In chapter ten of Minimalist Tiki, I noted that understanding specific and often unusual flavor combinations is a gateway to mastering Tiki recipe improvisations. The provided example combinations include grapefruit/cinnamon (Jet Pilot) and coffee/pineapple (Mr. Bali Hai).
However, there’s another flavor combination that’s also a prelude to flavor bliss. Campari, the bitter Italian liqueur, melds seamlessly with bright, fruity flavors to create something quite different than the sum of its parts. While Campari and pineapple is a well-known combination (Jungle Bird, anyone?), Campari is also wonderful with passion fruit. Fun fact: Adding a touch of passion fruit is a great way to tiki-fy almost anything.
Chad Austin’s Tropic of Cancer (page 155) demonstrates this spectacularly, bringing together unaged agricole, Campari, and passion fruit in a simple-to-make stirred cocktail devoid of tart citrus but very much tiki-adjacent.
Tropic of Cancer (Chad Austin)
- Pinch salt
- 0.5 oz passion fruit liqueur, e.g., Giffard
- 1 oz Campari
- 1.5 oz unaged agricole rhum (OK to sub other unaged cane juice rums)
Build ingredients in a mixing glass, add cubed ice, stir until diluted and chilled. Strain over large block ice in a rocks glass.
Garnish with thin lime wheel (dehydrated if possible).
This is a fun flavor combo! Another “unusual” tropical one is Chartreuse and pineapple.