hiva oa

2 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Giffard)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Lime Juice
8-10 leaf Mint
1 dash Absinthe (12 drop St. George)

Shake with ice, double strain into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the low ABV tropical drinks theme and was inspired by Trader Vic's Aku Aku. With mint and lime in the mix, I thought of my Low Heat-O and took it in a dry vermouth and dash of absinthe direction. Instead of the Aku Aku's peach liqueur and rock candy syrup, I replaced them with apricot liqueur and orgeat syrup, respectively. The Aku Aku like the classic Missionary's Downfall are both reasonably low proof drinks, and here the two ounces of dry vermouth is pretty close in alcohol content to those two drinks' one ounce rum pours; therefore, while it is low ABV, it is not that much lighter in strength than the rum drink inspiration.
For a name, I went with the French aspect of the vermouth and picked an island in French Polynesia, namely Hiva Oa. Once prepared, the Hiva Oa shared mint aromas along with tropical fruit notes from the pineapple and apricot combination. Next, a creamy lime and pineapple sip shared a hint of apricot, and the swallow was a delightful medley of herbal, apricot, mint, and a hint of absinthe's anise spice.