The 9 Best Tiki Cocktails Ever Home Bartender Should Know How to Make

Trader Vic, in his Bartender’s Guide, has three recipes for the Scorpion Bowl, two of which are essentially the same (rum, brandy, lemon, orange, and almond syrup) and the last of which has all that other stuff but also throws in a bunch of gin and, bizarrely, a half bottle of white wine. This ambiguity is compounded by the fact that the the imitation tiki bars that sprouted up all over the country either didn’t read Bergeron’s published recipes or didn’t care once they had, so everyone had their own “Scorpion” or “Scorpion Bowl,” with an attendant cacophony of ingredients: You’ll find grenadine and mango, pisco and vodka, the embalming fluid from a jar of maraschino cherries, you name it. One recipe I’ve seen has all this stuff plus a cup each of pineapple, passion fruit, and guava juices. It’s a lot.

These can be good, but for my Scorpion Bowls, I defer to Bergeron’s original. Scorpion Bowls are both smooth and boozy, and integral to their character is some measure of trickery—they don’t taste strong, which is how they get you. The rum is there for body, the brandy gives an oaky texture, the orgeat a floral, nutty sweetness, and the orange thins it out and helps mask the strength. 

Individual Size

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and give a good shake for six to eight seconds. Pour contents, ice and all, into a tiki mug, top with more ice, and garnish with an orange slice, a cherry, and if you have it, a gardenia or two.

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Bowl Size

If you have crushed ice, this is a good time to use it—add all ingredients to a bowl with crushed ice and stir/agitate for 10 or so seconds to kick start the dilution. If you don’t, shake as instructed above, in batches if you have to. Serve with a plentiful array of garnishes: edible flowers, orange slices, cherries on picks, etc, and serve with an array of extra long colorful straws.