Tiki cocktails are famous for their mile-long lists of ingredients, but the real magic comes from blending rums – it’s a technique that imparts a complexity of flavor you can’t get from a single rum all on its own.
The Luau, from mixologist Gerry Corcoran of PDT, is the Platonic ideal of a tiki drink, bursting with the flavors and scents of the tropics. Corcoran actually calls for two aged rums, split equally – specifically, Appleton V/X and El Dorago 15-Year Diplomatico Exclusiva.
If you don’t have those two particular rums on hand, don’t worry! It’s delicious with any two aged rums, and still very lovely if you only have a single bottle on hand.
For the overproof rum, be sure it’s something genuinely drinkable (we like Wray & Nephew). Bacardi 151 isn’t good for anything besides starting fires, and its gasoline undertones will not be a welcome addition to this (or any other) cocktail.
