The Floridita Daiquiri, the legendary cocktail born in Cuba and reportedly consumed by author Ernest Hemmingway in prodigious numbers, is one of history’s most debated rum drinks. One thing not open for debate, however: The Mai-Kai’s version has become a classic in its own right after more than 50 years on the Fort Lauderdale restaurant’s menu.
Ernest Hemingway at El Florida with bartender Constantino Ribalaigua Vert.
Stories about La Floridita Daiquiri, as it was known at Havana’s El Florida bar (later known as El Floridita), are varied and many. One thing’s for certain: It was created by legendary mixologist Constantino Ribalaigua Vert, who spent nearly 50 years at the bar until his death in 1952. He started as a bartender and later owned the place. According to our favorite bum, cocktail historian and author Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, Vert was known as “El Rey de los Coteleros” (“The Cocktail King”) and reportedly squeezed 80 million limes and poured 10 million daiquiris in his lifetime.
* Rum Connection: Watch bartender Alejandro Bolivar make a daiquiri at El Floridita
Two art shows on the opposite ends of South Florida offer not only the sights but also a glimpse into the sounds and tastes of a bygone era when style and cool ruled our culture.
These exhibits won’t be around long, however, so catch them now if you can:
Cocktail Culture at the Norton Museum of Art
Tucked into the large ground-floor gallery used for rotating exhibits at the upscale Norton Museum in downtown West Palm Beach is a somewhat unlikely sight. Just one floor below priceless artifacts from ancient China and two floors below the paintings of European masters is a motley assortment of relics of 20th century excess: silver cocktail shakers and champagne buckets, vintage jewelry, and glamorous cocktail dresses and shoes.
In honor of the Midwest’s frigid February, Ohio-based blogger Doug Winship is pulling out all the stops with an onslaught of exotic drink recipes and features on anything and everything in today’s wacky world of Tiki. So great is this tidal wave of rum-soaked madness, it’s taken over the Feb. 20 edition of Mixology Monday, the (sometimes) monthly online cocktail party that rounds up bloggers to post in harmony on a single theme.
All of this did not go unnoticed at The Atomic Grog. We’re joining today’s party with a few tips on how to turn that most Tiki of all fruits into a viable drinking vessel. And, of course, we’re including a few recipes for the perfect drinks to fill the void. Now, pass that pineapple!
Ice molds and other frozen glassware is kept in a special freezer in The Mai-Kai's kitchen service bar. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward, November 2011)
The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale is not only keeping alive the tradition of classic Tiki cocktails, but also the lost art of the ice shell. One good example of this frozen throwback is the Hidden Pearl.
And like the others, the Hidden Pearl tastes just as good as it looks. It’s actaully very similar to the more complex Tahitian Breeze, and a little easier to make.
In the mood for an after-dinner drink that’s very non-traditional, or simply an alternative to straight-up ice cream? Look no further than The Mai-Kai’s Chocolate Snowflake.
It’s one of the classic Polynesian restaurant’s two ice cream drinks (along with the vanilla-flavored Mai-Kai Blizzard) on an otherwise classic cocktail menu. But don’t be fooled into thinking this is something akin to a T.G.I. Friday’s milkshake with a little rum added.
The Snowflake contains the same high-quality rums and liquors as any other cocktail, and also perhaps a house-made ice cream as well. To make our tribute recipe below, you’ll need your own ice-cream maker. But the ability to make these two great after-dinner treats alone justifies the purchase of such an appliance.
Tiki bar pioneer Don the Beachcomber’s Test Pilot was one of the most copied drinks during the mid-century heyday of Polynesian cocktails. It morphed into the Ace Pilot, Space Pilot and Astronaut, among others. At The Mai-Kai, it became the Jet Pilot.
As discussed in the review of the vintage S.O.S. (Don the Beachcomber’s Three Dots and a Dash), Donn Beach was a decorated World War II veteran and always had a deep connection to the armed forces. In his honor, a B-26 Marauder was painted with a replica of the Don the Beachcomber driftwood sign on its nose. The plane and crew flew many successful missions in the Pacific.
