Goombay Smash Cocktail Recipe
A pineapple-heavy Bahamian rum punch with coconut rum and a soft apricot backbone.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Hurricane glass
- ABV: 10%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~4 min
Ingredients
- Dark Jamaican rum30 ml (1 oz)
- Coconut rum30 ml (1 oz)
- Apricot brandy15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Pineapple juice90 ml (3 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Simple syrup10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Shake the rums, the apricot brandy, the pineapple juice, the lemon juice and the syrup with ice.
- Strain into a hurricane glass filled with fresh ice.
- Grate a little nutmeg over the surface.
- Garnish with the pineapple wedge and serve with a straw.
Garnish
A pineapple wedge and a grating of nutmeg.
What it tastes like
Fruit notes come forward and there is pineapple and passion fruit in it.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
The curved, tall hurricane glass. Tiki and tropical drinks often run past 200 ml, and this is the shape that holds that volume along with the ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Dark Jamaican rum
- Jamaican rum is set apart by the banana-and-pineapple note called funk, which comes from long fermentation and cannot be faked with another rum. It is where tiki drinks get their character.
- Pineapple juice
- Pineapple juice. It foams on its own when shaken — that creamy head on a tiki drink comes from the pineapple, not from egg white.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
The Story
Named after Goombay, the Bahamian drum music and festival, and made famous by a small bar in the Abaco islands. Its exact recipe has always been kept loose, and every bar mixes it a little differently.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Goombay Smash mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a hurricane glass.
- How strong is a Goombay Smash?
- Roughly 10% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Goombay Smash be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Goombay Smash hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.