. Then finally freeze it for at least an hour or two before using the glass.
But for this drink i will do it – despite the fact that i cannot get that powdered ice and instead get roughly crushed ice, not even my ice-crusher is in good shape anymore. and my hand-mixer is broken down so i`ts the mortar way for me…Nevertheless, i get an ice mold.
Really, after you`ve got going into it it`s not that hard, you just need to have the time. In any case, the reward is great and it`s worth the effort every now and then to do it.
I haven´t yet experienced being in a tiki bar and having a few different ice molded drinks served, that would be a very cool experience but i dunno if there`s any bars today that serves them that way, i doubt it – unless there`s a special occasion or something.
We know that we drink with our eyes too and how a drink is presented whether it has garnish or no garnish is very important and affects the whole drinking experience.
The magic and power of the ice molded tiki drinks…have such a drink in front of you and it`ll make you feel special!
And finally, the usual twist which contains pineapple juice instead of orange, brazil nut orgeat, Smith & Cross and Rittenhouse bonded rye, sweet and sour (2:2 lime-lemon and sugarcane syrup) a hint of coffee and then a little pure vanilla flavor from Navan.
SWAYING TIKI HEAD
2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
1 oz sweet & sour (fresh lemon and lime juice, sugarcane syrup 2:2)
0.25 oz brazil nut orgeat (use 2:1 brazil nuts to almonds and make your own orgeat)
0.5 oz Navan vanilla liqueur
1/4 oz coffee liqueur
1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
1 oz Rittenhouse bonded rye
Shake with ice and strain into a tiki mug or tall glass. Garnish with something cool.
Well, i had an unripe carambola fruit which had a gorgeous green color.
So i took a chop-stick and you stick through the fruit. Stick it through from the bottom to the top and then you cut in a spiraled manner around the stick. Then take out the stick.
If you had a lime you would be able to stretch it and get a long spiraled lime to adorn your drink with and it`s a quite stunning garnish, but with a carambola you cannot stretch. So instead i twisted each cut piece and the result you see here below.
Its fun to play with fruits and make weird garnishes (and beautiful) sometimes, just ask Kaiserpenguin.
The drink tasted like a typical tiki punch, the coffee and pineapple will forever be friends in the glass and have a few of these and your head will spin.
Tony, i`m gonna check out those post, looks interesting! The starfruit is called carambola here as well;-) i like that fruit very much! it´s pretty fresh. Have you tried to toss a few carambola slices on top of some hot spicy grilled chicken, fish or shrimps? If not, do that sometimes, the contrast you get between the hot grilled meat and the fresh carambola is awesome, it also makes for awesome garnish on food as well. This green one that was unripe i got only for the garnish..
Btw, here is that link for the crème de noyaux for those who like to live dangerously: http://matthew-rowley.blogspot.com/2008/11/if-i-had-hammer-ratafia-aux-noyau-just.html
I had the pleasure of trying Rowleys version and it’s also very worth it.
🙂
I absolutely loved this post! Great drinks and the carambola garnish is something we use all the time but never thought about using the whole fruit. Not to mention that I don’t see it called for as carambola much outside of Brazil.
I’m also really glad you liked the Brazilian nut orgeat. The first time I made it I was absolutely sure it tasted like something you’d appreciate.
@ Oron: I wouldnt worry to much about it… as far as tiki drinks go you are much more likely to get poisoned by the alcohol than by the Brazilian nuts. I cant back that up scientifically, but believe me I’ve done the practical experiment and I’m here to tell. I eat those things here in Brazil all the time, but in moderation. The amount in the drink is pretty small and it’s very worth the extra taste.
Any how, as with the crème de noyaux (using apricot kernels) I’ll paraphrase from Rowley that did so from Erik Ellestad: “First, let me say I’m not a scientist or a doctor. Please take anything I say here as simply conclusions and choices I have drawn for myself. Make your own choices and draw your own conclusions.â€
Links: http://underhill-lounge.flannestad.com/2008/07/26/apricot-kernels/
Cheers,
Im a little reluctant about the Brazil nut orgeat. Those can be dangerous to your health at some portions. Not that 0.25oz of orgeat that is mixed almonds and brazil nuts it dangerous but Ive a feeling I wont stop myself from having more than just one drink of these.
I haven`t tried the version from Remixed but since i like strong drinks where the alcohol shines through i suspect that i would like it..
As for sweet and sour, i have a bit of a sweet tooth and like it balanced – but i haven`t tried yours so i won´t say anything until i try.
Yeah i did have quite sour limes recently, sometimes they are for some reason but mostly they are good.
The best drink in the book imho! It’s funny, I use a recipe for sour mix which is more sour than yours(2 parts lemon/2 parts simple/1 part lime, recommend everyone try it) and I always use the full 4 oz of sour mix in this drink and it’s perfect. If yours was too sour with only 1 oz you really must have had super sour limes. The updated recipe in Remixed is stronger in alcohol, and not as good imo.
Thanks Tiare!
Damon @ Let’s Tiki – i read your post, it is good, also i like your ice molds!
Tiare, I agree. The ice shells are worth all of their effort. They are a lot of fun, and make the drink beautiful. Luckily, I’m able to shave the ice with my Margaritaville Margarita Mixer I got for Christmas a few years ago. It makes quick work of the ice. Here, is my first attempt http://www.letstiki.com/home/2011/2/23/the-start-of-a-tiki-adventure-beachcombers-gold.html. I do like how yours looks with the bigger chunks of ice. I just needed more glasses that were the right size. I’ll have to freeze up some more and try a Del Coronado.
S&R – I wish i could come to Mai Kai..or time travel to the Golden Age of Tiki…
gyr8or – thanks for your kind comments. I made a 1:1 ratio, – but if you like a thicker syrup, by all means make it a 2:1 sugar to water.
Then add equal proportions lemon/lime mix to syrup.
Coronado Luau Special is a great drink!
Cheers!
Coronado Luau Special will be the drink of the evening this Saturday night, it sounds luscious! Quick Question, for the Sweet/Sour mix, unless you specify otherwise is the simple syrup a 1:1 mix, or a 2:1 concentration?
BTW, Tiare, I made the Colonel Beach Plantation Punch last Friday night and it was wonderful, A real HIT! One really has to watch it with tiki drinks, because the alcohol barely registers on the taste buds, because there is so much flavor going on. I made a recipe for 3, and shared it with my other-half, and we got a little ‘looped’! I’ll stick with a double recipe next time.
Cheers,and thanks so much for doing this and sharing the results on this blog.
Clark C
Falls Church VA
Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale, FL, still does the ice molds, ice caves, and Navy Grog ice cones like all the bars did back in the Golden Age of Tiki. Awesome presentations that you usually only get if you take the time to do them yourself.