Few dishes or drinks can take you away like a good tiki cocktail. With little more than a bit of rum and citrus, you can escape the grime of public transit and the stress of your aggressively air-conditioned office. Instead, you’re enjoying a soft Caribbean breeze, sporting comically oversized sunglasses, and lounging under an umbrella that matches the one shading your classic Daisy de Santiago.
This recipe for the Prohibition-era stunner comes courtesy of the authors of the 2017 Beard Award–winning cookbook Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki. They start with a homemade demerara syrup, which is essentially a basic “two-to-one” that includes a cup of darker, more flavorful cane sugar. After that, the rum-based build is true to tiki tradition, save for one small twist—a light pour of yellow Chartreuse that adds an unmistakable herbaceous note. Served over crushed ice and garnished with an aromatic mint sprig, it’s an affordable substitute for the tropical vacation you deserve this summer. Get the recipe.
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Frank Guerriero is the media assistant at the Beard Foundation. Find him on Instagram.
