Sleigh Pilot

Sleigh Pilot

Typically one would leave some cookies and milk out by the fireplace for Santa, which is why he got so fat, incidentally. You would be forgiven for thinking that Santa's drink of choice is a cold glass of milk. A little known fact is that Santa actually loves a few cocktails on Christmas Eve. His sleigh is magic anyway, he doesn’t really need to stay sober. Rudolph is his designating driver. A lover of all things kitschy, Santa really goes for an over-the-top tiki style drink. This entire class of cocktails (tiki) is an oeuvre meant to evoke a generic Polynesian vibe and transport one to an ambiguously tropical locale. It was “invented” by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt when he opened Don the Beachcomber, the very first tiki style bar in Hollywood, 1934. A few years later, “Trader Vic” Bergeron remodeled his place up the road, copying Gantt, and sealing the fate of tiki, which became immensely popular thanks to war veterans returning from the South Pacific and the folly of the Hollywood elite. In modern times tiki styling might have been considered cultural appropriation, but tiki cocktail culture was always acknowledged to be a fabrication, not a true representation of authentic Polynesian culture. In this light, it’s simply an art form all on its own.

This year we dive back into the history books for one of Don the Beachcomber’s originals, the Test Pilot. Like many of his classic recipes, it has evolved over time, but should include overproof rum, Puerto Rican rum, Jamaican rum, lime juice, and Don’s signature mix of Angostura Bitters and Pernod (or other anise flavored liqueur such as Herbsaint or Absinthe). Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, new versions of the drink popped up quickly at other bars, with a notable version being the “Jet Pilot”, which added grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup to the mix. These drinks captured the imagination of the public in the Forties and Fifties, during the “Jet Age” of air speed development, with Edwards Air Force in Southern California host to Chuck Yeager’s 1948 air speed record in an X-1 jet. His record would be surpassed in 1967 by the X-15 rocket plane, which inspired its own cocktail.

Santa's being a little naughty

For Santa’s version of the Jet Pilot, I’ve simply swapped out the Jamaican rum for Becherovka, the Czech spirit I wrote about last winter made with flavors of cinnamon, clove, allspice, ginger and cardamom. It retains the spirit of the rum while adding something festive for the holidays, and works perfectly. Of course, any decent tiki drink needs an outrageous, over-the-top garnish, so here is one made from citrus peels that ought to hit the mark, straight from Santa’s Texas Workshop. Here's wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Cheers!

Naughty and Nice

Sleigh Pilot

1 oz Becherovka

¾ oz Puerto Rican aged rum

¾ oz overproof dark rum

½ oz lime

½ oz grapefruit

½ oz Falernum liqueur

½ oz cinnamon syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

6 dashes absinthe

4 oz crushed ice

Flash mix ingredients together in a blender and serve ala tiki style in a favorite mug.

Find more holiday themed cocktails:

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