I had probably the BEST cocktail of my life at our new local tiki bar in Sac, the Jungle Bird. (
Little problem, though: the key ingredient (at least I assumed that’s what gave it the spectacular sweet-but-not-too-sweet finish) was macadamia nut liqueur. Some quick internet-ing told me the following: there are only THREE macadamia nut liqueurs in existence (I’m pretty sure.) One of them has the worst reviews alcohol could possibly get, one of them has no reviews, and one has the best reviews ever but is nowhere in the greater Sacramento area. At least nowhere I could find. Except the tiki bar.
SO I took a gamble, bought the review-less one, and started experimenting. Second problem: that one is CREAM-based, and while it’s a tasty little drink alone over ice, it CURDLED in my test cocktails!!!! CURDLED. {insert green-faced puking emoji here} I made five test cocktails. Got a bit tipsy on the non-curdling test batches. Got a bit grossed out at the curdling… Decided to try a version with amaretto since that would be most similar to the GOOD macadamia nut liqueur (and that was a VERY good version.)
Naturally, I did what anybody would do and forced a friend to join me back at the tiki bar where I could accost a bartender and demand that he tell me exactly what ingredients were in the blasted concoction. Same day… still tipsy 😉 I’m a joy. Luckily, my friend and I made for entertaining tipsy obnoxious company so we got to watch the bartender mix up our amazing cocktail and several other phenomenal drinks that I have to add to my endless list. He promised to tell me what brands of everything they use only if I promised I would still come back as a customer after I had my secret. I pointed at the ceiling completely covered in tiki decor and promised, at least until I could replicate THAT part of the bar at home. (Preston has vetoed that. So I guess I’m a customer for life.)
Anyhow, I was right that they used the good macadamia nut liqueur.
I also had to confirm what kind of coconut cream they use. The menu oh-so-confusingly said “real cream of coconut” which one would think means pure, normal coconut cream. But then there’s THIS “real cream of coconut” which is actually what bartenders use a lot. Luckily I already had some thanks to some amazing cocktail recipe I saw last summer 😉
So I tell you all this so you guys know the immense struggle and journey I went through to get this recipe just right for y’all to have an exceptional, unusual, and delightful tiki drink this summer. Which culminated in me ordering Trader Vic’s macadamia nut liqueur (the good stuff!) through Drizly (if you spend $25 you can probably find a free or discounted shipping code.)
Also, you may need to keep a watch out for me because I’m pretty sure this kind of behavior is a warning sign of mental illness…
And so, I triumphantly present to you my macadamia nut tiki punch. One of my favorite cocktails ever. It’s like a frothy nutty piña colada. But like… extra strong.
- 1/2 C pineapple juice
- 2 oz macadamia nut liqueur
- 2 oz vodka
- 2 oz Real cream of coconut**
- 1 C ice cubes
- Blend everything together until thin and frothy.
- YES, there are 4 ounces of booze in this drink. It’s a strong one 😉 If you prefer, you can use 3/4 C pineapple juice and 3 ounces of everything else for a less strong 2-person drink (it was served as a 2-person drink in the bar, but served in a much larger glass and just as strong so I kept it super strong.)
- ** As in the BRAND “Real” cream of coconut, out of the white bottle. In the pictures. Which I rambled about above. 😉
Oh yeah… I also ordered the pineapple tumblers they serve the cocktail in. But to be fair, those had been on my Amazon wish list for like 8 months already, I just had never seen their amazingness in person. So that makes me less crazy, right??
Well I think so.
Happy summer drinking, friends!
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