Q.B. Cooler Recipe: Donn Beach's Three-Rum Cooler

Ingredients

1 oz Jamaican rume.g. Appleton Estate · Smith & Cross · Wray & Nephew · Hampden Estate · Worthy Park
1 oz white rum Spanish-stylee.g. Bacardi · Havana Club · Plantation · Don Q · Flor de Caña
½ oz Demerara rum from Guyanae.g. El Dorado · Hamilton · Lemon Hart
1 oz orange juice freshly squeezed
½ oz lime juice freshly squeezed
½ oz honey syrup 1 part honey to 1 part warm water
¼ oz falernum
0.08 oz ginger syrup about half a teaspoon
2 dash Angostura bittersBuy on Amazon →
1 oz soda water chilled

Garnish: Mint sprig · Ice: Crushed ice

Method

Add juices, honey syrup, ginger syrup, falernum, all three rums and bitters to a shaker.
Add a generous scoop of crushed ice.
Shake briefly, about 5 seconds, or flash blend for 5 seconds.
Pour unstrained into a double rocks glass and top with the soda water.
Add more crushed ice if needed and garnish with a mint sprig.

Watch it made

Q.B. Cooler

Taste

Fruity and spiced with honeyed sweetness, orange freshness and a rich, layered rum backbone. Long, cold and medium strength.

History and origin

The Q.B. Cooler comes from Donn Beach, the man who opened Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood in the 1930s and created the template for tiki bars. Donn guarded his recipes closely, writing them in code for his bartenders, and many were only reconstructed decades later by tiki historians, most notably Jeff Berry.

The drink is often discussed in connection with the Mai Tai: Donn Beach's side of the story holds that Trader Vic modelled his famous drink on the Q.B. Cooler, a claim Vic always rejected. What Q.B. stood for is not known for certain; one often repeated explanation links it to the Quiet Birdmen, a club of aviators. Recipes vary slightly between sources, but the structure of honey, orange, lime and several rums stays the same.

Bartender tips

Honey syrup mixes far better than raw honey: stir equal parts honey and warm water and let it cool.
The Demerara rum adds dark, smoky depth; if you have none, use a rich aged rum in its place.
Slap the mint sprig between your palms before garnishing so it releases its aroma right under the nose.