Thanks to the pioneering cocktail archeology of Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and others, tiki enthusiasts enjoy a substantial library of golden-era recipes. New recipes from Don and Vic are vanishingly rare. So, I was quite surprised to come across Trader Vic’s recipe for “Maori Punch” in a 1949 newspaper.
Note: The correct spelling is Māori, and refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand. Here, I use the spelling as used in the 1949 article.
The recipe is so simple that I first thought it was just another recipe with a different name. But after searching across many archives, I uncovered nothing with the same name or substantially the same ingredients. It’s entirely possible I overlooked something, but why not share what I found?
The recipe appeared in several California newspapers and Idaho’s Pocatello Post in July 1949. The article includes a photo of Trade Vic sipping what we can presume is the Maori Punch, as the glassware matches the recipe description. The caption beneath the photo reads:
HOT? —Trader Vic, Oakland, Cal., restaurateur, offers this “cooler” which he calls Maori punch. Here it is: one ounce passion fruit juice imported from Australia, two ounces gin, dash of angostura bitters and the juice of one-half lime. Mix in tumbler and serve in large, wide-mouthed goblet filled to brim with chopped ice. Vic warns it DOES have a punch.
The recipe, as written, raises an interesting question, as it calls for one ounce of passionfruit juice. The raw passionfruit juice and/or puree available to most of us is quite tart. If we made the Maori Punch as specified, it would be bracing as it has no other sweeteners. Perhaps the Australian passionfruit juice Vic used was either a nectar or a syrup, i.e., sweetened. As I learned, the meaning of “juice” isn’t consistent worldwide.
All the Maori Punch’s ingredients — lime, passionfruit, gin, and Angostura bitters — are commonly used in golden-era recipes. It would be right at home in the Minimalist Tiki Classic 30 Drinks list. The combination of gin and passionfruit also appears in the Saturn, but the latter came much later and uses lemon rather than lime and adds orgeat and falernum.
Firmly believing Vic used sweetened juice or syrup, I rewrote it for today’s tiki drink makers.
Maori Punch – Trader Vic, 1949 (Adapted by Matt Pietrek)
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- 0.5 oz lime juice
- 0.5 oz passion fruit syrup
- 2 oz gin
Shake with ice and strain into a stemmed vessel with a wide mouth, e.g., a large martini glass or similar. A medium-sized snifter will work as well. Fill with crushed ice.
Vic didn’t specify a garnish, so garnish at your whim, e.g., a lime wheel and umbrella. If you have sweet passionfruit juice on hand, try substituting an ounce for the 0.5 oz of passionfruit syrup I specified.
How is the Maori Punch? Delightfully simple and refreshing. The gin makes its presence known without being overwhelming. Should you want more spice, increase the Angostura bitters to two or three dashes.
More importantly, what of Mrs. Wonk’s verdict? “I’d drink a lot of those.”
Thanks – and just in time for summer! This looks like it could stand up to a little dose of soda water (Topo Chico?) and also that you would get something amazing if you subbed in a good clear agricole instead of the gin (maybe that is already something).
Andy
Mai Tai Day is August 27th at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville!
This looks great on paper! My wife loves drinking Saturns, so this looks right up her exotic drink alley.
Trader Vic specifically called for Mynor’s Passion Fruit Nectar in his Gin Punch (Trader Vic’s Kitchen Kibitzer) as well as his Port Light and Starboard Light (Trader Vic’s Pacific Island Cookbook). According to vintage advertisements, Mynor was an Australian brand with U.S. Agents in New York. In the name of science, I tried the recipe as written (juice) and it failed. I then tried one ounce of a nectar (Gloria Passion Fruit Drink – water, sugar, passion fruit juice et. al) and it came out quite well.
“Maori” seems fine when writing English. That said, around five years ago New Zealand government and media began adding accent marks to Maori words appearing in English text. There is definitely a recent push to make this approach standard.
I grew up seeing Maori written without accent marks. Long vowels were either indicated using a double letter, or the reader relied on context. Maori dictionaries did not use accent marks. Not sure when that changed, but maybe from the 1990s.
For whatever reason, local Maori in some areas prefer double letters to accent marks, so you will still see that too – including on government signage etc.