When a rum enthusiast needs fast, effect relief you don't mess around. Here's a prescription for a classic cocktail with a purpose.
Pusser's Navy Rum makes the
Painkiller cocktail a classic.
At the infamous six-seat Soggy Dollar Bar on a long stretch of white sand beach at White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, a legendary cocktail came to life based on a great navy rum and some delicious local ingredients.
There's no dock at this pint-sized rum shack, so the usual way in is to swim from your sailboat or yacht. Of course, your dollars get wet -- hence the name: Soggy Dollar Bar.
When all this started, the bar with its four adjoining cottages was owned by an English lady, Daphne Henderson. Boaters, including Pusser's founder Charles Tobias, came from all around to sample her tasty Pusser's Painkiller for which she'd become locally famous. The fact that Tobias had gone to Great Britain's Royal Navy and obtained permission to commercialize the rum in 1980 made him more curious about this deliciously concocted recipe made with Pusser's Rum.
Daphne Henderson and Charles Tobias became good friends, but in spite of their friendship, and no matter how hard he tried, she refused to divulge her secret recipe for the Pusser's Painkiller. Two years passed, then late one Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of a long session of Painkilling, Tobias somehow managed to get one of her concoctions back through the surf and over the gunwale into his boat, and ultimately into his kitchen on Tortola where he lives. There he went to work, trying to match her flavor as closely as possible with his own recipe which he finally worked out to be "4-1-1" ratio - four parts pineapple, one part cream of coconut and one part orange juice - adding Pusser's Rum to suit.
The following Sunday, Tobias returned to the Soggy Dollar Bar for another afternoon of West Indian food, Painkillers and swimming. Shaking the water off after his swim ashore, Tobias announced to Daphne Henderson that he'd finally broken her secret, "At last, Daphne, I have the Painkiller recipe which I promise to not divulge to anyone if you tell me that I'm right," he said.
"If you've got it, what do you need anything from me for?" she replied smiling as she continued to josh Tobias about my not being able to come even close. "Wait and see," he told her, and in a few minutes, he mixed one of his and started to taste it against hers. Tobias discerned a slight difference, but thought his mixture better, not quite so sweet as hers, and told her so. Understandably, she insisted that hers was better and challenged him to a contest. Tobias accepted, and the bet was on for $100.
There were about ten patrons around the bar. Tobias ordered two rounds: one that Daphne made, and one that he made to his recipe. They marked the cups and proceeded to test. Tobias's recipe won 10 out of 10 taste-tests! They preferred his version to hers. She humorously insisted that somehow Tobias paid everybody off to win. Of course, he hadn't, and vehemently denied her charges. Tobias took payment on the bet in the form of 40 Painkillers which the crowd all drank to celebrate the occasion.
Pusser's Painkiller and Gosling's Dark And Stormy are two of the few trademarked drinks that require the use of a specific rum. The uniquely luscious flavor of Pusser's Navy Rum is absolutely essential to the success of this libation.
The recipe is numbly simple and supremely satisfying. The only question is: will you make your painkiller with two, three or four shots of Pusser's?
Pusser's Painkiller
4 parts fresh pineapple juice
1 part cream of coconut
1 part fresh orange juice
2, 3, or 4 parts Pusser's Navy Rum
touch of fresh grated nutmeg
Preparation: stir the juices and coconut in a shaker, then add the rum. Stir, do not shake. Fill a tumbler or goblet half full of ice. Pour the mixture over the ice, then grate a touch of fresh nutmeg over the top.
These delicious ingredients stand up very well to the rums's rich flavor, so not surprisingly, the four shot Painkiller goes down very well. It will certainly cure your thirst at the very least, and quite possibly lead to fast, effective relief when used as directed.
Robert Burr
National Rum Examiner
Gifted Rums Guide
Miami Rum Renaissance Festival
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Comments
The PUSSER'S PAINKILLER is not only the number one drink in the Caribbean but next to beer the drink that the Bavarians have made number one in Munich, Germany!
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