Jet Pilot
Jet Pilot: Steve Crane's High-Octane Test Pilot Successor
It was July 25th of 1953 when Crane realized his big Polynesian plans and opened The Luau on Rodeo Drive. The Luau spent the 1950s and 60s as one of the most sought after nightlife locations in Hollywood, frequented by the most rich and famous of stars BayTowne Wine & Spirits. Invented at The Luau restaurant in Beverly Hills circa 1958, the Jet Pilot cocktail is a popular riff on the tiki-style Test Pilot originally created by Donn Beach Elevated Craft.
Basically, they took the Test Pilot recipe, added another juice, an overproof rum, and cinnamon syrup, and ended up with something that's more like Don the Beachcomber than Don the Beachcomber. And Jet Pilot's popularity eclipsed the Test Pilot; it's arguably more a part of the tiki canon than Donn Beach's original Cold Glass. The name captured the era's fascination with jet aviation technology.
The Luau was demolished in 1979 to make space for a Rodeo Drive shopping complex mytiki.life, but the Jet Pilot remains a tiki classic, served at establishments like Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, which features it on their original 1956 menu.
RECIPE:
½ oz lime juice
½ oz grapefruit juice
½ oz cinnamon syrup
½ oz falernum
1 oz gold Puerto Rican rum
¾ oz dark Jamaican rum
¾ oz overproof Demerara rum
Dash Angostura bitters
6 drops absinthe
Method:
Combine all ingredients in blender with ¾ cup crushed ice
Blend 5 seconds
Pour into old-fashioned glass
Serve immediately