For the past three summers, I have returned to my New Hampshire summer bartending job on Hampton Beach—a real if-you-know-you-know kind of place.
I spend my warm summer days pouring shots for burly men wearing offensive graphic T-shirts, blending frozen drinks for over-tanned, middle-aged women in leopard-print bathing suit coverups, and shaking up cocktails for everyone in between.
As their eyes grow bleary and they lean their body weight over the bar, propping themselves up on calloused elbows, they challenge me about all the fun stuff a bartender isn’t supposed to talk about: politics, religion, why-the-hell-would-ya-go-to-college. I concoct carefully diffusive responses, escaping the interactions with their approval and a decent tip.
It is, without a doubt, the best job in the world.
Often, a customer will pull out a stool, take a long perusal of the menu, and mouth the names of the cocktails as they scan, look up, and ask what the best beverage we serve is. My answer is always the Banana Painkiller.
The Banana Painkiller is a fresh twist on a tropical cocktail classic. A banana whiskey base splits into a coconut-citrus blend of juices for a lazy-river ride down beach-buzzed paradise. It has never—I mean never—disappointed.
DRINK: Banana Painkiller
INGREDIENTS:
2.5 oz. Banana whiskey (I used Whiskeysmith)
1 oz. Coconut creme
3 oz. Pineapple juice
1 oz. Orange juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Fill a shaker with ice. Pour in whiskey, coconut creme, and juices.
- Shake vigorously for approximately 20 seconds—be careful not to overshake and dilute the drink.
- Strain over fresh ice into a hurricane or highball glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and enjoy!
