It’s day four of drinking literary cocktails alone in my self-imposed coronavirus bunker, and I’m ready to bust out and expose myself to the virus and let the chips fall where they may. While thinking about where I could find germy people participating in unsafe social distances, I thought of all those millennials spending Spring Break on beaches. That made me thirsty for a drink I created several years ago.
Like the main character in the 1999 novel by Lensey Namioka, my protagonists in the When Life Was Still trilogy question their cultural traditions and seek escape from the boundaries constructed for them by others. So, instead of going out and contracting COVID-19 today, I’ll distract myself from the walls of my world by sharing a recipe for Mai Tais That Bind, Ties That Break.
These are the ingredients:
- 1 1/4 ounces Captain Morgan Parrot Bay coconut rum (yes, that’s an odd amount; I think I poured a little too much the first time I made it, and it tasted perfect)
- 1/2 ounce Gionelli amaretto liqueur
- 1/2 ounce Dekuyper triple sec
- 1 1/3 cups Dole 100% pineapple, orange, banana juice
- Mix all of the above ingredients in my husband’s malt cup and pour it into a wheat beer glass I got at Second City comedy club in Chicago that’s 1/3 filled with crushed ice (Second City logo is optional)
- 1/2 ounce Rose’s grenadine syrup floated on top
- Garnish with three maraschino cherries on a bamboo skewer because once they sink to the bottom of the tall skinny glass, they’re hard to fish out and eat. And in my opinion, cherries are the best part of any cocktail. Don’t forget the colorful straw and cute umbrella that you brought home from a memorable night out (I can’t remember where I got mine).
My review of Mai Tais That Bind, Ties That Break:
Five out of five stars. Especially if you wear a lei while drinking it, it’s oh, so tropical. And the more you drink, the easier it is to pretend that you’re doing the hula on a sunny beach—without germy people in your personal space. It has been said that this pandemic is bringing out the best in people. So please know that my compromised immune system and I are staying home and drinking for you. You’re welcome.
Kāmau!
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