Paul McGee's Tiki Bar Gets A Name

By Rob Christopher in Food on Aug 29, 2012 3:20PM

In a short interview with Time Out Chicago, bartender royale Paul McGee finally let slip the name of his forthcoming tiki establishment, which he is opening in partnership with Jerrod and R.J. Melman in September.

Three Dots and a Dash.

McGee explains:

It’s a Don the Beachcomber drink from the 1940s. It has a couple different types of rum, honey, allspice, Angostura bitters—all these spice elements to the cocktail—and it’s one I’ve really liked for a long time, ever since I started doing tiki drinks. The name refers to Morse code: Three dots and a dash is Morse code for the letter V, and that was used to symbolize victory in World War II.

Bravo, Mr. McGee. Not only is it a really clever name (as TOC points out, it's "kind of like victory for tiki in Chicago") but it's a damn fine drink. Courtesy of Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's wonderful book Sippin' Safari, which contains the recipe, we've been enjoying it for some time. And now you can too.

Three Dots and a Dash

.5 oz. fresh lime juice
.5 oz. fresh orange juice
.5 oz honey syrup
1.5 oz. amber Martinique rum
.5 oz. Demerara rum
dash Angostura bitters
.25 oz. falernum
.25 oz. allspice dram
.75 cup roughly cracked ice

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed for 5 seconds. Pour unstrained into a double old-fashioned glass or tiki mug. Garnish with three cocktail cherries speared to a pineapple stick.

We had heard from a few attendees that this was the cocktail that McGee was serving at the Taste of the Nation after party; clearly he was getting in a little practice. Combine a few of these with the awesome tikis he just picked up at auction and them's the makings of a first-class tropical watering hole.