Luau Cocktail Recipes

Best Luau Cocktail Recipes for your tropical party

Luau Cocktail Recipes:

Luau Cocktail Recipes, sometimes you just want to be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a cocktail in your hand or at least pretending to be there having a great time!  We put together a ton of Luau cocktail recipes so that you can have your own luau or tropical party and serve drinks that will make you feel at home in the islands.

View off the Kona Coast of Hawaii

Luau Cocktail Ingredients:

When in doubt keep it fresh.  While it is hard to find fresh pineapple juice you can get fresh pineapples year around.  Or buy a couple and run them through a juicer.  You won’t believe the difference.  Hard to believe but Hawaii exports almost all of its pineapples.  They are crazy expensive at the stores there.  The pineapple plantations are mainly on Maui.  If you get a chance to see Maui it is an amazing kick back island.  If you’re there check out Goody Goody ice cream.  It’s to die for.  We digress, fresh fruit of any kind, rum and fruit cordials play a big part in most of the tropical recipes.  Lots of ice and coconut round out the ingredient list.  Garnishes?  Go crazy with everything from fruit flags to edible flowers and orchids.

Famous Luau Cocktails Recipes:

Blue Hawaiian – Luau Cocktail Recipes:

Blue Hawaiian gets its name from the beautiful blue of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii. Created by Harry Yee at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in 1957 when a sales rep asked him to make a drink using Blue Curaçao liqueur. Curacao is an orange based liqueur that is often colored blue or orange and used extensively in tropical themed drinks. It does have a tie to the Elvis movie “Blue Hawaii” but it is fairly loose in nature. This drink, and like many like it, were an off shoot of the 60’s love of all things Hawaiian and tiki. Sitting at the pool bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and looking out over Waikiki Beach, I can see where they got the name.

 

Pina Colada – Luau Cocktail Recipes:

While bartenders associate the Pina Colada with Hawaii it was developed by Ramón Marrero.  He created the Pina Colada using Don Q rum. After spending months perfecting the recipe, Mr. Marrero created and sold the first piña colada on August 15, 1954.  He was working as the head bartender at the Caribe Hilton International Hotel, the most popular hotel in Puerto Rico among the 1950s.

Mr. Marrero subsequently received numerous awards and recognition for his creation. The earliest known reference to a drink specifically called a piña colada is from TRAVEL magazine, December 1922:
“But best of all is a piña colada, the juice of a perfectly ripe pineapple—a delicious drink in itself—rapidly shaken up with ice, sugar, lime and Bacardi rum in delicate proportions. What could be more luscious, more mellow and more fragrant?”

This quote describes a drink without coconut, as the piña colada was originally just the juice of a fresh pineapple served either strained (colada) or unstrained (sin colar). This evolved into a rum drink, and finally it changed into the drink we know today.

Luau Cocktail Recipe Rums:

The suggested Rum – Rom del Barrilito is sugar cane based Rum from Puerto Rico and considered to be one of the best Rums in the world.  Since there were plenty of sugar cane fields in Hawaii as well, it is a good nod to the best Rum to use.  Of course Bacardi Light and Meyers Dark Rum are also great in these cocktails.

Mai Tai – Luau Cocktail Recipes:

Mai Tai comes with multiple recipes depending on which version you like, the Trader Vic’s (1940’s) or Don the Beachcomber (1930’s). Either way both capitalized on the Polynesian trends of the 50’s and 60’s. A great fruit and rum based drink; no Tiki party would be complete without with a Mai Tai with an umbrella! Featured in the Elvis movie “Blue Hawaii” the drink has remained popular since then as a beach side have to have. So whatever recipe you use this is a wonderful fun drink that will be the hit of any pool party.

Have a great Luau:

Bartenders and party makers roast a pig, have some poi, laulau, and lomi lomi salmon they’re all good and try those Luau Cocktail Recipes!  If you need food inspiration check out these ideas or better yet jump on a plane and try them yourself.  You’ll never regret it!

http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/20-hawaii-dishes-you-must-try-when-traveling-islands

More Luau Cocktail Recipes:

Included below are more tropical cocktail recipes.  Mixing it up to give you choices of spirits from Rums to Whiskeys to make sure you have lots to choose from.  Some of the recipes are classic tried and true and others are are own in-house-developed cocktails.  Let us know what you think.