By HeyLowNine

Many tiki drinks, especially those originating from the Don the Beachcomber's chain, are multi-layered compositions with multiple styles of rums and juices. When blended together, the result is a cocktail that reveals itself slowly and changes as you sip it. But sometimes such a drink is less than the sum of its parts.

The Never Say Die is featured in Beachbum Berry's Grog Log and Beachbum Berry Remixed. The notes indicate it was served in the 1960s at the Los Angeles Don the Beachcomber's location. It has a couple of Don's hallmarks, such as combining pineapple juice, dark rum, and bitters, but without the Pernod that was characteristic of earlier Don's recipes with those same elements. The drink also features 2 other rums, 3 other juices, and honey mix as the sweetener. Taken together, the result is a drink that's serviceable, but doesn't rise to the heights of a 1934 Zombie, a Nui Nui, or a Test Pilot.

I've made this drink several times even though it's not in my normal rotation (please see the 1934 Zombie, the Nui Nui, and the Test Pilot) with a couple of different rum choices (Mt Gay eclipse and Plantation 5 year for the Barbados rum, Coruba and Appleton for the Jamaican rum). Ultimately I think some of the juice portions are small enough that none of them really assert themselves. There's enough potential in the recipe that I've not yet given up on it, and eventually I'm going to find the right combinations. And hey don't forget: palates from person to person. I'm willing to bet this is someone's favorite exotic cocktail.

1/4 oz pineapple juice

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orange juice

1/2 oz grapefruit juice

1/2 oz honey mix

1/2 oz light Puerto Rican rum (Cruzan Aged light)

1/2 oz dark Jamaican rum (Coruba)

1 oz gold Barbados rum (Plantation 5 year)

Dash of Angostura bitters

4 oz crushed ice

Blend at high speed for 5 seconds. Pour into a wine goblet or specialty glass.

In this test I upped the pineapple juice to 1/2 oz, the honey mix to 3/4 oz and also added 1/2 oz of Smith & Cross rum along with 1/8 oz of Pernod.

The addition of the Pernod is evident right away, pairing well with the pineapple juice. That yields to the dark molasses of the Coruba, then right to the funky caramel of the Smith & Cross. It finishes with the bitter bite of the white grapefruit juice. Overall this tastes like an improvement over the original recipe and illustrates why I come back to this recipe from time to time: it's a great framework for testing new flavor combinations. Next time I'd consider dropping the grapefruit juice, upping the orange juice, and subbing grapefruit bitters for Angostura.

Of course, sometimes it's ok to make a drink because it just begs to be photographed. And don't forget the garnish.