royal caribbean yacht club cocktail

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Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

Trader vic’s bartender’s guide , 1947.

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A Trader Vic original, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club is Vic’s tiki-fied version of the Daiquiri . Instead of one-dimensional simple syrup, Vic substituted orange curaçao and spiced falernum to intensify the tropical flavors and presumably translate the feeling of a Caribbean port-of-call.

from Punch (http://punchdrink.com)

Ingredients.

2 ounces rum (preferably El Dorado 5 Year)
1/2 ounce falernum
1/4 ounce orange curacao (preferably Pierre Ferrand)
3/4 ounce lime juice

Garnish: lime wheel

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
Add ice and shake until chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel.

Tagged: falernum , rum , sour , Tiki , Trader Vic , tropical , Velvet Falernum

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Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

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How to make:.

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass .
Prepare garnish of lime wedge .
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into a chilled glass.

Ingredients:
60 ml
15 ml
7.5 ml
22.5 ml	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
2.5 ml

Read about cocktail measures and measuring .

Makes a minimum of ... cocktails.

A full-flavoured, tangy Daiquiri with faint clove spice.

Created at the eponymous club, established in Bermuda in 1844 and largely frequented by British Army Officers. Royal Bermuda Yacht Club cocktail first appears in Crosby Gaige's 1941 Cocktail Guide & Ladies' Companion as the favourite cocktail of Mary Mabon, then a writer for Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine.

Mary Mabon This lady, and make no mistake about it, she is, might have assumed any one of many rôles in life. She might have been Ethel Barrymore in Captain Jinks or Maude Adams in Peter Pan or Galen or George Sand or almost anyone except Fanny Farmer. She writes for Harper's Bazaar in aureate phrases with a golden pen, and I hope her publisher pays her accordingly. Mrs. Mabon first met up with her favourite concoction at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Hamilton, Bermuda. It is currently considered one of the best rum drinks on the island. Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail 3 parts Barbados Rum 1 part Lime Juice ½ part Falernum of Sugar Syrup Dash of Cointreau or Brandy Shake with plenty of ice and strain into cocktail glass. With such a drink the plantanitos fritos (fried banana chips) and the Taro chips that are new on the market are appetizing. Serve with these very small, not stuffed, green aniseed olives on a bed of crushed ice with the juice of half a lime squeezed over them. Crosby Gaige, Cocktail Guide & Ladies' Companion, 1941

Our recipe adapted from Victor Bergeron 's 1972 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide .

ROYAL BERMUDA YACHT CLUB COCKTAIL 1½ ounces Barbados rum ½ ounce lime juice ¼ ounce Falernum 1 dash Cointreau Shake with ice cubes. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, 1972

One serving of Royal Bermuda Yacht Club contains 211 calories .

Alcohol content:

2.7 units of alcohol
20.31% alc./vol. (40.62° proof)
21.8 grams of pure alcohol

More Classic/vintage cocktails More Hall of Fame & must know/try cocktails More Sours (citrus) cocktails More Citrusy cocktails More Aperitivo/aperitif cocktails More Summer cocktails

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Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail recipe

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Cocktail Colin says:

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club cocktail is a beautifully conceived tribute to its island namesake, blending classical and tropical elements with finesse. The combination of tart lime juice and smooth white rum sets a refreshing base, while the warmth of falernum and a whisper of orange liqueur envelop the palate in a subtly spiced, aromatic embrace that truly makes this drink a celebration of Bermuda's yachting elegance.

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What is the origin of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club cocktail?

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club cocktail is a classic cocktail that pays homage to the prestigious yacht club founded in Bermuda in 1844. The cocktail's creation is credited to Trader Vic's 1947 Bartender’s Guide, reflecting the tropical and British influences prevalent in Bermuda's culture.

Can I substitute another type of rum if I don't have white rum?

Yes, substitutions can be made, although they will slightly alter the flavor profile. A light-aged rum or a different clear rum can be used as a substitute. Darker rums can also be used but expect a richer, slightly more complex taste.

Is this cocktail suitable for someone who prefers sweet drinks?

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club cocktail offers a balanced flavor with a slight sweetness from the falernum and orange liqueur, complemented by the tartness of the lime juice. If you have a sweet tooth, you might find it enjoyable, but it's not overly sweet.

How should I serve the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club cocktail?

This cocktail should be served cold, ideally shaken with ice and then strained into a cocktail glass. You can garnish it with a lime wheel or twist to enhance its presentation and add a bit of citrus aroma.

