Not to bore you with further tales of my visits to the venerable Tiki-Ti, but this one is actually on topic. Amongst the 80+ beverages you’ll find on the menu, the vast majority are mixed with rum. Most of the time, when the uninitiated wander in and ask a bartender what’s in such-and-such drink, they receive a pithy “Rum” in response. There are a few exceptions for those poor souls who don’t drink rum, and amongst them is the Chi Chi—a vodka and coconut concoction that is invariably recommended to and/or ordered by every coed-aged female in the bar.

All this is meant to say that the only circumstance under which I might order a Chi Chi is when my cold, dead carcass is rolled up to the bar, Weekend at Bernie’s style, and the adorable Andrew McCarthy of his day unknowingly plants one in front of me. The Chi Chi is a perfectly nice drink, but I’d prefer a Ray’s Mistake.

Now forget everything I just wrote, because I went ahead and made one at home. Somebody ring the mortuary.

8 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
2 ounces coconut cream (Coco Lopez*)
4 ounces vodka
2 ½ ounces macadamia nut liqueur

Add all ingredients to a blender; fill with ice. Blend until slushy. Serves two to four.

This drink happened because I could physically wait no longer to open my shiny new bottle of Trader Vic’s Macadamia Nut liqueur. I’ve been waiting and waiting for it to come back in stock and last weekend it finally happened—I became the proud owner of my very own bottle. When the urge to use it finally overcame me I ran for my copy of Intoxica! and decided to make the first drink I found.

To be honest, I expected to hate this. It seemed frilly and prissy and boring; I mean, vodka and coconut? Really? Despite all that, I did like it. It has a pleasant pineapple flavor with a little nip of coconut at the end, plus the rich, creamy flavor of macadamia. The vodka is, as expected, a non-entity but I think that works here. With the right rum it would be okay but the risk of turning this into an oversweetened Tom Cruise-esque Cocktail mess would be pretty high.

All in all, a tasty, friendly little drink, and a lovely showcase for the macadamia liqueur.

*As a general rule, I buy Coco Lopez, but this week I picked up Coco Real brand (despite it’s Jimmy Buffett style packaging) because it comes in a handy squeeze bottle. I plan on using it up and saving the bottle to be refilled with the fabulous Coco Lopez but, surprisingly, this stuff isn’t half bad.