Tortola Gold

What a discovery! I really enjoyed the interplay of tropical flavors, enhanced by rum and spread out and fortified by vodka. This long frozen drink really fits into the category of boat drinks, blended tropical drinks that get you smashed in the sun. The funny thing is that La Grande Passion used to be considered the easy solution to getting passion fruit flavor into your boat drink, something so commonplace at one time that it was served up to tourists. Now you can hardly find it and I have to make it myself to be able to pull off this one time mass marketed cocktail!

• 1 oz. vodka (Smirnoff #57 used)
• 1 oz. gold rum (Vitae barrel aged rum used)
• 1/2 oz. la Grande Passion (homemade used)
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. oz. lemon juice
• mint sprigs

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled Collins glass. Garnish with mint sprigs. 

Strawberry Colada

This cocktail is a fruity improvement on the Pina Colada. And it really is an improvement except that it adds a good amount of fruit. The recipe calls for gold rum and I used Cruzan 151 proof, which is dangerous but also great to keep the alcohol presence high. However I did not use a full three ounces since I don't have a death wish. Instead I did split the serving by doing it half 151 and half white rum.

• 3 oz. gold rum (Cruzan 151-proof rum used)
• 1 oz. coconut cream
• 4 oz. pineapple juice
• 6 strawberries
• pineapple spear

Core the strawberries and set one aside for a garnish. Combine all ingredients except pineapple spear in a blender with cracked ice. Blend until slushy and pour into a chilled hurricane glass. Garnish with the strawberry and pineapple spear.

Velvet Kiss

I can see what this cocktail is doing. It is so much like a tropical smoothie, but it is easy to make in a shaker without crushed ice. So this must be a cocktail glass serving of a boat drink.

But then everything about the Velvet Kiss is unusual. You don't usually see gin in a banana flavored cocktail. You don't usually see pineapple juice and cream used together either. Then you taste it and realize that none of that matters. The spice of gin botanicals adds to the tropical spice notes. The banana spirit makes it exotic, especially if it is real banana flavor not some sugary creme de bananes. Even the little bit of grenadine is used for tropical sweetness rather than for color. So this is a cocktail that is all about the flavor combination that is more than the sum of its parts, almost to the exclusion of appearance.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. creme de bananes (3/4 oz. MurLarkey Banana Whiskey used)
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• 1 dash grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice (adding half-and-half last to prevent curdling). Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Day Dream (Non-Alcoholic)

This simple spiced mocktail is an imitation of the Mister Pip's St. Thomas Special, that tiki boat drink that really comes across with its exotic spice. The spice and passion fruit remain, but the drink has no rum. So really, it's not even a bad idea to try even if you are a drinker and a lover of tiki-style cocktails.

• 1 1/2 oz. passion fruit syrup
• 3 oz. orange juice
• freshly grated nutmeg

Pour passion fruit syrup in a chilled Collins glass and add ice. Fill with orange juice, stir, and sprinkle nutmeg on top

Calm Voyage

This may well be a tropical drink. At least I think that is the way this cocktail is leaning. Passion fruit syrup and light rum seem to suggest a cruise cocktail. The thing I couldn't figure out is the Strega. Then I made the drink with the egg white for creaminess and the Strega adding yellow hues, and I tasted it. Very tropical, with Strega adding just that hint of mint and spice that one often associates with trips to the islands. Much better than the Golden Frog, the other blended Strega cocktail, this one is a must do if you have a bottle of this stuff.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. Strega
• 1 tbsp. passion fruit syrup
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 egg white

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled champagne glass. 

Mr. Nate's St. Thomas Special

So there's this Mr. Pip's St. Thomas Special drink that has its roots on the island, but as I can tell, isn't really attributed to a real person. Since I'm not a real person either, in that nobody knows who I am, I have my own contribution to St. Thomas Island's cocktail culture.

St. Thomas is all about boat drinks, tiki drinks that are simplified for quick production and consumption. They don't require tiki mugs, and are often served on the beach in plastic cups. I'm at least trying to bring back a little tacky class to this type of cocktail.

This is a dry tiki with more juice than spice than the Mr. Pip's. It is also less desert-like. See what you think.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. guava nectar
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
•  mint sprig

 Build drink in a tiki mug full of ice and stir. Garnish with mint sprig.