by Cynthia Wall

Created on: July 24, 2011   Last Updated: July 25, 2011

They're cold, colorful, and crammed with color and taste. No luau would be complete without an assortment of tropical drinks. The drink table should offer everything from high octane mai tai's to Hawaiian punch for the children. Here's how to make the beverage station as satisfying as the rest of the luau. Buy or rent an assortment of glassware for daiquiris, mai tais, blended concoctions, and of course, cups for punch. In advance, prepare the drink decorations: citrus peels, pineapple and maraschino cherries on colored toothpicks, paper umbrellas, colorful straws, and fruit-imbedded ice. A day or two in advance, drop a cherry, pineapple chunk, or melon ball into the center of each compartment of ice trays. Fill with water (or juice) and freeze. The cubes will be a colorful addition to your drinks.

There are certain traditional beverages that belong at every luau. Guests who like their wine and beer will prefer those choices over tropical drinks, but that doesn't mean you can't add a Hawaiian twist. In fact, brands from Kona Brewing Company and Primo Island Lager are popular beer choices. Hawaiian punch no longer means the powdered stuff that comes in a package. For adults, mix various rums like Limon, Razz, and Orange with cranberry and pineapple juice into a punch bowl and float strawberries and pineapple tidbits.

For children and teetotalers, mix orange and pineapple juice with lemon-lime soda or ginger ale, plus Grenadine for coloring. Add sliced fruit to float. Just make sure that the punch bowls are labeled better yet, serve the non-alcoholic version along with soda pops on a separate table.

Unless you have a bar with a bartender mixing up each drink individually, it's easiest to select two or three tropical drinks from the recipes below. If you're serving a crowd, it's best to have drink mixes made up in quantity. Then they can be individually poured over shaved ice and garnished as each person comes to the table. Or several can be made, put on a tray, and served by a waiter throughout the crowd. While many tropical drinks are available in pre-mixed form, it's fun and tastier to make them from scratch.

Mai Tais: The basic mai tai is a mix of rums, orange Curacao, almond syrup, simple syrup (sugar dissolved in water and brought to a boil), limes, and orange juice. To make 16 at a time, combine 1 cup light rum, 1 cup dark rum, cup Curacao, cup almond flavored syrup, cup simple syrup or triple sec, the juice of 5 limes, and 1 quart orange juice. Mix in

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>