Have you every heard of Goombay Smash? Well if you’ve visited Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar in the Bahamas (Green Turtle Cay) you’ve enjoyed the original concoction. The drink is very popular in the Caribbean and Florida, but it’s not as popular across the U.S. Over the years people have tried to recreate it, but they are just estimating. You see Miss Emily is famous for mixing the drink out back in big jugs and no one has ever seen it being mixed at the bar. It’s a well guarded family recipe since the 1960s.
According to award-winning master mixologist Dale DeGroff, a.k.a. King of Cocktails, he approximates the drink is a mixture of dark rum, coconut rum, apricot brandy and pineapple and orange juices, garnished with a pineapple wedge and an orange slice. I’ll go with his expert opinion since it’s very close to my cousin’s recipe for Goombay Smash. I’ve enjoyed this recipe since the early 1990s and love serving it at parties, but I don’t put orange juice in it. The only thing I do differently is add some simple syrup.
This recipe yields a little over a gallon. Perfect for a party. Combine all the ingredients in a jug slightly larger than 1 gallon capacity, shake and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold over ice, garnish with pineapple wedges and orange slices. I like to have extra white rum for a rum floater on top. Perfect drink on a hot summer day.
Shown here with grilled pineapples. Grilling caramelized the sugars in the pineapple making it extra delicious, and oh those grill marks!
Goombay Smash
The quintessential Bahamian drink served at every beach bar from the Caribbean throughout the coastal beaches of the United States. Created by Emily Cooper of Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar on Green Turtle Cay in the 1960s, her recipe is a well guarded secret. My recipe yields a little over a gallon, prefect for a party.
Ingredients
- 82 ounces Dole's pineapple juice
- 12 ounces Bacardi Superior White Rum
- 12 ounces Bacardi Gold Rum
- 12 ounces Malibu Coconut Rum
- 12 ounces Apricot Brandy
- 1 ½-2 cups simple syrup
Instructions
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Combine all the ingredients in a large container and allow the flavors to marry for at least 8 hours, best overnight, in the refrigerator. The longer it sits, the smoother the taste.
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Serve in a tall glass and garnish with pineapple wedges and orange slices.
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Have extra rum for a rum floater on top.
Recipe Notes
To make a litre carafe, combine:
3 cups pineapple juice with 1/2 cup each of Bacardi white rum, Bacardi gold rum, coconut rum, apricot brandy and simple syrup. Serve very cold over ice. Garnish with pineapple chunks and orange slices. Don’t forget the rum floater!
