Article By Nanette Wiser
COCKTAILS TO GO
We asked our Paradise readers where they are picking up to-go libations. Linda Bray recommended Old Key West, Nitaly’s and Beans & Barlour. Billy’s Stone Crab, Seafood and Lobster Restaurant offers a $1.99 margarita to go. Ester Venouziou recommended Da Sesto Italiano’s Ristorante e Vino’s Quarantini (ask about their other cocktails, curbside pick-up and delivery up to 20 miles) and Dr. BBQ The Restaurant. Our unofficial downtown mayor Brenda suggested Flute & Dram, Annatas, Tryst and Bella Bravo. Louie Spetrini told us Nueva Cantina is serving its 32oz (pitcher size) house margaritas made to order for $15. They also have 11 beers and wines to go and a Margarita kit that includes a bottle of tequila, house made sour mix, Triple Sec, limes and salt for $30. (While supplies last. Remember not to drink and drive!)
From DTSP’s Saigon Blonde to Gulf Beaches’ Salty Tiki Bar and hotel tiki lounges, tiki drinks equal kick-back and party time. These island-centric cocktails can be made at home, and some local restaurants are offering drinks to go that can be dressed up in festive tiki cups and festooned with colorful umbrellas and swizzle sticks at home.
Hollywood created tiki drinks which pioneers like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic invented in the 1930s. With a resurgence in the fifties, funky ceramic mugs (pineapple shape, totems) still dominate collectible crazy fans, searching online or in local shops like Art Pool and Za-Zood.
Today, modern tiki is more than just rum. The classic Mai Tai can be all Grand Marnier, rather than rum. You can be sophisticated and carve an animal out of a piece of fruit, or just fan out a slice of pineapple and hibiscus flower in a colorful straw.
So, why not make tonight’s cocktail hour Tiki Talk? Watch the sun go down from your patio or backyard, Zoom with friends with a little Don Ho music, then watch South Pacific for a perfect at home date night with a classic Mai Tai or Zombie.
THE ZOMBIE
We like can be made with papaya juice and a little dash of these delights: for tart, sour mix or fresh lime juice; for sweet-tart, for orange juice; for sweet orange, Triple Sec; for rich and sweet, cherry or almond liqueur.
- 1 ounce white rum
- 1 ounce golden rum
- 1 ounce dark rum
- 1 ounce apricot brandy
- 1 ounce pineapple juice
- 1 ounce papaya juice
- ½ ounce 151-proof rum
- Dash of grenadine
Instructions
Shake all the ingredients except for the 151-proof rum together in a shaker. Pour the mixture into a glass filled with ice. Pour the 151-proof rum on the top of the drink. Garnish with a cherry, a slice of pineapple, an orange slice or kiwi.
MAI TAI
- 1 jigger spiced rum
- ½ jigger coconut-flavored rum
- 1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
- 2 fluid ounces orange juice
- 3 fluid ounces pineapple juice
Instructions: In a cocktail mixer full of ice, combine the spiced rum, coconut rum, grenadine, pineapple juice and orange juice. Shake vigorously and strain into glass full of ice.
BLUE HAWAIIAN
You can thank Waikiki for this tiki drink. In 1957, a sales representative of Dutch distiller Bols asked legendary hotel bartender Harry Yee to design a drink that featured its blue color of curaçao liqueur cocktail that shares its name with the 1961 Elvis Presley film.
- 3/4 oz Vodka
- 3/4 oz Light rum
- 1/2 oz Blue Curaçao
- 3 oz pineapple juice
- 1 oz Sweet-and-sour mix
Instructions: Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a hurricane glass over crushed or pebble ice.Garnish with a pineapple wedge and cocktail umbrella.