The Incomplete History of the Lapu Lapu Tiki Cocktail

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Recipes at the bottom of this description

The Lapu Lapu is a fine drink, but even more interesting is the story or lack of story around its creation. Most tiki cocktails point to a specific creator or moment in time, but occasionally we come across drinks with origins unknown. I just wanted to make a Lapu Lapu since I've had a couple of them at the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach and as I tried to keep things simple I ended up down the never-ending rabbit hole that is the Lapu Lapu history.

Jeff Berry shares in Beachbum Remixed that the drink creator is unknown, and while that still remains the case at least as of the time of posting this video, it's possible that more information is out there that just hasn't been found. And that's common when looking into history, especially cocktail history. Some new information could come forward at any time or something is already out there just waiting to be found. But since Berry is so familiar with Ray Buhen and the Tiki-Ti, I'd image that if Ray did create the drink it would have been something that was known. Jeff Berry details the life of Ray Buhen in his book and you can also learn more at https://www.tiki-ti.com/pages/tiki-ti...

The menus from the Tropics are not dated, and I'm no expert on which menu may have come first or when the Lapu Lapu first shows up on Sugie's menus. From what I found, the Tropics is the first place to feature the Lapu Lapu cocktail with a menu you can easily find online, but I can't imagine Sugarman would have created that drink or any other drinks himself.

Francis Cabang and his partner Harold "Hal" Hanna opened the Royal Hawaiian in 1947. Cabang was born in the Philippines but I don't know much about his past. He was already living in Orange County by 1940 but I'm unsure of what history he had in bars or restaurants before 1947. The naming of the Lapu Lapu from The Tropics to the Royal Hawaiian could also just be a coincidence.

So who really was the bartender behind the Lapu Lapu? Was it someone who had a connection to the Philippines, The Tropics, and the Royal Hawaiian? My guess is yes, but we may never know.

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📃 Episode Chapters 📃
00:00 Lapu Lapu Intro
00:17 Harry "Sugie" Sugarman and The Tropics
01:40 The Tropics most famous bartender, Ray Buhen
02:30 The Royal Hawaiian Laguna Beach
04:38 The Lapu Lapu Recipes
06:00 The House of Mouse Lapu Lapu
06:47 Lapu Lapu Ingredients List
07:22 Making the Lapu Lapu
08:47 Lapu Lapu Recipe Card
09:58 Drinking the Lapu Lapu

📖 Recipe 📖
Lapu Lapu
this is not a historical recipe, but a tribute to the Tiki-Ti and Royal Hawaiian
½ oz lemon (15 ml)
½ oz lime (15 ml)
2 oz orange juice (60 ml)
1 oz Passion Fruit syrup (30 ml)
¼ oz simple syrup (7.5 ml)
1 ½ oz light rum (45 ml)
1 oz pot still (30 ml)
1 oz club soda (30 ml)
¾ oz 151 (22.5 ml)

#Cocktails #TikiCocktails #LapuLapu