Last month the Liquid Culture column asked readers to submit original Malibu-based cocktail recipes. After drinking our way through the entries, these were are five favorites and the authors each received a 350-ml bottle of Malibu.
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Ryoko Yamaguchi of Saitama Prefecture sent in a whopping seven recipes, suggesting either a talent for mixology or an incredible thirst for coconut rum. The most inventive of her creations paired Malibu with fruit juices and awamori, Okinawa’s distilled rice liquor.
Okinawan palm15 ml Malibu Shake the ingredients with ice, pour, put your feet up and dream of Okinawan beaches. |
Cachaca is just a blip on the drink market in Japan, but as the base of the super-trendy caipirinha, it’s a blip that’s getting bigger every day. Chikako Kobayashi of Kichijoji uses it with Malibu and guava juice in a sweet, tropical cocktail that conjures up bikinis, palm trees and Caribbean beach bars.
Coconut Guava Cooler
15 ml cachaca
15 ml Malibu
60 ml guava juice
Shake with ice and pour into a tall, chilled glass.
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Noriko Tanji from Tokyo says she was inspired by Cuba’s classic mojito to create “Libre y Realidad (Freedom and Reality).” Traditional mojito recipes would have you muddle limes with the mint, but since Harry Nilsson famously sang about lime and coconut leading to a big bellyache, this recipe plays it safe and uses cider for its fruitiness instead.
Libre y Realidad30 ml Malibu Muddle the mint at the bottom of a tall glass and add the Malibu. Fill the glass with ice and top up with cider. |
Mannie Brown from Tokyo based his recipe on the Pina Colada. It uses Mount Gay, the world’s oldest brand of rum. First produced in 1703. Mount Gay’s Extra Old version has been gobbling up industry awards for the last two decades. On a trivial note, the rum was owned for over a century by the inappropriately named Sober family.
Faux Pina
30 ml Malibu
30 ml Mount Gay dark rum
Pineapple juice to taste
Pour Malibu and Mount Gay over ice and add the pineapple juice to taste. Brown advises: “Make sure it tastes strongly of alcohol in the beginning, because with the Tokyo summer, it’ll be weak in the end.”
The final winning recipe was written simply “Malibu & shochu & coffee.” It’s not clear how much to add or how to build it, but Kaori Saito of Saitama gets a bottle of Malibu for sending in the most unusual suggestion. Start with a dash of coffee and Malibu to flavor the schochu, and when the room begins to spin, switch to shochu- and Malibu-flavored coffee.
Click to enlarge
