During today's frantic rush to get the sweet corn shucked, the watermelon carved, and burgers and bratwurst barbequed for our Independence Day feast, I set aside some quality time to make this fantastic Pineapple Delight cocktail.

Tiare from A Mountain of Crushed Ice shared the recipe with me a few days ago, and I was immediately intrigued by its unique variety of flavors, particularly the honey-cream mix with 151 rum. I also though it would be fun to add some pyrotechnics in honor of the holiday, so I whipped up a Flaming Fruit Flip garnish from Matt Maranian's book, PAD: The Guide to Ultra-Living. Believe me, it tastes as good as it looks, and I'll be using the leftover honey-rum mix to spread on my toast tomorrow morning.

Here's the recipe. If you don't have one of those fancy pineapple corers, check out these helpful instructions from Dr. Bamboo, showing you how to core it with a knife and spoon (and after you've finished off the Pineapple Delight, you really should try the Pina Pineapple recipe that goes with the instructions).

Ingredients:

1 cored pineapple
Juice of 2 small limes
2 large chunks of pineapple
1 Tsp. Orgeat syrup
1 3/4 oz. Rhum Agricole Blanc
1 can of Ting Jamaican grapefruit soda (I subbed a mixture of 1 oz. grapefruit juice and 1 cup of club soda)
2 Tbsp. Honey-cream mix
Flaming Fruit Flip garnish

Honey-cream Mix:

Add 1 Tbsp of each to a small bowl: honey, fine sugar, and butter). Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds at low power. Stir, then heat again until butter has completely melted., then mix in 1 Tbsp. of Lemon Hart Demerara 151 rum. Keep warm until ready to use.

Flaming Fruit Flip Garnish:

Cut a bamboo skewer so it just fits across the top of the pineapple, Then skewer the top of a lemon, maraschino cherry, lime wedge, another cherry, a scooped-out orange wedge, and a thick twist of orange peel. Rest a crouton soaked in lemon extract in the orange wedge.

Directions:

Muddle the pineapple chunks in a cocktail shaker, then add all other ingredients with a 1/2 cup of crushed ice. Shake until well chilled, then pour into pineapple shell. Add Ting and more crushed ice to fill. Garnish with pineapple leaves, and flaming skewer.

While your sipping it, have a gander at Tiare's gorgeous cocktail photos.

Okole Maluna!