Honolulu (a La Mr. Smith)– Recipe from the ‘Old Waldorf Bar Guide’
Two jiggers Gin
A little less than half a jig Orange Curacao
Juice of half a Lime
So this is basically a Gin Margarita, sans salt, and thus very easy to order in almost any bar or restaurant anywhere, unless you’re at Wahaca that batches everything at a central kitchen, maybe.
I always associate Hawaii with Tiki Culture, so it’s a little surprising to see no vestiges of this in any of the Honolulu drinks, although the Waldorf guide pre-dates Tiki by a fair way, and I just can’t see Embury ever setting foot in anything remotely Tiki.
I did expect a little pineapple in one though, as this started to spread into drinks in the 20’s. I suspect that the bulk of the Waldorf guide is actually from drinks prior to prohibition, and then by a good 10+ years, placing most of them closer to 1905-10 than 1931 when the book was published, which would explain the lack of pineapple juice.
The drink tastes like you’d expect, and was really quite nice, sipped outside Locale a lovely restaurant on Munster road. I’m not sure if I’d have another, if I want a drink of this make up I’m always going to stop on a Margarita or a Daiquiri a long way before choosing gin as the base spirit for a sour, however its ease of creation, and of explaining this drink to a bartender could make it a handy go-to for something a little different.
I wonder who Mr Smith was.