What is falernum, and is there a substitute if I don't have it?

Falernum is a sweet syrup used in Caribbean and tropical drinks, combining flavors of ginger, lime, almond, and sometimes cloves or allspice. If you don't have falernum, you can make a simple substitute with a mix of simple syrup, almond extract, and lime zest, although the flavor won't be exactly the same.

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The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail is built squarely on a tropical Caribbean foundation—despite the fact that Bermuda is hundreds of miles out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The drink combines rum, lime, and sugar—the combination Jeff Berry refers to as “the Holy Trinity of Caribbean mixology”—but the sweetness is applied in the form of nutty, gingery falernum syrup and orange liqueur.

We have Crosby Gaige to thank for the original formula. I haven’t been able to learn if he invented the drink—or was ever even in Bermuda—or just picked it up somewhere. It first shows up in his 1941 Cocktail Guide and Ladies Home Companion .

3 parts Barbados Rum
1 part Lime Juice
½ part Falernum or sugar syrup
1 dash Cointreau or Brandy

Shake with plenty of ice and strain into cocktail glass.

I don’t think Gaige knew how he wanted this drink to work. He had the basic formula down, but his ambivalence about sweeteners is striking. First of all, there’s a big flavor difference between plain sugar syrup and nutty, spicy, sometimes gingery falernum. Cointreau is a sweet, orange flavored liqueur, and brandy isn’t.

What th’…?

Fortunately, the RBYC cocktail caught “Trader Vic” Bergeron’s imagination. Vic was considerably more decisive than Gaige, and more interested in driving flavor with his sweeteners. He ditched the simple syrup option, and banished the brandy alternative. Even though a single dash of either Cointreau or brandy makes little change in the drink, sweet, orange Cointreau was his flavor adjuster of choice.

When Vic was done with it, the RBYC was clearly a proto-tiki drink, halfway between the straightforward Daiquiri and the more ornate, complex tiki drinks that would be his hallmark.

My problem with both versions is the single dash of Cointreau. Its orange note is too faint, and gets buried under the falernum and lime. The RBYC works much better with more of the orange coming through.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail

1½ oz Mount Gay Eclipse Amber rum
½ oz fresh lime juice
¼ oz Falernum (John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum)
¼ oz Clement Creole Shrubb

Shake with ice until cold; strain into chilled cocktail stem. Optionally, garnish with lime.

It’s intriguing that this drink has always called for Barbados rum. Mount Gay Eclipse Amber seems to be the rum of choice for the Royal Bermuda—it’s a perfect match for the RBYC flavor mix. Other rums also work—on a whim, I made this with Eldorado 12 demerara, and it worked nicely, though the sweetness wanted to submerge the falernum—but the Barbados rums seem to be just right.

Mount Gay Eclipse Amber Rum label (detail)

The only falernum I have easy access to in my market is the Taylor Velvet, so I don’t know what adjustments you need if you have another brand. (The Taylor Velvet Falernum is very good, but it’s something you can make at home; I’ve been promising myself I would try that.)

As for the original recipe’s Cointreau: I’m a proponent of curaçaos made on the same spirit base as the drink I’m mixing. In this case, that means Clement’s Creole Shrubb, which is an orange liqueur with a rum base. It’s soft and well-made, and blends well with the Mount Gay.

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail is a delightful sour, more complex than the Daiquiri. The nose is similar, but with a spicy overtone. As with any sour, the trick is to hold the citrus and the sugar in balance, so that neither dominates your sensation of the drink. The first taste sensation is the dryness of the rum and the sharp notes of the lime, and then the sweet spiciness of the falernum rounds out the flavor. The weakest link is the curaçao, which seems to be something of a wallflower even with the increased portion. I’m guessing it’s there in some supporting role, and ties the rest of the flavors together, sort of the way a dash of bitters completes many drinks. The aftertaste is long, and mostly about the lime and spice.

The theatrical side of me has always thought it would be a fine fashion statement to have a yacht, and I suspect I’m not alone in that. As it turns out, the odds are slim to none that I will ever make that statement, but as it turns out, I don’t really mind. I’d like to think that if I had the money to support a yacht, I’d find something more constructive to do with it.

But the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail, that’s a different thing. It’s delicious, it has an evocative name, and I can afford it. And summer is coming to Minnesota. I have this handsome little tropical cocktail in my hand. I can feel the sun, I can hear the wind in the rigging, and the rush of water past the hull…