Day 69: Blog Post for Day 69

Caption for Polynesian Cocktail Picture

The Polynesian Cocktail is made from vodka, cherry brandy, and lime juice.  The origins of this drink remain unclear, but it was probably born during the tiki bar craze in the 40’s and 50’s.  During this time many classic drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie were invented.  These drinks usually have exotic recipes and frequently feature rum and tropical juices.  You may have noticed that the Polynesian Coktail is not as famous.  There are a few reasons for this.  The first is that it contains neither rum nor tropical juices, the two key components of a tiki drink.  A lime might qualify as tropical, but it is hardly exotic.  How many exotic fruit juices come in a plastic container in the shape of the fruit?

Another fame-limiting aspect of the Polynesian Cocktail is the name.  It just isn’t very creative.  Couldn’t they have called it the Tonga Donga or the Tuvalutti Frutti?  I guarantee that if you ordered a Tonga Donga that you would remember it.  Really, almost anything is better than Polynesian Cocktail.  I wonder if the original name was Regional Drink and Polynesian Cocktail seemed like a big step up. Between the non-tropical ingredients and the boring name I think the bartender was having an off day when he came up with this. I’m not sure he even understood the concept of a tiki drink.



Can of Beer
Image: http://bit.ly/b07xpf

Actually, I’m not really sold on any drink that has “cocktail” as part of the name, either.   We have had a string of them lately. In addition to the Polynesian Cocktail, in the last few days we’ve had the Quaker’s Cocktail and the Olympic Cocktail, too.  Tomorrow’s drink is the Homestead Cocktail.   Do they really have to tell us that a drink is a cocktail?  Usually when I am served something in a cocktail glass and it has tons of alcohol I am able to deduce that it is a cocktail all by myself.

The final, and probably most important, reason that the Polynesian Cocktail did not become famous is the taste. It was not good.  I actually didn’t find it that bad, but Mrs. Bottle really disliked it.  It was also the rare drink where she felt that the sugar-rimmed glass actually made the taste worse.  To me it tasted mostly like the cherry brandy with a bit of lemon.   The sugar didn’t make any difference to me either way which is unusual because I love sugar.  If the sugar does nothing then we are probably in trouble.  Regardless, I am sure that this drink is not as good as a Tonga Donga.

Overall Rating for the Polynesian Cocktail

Taste: 2

Presentation: 4

Ease of Preparation: 3 – Sugar rim always costs a point

Drinks Until Blackout: 6 – 26 % Alcohol

Ingredients

1.5 oz Vodka

.75 oz Cherry Brandy

.75 oz Lime Juice