Cocktail #9: Hawaiian Eye

In 1963, bartender Tony Ramos created this drink, the Hawaiian Eye, while working at the China Trader restaurant in Toluca Lake, CA. According to Jeff Berry's Intoxica! "in its heyday, the China Trader boasted a widescreen waterfall window" and apparently Bob Hope, Lee Marvin, and Jack Webb were regulars. Other regulars included the cast of the 1959-63 series Hawaiian Eye set at the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki. Berry notes, "Ramos created the 'Hawaiian Eye' cocktail especially for the cast, who would take over the China Trader bar four or five nights a week when filming interior scenes on Warners lot" in nearby Burbank.

This weekend, I was looking for a relatively simple drink, as well as one for which I could use my recently acquired tulip glassware. This is a great example of a tiki drink that is really simple, and you don't need a lot of hard-to-find rums or ingredients to make. Here's the setup:

0.5 oz. fresh lime juice
0.5 oz. sugar syrup
0.5 oz. falernum
1.0 oz. gold Puerto Rican rum (I used the widely available Bacardi)
0.5 oz. white Hawaiian rum (or substitute white Puerto Rican rum; I used Cruzan Virgin Islands rum)

Blend all the ingredients with 8 oz. crushed ice for 5 seconds and pour into a tulip glass.

I chose to try my best to live up to the name of this blog by garnishing with a thin slice of pineapple, skewed with a cherry; three pineapple leaves; lots of mint (our balcony garden is now overflowing with it); and a cocktail umbrella.

The result is delicious. The drink is mellow and smooth, an easily drinkable concoction that is neither too sweet nor sour, which I suspect is helped by the spicy notes of the falernum.

I'll leave you with a short clip from Hawaiian Eye - enjoy!