Spirited Virginia Q3 2022 - 26

Blue Hawaiian
This cocktail can't boast a creation tale, but it may have been a riff on Harry Yee's Blue
Hawaii. The addition of cream of coconut makes it similar to a Piña Colada, which was
invented by bartender Ramón " Monchito " Marrero in Puerto Rico. So perhaps you could say
the Blue Hawaiian is the grandchild of Yee and Marrero.
▷ 1½ OZ. RUM
▷ ¾ OZ. BLUE CURAÇAO
▷ 2 OZ. PINEAPPLE JUICE
▷ ¾ OZ. CREAM OF COCONUT
▷ PINEAPPLE WEDGE FOR GARNISH
Add the first four ingredients to a mixing glass
with ice. Stir for at least 30 seconds. Strain into
a glass with ice. Garnish.
Tips: You can also shake the cocktail,
for a frothier version, or blend
it with one cup cracked ice, for a
refreshing midsummer drink. Use
coconut cream or coconut milk for
a lighter version, or add ½ ounce
lemon juice (or to taste) to balance
out the sweetness.
ing tourists and helping them appreciate
Hawaii. For the tourism industry, that
meant rolling with the vision of palm
trees, hula girls and rum drinks.
Since the " Hawaiian cocktails " that
tourists expected, with rum and tropical
juices, didn't exist, Harry Yee created
them for his bar. He is best known for
the Blue Hawaii cocktail, but he invented
and named other cocktails,
too, including the Hawaiian
Cooler, Guava Lada,
Hot Buttered Okolehao,
The Tropical Itch, The Hukilau,
Catamaran, Diamond Head, Naughty
Hula, Wahine's Delight and Hawaiian
Village Sunset.
Yee is said to be the first bartender
to use tiny paper umbrellas and orchids
as garnishes.
In the past few years, some have criticized
the commercialization of sacred
Polynesian imagery. They've opined that
using tiki purely for pleasure accepts
the beauty but ignores the harms of
colonialism. Some in the industry have
agreed, while turning the attention for
good. In the New York Times, Sammi
Katz and Olivia McGiff interviewed bartenders
who " share [Polynesian culture]
in a way that creates appreciation and
exchange, which is a different power
dynamic from appropriation. It involves
consent and equality. "
Since its initial wave of popularity,
the tiki craze has waxed and waned,
but the cocktails' vibrant flavors and
the visions of sandy beaches and hints
of island breezes that they inspire have
kept them alive.
Hawaii and Kōloa Rum
When Don the Beachcomber began offering
his Rhum Rhapsodies, rum (or the
Blue Hawaii
Bartender Harry Yee created this cocktail in 1957 at Henry Kaiser Hawaiian Village (now the Hilton
Hawaiian Village Hotel Waikiki Resort). He named it after the Bing Crosby song, " Blue Hawaii. " Yee
crafted the drink in order to use Bols Curaçao, which was new to the market at that time.
▷ ¾ OZ. WHITE RUM
▷ ¾ OZ. VODKA
▷ ½ OZ. BLUE CURAÇAO
▷ 3 OZ. PINEAPPLE JUICE
▷ 1 OZ. SWEET AND SOUR MIX
▷ PINEAPPLE WEDGE FOR GARNISH
Add ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake.
Strain into a glass with ice.
Tip: if you want to be true to Harry Yee's original
drink, build the drink in a glass instead
of mixing it in a cocktail shaker, and garnish
it with an orchid and an umbrella.
26 SPIRITED VIRGINIA

Spirited Virginia Q3 2022

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