The Bali Bali, hailing from the Bali Ha’i at the Beach in New Orleans, is the lesser-known sibling of the Fog Cutter. At first I was stumped about how to bring all the various spirits, juices, and sweeteners into balance, but when it dawned on me that I could structure it like a 1950s Zombie, everything fell into place. I particularly love this presentation, especially if you can get your hands on a vintage tiki-style Collins like the Siestaware glass pictured.

Here’s a delicious blended Gimlet that’s got a great texture to it. Done in the style of blended Cuban Daiquiris like the Golden Glove, this ice-cold drink combines juniper with spices and tart lime for a refreshing, time-travelin’ good time. This drink was popular at both the China Trader in Burbank and Tiki-Ti on Sunset Boulevard during the 1960s.

This is one of three drinks called the Tropical Itch in the tiki canon. It’s not Harry Yee’s original from the Hawaiian Village (bourbon, passionfruit) or Joe Scialom’s version (vodka, rum, mango) from the Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo, but the gin-rum-mango version from the Kon-Tiki Chicago. Our version adds in some dark rum and cashew orgeat for richness and texture. No back scratcher garnish cause that’s just not my style (and I think it’s kinda gross).

The Saturn is probably the most famous gin-based tiki drink, at least in the twenty-first century. It began life as Filipino-American bartender Popo Galsini’s entry in the International Bartender’s Association’s World Cocktail Championship in 1967. Galsini’s original spec called for gink passion fruit, lemon, orgeat, and falernum. Our Club version swaps in cashew orgeat for the classic almond variety and opts for a blended version, though many prefer their Saturns flash-blended.

One of the only cocktails to be most closely associated with Boston, the Ward Eight is a Whiskey Daisy with orange juice. For our version, I decided to include sherry as part of the base (it appeared in a 1930s Mr. Boston recipe for the drink), use acid-adjusted orange juice, and offer both a long, Daisy version, and a Sour style presentation, as well.

One of the most famous tropical drinks of all time, the Piña Colada as we know it emerged in the late 1950s and early '60s in Puerto Rico, though close antecedents had existed before. This is Molly Gajdosik's excellent recipe, which they say was inspired by Garret Richard's spec. It's complicated but so worth it!

The only drink this month that comes from the continental United States, the Rum Runner is a 1970s classic hailing from the Florida Keys. This drink is basically a tropical fruit punch with usual suspects like pineapple, banana, grenadine, and lime, but the wildcard here (and what distinguishes it from other similar drinks) is the berry liqueur (blackberry or [black] raspberry). Some versions are frozen, while others our shaken; ours is flash blended!

Drinks traveling under the "Bahama Mama" name have existed since at least the early 1960s, but known formulas date to the 1970s. Usually a combination of rums, lemon or lime, pineapple or and/or orange, grenadine, coconut in some form, and coffee liqueur, the drink in various forms has been popular from Caribbean resorts to chain restaurants for over fifty years.

Though the Sherry Cobbler is far and away the most famous of the genre, the Madeira version is the first known mention of the drink on record. Even more popular than sherry in the eighteenth century, it’s no wonder Madeira made a splash in the new style of iced drinks that emerged in the decades before the Civil War. Stone fruit and ginger compliment the wine and so do the fortifying spirits of brandy and aged rum.

The Sherry Cobbler came on the scene in 1838 and in a matter of years it was known across the United States and was poised to take over the world. A simple mixture of sherry, sugar, and citrus shaken with ice, served over ice with a straw, and garnished with abandon. For this recipe, I stuck to the classic orange and lemon, pineapple syrup (inspired by an 1880s Harry Johnson spec) and a blend of oloroso and PX sherries.

It’s only natural that for a template that centers fortified wine would extend to the third member of the great Iberian triumvirate: port. The first published recipe I can find for a Port Cobbler is in Harry Johnson’s 1882 book. I love ruby or white ports in cobblers and for this recipe I combined tannic ruby port with blueberries and a 1:1 vanilla syrup. I really like currant and cherries spilling out of this drink in a goblet.

Though vermouth became part of the American drinks landscape after the Sherry Cobbler’s heyday, it nevertheless makes a fantastic base for Cobblers. The Torino Cobbler illustrates this point while also reflecting how the Cobbler template has found a home in twenty-first century bar culture, where it sees favorite modern products work their way into recipes.

Named for the main character in The Secret Garden, this iced beauty combines the aesthetics of the Fix and the Bramble in a charming presentation. The malty genever base provides a canvas for the classic English flavors of rhubarb, ginger, and blackberry.

Mary’s cousin Colin believes he will always be ill, but Mary and Dickon bring him and his household back to life! Though this drink is non-alcoholic, I took inspiration from the John & Tom Collins, a family of drinks that sometimes called for genever as a base. Sort of a very complex strawberry-rhubarb lemonade, a nod to lemonades as one of the most important teetotal categories in drinks history.

The original standard-bearer drink of the California Tropical movement (later known as “tiki). This is the first and best example of the Don the Beachcomber method of splitting each element in a Planter’s Punch (rum, juice, sweetener) between multiple products to create complexity. Imitations sprung up almost immediately and the Zombie helped to spread “tiki” around the world.

Another early Don the Beachcomber drink, the Cobra’s Fang originally called for a blend of pot-stilled Jamaican rum and aged Demerara 151. A close cousin to the original Zombie, at its heart is a combination of lime, orange, passion fruit and falernum, with Angostura bitters and absinthe. At Gigantic, we simplify the base to just an ounce-and-a-half of 151 (reflecting the slightly later Kon-Tiki version) and amp up the spiced notes with cinnamon syrup.

Originally the Demerara Dry Float was built on aged and overproof Demerara rums, maraschino liqueur, passion fruit, lots of lime, a touch of lemon, and demerara syrup. It came in a distinctive glass with the overproof rum in a shot glass on the side. The Mai-Kai also served a version of this cocktail for decades.Gigantic's version is similar to the one served at Latitude 29 in New Orleans, which is done in the style of a Daiquiri.

Though some form of the Skull & Bones appears on a 1940s menu from Don the Beachcomber, the version this recipe is based on dates to the 1960s. It was recounted by Tony Ramos, who had worked at Don the Beachcomber locations in Palm Springs and San Diego, as well as the Luau and the China Trader in Burbank. The Skull & Bones is a wonderfully layered cocktail that’s also striking in presentation–and it’s always a favorite on the Gigantic tiki menu.

As you know, my historically-driven palate favors the spirits that were popular in 19th-century juleps, i.e. rye, Cognac, and rum. For my own julep recipe, I wanted to combine these three in equal parts with a favorite amaro (Braulio or dell’erborista are particularly good here, but there are many that would work!). I also decided to make the garnish do a little aromatic work, hence the nutmeg and shaved coffee bean, which hit the nose along with the mint upon first sip. The sherry float also contributes a nice aroma if desired!

This is probably the drink that first comes to mind when you think of juleps (unless your brain is stuck in the 19th century like me)! The bourbon-based julep is the one that has survived into the modern age, thanks in no small part to its connection with the Kentucky Derby. For this recipe, I wanted it to be exceedingly elemental. Since we’ve combined the sugar and mint in our mint syrup already, this julep requires but two ingredients (plus a big bouquet of mint, of course). It is simplicity at its finest!