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I just reviewed 101 Cocktails to Try Before You Die by François Monti. It’s his hit list of interesting cocktails you really want to know about, if not try. Most of the time his commentary on each of the 101 is positive.

Sometimes he is scathing. he is quite fond of the Golden Age of cocktails: 1870-1920. He laments the impact of Prohibition on the United States though it gave birth to the first London burst of cocktail wonder. And almost equally awful, in his opinion, was the period from 1960 to 1980 where insanity intruded into cocktail creation. Bad ideas like this Blue Hawaii. For me, this drink brings back memories of bad music, bad clothing and, I guess, bad girls.

François does not like this drink because it is the epitome of tropical kitsch, not to mention that it is the name of one of Elvis’ movies. Now, it is a combination of run, vodka, sugar syrup, lemon juice, blue curacao and pineapple juice. François describes the drink as a “platform for the pineapple.” Sounds great to me.

I wonder what happened to those girls?


Blue Hawaii

Yield: 1 large cocktail

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce Puerto Rican rum
  • 1 ounce vodka
  • ½ ounce sugar [simple] syrup
  • ½ ounce lemon juice
  • ½ ounce Blue Curaçao
  • 3 ounces pineapple juice
  • Garnish of your choice

Preparation:

Put the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake for 30+ second until very cold. Pour into a Hurricane or Collins glass. Garnish at will. Yes, you can use an umbrella.


Source: 101 Cocktails to Try Before You Die by François Monti [Cassell, 2016]