Coronado Luau Special

This cocktail consists of Rum, Orange Liqueur, Sweet and Sour mix, Orgeat Syrup, Brandy and Orange Juice.

Recipe

From "Beachbum Berry's Grog Log" by Jeff Berry and Annene Kaye (1998):

• 4 oz Orange juice
• 4 oz Sweet and sour
• 1/4 oz Orgeat syrup
• 1 oz Dark Jamaican rum
• 1 oz Light Puerto Rican rum
• 1/2 oz Grand Marnier orange liqueur
• 1/2 oz brandy

Blend with 1 cup of crushed ice for several seconds. Pour into a large tiki mug or tall glass.

History

The Coronado Luau Special was the signature drink of the now defunct Luau Room at the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, Calif. The Luau Room existed from 1940 through 1970, during the height of the faux-Polynesian tiki bar craze. Berry states that the recipe is from a bartender named Bert Chan. Another cocktail from the Luau Room was the Del Coronado.

According to a June 21, 2006, story in the San Diego Union-Tribune ("118 Years of Dining at the Del"), the Luau Room opened at the historic Hotel del Coronado in 1940. It was an "ocean-view restaurant with Pork Foo Yong, Pineapple Spareribs and parasols peeking from rummy drinks."

But by 1970, the restaurant had become the Prince of Wales Grille with a completely different decor and menu. In 2006, a new seafood restaurant, 1500 Ocean, opened in the space. Interestingly, a small, outdoor "Mai Tai Bar" has recently opened at the hotel during the summer months.

The Coronado Luau Special lives on as one of the specialty cocktails of the Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda, Calif.