In Honor of Tiki Week 2022, three local mixologists share their secrets for crafting the best tropical-inspired cocktails. Whether you’re going downtown or finding your own paradise at home, these delicious recipes are the perfect way to cap off the week!
Sailor’s Punch
Submitted by Noell Broughton
1 1/4 ounces Malibu Rum
1 ounce Sailor Jerry Rum
1/2 ounce Amaretto
orange and pineapple juice, to taste
store-bought tropical punch, for topping
1. For this layered drink, pour each ingredient over ice in a rocks glass, one-by-one, starting with the rum and ending with the punch. Makes 1 cocktail
Kai Kai
Submitted by Matt LeMond
1/2 ounce Blue Curaçao
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce Tito’s Vodka
1 ounce Malibu Rum
edible orchid, for garnish
1. Salt half the rim of a 9-ounce rocks glass. Add curaçao, juice, vodka and rum to cocktail shaker and shake until well mixed. Strain into glass filled with ice, and garnish with orchid. Makes 1 cocktail
*Kai Kai is Hawaiian for “Ocean Water.”
Kentucky Atoll
Submitted by Roy Clark
1 ounce Old Forester 100 proof Bourbon*
1 ounce Plantation OFTD (Old Fashioned Traditional Dark) rum
3/4 ounce Rum-Bar White Overproof Jamaican rum
1/4 ounce allspice dram
1 1/2 ounces ruby red grapefruit juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce cinnamon syrup
1/2 ounce honey mix (1:1 honey to water)
1/4 ounce passion fruit syrup
1/4 ounce cold brew concentrate
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1. Add all ingredients plus 12 ounces of crushed ice to a tin, and flash blend with a spindle blender. Another method would be to “whip shake” all ingredients with 1 ounce of crushed ice until ice is completely diluted.
2. Pour all contents into a mug or glass and add more crushed ice until full. Garnish as you’d like. Makes 1 cocktail
* Bourbon isn’t a total stranger to tiki. It will never dethrone rum as the tiki standard, but that doesn’t mean it can’t star in a fine tropical tipple.
