Snow in Hawaii

You might not associate snow with tropical islands, but there are places in Hawaii where it does, in fact, snow. Most of us find our snow in Hawaii in the form of a generous bowl of shave ice or the crushed ice packed into a cocktail glass, however. All of these oases from the heat were part of the inspiration for this cocktail, Snow in Hawaii.

The refreshing drink starts with a blend of two rums and adds in fresh lime juice, honey syrup, homemade coconut orgeat and Kalani coconut liqueur. The rum-based Kalani is made in Mexico with fresh coconuts. It has a nice sweetness – but not too much – and lots of fresh, creamy coconut flavor. It helps to amplify the flavor of coconut from the homemade orgeat syrup, giving the finished drink plenty of coconut in each sip.

When it comes to the rums in this drink, you have some flexibility. There is a lot of flavor from the honey and coconut elements but, while they can stand up to a number of different rums, you don’t want to pick a rum that is so funky and full-bodied that it overpowers them. We used an aged rum and a white (but still aged) rum here, blend of Bacardi 8 and Banks 5. The Bacardi 8 gave the drink a nice body and adds some spice to temper the sweetness of the honey a bit. The Banks 5 does have some Jamaican rum in it, which gives it a nice sweetness and depth of flavor, but it is blended so as not to be overpowering. In our cocktail, it really elevated the drink and added some complexity to the mix.

Feel free to play around with different combinations of rum here for different results. A funkier aged rum and a more aromatic white rum could make for a very complex drink, while a mellower white rum (perhaps El Dorado or Cana Brava) with the Bacardi 8 will make for a more fruit-forward blend. Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong and that is one of the things to like about this drink.

Snow in Hawaii
1 oz Bacardi 8
1 oz Banks 5
1/2 oz Kalani coconut liqueur
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz honey syrup
1/2 oz coconut orgeat

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker or mixing glass, fill with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a pearl diver or a poco grande glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with mint and a cocktail umbrella.