Beach Bum Berry | Rum, Tiki & Exotic Cocktails

Its time to take a trip to Hawaii folks – with the 7th cocktail from Grog Log – The Blue Hawaii.

Its some romantic nostalgia here – in my mind i can hear the music from that Elvis movie and remember the incredible beautiful pirogue wedding scene pictured at Coco Palms Resort and even though the name of the movie and this drink only are remotely related, its still that romantic “Blue Hawaii” vibe this drink evokes.

I haven`t had a Blue Hawaii for decades..not that i`ve lived that long but still, that`s how it feels – so i guess its about time i have one now;-) if it wasn`t for the fact that its a part of Grog Log and this post i guess i wouldn`t have it..its just that kinda drink you don`t usually make at home but rather would have on the beach in Hawaii…so i must thank the Bum that i now can relive my sweet memories.

Yeah its a drink for the summer – but seriously…who living up north wouldn`t want to escape the long cold and dark winter even if its just with a tropical drink in hand? one can always dream…and a drink like this one helps. OK, the winter is over and its spring but the warm weather isn`t yet here.

This historical drink was invented by Harry Ye in 1957 – a legendary head bartender of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Hawaii. Bols asked him to future their blue curacao and so this drink was born. It has been a success since then and is now one of those that didnÂ´t fade away.

The yellow pineapple juice makes the blue curacao more green actually…which i like, it looks like the greenish shallow waters of Bora Bora`s motus.

BLUE HAWAII

2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

1 oz sweet & sour ( 1:1 fresh lemon/lime juices and simple syrup)

0.75 oz Blue Curacao

0.5 tsp cream or half & half

1.5 oz vodka

Mix everything in a tall glass packed with crushed ice.

The book doesn`t mention any garnish, but the traditional garnish for a Blue Hawaii is a pineapple slice and a cherry.

Its a nice drink but in my opinion a bit plain and boring – tastes like liquid fruit bubblegum and i can`t help it..all the while i was drinking this one i kept thinking – i wonder how this drink will taste if i replace the (tasteless) vodka with a gin – like junipero? and switching the pineappple juice for grapefruit? – fresh yellow grapefruit – i had to do that..

I`m not a fan of vodka as i want to feel some flavor from the booze and so here`s a twist of it with the gin also upped a bit to 2 oz and the blue curacao taken down to 0.5 oz instead:

GREEN MOTU

2 oz fresh yellow grapefruit juice

1 oz sweet & sour ( 1:1 fresh lemon/lime juices and simple syrup)

0.5 oz blue curacao

2 oz junipero gin

0.5 tsp cream

Mix everything in a tall glass packed with crushed ice.

Garnish with a tropical or a pineapple leaf.

I found this one much fresher due to the grapefruit juice which isn`t so sweet and more flavorful too with the gin. Next time i`m gonna mix up the Blue Reef which can be found at the same page in theÂ Log. But for now its enough with two blue drinks i think. Now…let`s put on that hula skirt..

This series called Mixing through Grog Log is inspired by my fellow boozeblogger Erik`s “Stomping through the Savoy” over at Underhill Lounge.

Tiki time again! and here we are, tiki cocktail number six – which is the Blackbeard`s Ghost.

It`s a Beachbum Berry original – a version of the Pirate`s Grog from Blackbeard`s Galley restaurant from cirka 1970`s which according to the description was a “feisty theme restaurant with decor to match its name.” There isn`t much more info to get on this drink, at least i didnÂ´t find any.

Sounds like a promising drink to set set you in a rummy mood…it calls for these exquisite ingredients:

BLACKBEARD`S GHOST

1 oz orange juice

0.5 oz falernum

2 oz sweet and sour ( i mix equal parts fresh lime and lemon – and an equal part simple syrup to the lime and lemon mix)

0.5 oz apricot brandy

2 dashes angostura bitters

1.5 oz light Puerto Rican rum

0.5 oz demerara rum

Mix in cocktail shaker with a glass-full of crushed ice. Then pour everything back into glass.

Real sweet and sour – not the chemical mix – is the way to go as far as sweet and sour is concerned – at least to me. At first i thought 2 oz would be too much but it isn`t and falernum is just the right thing to balance everything togehter in this drink. I like this one, its goes down easily – itsÂ fruity, sweet, sour, and lightly rummy with a pinch of spice from the angostura bitters. I`m not dissappointed. I used hm..not a Puerto Rican white here but El Dorado 3 year old cask aged white, quite a different rum.

Let`s stay in the company of rummy ghostly tiki cocktails for a while – my twist of this is another and very different ghost – where the apricot brandy is switched for the subtle caressing of sweet vanilla, the angostura bitters for the more dark and spicy chocolately Mole bitters – to pair with the vanilla which is a natural companion to chocolate.

Finally the demerara ratio is upped and the light rum have to be set aside for a while:

GHOST OF THE GALLEY

1 oz orange juice

0.5 oz falernum

2 oz sweet and sour ( I mix equal parts fresh lime and lemon – and an equal part simple syrup to the lime and lemon mix)

0.5 oz Navan vanilla liqueur (update: no longer made, use another vanilla liqueur containing real vanilla)

1 dash Xocoatl Mole bitters

2 oz demerara rum

Mix in cocktail shaker with a glass-full of crushed ice. Then pour everything back into glass.

This one of course tastes differently yet thereÂ´s some similarity, but here the demerara takes a step to the front lightly backed up by the xocolatl mole bitters and the sweet vanilla is lingering around binding it all together.

Of course the choice of rums is the main thing to consider in this kind of drinks and playing around with different rums may bring out some surprises for the better or worse (hopefully the better).Â For dark demerara i used OVD (Old Vatted Demerara) El Dorado 12 or equal parts 12 and 15 i believe would be very good too.

I like this one too… I actually like them both – so go ahead and try and let me know what you think.