Post #406806 by Hurricane Hayward on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 12:14 AM

Their Jet Pilot is the loveliest drink ever to these tastebuds. Wish I knew how to make one.

Try this:

3/4 ounce lime juice
3/4 ounce grape (not grapefruit) juice
3/4 ounce honey mix (equal parts honey, water)
3/4 ounce gold rum (I'd recommend Cruzan Estate 5-year if you can find it)
3/4 ounce Myers dark Jamaican rum
1 ounce Lemon Hart Demerara 151 rum
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes grenadine (use pomegranate syrup if possible)

Blend with 6 ounces crushed ice for 3-5 seconds. Serve in a double old-fashioned glass with more crushed ice.

The above is the recipe for Don the Beachcomber's Test Pilot from "Hawai'i - Tropical Rum Drinks & Cuisine" by Arnold Bitner & Phoebe Beach (a book well worth picking up for anyone intrested in decoding Mai-Kai drinks). It's not the real deal, but pretty close (he writes between sips).

As we all know, most of the Mai-Kai drinks were adapted from Don the Beachcomber drinks by ex-Beachcomber bartender Mariano Licudine when he was hired by the Thornton brothers as their bar manager when they opened the Mai-Kai 1956.

The above book, while not as comprehensive or accurate as any of Jeff Berry's, offers some great insights into this Beachcomber/Mai-Kai synergy. You'll also find recipes for the Pearl Diver (Deep Sea Diver), Cobra's Fang (Cobra's Kiss), Beachcomber's Rum Barrel (Barrel O' Rum), Cuban Daiquiri (Floridita Daiquiri), Kona Coffee Grog (Kona Coffee Grog), Mai Tai (Mai Tai), Sharks's Tooth (Shark Bite), Zombie (Zombie), Planter's Rum Punch (Planter's Punch), Q.B. Cooler (K.O. Cooler), Coconut Rum (Moonkist Coconut), Tahitian Rum Punch (Tahitian Breeze), Mystery Gardenia (Gardenia Lei), Pi Yi (Pina Passion) and Don's Pearl (Hidden Pearl).

Be advised that many of these taste a bit different than the drinks you'll find in the Mai-Kai, but a few are spot-on (Don's Pearl, Beachcomber's Rum Barrel). It's safe to assume that Mariano tweaked many of the original recipes and others were adjusted over the years. Also, it's possible many of the recipes in Phoebe Beach's book are variations of the originals that Mariano took to Mai-Kai. And last, but not least, it's difficult if not impossible to duplicate the various rums, syrups and juices that are indigenous to the Mai-Kai.

It should be noted that there are several other Beachcomber/Mai-Kai drink recipes available in Beachbum Berry's books: Never Say Die (Oh So Deadly), Rum Julep (Rum Julep), 151 Swizzle (151 Swizzle), Don's Own Planter's (Planters Punch) and Don's Beach Planter (Special Planters Punch). I'd also mention that Berry's Zombie, Tahitian Rum Punch and Q.B. Cooler recipes are preferable to those in "Hawai'i" and also come closer to the Mai-Kai versions (in my humble opinion).

And, finally, here's my list of Beachcomber/Mai-Kai drinks that I've yet to find a recipe for. Cocktail sleuths, this is your cue:

• Hot Buttered Rum
• Martinique Milk Punch
• Special Reserve Daiquiri
• Colonial Grog (Yeoman's Grog)
• Don's Swizzle (Mai-Kai Swizzle)

But enough of my yacking ... I'm off to make another Test Pilot.