I’ve enjoyed trying a variety of rums in this cocktail. My first take split the base between a blended white rum and an overproof Jamaican white. I eventually settled on a version using Smith & Cross “Navy Strength” rum, so-called because its alcohol content is so high, gunpowder could still ignite if a barrel of rum happens to spill in the hold. This rum is full of funk or “hogo,” a term that stems from the French “haut gout,” which refers to slightly tainted meat or another strong yet desirable flavor.
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a is a modern tropical cocktail created around 2014 by bartender Marcovaldo Dionysos at Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. Named after Hawaii’s state fish—the reef triggerfish, The name roughly translates from Hawaiian to “triggerfish with a snout like a pig”—the drink stands out as a rare, gin-based addition to the modern Tiki revival canon.
The “Swizzle” is a whole class of cocktails named after the stick of the same name. The original swizzle sticks were created in the 18th century at a rum plantation in the West Indies using the branch of the Quararibea Turbinata (also known as the “swizzle stick tree”). This recipe is a fine example of the genre. Found on the KaiserPenguin.com website (is there a better drink blog name than that?), the recipe is amped up by the inclusion of jet fuel J. Wray & Nephew overproof rum.
This is a twist on the Japanese Cocktail that dates back to the mid-1860s. Cocktail historian David Wondrich (author of books Imbibe! and Punch) suggests that the name of the original stemmed from the frequent visits to Jerry Thomas’s bar by a member of Japan’s first diplomatic mission to America. The key “improvement” here comes by way of the addition of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice and Peychaud’s bitters.
