MNEMONIC BARTENDING
DON’S BEACH PLANTER – as made and served back in 1937 at Don the Beachcomber’s. The source of this recipe is Dick Santiago, Filipino maître d’ at Beachcombers at the time, who recorded and kept this recipe in his personal notebook.
This one is tall, served in a house specialty, collins, or Pilsner glass. It’s listed in “Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari” on p. 53. It’s one of Don the Beachcomber’s drinks and is blended no more than 5 seconds with 4 oz of crushed ice, then poured into a tall glass and filled up the rest of the way with ice cubes.
Explaining here a bit, based on the innovations I’ve devised for bartenders memorizing precise measures with absolute certainty, the Amphitheater counts for 1/4 oz, two ingredients, ¼ oz Dark Jamaican Rum, and I’m using a “cog” (wheel with sprockets) to stand for ¼ oz Cognac (before I had used a drawing of the Eiffel Tower). Below the Amphitheater actor Martin Short is saying “Eeek!” at the prospect of being chopped in half, along with the lime, by the Hawaiian Punch character (named “Punchy” btw — Punchy himself represents Passion Fruit Syrup). That’s ½ oz Lime Juice, ½ oz Martin Eek (Martinique Rum), and ½ oz Passion Fruit Syrup.
Punchy has a Tie, but I also put a copy of the Tie in the hat. Ties always represent 1 oz. The tie has a Pineapple on it. It means 1 oz of Pineapple Juice goes in the drink.
Punchy has one drill bit leg. Drill bits are “bitters”, and this one bit means one dash of Angostura Bitters. Now it’s kind of difficult not to see the pink shoe he’s wearing with the letter P on it.
As with a lot of Don the Beachcomber’s drinks, this P means Pernod. And the Major System Mnemonic for “6” is the shoe… so the pink shoe with the letter P on it stands for 6 drops of Pernod.
As you can see in the above graphic, I’ve tightened up the objects in the picture to tie everything closer so I can see it all in my mind’s eye all at once. I copied the drill bit up and have it drilling into Martin Short’s face (another reason for Martin to say Eeeek! And remind me of Martinique Rum). I also added the Pink Shoe (Pernod, 6 drops) to the drill bit.
The garnishes here are the “armored” (tough fruit) Pineapple Butterfly, and a Mint Sprig. Thus, the recipe is: ¼ oz Dark Jamaican Rum ¼ oz Cognac ½ oz Martinique Rum ½ oz Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice ½ oz Passionfruit Syrup 1 oz Unsweetened Pineapple Juice 1 dash Angostura Bitters 6 drops Pernod Blend under 5 seconds with 4 oz cracked ice, pour and fill glass with ice. Garnish w/ Pineapple chunks, a Cherry, and Mint Sprig. Nice drink. Not too strong. #Mnemonics #BartenderMnemonics #MnemonicBartending
Here’s the full Mnemonic Graphic as it has gone, and continues to go through changes.
If you’re a bartender wanting to move forward to the level of elite mastery over recipe memorization with absolute certainty of ingredients and precise proportions every time, join my BRAND NEW FB Mnemonic Bartending Group where I’ll show you how. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mnemonicbartending/
Site Author, David J. Curtis: David Curtis, a seasoned professional with decades of bartending and bar management experience began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife club scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in iconic Midtown clubs and tended bar briefly in the Wall Street area, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa in Exclusive Platinum Service Awards Clubs, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.
