Coconut Willie From Hawaiian Room

Name: Coconut Willie From Hawaiian Room
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Adapted from “Rum Is Romantic,” by James A. Beard, House & Garden, July 1956 p. 4

Photo: Eugene Lee

May 12, 2022

Before the Piña Colada populated beachside resorts and tropical bars everywhere, there was the Coconut Willie. In his Mixopedia piece for the May/June 2022 issue, writer Wayne Curtis describes this popular coconut drink as “a Piña Colada with benefits, with lemon added for acidity and orange curaçao for complexity.” It gained notoriety in the 1940s from Hotel Lexington‘s Hawaiian Room in New York City. Rum lover James Beard was able to snag the recipe and publish it on House & Garden in 1956.

Ingredients

2 oz. coconut milk
1 oz. pineapple juice
3/4 oz. Jamaican rum
1/2 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. orange curaçao
1/2 tsp fine sugar

Tools:shaker
Glass:Half a large coconut shell

Preparation

Cut large coconut in half and use as the container for the drink. Add ingredients to shaker with crushed ice and shake. Pour unstrained contents into the coconut.