If you think all Tiki drinks are sugary sweet, you just haven’t had a good one. Here are the recipes we covered in Rum Part II: Molasses Boogaloo, which you can listen to here. These cocktails were adapted by Roger Adamson.

Ti Punch

Visit the island of Guadeloupe or Martinique and odds are you’ll be served a Ti (Petite Punch). This simple cocktail is the perfect way to enjoy a fruity and funky rhum agricole.

Ti Punch

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Rhum Agricole (Trois Rivieres Cuvee de L'Ocean or Rhum JM Single Barrel)
• Sugar Cane Syrup
• Fresh Lime

SIMPLE STEPS:

Cut a circle of fresh lime from the side of a lime (about the size of a quarter coin). Add a splash of sugar cane syrup (about the size of a dime) to a rocks glass. Add rum, then squeeze the lime piece and drop into glass. Stir. (optional, add one large ice cube)

Traditional and Hawaiian Mai Tai

The drink that put Tiki on the map. Donn Beach and Trader Vic Bergeron argued for years over who invented this classic tropical concoction. This recipe is a throwback to the Mai Tais of yore, where the only juice is lime. As such, it’s especially important to use high quality rum, one of which should be an Agricole (Rum fermented from fresh pressed sugar cane juice as opposed to molasses)

Traditional Mai Tai

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 oz fresh lime juice (save one of the squeezed lime halves)
• 1 oz Aged Rhum Agricole (Rhum JM Single Barrel or Trois Rivieres Eleve Sous Bois Rhum Ambre)
• 1 oz Aged Rum (El Dorado 8 or Appleton Estate Signature Blend)
• 1/2 oz Orange Curacao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao or Cointreau)
• 1/2 oz Orgeat (Small Hands Foods Orgeat Almond Syrup)
• 2 cups crushed ice
• Fresh Mint

SIMPLE STEPS:

Pour everything into an ice filled shaker and shake till it frosts over. Pour unstrained into a large rocks glass or tiki mug. Garnish with a spent half lime shell and mint sprig.

Starting in the 1940s, hundreds of Tiki bars sprang up acorss the U.S. and the Mai Tai recipe underwent many changes, with more fruit juice-heavy recipes gaining popularity in Hawaii. Bartenders tended to omit the more expensive and harder to find Agricole rum and added fruit juices to make it a little less potent. 

Hawaiian Mai Tai

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 oz Fresh Lime Juice (save one of the squeezed lime halves)
• 1 oz Dark Rum (Myers or Plantation)
• 1 oz Aged Rum (El Dorado 8 or Appleton Estate Signature Blend)
• 1/2 oz Orange Curacao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao or Cointreau)
• 1/2 oz Orgeat (Small Hands Foods Orgeat Almond Syrup)
• 1 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1 oz Orange Juice
• 2 cups Crushed Ice
• Fresh Mint

SIMPLE STEPS:

Pour everything into an ice filled shaker and shake till it frosts over. Pour unstrained into a large rocks glass or tiki mug. Garnish with a spent half lime shell and mint sprig.

Test Pilot

One of Don the Beachcomber's finest creations. You might come across riffs on this classic under the name Jet or Space Pilot. This recipe was unearthed by tikifile Jeff Berry. Make sure to carefully measure the absinthe, it can easily take over a cocktail.

Test Pilot

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Falernum (John D. Taylor)
• 1/2 oz Orange Curacao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao or Cointreau)
• 1 1/2 oz Dark Rum (Myers or Plantation)
• 1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q Cristal or Bacardi Superior)
• 1 Dash Angostura Bitters
• 1/4 teaspoon of Absinthe/Absinthe Substitute (La Muse Verte or Herbsaint)

SIMPLE STEPS:

Pour all ingredients into a blender with a cup of crushed ice. Spin for 5 seconds and pour unstrained into a large rocks class or tiki mug. Top with more crushed ice.