The Cocktail Scientist
B A H A M A M A M A
INTRODUCTION
The Bahama Mama is a delicious tropical cocktail with fresh fruit flavor which masks a very high Alcohol By Volume content (ABV). Shrouded in mystery like many iconic rum cocktails, the drink first conjures up visions of beaches and summer vacation when it comes to mind, but its true origin is interwoven with rich Calypso culture. It’s this culture that not only provides deep historical roots to the Bahamas for this cocktail, but also its emblematic rise as a popular symbol of a proud country.
Bahama Mama
MATERIALS & METHODS
Classic Oswald Greenslade Recipe (1)
Ingredients:
- coconut rum – 1.0 oz (30 mL)
- 151 Rum – 1.25 oz (37.5 mL)
- orange juice – 1.0 oz (30 mL)
- pineapple juice – 2.0 oz (60 mL)
- grenadine – 1.0 oz (30 mL)
- garnish – orange slice or pineapple slice
- garnish – 2 maraschino cherries
- garnish – umbrella (optional)
Directions:
- Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake all ingredients vigorously in the cocktail shaker.
- Strain into a chilled high ball or hurricane cocktail glass filled with ice.
- Garnish with orange slice or pineapple slice, 2 maraschino cherries, and umbrella.
DISCUSSION
Origin
The Bahama Mama is a classic tropical libation that is a staple in many bars around the world. However, as popular as it has become, little is known of the cocktail’s origin. While it is thought by some that the cocktail may have been created in the 1950’s in the Bahamas, most of the evidence today points to Oswald Greenslade, also known as “Slade” as the chief architect of the cocktail. Born in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in 1943, Slade has had a long and illustrious bartending career having started in 1961 at the Nassau Beach Hotel and the Pink Elephant Night Club, and eventually becoming the owner and operator of the famous Banana Boat Club in the Nassau Beach Hotel from 1993 – 1999. In his career, Slade has created over 1000 cocktail recipes and has over 40 years of bartending experience (2).However, while there is an arrow pointing to the cocktail’s origin, the drink’s unforgettable name is a bit of an enigma. The first reference to “Bahama Mama” in mainstream media was when the song, “Bahama Mama (That Tropical Charmer),” was released in 1932 (3). While the song is Fox Trot in nature from the Big Band era, the lyrics, which describe a Calypso love interest, and may have inspired the cocktail’s name are as follows:
Mama,
Bahama Mama,
You tropical charmer,
On the island of tune.
Swaying,
The palm trees are swaying,
Along without saying,
I’ll be seeing you soon.
The time for leaving
Is finding me grieving
Forever dreaming
Of someone in Nassau
Oh Mama
Bahama Mama
You tropical charmer
You’ve stolen my heart
The name “Bahama Mama” became further commercialized later in the 1950’s when a Calypso dancer, Ms. Dottie Lee Anderson, began using the title. Her performances and singing were renown at the Calypso Lounge on Miami Beach’s entertainment strip. Frequently mentioned in Jet Magazine and on the billboard charts from 1951 – 1957, she was very popular in South Florida at the time.However, according to Oswald Greenslade, it was neither a song nor a Calypso dancer that inspired him to name the cocktail, The Bahama Mama. He created the drink in 1963 at the Pink Elephant Night Club and named it after Maureen Duvalier. Maureen Duvalier, who was also known as Calypso Mama, became a global ambassador for The Bahamas and a world class entertainer. A cultural icon in the Bahamas, her impact began in 1958, when for the first time ever, she led a group of women and participated in the Christmas-holiday Junkanoo parades, which were reserved for men at the time. Her group won first place that year and she cemented her name in Bahamian history (4).
Flavor Profile
While Tiki purists will argue that that all tropical drinks are not Tiki Drinks, but all Tiki drinks are tropical, one cannot dispute that the Bahama Mama cocktail is surprisingly complex for a tropical drink, especially in its original form. When Oswald Greenslade first crafted the Bahama Mama he also floated Dubonnet in the cocktail. Dubonnet is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices, (including quinine), with the fermentation process being stopped by the addition of alcohol (5). Dubonnet eventually became difficult to source in the Bahamas so it was removed from the cocktail preparation and replaced with coconut rum.
Rum
The Bahama Mama’s use of multiple rums is fascinating because it combines an over proof rum which is normally a low congener rum (light rum), with a Coconut Rum which is a high congener rum (made from either a light rum or heavy rum). Distilled rum originates from the distillation of sugarcane molasses after fermentation with yeast. The light over proof rum used in the architecture of the drink is generally filtered through charcoal which not only removes color, but also removes the aromatic properties of the rum, thus lacking a fair number of esters. This cannot be said for Coconut Rum which has a significant number of ester compounds making the rum extremely flavorful. Coconut Rum is a flavored rum and can originate from either a light rum or a heavy rum being infused with coconut. The infusion with coconut, or various chemicals that are added to the alcohol to simulate the taste of coconut, occurs after fermentation and distillation.
Additional Ingredients
Juices
The use of pineapple and orange juices, albeit moderately sweet with natural sugars, really enhance the sharpness of the cocktail, as both have acidity levels ranging between pH 3-4. The use of these two fruit juices in the architecture of the Bahama Mama cocktail is also intentional, as the they are used to disguise the high ABV content of the cocktail.
NUTRITION
Very similar to other sweet tropical cocktails, the Bahama Mama’s essential ingredients add to its high calorie and sugar count. The cocktail’s use of pineapple and orange juice does inject a small dose of vitamins into the drink; however, their use is intended to bring balance using their characteristic sweetness and acidity.
NUTRITION FACTS
(Amount Per 1 Fl oz in a 6.25 Fl oz Cocktail)
Calories: 57.27
Total Fat: 0.03 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 1.8 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 6.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.04 g
Sugar: 5 g
CONCLUSION
Much like the Pina Colada is considered the national drink of Puerto Rico, the Bahama Mama could be considered the national drink of the Bahamas with its nod toward the late Maureen Duvalier, who was unanimously considered the greatest global ambassador ever for the island nation. The cocktail needs no introduction to those that frequently drink it, and it will forever live on as an icon both in cocktail bars and in the Bahamas for decades to come.
REFERENCES
- Ganim, T.A. (2020). The Adventures of George. In the Mix. Retrieved from: https://inthemix.on-premise.com/2020/03/the-adventures-of-george-4/
- Greenslade, O. (2013). One More Cocktail. Retrieved from: http://www.onemorecocktail.com/
- Lofthouse, C., Gilbert, L., Manning, F., Eastwood, T. (1932). Bahama Mama. That Tropical Charmer. That Goombay Tune. New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.
- Forbes, M. (2004). Junkanoo Queen. The Nassau Guardian. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20080604005838/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/print/26455082112063.php
- Wikipedia. (2020). Dubonnet. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubonnet
