Cocktail #8: Myrtle Bank Punch (Don the Beachcomber version)

This week we have another cocktail from Jeff Berry's fabulous Potions of the Caribbean - the Don the Beachcomber version of the Myrtle Bank Punch. It would seem this drink was inspired by Donn's visit to the Patio Bar of Kingston, Jamaica's Myrtle Bank Hotel - which Berry notes was the social epicenter of Kingston in the 20s and 30s. Berry gives us this previously unpublished recipe that he found in the private papers of Beachcomber's bar man Mariano Licudine, which Donn put on his 1941 menu.

Here's the setup:

1.5 oz. dark Jamaican rum
0.75 oz. gold Jamaican rum
0.75 oz. fresh lime juice
0.75 oz. white grapefruit juice (I only had red on hand - oh well!)
0.75 oz. honey syrup
0.75 oz. soda water
2 dashes Angustura bitters

Shake with ice cubes. Strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. I chose to serve mine in a tiki mug (a naughty one from Frankie's Tiki Room, Las Vegas) and garnished with pineapple leaves, a pineapple wedge, lime wheel, and plenty of mint from our balcony garden.

The slightly naughty side of this great tiki mug

Like many other classic tiki drinks, this one doesn't stray far from the sweet/sour/booze trinity. It's fairly heavy on the fruit juices, but the sours are mellowed by the almost "carmelly" sweetness of the honey syrup mixed with the dark and gold rums. Another refreshing cocktail, with a fun history. Cheers!

And for your listening pleasure this week, in honor of Memorial Day here in the USA, I leave you with a wonderful song (if a bit un-PC) by the Andrews Sisters, who traveled the world in the 40s performing for servicepeople during World War II. Enjoy!