Bahama Mama - The ‘Classic’ Recipe
Pineapple sweetness wrapped around a coconut rum center, it’s sublimely balanced against the lemon juice and 151 rum... with just a hint of coffee. Whatever you do, make sure you use a decent 151, like Hamilton or Lemonhart - some 151's can taste like aviator fuel and are best saved for setting fire to in your volcano bowls.
Servings 1
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz Dark Rum
- 1/2 oz Coconut Rum
- 1/4 oz 151 Rum - Hamilton or Lemonhart
- 1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur
- 1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 4 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 Orange Slice
- 2 Maraschino Cherries - with stems if possible
Method
- Pour all ingredients into a shaker, then add enough ice to show above the surface of the liquid.
- Shake vigorously for around 15 seconds, strain and pour into a chilled Hurricane or Highball glass filled with ice cubes.
- To make your garnish cut a wedge or wheel from the fresh orange, place two cherries onto a cocktail stick and push into the orange, make a slit in the bottom of the wedge and place onto the side of the glass.
Notes
Although a lot of modern recipes have ditched the coffee liqueur, its addition in such a small quantity brings a subtle chocolatey note, an earthy edge to the drink that rounds off the other flavors. It's definitely worth leaving it in.
'151 rum eh? It’s going to blow my socks off’, I hear you say. Don’t worry, the actual amount isn’t very much and the combined alcohol content isn’t that high overall, so it shouldn’t hit you in the same way as something like a Zombie - but it does go down smooth and it can definitely creep up on you if you have a few 😉
Add in Dottie Lee Anderson (billed in Miami as the Bahama Mama) a calypso dancer and singer who was all over the billboard charts in the US between 1951-57 (regularly popping up in Jet magazine), and you can see where the momentum came from for the naming of this particular tropical libation.
Although its creation story is generally undeclared (and sadly, undisputed - how boring for a Tiki drink!) there is however one claimant to the throne. 'Oswald Greenslade’ (‘Slade'), born in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in 1943. With decades of bartending experience under his belt - from the beginnings of the Nassau Beach Hotel (1961) to the Banana Boat Club (1993-99) - in his book ‘One More Cocktail’ he claims he was the inventor of the Bahama Mama.
A possible front-runner based on his pedigree, if you look at the dates it seems more likely that, as with many drinks of that era and origin, it was a house or family based recipe handed down or approximated across the islands.
Variations
- Can I make this in a pitcher? Ideally this is a drink that should be shaken with ice (the juices benefit from being mixed and aerated in this manner), however it’s also one that can be built in the glass, making it a good drink for a summer pitcher (the Applebees recipe below is perfect for this).
- Prefer your Bahama Mama with Grenadine? If you need a little ombré in your life and find yourself lusting after that grenadine colour change, add a splash straight into the glass before you pour in your mix - but try (TRY dammit!) to use a homemade syrup if you can. And if you can't then we recommend something like 'Employees Only' as it blends real pomegranate juice with spices and cane sugar, rather than the dreaded fructose! If you're using grenadine you may also want to try unsweetened Pineapple as it’ll help rebalance the sweet with the sour.
Origin
A drink that was popularised in the early 50’s, the term 'Bahama Mama’ was a name very much used across certain areas of the music and entertainment scene within that decade. With a number of songs released under the name - from Blind Blake in '52 all the way through to the Goombay Troubadours in ’57 - all mostly goombay, or junkanoo ‘style' and all straight out of Nassau.
Add in Dottie Lee Anderson (billed in Miami as the Bahama Mama) a calypso dancer and singer who was all over the billboard charts in the US between 1951-57 (regularly popping up in Jet magazine), and you can see where the momentum came from for the naming of this particular tropical libation.
Although its creation story is generally undeclared (and sadly, undisputed - how boring for a Tiki drink!) there is however one claimant to the throne. 'Oswald Greenslade’ (‘Slade'), born in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in 1943. With decades of bartending experience under his belt - from the beginnings of the Nassau Beach Hotel (1961) to the Banana Boat Club (1993-99) - in his book ‘One More Cocktail’ he claims he was the inventor of the Bahama Mama.
A possible front-runner based on his pedigree, if you look at the dates it seems more likely that, as with many drinks of that era and origin, it was a house or family based recipe handed down or approximated across the islands.