The Test Pilot is also an interesting study in how Donn Beach constantly tweaked his drinks. A Don the Beachcomber cocktail from the 1930s or ’40s could be vastly different than one with the same name in the 1950s or ’60s.
The Jet Pilot features four rums, including Lemon Hart 151, and may be The Mai-Kai’s strongest of the strong. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward, January 2015)
Included below is a Test Pilot recipe unearthed by cocktail sleuth and author Jeff “Beachbum” Berry from the 1940s. It’s one of the most popular in the Tiki revival, and it features many of the same ingredients as The Mai-Kai’s Jet Pilot. We’ve also listed a later recipe from a book by Donn Beach’s widow, Phoebe. It’s slightly different but also very strong and has a similar flavor profile. Other popular old-school versions include the Jet Pilot served at Steve Crane’s The Luau chain in the 1950s (revealed by Beachbum Berry in Sippin’ Safari in 2007) and the Space Pilot, still served today at the Tiki Ti in Los Angeles (est. 1961).
In Minimalist Tiki by Cocktail Wonk blogger Matt Pietrek, a 2020 Spirited Award nominee for Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book, the Test Pilot and Jet Pilot are both listed among the “Classic 30” cocktails from the first golden era of tropical mixology.
Like Tiki Ti owner Ray Buhen, The Mai-Kai’s original mixologist, Mariano Licudine, worked for Donn Beach in the early days. In 1956, he was lured from the Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Chicago to design The Mai-Kai’s original tropical drink menu. So it’s likely he had a vast knowledge of multiple versions of the Test Pilot when he created arguably one of the best, The Mai-Kai’s high-octane Jet Pilot.
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The official menu description
JET PILOT
Fast and courageous, a vigorous blend of heavy bodied rums and zesty juices.
Okole Maluna Society review and rating
Size: Medium
Jet Pilot (Photo by Hurricane Hayward, September, 2015)
Potency: Strong
Flavor profile: Dark and powerful rums, spicy and bitter notes with a hint of exotic sweetness.
Review: Very complex and intense. Not for the timid. Sweet, spicy and strong all at the same time.
Most classic Mai-Kai cocktails can be traced back to tropical drink pioneer Donn Beach (aka Don the Beachcomber), and the S.O.S. is no exception. Most are easy to spot due to the similar names (Cobra’s Fang = Cobra’s Kiss, Pearl Diver = Deep-Sea Diver). But others are a little harder to trace.
From a 1950s Don the Beachcomber menu.
The clue to the origins of S.O.S. is actually the garnish: the distinctive three speared cherries. In reviewing old Don the Beachcomber menus, it’s hard to miss the classic Three Dots and a Dash, a tribute to Americans fighting overseas. “Three dots and a dash” was Morse code for “victory” during World War II, when Donn Beach created the drink. Beach served in the Army Air Corps and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Thanks to tropical drink historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and his 2007 book, Sippin’ Safari, we also have the recipe to compare. Mai-Kai mixologist Mariano Licudine, who knew Donn Beach’s recipes well from his days slinging drinks at Don the Beachcomber in Los Angeles and Chicago, simply changed the name to S.O.S. and tweaked the complex recipe to make it a bit more user friendly.
The result is a highly recommended cocktail from the mild side of The Mai-Kai’s menu, full of nuances yet still not too overpowering. Be sure to pick up the expanded and updated 10th anniversary edition of Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari, featuring many new and historic recipes, a new hardcover design with additional photos, plus forward and afterward that chronicle the years leading up to the Tiki revival plus the influence the book has had over the past decade.
