April 2, 2017

The Beachbum


It is time for this ginhound to declare: The Mai Tai is my favorite cocktail.

I often get asked: What's your favorite, and I always say something along the lines of: I have many, it depends on the circumstances...

But if I were to live the rest of my life out on a - somewhat - desert island, where they would only serve me one cocktail, I would choose the Mai Tai over contenders like Last Word, 20th Century, Corpse Reviver Nr. II and Sazerac.

However I am not a Mai Tai fundamentalist - I've come late to the cocktail and have very limited experience of botched versions served at bars with no reverence for the traditions of Tiki - or cocktails.

I have no qualms tweaking it and I find that adding a tiny amount of good Amaretto to the recipe retro engineered by Jeff Berry is my favorite. A true crowd pleaser - I have also had some succes with making a riff - Tøppe aka The ESC has a small following among my friends and coworkers.

So when I came across another riff the Beachbum I hopped to it.

  • 2 cl fresh lime juice
  • 2 cl fresh pineapple juice
  • 1 cl orgeat
  • 1 cl Apricot Brandy
  • 3 cl light rum - I used Plantation 3 Star
  • 3 cl golden rum - I used Mount Gay 1703
Measure everything into a shaker, add ice, shake and strain over ice into a low glass - garnish with spent lime shell and garish cherry.