Classic cocktail · Guided recipe

Bahama Mama

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Two rums with pineapple, orange, coconut and grenadine — the Bahamas in a tall glass. Sweet and unabashedly tropical.

Preparation~3 minEasyStrengthMediumabout 14% ABVMethodShaken11 guided stepsIngredients6Hurricane glass (or tall glass)

Tropical

In the glassDark rum · Gold rum · Coconut cream · Pineapple juice · Orange juice · +1 more

See exact amounts

Make it with guidanceOne clear action at a time, with timers built in.

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What goes in

Ingredients

An empty clear hurricane glass with a tall curved bowl, flared rim and short stem. — Serving glassHurricane glass

Set up before you pour

Use a hurricane glass.

The tall curved bowl holds crushed ice and a generous tropical serve while leaving room for garnish.

Standard size: 440 ml15 oz
Ice & serve: Pack it generously with crushed ice.
If you don’t own one: Use a highball or any tall glass with enough capacity.

Tools to set out

cocktail shaker
strainer (or a small sieve)
jigger or measuring spoon

Compare all glass types

Scale to your hurricane glass (or tall glass)We’ll remember this glass size.

Dark rum30 ml
Gold rum30 ml
Coconut cream15 ml
Pineapple juice60 ml
Orange juice30 ml
Grenadine8 ml

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From bottle to glass

Method

01
Measure into the shaker
Pour 30 ml dark rum into your shaker
- Dark rum
02
Measure into the shaker
Add 30 ml gold rum
- Gold rum
03
Measure into the shaker
Add 15 ml coconut cream
- Coconut cream
04
Measure into the shaker
Add 60 ml pineapple juice
- Pineapple juice
05
Measure into the shaker
Add 30 ml orange juice
- Orange juice
06
Measure into the shaker
Add 8 ml grenadine
- Grenadine
07
Ice the shaker
Fill the shaker with ice
Why it mattersFill it right up — more ice chills faster with less watering down.
08
Seal and shake
Seal and shake hard
Why it mattersCold hands mean it’s working. Shake until the tin frosts over.
09
Ice the glass
Fill your glass with fresh crushed ice
10
Strain cleanly
Strain into your glass
Why it mattersPour through the strainer so the spent shaker ice stays behind.
11
Finish the drink
Finish it — add a pineapple wedge and a cocktail cherry

Know your drink

About the Bahama Mama

A Daiquiri, minty rum highball and dark rum rocks drink at a sunset terrace bar.

Two rums, two jobs

Blending rums is standard practice in Caribbean and tiki drinks, and this is a simple example of why. One rum sets the base and another supplies the top notes. Swap the dark half for a Jamaican pot-still and you get a much louder drink. Swap it for a Demerara and it turns smoky and burnt-sugar sweet without adding a gram of sugar.

Fifteen milliliters of coconut cream is a small amount on purpose. It is there for texture, giving the drink a slight weight on the tongue, not for a coconut flavor. Double it and you have wandered into Piña Colada territory. Shake hard enough to break the cream up properly, then strain over crushed ice rather than cubes.

Common questions

Bahama Mama FAQ

Do I really need two kinds of rum?

You can use 60 ml of one, but the split is doing something. Gold rum carries the fruit and keeps it drinkable, while dark rum brings molasses and a bit of bitterness that stops the glass turning into candy. If you own only one bottle, make it the dark one.

How do I take the sweetness down?

Cut the grenadine to a bar spoon and add 10 ml of fresh lime. Unsweetened pineapple juice rather than the sweetened kind makes a bigger difference than people expect. The coconut cream is already mostly sugar, so that is the last thing to increase.

What glass works if I don't own a hurricane?

Any tall glass of about 400 ml. The hurricane shape is a tiki-bar habit rather than a requirement, though the wide bowl does hold crushed ice better. A pint glass is closer in volume than a standard highball, which will leave you short by a third.

It came out pale orange, not red.

Grenadine is the only red thing in the glass, and 8 ml of it is fighting 90 ml of yellow juice. Bright supermarket grenadine reads redder than the real pomegranate kind. If you want the sunset look, drizzle it down the inside of the glass after the ice instead of shaking it in.

What ingredients are in a Bahama Mama?

A classic Bahama Mama calls for 30 ml (1 oz) Dark rum, 30 ml (1 oz) Gold rum, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Coconut cream, 60 ml (2 oz) Pineapple juice, 30 ml (1 oz) Orange juice, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Grenadine. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

How strong is a Bahama Mama?

A standard Bahama Mama is roughly 14% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

Is a Bahama Mama shaken or stirred?

A Bahama Mama is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.

Sharpen the technique