July 2018 update: The S.O.S. was one of three cocktails featured at The Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale in June in Hurricane Hayward’s Okole Maluna Cocktail Academy class, “How to Mix Like The Mai-Kai.” In the sold-out event, students learned tips and techniques for turning their home bars into a Tiki cocktail paradise by exploring the key elements of Mai-Kai cocktails. (Atomic Grog photos from The Hukilau’s Okole Maluna Cocktail Academy at the Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina on June 8, 2018)
After explaining the importance of fresh Florida juices, Hayward demonstrated how to make the S.O.S. tribute recipe while the class received sample drinks. The juices and syrups, along with a simplified rum profile, give the S.O.S. an altogether different flavor than Three Dots and a Dash, the students learned. The juices take a more prominent role, and the S.O.S. is a great spotlight for the fresh Florida orange juice used in many Mai-Kai drinks. See photos from the class:Facebook | Flickr
For years, you could find the the Mai-Kai Cappuccino at the very bottom of the after-dinner drink menu, almost as an afterthought. There’s was no classic tropical drink illustration, and just the simple description “with our special blend of liqueurs.”
Mai-Kai Cappuccino, January 2012. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)
Then it completely disappeared off the main cocktail menu during a 2014 update, relegated to the dessert menu presented to guests at the end of their meals in the dining rooms.
But, as it turns out, this creamy coffee drink is a favorite of owner Dave Levy. Which led to its return to the cocktail menu and its first appearance on the moderninzed version along the a new description: “Our special blend of liqueurs and mocha flavors make this a full flavored coffee treat.”
There’s also a non-alcoholic cappuccino on the dessert menu, a more traditional version of the hot espresso drink featuring foamed milk, powdered cinnamon and a generous topping of whipped cream. Be sure to specify you want the boozy version, though to be sure the alcohol content is light in this drink.
For better or worse (typically worse), the Piña Colada has been ubiquitous on tropical drink menus for more than half a century. Not surprisingly, The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale – a haven for finely crafted Tiki cocktails – is one of the rare places that does it right.
Waiters at the kitchen service bar garnish and prepare to serve Rum Barrels, Mai Tais and other cocktails while a bartender finishes up a long line of Piña Coladas in The Mai-Kai's kitchen service bar. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward, November 2011)
I was skeptical at first. With some 50 classics to choose from on The Mai-Kai’s amazing menu, why order this butt of jokes normally associated with cruise ships and 1970s fern bars? Four words: Fresh ingredients, quality rum. And it doesn’t hurt that the drinks are crafted to high standards in The Mai-Kai’s service bars (see photo at right). The other key: Order it on the rocks, not blended.
Thankfully, this maligned drink is being rediscovered and reinvented by craft cocktail mixologists. In 2011, the Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans featured a Piña Colada competition challenging the world’s top bartenders to come up with their own take. The fact that the contest was held at one of the world’s premiere cocktail events, and was sponsored by Bacardi and the United States Bartenders’ Guild, proves that the Piña Colada is making a strong comeback in the credibility category.
2012 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival: Monday, April 16, through Sunday, April 22, at the Deauville Beach Resort, Miami Beach. For more information, go to RumRenaissance.com.
It’s funny to see the reaction when people find out that The Hukilau, the 11th annual Tiki and rum-soaked weekender in Fort Lauderdale, has been moved to the same week as the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival. “Whatever will we do?” Why, drink more rum, of course.
Last year, there was a good six-week buffer zone, so our livers had time to recover. This year, however, it’s a full-on rum onslaught. On April 19-21 (Thursday through Saturday), rum will flow liberally at The Hukilau’s beachside host hotels, and during nightly parties at The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale. Rum cocktail authority Jeff “Beachbum” Berry will highlight The Hukilau’s tropical-themed symposiums with his latest history lesson on the Zombie.
Meanwhile, less than 30 miles away on South Beach, the largest gathering of rum experts in the world will take over the ritzy Deauville (where the Beatles once played for Ed Sullivan) with VIP parties, competitions and “grand tasting” events. Rum Renaissance Festival organizers promise a bigger and better event this year with almost twice the square footage in the main exhibit hall, and many more rum brands from around the world.
