Black Magic Tribute (v3.0)
- 1 ¼ oz orange juice
- 1 ¼ oz lime juice
- 1 ¼ oz grapefruit juice
- ¾ oz rich honey mix (2:1)
- 1 ½ oz chilled Columbian coffee
- ¾ oz El Dorado 12 (aged Demerara) (part one of Hayward's substitute for the Mai-Kai blend)
- ¾ oz Smith & Cross (Jamaican pot still) (part two of the Mai-Kai blend substitute)
- 1 oz gold (lightly aged) Spanish-style rum
- 1 oz dark rum (Bacardi black or something similar)
- ¼ tsp herbsaint (or absinthe) (part one of Mariano's Mix #7)
- 1 tbsp falernum (part two of Mariano's Mix #7)
- ½ tsp vanilla syrup (part one of Donn's Spices #2)
- ½ tsp allspice dram (part two of Donn's Spices #2)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Blend with 2 heaping cups of crushed ice in a top-down mixer for 8-10 seconds, or until frothy. Pour into a large snifter glass with more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with a lemon (or grapefruit) peel.
Original source: Hurricane Hayward
The Black Magic is one of the most famous cocktails to come out of the legendary Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My wife ordered one our first time there, and its appearance isn’t necessarily the most impressive: it looks a bit like milky iced coffee, though it comes in a fishbowl-sized snifter. I remember the drink being good, but it wasn’t until I tried Hurricane Hayward‘s tribute recipe during the pandemic that I fell in love.
Hayward, who lives in Florida, has compiled an invaluable Mai-Kai cocktail guide that is useful for exploring the menu, but its most remarkable treasure is the collection of tribute recipes he has put together: attempts to reverse-engineer what the Mai-Kai delivers out of its mysterious kitchen. I haven’t made all of them, but I’ve made this one countless times, and I have a worry that I’ll confide to you right now: it might be better than the real thing.
I think part of the reason is that fundamental advantage of the home bartender: you can easily use top-shelf spirits. Amazingly, Hurricane Hayward himself rates the drink a mere 3.5 out of 5, a review I find incomprehensible, but who am I to question the taste buds of a man with his accomplishments?
Hurricane Hayward made a virtual guest appearance on a pandemic-era episode of Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour that’s well worth watching.
I’ve split out the ingredients of Mariano’s Mix #7 and Donn’s Spices #2 to make it easier to scale this recipe up.
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