Updated May 8, 2012
See below: Our Demerara Cocktail review | Official Mai-Kai recipe
Related: Mai-Kai cocktail guide
There was a time when having a cocktail meant downing 3 or more ounces of alcohol in a small glass with just a touch of sweet or sour mixers. When The Mai-Kai opened in 1956, one such simple classic was the Demerara Cocktail.
A Don the Beachcomber menu from the 1950s.
Featuring rich and smoky Demerara rum from the island of Guyana, this cocktail came to The Mai-Kai by way of tropical drink forefather Don the Beachcomber. After changing his name to Donn Beach, the former Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt pioneered the tropical rum drink in the 1930s. He was a huge fan of Demerara rum and featured it in many of his drinks, most famously the Zombie. The Demerara Cocktail and Demerara Dry Float were longtime standbys on the Beachcomber menu.
On the menu at right, you’ll find these drinks plus many others that inspired Mai-Kai cocktails. It likely dates to the early or mid-1950s, just before bartender Mariano Licudine was hired away from the Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Chicago to create The Mai-Kai’s menu that remains virtually the same to this day. (Licudine retired in 1979 and passed away the following year.) On this 1957 Mai-Kai menu, you’ll find very few cocktails that haven’t survived. One that did fall by the wayside, however, is the Demerara Cocktail.
The drink remained a forgotten classic until it was unearthed by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry for his 2007 book, Sippin’ Safari, which not only includes tons of vintage recipes and photos but an entire chapter on The Mai-Kai. This, obviously, is a must-read if you’re interested in any of these topics. Berry tells the story of Licudine’s rise through the ranks at Don the Beachcomber, his move to Fort Lauderdale and the heady early days of The Mai-Kai.
Berry revealed authentic early Mai-Kai recipes from Licudine’s notebook, such as the previously reviewed Last Rites plus the one below for the Demerara Cocktail. We’re including these retired classics in our guide, even though you can no longer order them at The Mai-Kai, to give you a feel for what the early drink menu was like and how it evolved.
Okole Maluna Society menu from The Mai-Kai.
Another artifact that reveals what a mid-century visit to The Mai-Kai must have been like is the Okole Maluna Society, which inspired this cocktail guide. Beachbum Berry wrote that to become a member, you had to consume all 48 drinks on the menu, at which time you received a personalized bamboo cup and a special drink. Okole maluna is a common toast in Hawaii, meaning bottoms up.
The image at right, uncovered by Tim “Swanky” Glazner and posted on his SwankPad blog, shows the inside of the Okole Maluna Society menu, most likely from the late 1950s. It includes the Demerara Cocktail, and you’ll notice that several drinks are marked off as its owner made his way through sampling all the drinks.
DEMERARA COCKTAIL
Okole Maluna Society review and rating
Size: Small
Potency: Strong
Flavor profile: Demerara rum, lime juice, a hint of passion fruit.
Review: Similar to an extra strong daiquiri or rum sour, this is a classic-style cocktail that’s smooth but very dry and not at all sweet. A showcase for the Demerara rum.
Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars (see how it ranks)
Ancestry: Based on a Don the Beachcomber drink of the same name, the Demerara Cocktail was on the original Mai-Kai cocktail menu but it was later retired.
Bilge: At some point, sadly, Demerara rum was dropped from The Mai-Kai’s repertoire. But General Manager Kern Mattei tells us he’s trying to bring it back to the menu, a move that will likely make some of the bar’s best drinks even better.
Agree or disagree? Share your reviews and comments below!
OFFICIAL MAI-KAI RECIPE
Demerara Cocktail
(From Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari)
Demerara Cocktail by The Atomic Grog. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward, January 2012)
* 1 ounce fresh lime juice
* 1/2 ounce passion fruit juice
(not syrup)
* 1 teaspoon sugar syrup
* 2 ounces Lemon Hart Demerara rum
* 1 ounce golden Puerto Rican rum
Shake well over ice. Strain into a cocktail or a specialty glass.
Notes and tips for home mixologists
* One of the most simple drinks you’ll find in the history of Don the Beachcomber and The Mai-Kai, it’s dependent on good rums. Lemon Hart, a vintage Tiki cocktail ingredient that disappared from Mai-Kai in the mid-1990s, has recently made a triumphant return. Click here for details. While the 80-proof version is much more difficult to find than the 151 version, it’s possible to make your own 80-proof blend. Our friends at Tiki Central will show you how. If you don’t want to go to that much trouble, try El Dorado 12-year-old Demerara rum or the more rare El Dorado 8. Another recommendation is 2 parts El Dorado 5 to 1 part El Dorado 12.
* I found that Ron del Barrilito gold Puerto Rican rum has the perfect flavor to accent the Demerara. Something a bit older, such as 7-year-old Flor de Cana, is great if you’re looking for a drink even less sweet and a little bolder. Feel free to experiment, but don’t stray too far off the original template.
* Passion fruit juice (or nectar) is a lot less sweet than syrup, giving this drink its clean, dry profile. Just a bit of sugar syrup will do the trick. If you must have a sweeter drink, just increase the sugar or add a touch of passion fruit syrup.
* Since its unveiling in Sippin’ Safari, the Demerara Cocktail has been explored by quite a few bloggers, including Darcy O’Neil on Art of Drink, Doug on The Pegu Blog, Tiare on A Mountain Of Crushed Ice, and Rowen on Fogged In Lounge. Be sure to check these out.
Okole maluna!
