Make this drink only if you’ve always wanted to drink a cocktail out of a pineapple. Not sure what else to say. Not a drink to offer if you’re having a load of people over but if you have an extra pineapple and want to invite a buddy over to watch an old Elvis Presley movie, this one’s perfect.

Here we go –

• 2 oz Gin
• 2 oz pineapple juice
• 1 oz lime juice
• ½ oz Cointreau
• Crushed ice

Cut the top off a pineapple and hollow it out (save the fruit for pineapple daiquiris later). Make a hole for a straw in the cut off lid. Combine everything on list in a shaker and shake till cold, pour in the pineapple. Have people call you Thurston Howell.

There’s a time and a place for this summer classic; when you’re back from a beach walk, after a barbeque or burgers on the grill, by the glow of tiki torches. I enjoy one after getting caught in the rain, or after making love at midnight in the dunes on the cape. May be sweet, may be kind of silly, but there’s a reason why this sipper’s so well loved. It’s damned delicious. Introduced on August 15, 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico by its alleged creator, Ramon Marrero, this one just has to be mentioned.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz white Rum
• 1 ½ oz cream of coconut
• 2 oz pineapple chunks
• 2 oz pineapple juice
• Splash of cream

Blend everything with 1-2 cups crushed ice in a blender ‘til smooth and creamy, pour into a chilled Collins glass or tiki mug, garnish with an orange slice & a cherry. Straw required.

Not quite certain about the age of this one, it sounds kinda old and classic so I’m including it. I found this one in a tiki drink bar bible. It calls for Malibu rum, which wasn’t bottled ‘til the 80’s. I know, I know, it’s far from old-school classic, but I believe it will have legs. Every now and then, I’ll let a newer drink sneak by … but only if I feel it has that classic appeal. This is a good one, tried and tested … a few times.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz spiced Rum
• ½ oz Malibu (coconut) Rum
• ½ oz Drambuie
• ½ oz cream

Fill shaker with ingredients and ice, shake ‘til cold. Pour everything into a double old-fashioned glass.

I read a different recipe for this drink every freakin’ time I open a new bar bible. I honestly don’t believe I’ve ever read the same description twice although they all do seem to result in drinks that taste a lot alike. The Mai-Tai calls for orgeat syrup, an almond syrup that I’ve never been able to find…and I’ve looked, so I came up with my own substitution.  Gosh, how I love a good Mai Tai. A while back, I picked up a big ceramic tiki-hut with a spout pour. I never looked back. I just fill the hut up with Mai Tai, invite a bunch of friends over and get settled in for an interesting evening.  Like the Martini, the Mai Tai has the hidden ability to turn any partaker into a ramblin’, opinionated, life-of-the-party. One of those drinks you just have to sip, then sit back and watch life unfold in front of you.

Here we go – (multiply by a large number)

• 2 oz Dark Rum
• 1 oz Apricot Brandy
• 1 oz Curacao
• 1 oz Light Rum
• 3 oz Limejuice
• 3 oz pineapple juice

1 oz Almond Syrup (I find mine in the baking aisle of the supermarket.  This is the orgeat syrup substitute…Please don’t kill me mai tai purists…I tried to find your syrup, I did)

Mix everything up in a tall glass, tiki mug or bucket, pour over ice. Garnish a Mai Tai with straw, a pineapple spear and a little paper umbrella. After three, tell your guests you’ll see ‘em all again the next day and sit back down for another.

No…you don’t have to wait for an evening of Mexican food to enjoy this classic. When you actually take the time to make one proper and don’t just pour some radioactive-green sweet syrup out of a premixed bottle, this cocktail can be a real attention grabber. I love a Margarita and yes, it does go well with food. But…there’s no reason you can’t enjoy one or three on a lazy Saturday evening just sitting on a chair in your carport. The drink sips well and hey, who can’t manage to pull open a bottle of Doritos and crack a jar of salsa to go along with it. Always try and make this drink fresh and use the proper ingredients/

Here we go –

Rub the lip of a hi-ball glass with a wedge of lime and dip the rim into a saucer of course salt. Mix the above ingredients in a shaker with plenty of cracked ice. Shake ‘til freezing cold. Pour in glass. Garnish with a lime wedge on the rim. Make a few extra and keep to the side. Just chill them down in the shaker when needed….which should be within minutes of the first. Enjoy while listening to your kids play in the front yard or a Baseball game on the radio.

Take it one step farther and sink two or three Spanish olives on a toothpick into the drink. A bartender made a margarita once for me with olives and I never looked back. Something about the sweet, sour and salty that was just incredible.