How to Make the
Krakatoa dark rum cocktail

On the 27th of August, 1883, one of the most violent volcanic eruptions of all time rang across the earth from the highly pressurized caldera on Krakatoa. Located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung, Krakatoa erupted with such force that shockwaves reverberated around the planet SEVEN times. While the volcanic island had been uninhabited at the time, the following cataclysmic tsunamis managed to wipe out over 36,000 people in neighboring Indonesian villages. The first sign of life on the remains of the island post-catastrophe wasn’t documented until the following May: a spider found in a crevice on the south side of Rakata. Almost immediately, and continuing on through today, the term Krakatoa became the stuff of dark earthly legends, pulp fiction and adventure cinema. It’s no surprise then, that there are other cocktails that have usurped the name to latch on to its macabrly powerful lore. The volcano today is still quite active with the latest eruption occurring as recent as April 2020. Perhaps there are as many secretive house variations as there are documented eruptions? The first mention I came across of the Krakatoa dark rum cocktail came by way of modern rum and Tiki historian, Jeff Berry, a.k.a, Beachbum Berry. In his and Annene Kaye’s “Grog Log,” (1998), the Krakatoa recipe is listed as a coffee and rum cocktail adapted as a variation of the Hawaii Kai Swizzle (circa 1960) from the Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale. A cocktail with coffee is, naturally, no strange occurrence, but the Krakatoa is a large beast combining multiple spirits, three citrus, three sweeteners, and more. You won’t quite need a bit of everything under the sun, but close: Dos Maderas 5+3, 5+5, Apricot Liqueur, Falernum, coffee liqueur, coffee, Angostura bitters, lime, orange and grapefruit. You’ll also need a blender, crushed ice and a very large snifter.