Cocktail #3: Puka Punch

A couple of weeks ago I tried my hand at making a small batch of falernum, so I came to this weekend's cocktail looking for a drink which called for falernum so I could try it out. Thumbing through Beachbum Berry's Intoxica!  I came across the recipe for Puka Punch. Berry credits the drink to the Tiki-Ti, a classic tiki bar in L.A., circa 1960s. Ray Buhen opened the place in '61 after three decades of working in some of L.A.'s original tiki bars including Don the Beachcomber's (starting in '34), the Seven Seas, and The Palms. The others have long since closed, but the Tiki-Ti is still going strong. I've never been, but the next time I'm in L.A. it'll be a must see.

The Puka Punch is a cocktail to be reckoned with. Weighing in with nearly 4 ounces of rum (including 3/4 oz of 151), this drink can pack a punch. Some of the old time Polynesian Palaces used to print "Limit: 2 per customer" next to some of their supposedly stronger drinks on the menu and this one falls into that category. Here's the setup:

The recipe is as follows:

1 oz. fresh lime juice
.75 oz. orange juice (I had some clementines on hand so I just juiced those)
.75 oz. pineapple juice
.75 oz. passion fruit syrup
.75 oz. honey
.25 oz. falernum
dash Angustura bitters
1 oz. white Puerto Rican (I used Virgin Islands) rum
1 oz. dark west Indies rum
.75 oz. Myers's Rum
.75 oz. 151 Demerara rum

For the honey, I actually used a honey simple syrup I made a couple weeks ago - basically heating equal parts honey and water until combined. I added a splash of vodka to the honey mixture to make it last a little longer - it should keep in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

Combine all the ingredients except the 151 rum into a blender with one cup of crushed ice. Blend thoroughly (I made the mistake of blending only for a few seconds with the result of chunks of ice left that were too big to make it through my straw, so make sure you really blend it).

The original recipe calls for serving this in a clear chimney glass, but I chose to pour this sucker into my vintage black Maoi tiki mug that I found for $5 at an antique store in Minnesota (apparently it's from an establishment call the Fireside in Ft. Atkinson, WI - so says a label on the back of the mug). Float the 151 on top of the slushy goodness, and garnish however you like - I speared a clementine wheel, lime wheel and maraschino cherry to a paper umbrella.

What really comes through in this drink is the passion fruit syrup - be careful to use the correct amount. And despite the hefty pour of rum present, it's not at all overly boozy. It is a big drink, however, so nurse it and make it last and savor every drop! Cheers!

Since this weekend is the venerable Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekender, I've been listening to a lot of 50s-60s rockabilly and surf music, so I recommend checking out The Astronauts, a great surf band from the 1960s. Here's about an hour's worth of their instrumentals to get you going: