Goombay Smash

Smashes are drinks that usually contain muddled mint, but not always. Some examples of early smashes from the 1800's consist of a spirit, like whisky, gin, rum with sugar and mint. These were usually served in an old fashion glass. The modern idea for a smash is a drink with a good dose of spirit and a combination of fresh fruit juices. The Goombay Smash is popular example of this modern variation. This drink was created in Green Turtle Cay, the Bahamas at the Blue Bee Bar. This drink is now popular throughout the Caribbean. If you like rum, pineapple and coconut, this drink might be for you, however, this is not your mothers pina colada.

When you think about the Caribbean, you envision warm beaches, cool breezes and rum. With its increased popularity around the world, rum drinks are being exported from the tropics, and just not the pina colada. There are a number of great rum based drinks, including the Mojito, Rum Punch and the Pain Killer. The Goombay Smash is a lesser know rum drink, but fits into this category and should be given its due.

The Goombay Smash was created by Miss Emily at the Blue Bee Bar in New Plymouth. The classic recipe is a secret but is believed to contain coconut rum, dirty rum, apricot brandy, and pineapple juice. Unfortunately, the only way to get the real thing is to head down to the Bahamas and hit the Blue Bee Bar.

The problem with secret recipes is that they lend themselves to imposter's and numerous variations. If you do a search for a Goombay Smash, you will come up with many recipes, all different. The only common thread is the use of rum, coconut and pineapple juice. The use of apricot liqueur is hit and miss and some recipes use it, others don't. The rum for this drink is referred to as dirty rum, so it could be dark, amber or spiced rum. The coconut part is sometimes coconut rum, other types it's coconut cream. I tend to believe it is coconut rum that is used, since using coconut cream would make it almost like a pina colada. The other miscellaneous ingredients, that may or may not have been included, are Creme de Banana, orange juice and possibly grenadine.

The other issue is that depending on how you make the Goombay Smash, it could be very close to a Bahama Mama. The difference is that the Bahama Mama tends to be over the top, with all sorts of things thrown in, plus it almost always uses coconut cream. The Goombay Smash seems to be a more casual, easy to make drink.

So, here are a couple of recipes that would be a close approximation. Either way, you will enjoy the Goombay Smash if you are a fan of rum. It may not be served by Miss Emily at the Blue Bee Bar, but if you close your eye's and take a sip, you just might get a short vacation.