The Rum Julep Cocktail

This Tiki classic delivers complex, festive flavor

Need mint in your julep? We’ve got that.

But this drink offers a twist on the julep theme, using rum instead of bourbon. (Two rums, in fact.) Plus two fruit juices and other assorted ingredients.

So making this cocktail is a bit of a production. But totally worth it.

The Test Pilot Cocktail

This 1940s Tiki charmer is a great summer cooler

The Test Pilot Cocktail (which launched a host of imitators like the Jet Pilot, Ace Pilot, Space Pilot, and Astronaut) was invented by Tiki innovator Donn Beach. We say more about the history in the Notes.

For now, you just need to know that this slow sipper has two kinds of rum, plus other invigorating ingredients. The result in a spicy tongue tingler. You’ll love lingering over it on a lazy summer afternoon.

Because you probably don’t do enough lingering, do you?

The Paradise Cooler Cocktail

Take leave of the heat with this Tiki refresher

It’s still hot in our part of the Northern Hemisphere. But this weekend we celebrate Labor Day in the US, which signals the end of summer. And that calls for a tall, cool drink.

Our friends down under are just moving into their warm season. Why not welcome it with one of these?

We can’t change the weather. But we can drink to it.

The Vicious Virgin Cocktail

Odd name, yes. But this Tiki drink offers great summertime flavor

Tiki drinks often sport unusual names – and this one may be one of the strangest. But don’t let that put you off.

The Vicious Virgin is slightly sweet, and definitely spicy. It makes a smooth sipper on a hot August afternoon. And it even works as a pre-dinner cocktail.

So serve this charmer at your next dinner party. The name alone will be a conversation starter.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail

More refreshing than a tropical sea breeze

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club began “under a calabash tree” in 1844, founded by British army officers and Bermudian sailing enthusiasts (“royal” was added to the name in 1846, after Prince Albert became a patron of the private club). In the 1940s, Trader Vic popularized its namesake cocktail.

The club co-hosts the Bermuda Race, a biennial yachting competition that is the world’s oldest regularly scheduled ocean race.  It begins in Newport, Rhode Island and ends (where else?) in Bermuda.

Of course, Newport has hosted a lot of yachting races, including the most famous of them all, the America’s Cup (from 1930 to 1983).  Speaking of which, this September will see the 34th sailing of that fabled race.  And earlier this week, the Louis Vuitton Cup races (to determine which team will challenge the current holder of the America’s Cup) started in San Francisco.

All of this has put us in a seafaring mood here at Kitchen Riffs central — and made us ponder what beverage we should enjoy while following the racing events.  Well, what could be more appropriate than the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail?

This refreshing mix of Barbados rum, lime, Cointreau, and falernum has a tangy tropical taste that goes down easy.  It’s perfect for beating the summer heat we’re now experiencing in most of the US.

Best of all?  You don’t need to wear one of those silly little yachting caps to enjoy it.