Here’s a single-serving classic created by none other than the Trader himself – it’s a “mini” version of his famous Scorpion Bowl, which you can enjoy at home, alone, while polishing your Tiki Mug collection.

This one is taken from the Trader Vic’s Tiki Party book, which is an great collection of Tiki classics. It’s even got the original Mai-Tai recipe, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s worth the price of admission alone.

The Scorpion

2 ounces of silver (light) Rum
1 ounce Brandy
2 ounces of orange juice
1 1/2 ounces of lemon juice (one one ounce if you like it a little less tart)
1/2 ounce orgeat syrup (raise it to 3/4 an ounce if you want it a hint sweeter)
1 cup of crushed ice (plus extra cubes)

A gardenia for garnish if you like – but hell, it’s a single serving, so you’re probably drinking it alone anyhow, so who cares? And seriously, after three of these you won’t care if it’s got a flower on it or not.

Combine the rum, brandy, orange juice, lemon juice, orgeat syrup and crushed ice in a blender and pulse for a few seconds. Pour THAT over the ice cubes (in a double old-fashioned glass) and get ready to be stung.

Cheers!

***UPDATE!!*** I just prepared a load of these drink and I must say, I think Vic has got some o the measurements wrong. 1.5 ounces of fresh lemon is, like, SERIOUS pucker time. I lowered it to an ounce, and jacked up the Oregat to 3/4’s of an ounce, and it seems to work much better. Try it for yourself and tell me what you think!

JJ.

It’s hot here, man. Like, WAY hot. Time for someting simple, cool, and refreshing. Nothing but NOTHING beat the Mojito when it comes to sheer cooling power.

The Mojito

12 fresh Mint leaves
2 ounces light rum
1 ounce of fresh lime juice
1/4 ounce of simple (sugar) syrup
Club Soda (to top)

Toss the mint leaves in a tall glass. Take a big-ass bar spoon (or, if you have it, a muddler) and mash the leaves into the side of the glass, the bottom; give em’ a general crushing. Roll the muddler / spoon around a bit, beat em’ up real good. Bruise them, though, don’t rip them to ribbons or the mint shrapnel will float arounnd. Like beating a guy who owes you money with a sack of oranges, we don’t want to have any bits break off – we just want to rough up the subject.
Then toss in the rest of the goodies; the rum, the lime juice, the sugar syrup. Muddle a little more but don’t be a big tough monkey when all that goop is in there – a ton of force is going to make it all end up on your shirt. Massage it around a bit.

Fill the glass with ice. Stir it a bit, then top it up with the Club Soda.

Aaaaaaah.

I feel better already!

Cheers,

JJ.

Here’s a kickass tropical creation dreamed up by Tiki legend Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, which I’ve cribbed from his must-have essential Tiki Bar cocktail book – Beachbum Berry’s Intoxica!

If you don’t already have that book, AND its sibling, the much touted Grog Log… well, I mean, come on. Get with it, rookie. What the hell have you been mixing with your rum up until now… coke? C’mon!

I’ve been meaning to try this one, but I had a devil of a time tracking down one of the ingredients; the much touted Licor 43, which isn’t sold widely north of the border. However, that’s why man created carry-on luggage; it carries one pair of pants, some socks, and six bottles of exotic booze… and is specfically designed to be easy to whisk past Customs Officers. Not that I’d condone smuggling… I’m just sayin’. Plus, 43 is my lucky number, and this stuff wears it well. It’s way, Way, WAY tasty.

This one is meant to be served in an official Beachbum Berry mug, which is carried by the good folks at Tiki Bosco. In a pinch your favorite mug will probably do – it just won’t stare back at you while you sip from it.

Beachbum’s Own

3/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce of unsweetened pineapple juice
3/4 ounce of orange juice
3/4 ounce of Passion fruit syrup (The Trader Vics one is great!)
3/4 ounce of Cuarenta Tres (AKA Licor 43)
1 ounce of Demerara Rum
1 1/2 ounces of Light Rum (Havana Club if you can get it – and if you can’t… remember, carry-on luggage?)

Shake over 12 ounces of crushed ice, and then pour the shaker and it’s contents into whatever mug you fancy, be it from Tiki Farm or Tiki Bosco. Honestly, the booze doesn’t really care.

Cheers!

JJ.

This one comes to us from the The Great Tiki Drink Book.

This is a gorgeous lime green drink which is both amazingly refreshing and wonderfully fruity without being too sweet. Peach, Pineapple and Midori… what more do you want?

The Tropical Moment

1 1/2 ounces of WHITE RUM
1/2 ounce of PEACH SCHNAPPS
1 ounce of MIDORI
1 ounce of PINEAPPLE JUICE
1 ounce of SOUR MIX*
1/4 of lime (for garnish)

Combine all the ingredients (except for the lime wedge, silly; that goes on the glass when we’re done) in your handy-dandy cocktail shaker along with a bunch of ice.

Shake, shake, shake;

Drain the delicious looking mixture into a highball glass which is loaded with fresh ice. NOW you can add that yummy lime to the rim of the glass, toss in a straw, kick back, and relax.

*OH! Hey, this recipe calls for Sour Mix. Most decent booze supply stores or grocery stores will have it in the “mixes” section, but it’s also not terribly hard to make at home using frozen concentrate. Take 1 part frozen lemonade concentrate, 2 parts frozen limeade concentrate, and mix with half the amount of water that they tell you to use on the cans (that’s what they suggest in the Great Tiki Drink book above).

ALTERNATELY, you can make your own sour mix like this: mix one part sugar syrup (which is 3 parts sugar, 2 parts water – boil it for a couple of minutes, then let it cool) with one part lemon juice. So, for the above: you’d use 1/2 oz of lemon juice, and 1/2 oz of sugar syrup.

Enjoy!