Gooney Goo-Goo
The Gooney Goo-Goo is a wickedly delicious tiki drink with an unusual ingredient list, from bartender Brad Farran at Brooklyn’s storied Clover Club.
Farran serves his with a nice touch: he scoops out half of a lime, flips it inside-out, and uses it to hold the overproof rum so he can set it on fire and grate cinnamon over the top.
Classy, but when we tried it in our too-small tiki mugs, the lime got stuck and we choked on a faceful of hot 151. These days, we prefer to simply float the overproof rum on top, which makes for a much smoother first sip.
In an earlier version of this recipe text, we mentioned that we didn’t know where the name “Gooney Goo-Goo” came from. A helpful user emailed us (thanks, C.L.!) and reminded us of the origin – it’s from a hilarious story in Eddie Murphy’s 1983 stand-up special Delirious. Well worth a rewatch if, like us, you haven’t seen it in a while!
Ingredients
- 1 part Port or White Port
- ½ part Cognac or Brandy
- 1 part Orange juice
- ¾ part Lime juice
- ¼ part Grapefruit juice
- ¼ part Orgeat
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon syrup
- 1 dash Tiki bitters
- ½ part Overproof light rum or Overproof aged rum
Instructions
Shake everything (except for the overproof rum) and strain into an ice-filled tall glass or tiki mug. Float the overproof rum on top, or put it in a hollowed-out lime half if you’re feeling fancy.
Ignite the rum and grate cinnamon into the flames for a nice little fireworks show. Extinguish the flame and drink when the rum has cooled a bit.
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Read more
- Gooney Goo-Goo Cocktail in Saveur magazine
Howard Sundwall, Google Play Store 
