space needle

1 1/2 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (3/4 oz Don Q Añejo)
1 1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (3/4 oz Coruba)
1 oz Curaçao (1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand)
1 1/2 oz Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)
3/4 oz Orgeat (3/8 oz)

Blend with 1 scoop of ice in an electric drink mixer and pour into a 10 oz glass (short shake with ice, strain into a small Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice).

After my work shift two Tuesdays ago, I ventured into Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery to find a recipe to make for Tiki the Snow Away. There, I spotted the Space Needle that I had previously skipped over for it just appeared like a Mai Tai with lemon instead of lime, but that night, it called out to me. While the book provided little history, I was able to discover that the drink was probably created and served at Trader Vic's Eye of the Needle restaurant inside Seattle's Space Needle. The establishment opened in 1962 to coincide with the World's Fair held there, and it served other signature drinks that I have made from 1970s-era Trader Vic books such as the Panorama Punch. Without the reference to the landmark building itself, the drink name conjured up other space Tiki drinks that began appearing in the 1960s such as the Saturn, Space Pilot, and Astro Aku Aku.

The Space Needle gave forth an orange and nutty nose that led into a lemon and caramel sip. Next, funky rum notes were joined by orange and nutty flavors on the swallow. Overall, the lemon instead of lime made the drink sharper and less tropical, but that substitution was one that worked well in Trader Vic's Potted Parrot and in my Sherry Mai Tai.