honi honi

1 1/2 oz Blended Whisky (2 oz Four Roses)
1 1/2 oz Trader Vic's Mai Tai Mix (3/4 oz Lime Juice, 1/2 oz Orgeat, 1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Curaçao)

Shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tahitian mug (coconut mug), and garnish with mint and a fruit stick (omit).

Two Fridays ago, I returned to Trader Vic's 1972 Bartender's Guide Revised and spotted the Honi Honi which was marked as a Trader Vic original. While the 1946 edition of his book had a recipe under the same name with rum, apricot liqueur, and lemon, this one was a whiskey Mai Tai. The first few times that I had spotted the recipe over the years, I assumed that "blended whisky" meant a blended Scotch Mai Tai; however, Trader Vic spelled all aged grain-based spirits as "whisky," other bloggers and Instagrammers have made this drink with Bourbon, and I confirmed the Bourbon aspect by viewing old Trader Vic restaurant menus. Therefore, I opted for a blended Bourbon -- namely Four Roses Yellow Label -- instead of a blended Scotch as I first suspected or a blended whiskey (perhaps 20% or more Bourbon diluted with grain neutral spirits) which would have been rather common in the 1970s.The Honi Honi greeted the nose with a mint bouquet before launching into a creamy and lime sip. Next, the swallow came through with Bourbon, orange, earthy-nutty, and lime flavors. The lime juice did not greatly clash with the American whiskey here as I expected, but my gut would have steered me to the lemon juice that was used in the Bluegrass Mai Tai instead if I had created the drink myself.