In preparation of my upcoming trip to Hawaii in May, I have decided to take on the history and the world of Hawaiian cocktails. Often associated with “Tiki” (large wood and stone carvings of gods in human forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean – similar to Greek mythology), these thirst quenching drinks are sure to lift your spirits on hot summer days.
As in most drinks of island culture, Hawaiian cocktails consist mostly of rum and fruit juices - mostly tropical. First settled by Polynesians sailing from other Pacific islands who brought pigs, dogs, chickens, sweet potatoes, coconut, banana, and sugarcane (the main ingredient in rum distillation), Hawaii was later visited in 1778 by British Captain James Cook, who called the group the Sandwich Islands.
Hawaii was a native kingdom throughout most of the 19th century. The expansion of the vital sugar industry (pineapple came after 1898) meant increasing U.S. business and political involvement. In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was deposed and a year later the Republic of Hawaii was established with Sanford B. Dole as president. Then, following its annexation in 1898, Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900.
The history of tourism and development in Hawaii was all centered around Waikiki and at only a small fraction of today's levels. About 100,000 visitors per year were visiting Hawaii in the 1950’s when most of its cocktails became popular as compared to eight million who visit today.
The Mai Tai
The Mai Tai was purportedly invented at the Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944. Trader Vic's rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it in 1933 at his bar (later a famous restaurant) in Hollywood. Don the Beachcomber's recipe is more complex than that of Vic and tastes quite different.
"Maita'i" is the Tahitian word for "good." The spelling of the drink, however, is two words. The Trader Vic story of its invention is that the Trader (Victor J. Bergeron) created it one afternoon for some friends who were visiting from Tahiti. One of those friends tasted it and cried out: "Maita'i roa ae!" (Literally "very good!", figuratively "Out of this world! The Best!") — hence the name.
The Mai Tai became such a popular cocktail in the 1950s and 1960s that virtually every restaurant, particularly tiki-themed restaurants or bars served them. The Mai Tai was also prominently featured in the popular Elvis Presley film Blue Hawaii.
Today, the Mai Tai is synonymous with Tiki culture, both of the past and present. Virtually every modern Tiki gathering centers around the Mai Tai in some fashion.
Mai Thai – Basic Recipe:
1 oz light rum
1/2 oz dark rum
1/2 oz crème de almond
1/2 oz triple sec
Splash of sweet and sour mix
Splash of pineapple juice
Method:
Pour light rum, crème de almond and triple sec, in order, into a Collins glass. Almost fill with equal parts of sweet and sour mix and pineapple juice. Add dark rum, a large straw, and serve unstirred.
The Blue Hawaii
The Blue Hawaii was invented in 1957 by Harry Yee, legendary head bartender of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Hawaii. Dutch distiller Bols asked him to design a drink that featured their blue color of Curacao liqueur; a liqueur made from dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curacao.
After experimenting with several variations he settled on a version somewhat different from the most popular version today, but with the signature blue color, pineapple wedge, and cocktail umbrella.
It was Yee who named the drink which is related only indirectly also to Elvis’ film "Blue Hawaii.” The name apparently derives from the film's title song composed by Leo Robin for the 1937 Bing Crosby film “Waikiki Wedding.”
Blue Hawaiian – Basic Recipe:
1 oz light rum
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
1 oz cream of coconut
Garnish with 1 slice pineapple and 1 cherry
Method:
Blend light rum, blue Curacao, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut with one cup ice in an electric blender at high speed. Pour contents into a highball glass. Decorate with the slice of pineapple and a cherry.
The Lava Flow
The Lava Flow, a popular drink of Hawaii, is actually a combination of two different cocktails which have nothing to do with Hawaii: the Pina Colada and the Strawberry Daiquiri. Though it is hard to tell who invented the cocktail, we can look at the histories of the two concoctions that make up this beverage.
The Pina Colada was introduced in 1954 by Ramon “Monchito” Marrero at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The hotel management requested a new signature drink that would delight the demanding palates of its star-studded clientele. After 3 intense months of blending, shaking and experimenting, the first Pina Colada was born.
The name Daiquiri is actually the name of a beach near Santiago, Cuba, where the cocktail was supposedly invented about 1900 in a bar named “Venus” in Santiago when they ran out of gin while entertaining American guests. Consumption of the drink remained localized until 1909, when Admiral Lucius W. Johnson, a U.S. Navy medical officer, tried the drink and introduced it to the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. The Daiquiri was one of the favorite drinks of writer Ernest Hemingway and President John F. Kennedy.
Lava Flow – The Basic Recipe:
1 oz light rum
1 oz coconut rum
2 oz strawberries
1 banana
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz coconut cream
Method:
Blend banana, coconut cream, and pineapple juice in a blender and set aside. In the bottom of a hurricane glass, stir together both rums and strawberries. Pour banana/coconut/pineapple mix slowly into the glass. The strawberry/rum mix should creep up the sides of the glass.
Though these drinks are associated with Hawaii and its culture, only two of them are directly associated with the state. All are fantastic cocktails and I’ll be sure to try them all in a couple of weeks!
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