Jet Pilot Recipe

The Jet Pilot, created in 1958 on the Luau in Beverly Hills, is a classical tropical cocktail that consists of three sorts of rum, grapefruit and lime juice, falernum, cinnamon syrup, and a touch of each absinthe and Angostura bitters. If this listing of components appears acquainted, it’s for an excellent cause.

In the course of the heyday of California’s midcentury tropical cocktail scene, Hollywood’s Don the Beachcomber reigned supreme. Proprietor Donn Seashore is credited not solely with creating the tropical bar idea, but in addition with among the style’s hottest drinks just like the Fog Cutter, the Cobra’s Fang, and the Zombie.

Don the Beachcomber’s success led to many imitators, each of the bar idea and its distinctive model of cocktail recipe. The Jet Pilot, invented on the now-closed Luau, a Los Angeles hotspot owned by actor Steve Crane, is one among many noteworthy drinks that takes inspiration from Seashore’s creations. 

One might take a look at the title and surmise that it’s a easy variation of Don the Beachcomber’s Check Pilot cocktail, however a better take a look at the components reveals it’s virtually similar in construct to Seashore’s hottest invention — the basic, 1934 Zombie.

Why the Jet Pilot works

Whereas bartenders historically take a less-is-more strategy to constructing cocktails, the Jet Pilot, like a lot of its tropical contemporaries, by some means produces a balanced, complicated, and refreshing drink regardless of its lengthy listing of components.

The Jet Pilot is firmly throughout the realm of basic cocktail tropicalia. The combination of rum, lime juice, and sweetener is the tried-and-true bitter formulation that’s greatest exemplified by the easy and chic Daiquiri. 

In Seashore’s model, that formulation is expanded on by means of a number of full-flavored, but complementary rums, and the addition of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. The blueprint is additional expanded upon by splitting the sweetener between cinnamon syrup and the spicy, lime-infused liqueur, falernum. Dashes of Angostura bitters and absinthe are added to offer extra depth with a little bit of baking spice and anise.