Luau

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.

Ingredients
- 1½ parts Aged rum
- ¾ part Overproof light rum
- ½ part Lime juice
- ½ part Simple syrup
- ¼ part Passion fruit puree or Passion fruit syrup or Passion fruit liqueur
- ¼ part Orgeat
- 1 dash Aromatic bitters or Tiki bitters
Instructions
Shake with ice and strain into a glass or tiki mug. Top with crushed ice and garnish with all manner of tropical accoutrements.


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- The PDT Cocktail Book by Jim Meehan
