Hawaiian Time

If you have friends from Hawaii, or have had the good fortune live there for a period of time, it doesn’t take long to realize that things are a little bit different there. Everything moves a little bit slower and, perhaps as a result, everyone seems to be a little bit happier and a lot more relaxed. We’re calling this cocktail Hawaiian time as a nod to some of our laid-back Hawaiian friends. The drink looks like a Hawaiian sunset, but is is surprisingly complex.

It uses a blend of three different rums: white rum, dark rum and coconut rum. We almost hate to admit it, but you’ll start to look a lot more impressive as a bartender when you start mixing multiple rums in one drink. The blend of white and dark rum – and you can play around with brands that you like here, using Koloa (for the Hawaiian theme) or any other brands that you have in your bar – give the drink a strong base and a fairly neutral color to start building from. While we don’t always use flavored rums, we really like the coconut rum in this drink. It plays a key role here because it brings in some additional sweetness, as well as a distinct coconut flavor without the need for coconut cream. We like to use Cruzan Coconut, but other coconut rums will work well, too.

This drink is both nutty and fruity without being overly sweet, which is a bit unusual as far as tiki cocktails go! The secret is a small amount of Punt y Mes, a delicious vermouth that adds just the right touch of bitterness to balance out the sweet coconut rum without losing any of the actual coconut flavor. The vermouth has a reddish brown tint to it and we added a bit of Rose’s grenadine to give the cocktail a better finished color and add a touch of cherry.

Hawaiian Time
1/2 oz white rum
1/2 oz dark Jamaican rum
1/2 oz coconut rum
1/2 oz Amaretto
1/4 oz Punt y Mes
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tsp grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and fill with ice. Shake until cold, then strain into a Poco Grande (or other large glass) filled with crushed ice.

Serves 1.