A Bahama Mama is the perfect summer drink, and many people love to kick back, relax, and enjoy the fruity yet refreshing cocktail while on vacation. You’ve probably seen someone drinking a Bahama Mama poolside, looking fly without even realizing it. Bahama Mamas are often associated with warm weather and summertime, both of which are right around the corner for all of us.
But let’s be real here, summer and warm weather cannot come fast enough. So, we’ve had to get creative and come up with a staycation. C’mon, the least we can do is take your taste buds on vacation – and all from the comfort of your couch.
What is a Bahama Mama?
While the flavors of the drink are well-known, the origin of the Bahama Mama is not. The Bahama Mama gained popularity in the 1950s. Many people think the drink came to be by combining a bunch of different recipes into one. Oswald “Slade” Greenslade has a different take on the drink’s history. Greenslade claims that he invented the cocktail when working at the Nassau Beach Hotel. If this is the case, kudos to him.
The drink continues to rise to fame. In 2018, Applebee’s even served DOLLARMAMAS, a Bahama Mama, for $1. While Saucey can’t exactly offer you a DOLLARMAMA, we can offer you all the ingredients needed to make the best Bahama Mama debatably ever.
A Bahama Mama is exactly what it sounds like—it’s practically a vacation in a glass. Most of the time, a Bahama Mama uses various juices to create a fruity flavor. The cocktail also makes use of liqueur, syrup, and rum to step up its game.
There are many takes on this fruity, fun, and frisky drink. For that reason, there is a version of the cocktail out there for everyone. Some people even like to incorporate a coffee liqueur into the cocktail, which practically just gives you another reason to drink at Sunday brunch with your friends.
Spirits and liqueurs in a Bahama Mama
We want to help you discover the best version of this cocktail. For this reason, we would recommend our classic Bahama Mama Recipe. And yes, it includes coffee liqueur, just in case you need another excuse to have a cocktail before happy hour. Fair warning: this is a pretty strong drink. This recipe calls for a coffee liqueur, dark rum, coconut liqueur, and 151-proof rum – all of which we can deliver right to you.
In terms of a coffee liqueur, here are our three favorites:
- Patrón XO Café: a dry, low-proof coffee liqueur that is a blend of Patrón Silver and the essence of fine coffee. This is perfect in mixed cocktails like a Bahama Mama.
- Illy Café Espresso: a vacation itself, this highly esteemed Espresso Liqueur is imported from Italy. It offers espresso and burnt caramel flavors. Illy Café Espresso is fresh and sharp with a smooth sweetness. The hint of vanilla bean in this liqueur truly has the potential to elevate your Bahama Mama.
- St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur: this liqueur is truly a staycation in a bottle. From Alameda, California, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur’s coffee beans are roasted by Jewel box Coffee Roasters of Oakland, California. From there, the beans are slowly infused at a low temperature to minimize extraction.
Discovering if you prefer spiced or dark rum can be a challenge. So, why not just like both? For your dark rum, here are our three favorites:
- SelvaRey Cacao: this is a rich 5-year-old dark rum in bourbon casks and infused with natural chocolate. These flavors are bound to elevate your Bahama Mama, as will the fact that it’s 70 proof. The SelvaRey Cacao Dark Rum is great, as it brings the vacation to you, as it is imported from Panama. Oh, and did we mention it is co-founded by Bruno Mars?
- Gold Miner: this dark rum is a version of the standard Gold Miner. The difference? This one has been aged for several months with American and French white oak chips. Bottled at 80 proof, this dark rum is sure to make your Bahama Mama a good time.
- Stroh 40: this spirit comes from Austria and is produced by Sebastian Stroh. It is distilled from molasses sugar cane, made with a top-secret recipe. No, seriously, we would tell you if we could; and refined with the best essences.
We are nuts for this coconut liqueur:
- Cold Hammer Stills – Almond Coconut Chocolate Liqueur: this makes for a tasty tropical addition to your Bahama Mama. It may or may not make you feel out of this world (or at least out of the country).
Last but not least (in terms of proof, for sure) is the 151-proof rum needed to make the ultimate Bahama Mama. Here are our top two:
- Cruzan 151 Proof Rum: this rum is aged for a minimum of one year in American oak barrels. This is smoother than any other 151 proof rum. Perfect for fruity cocktails – and yes, that means a Bahama Mama.
- Gosling’s Black Seal 151 Proof Rum: this is a higher-strength version of Gosling’s Standard Black Seal Rum. This is perfect for that Bahama Mama of yours with bold spice, dried fruit, and molasses flavors.
Not interested in this recipe? Need an excuse to try another recipe? It’s probably important that you try a few recipes out there to determine which one is your favorite.
Try another one of our classic Bahama Mama Recipes if you’re looking to switch it up a bit. It uses different liqueurs and spirits to take you on an entirely different vacation than our first recipe. This recipe is a bit more fruity and sweet than the first one we presented to you. If you can’t decide, why not try them both? Bahama Mama taste tests all around.
Other ingredients in a Bahama Mama
While we all wish a Bahama Mama could be made solely out of spirits, other ingredients are needed. This doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy those other ingredients just as much as the spirits in a Bahama Mama.
What better way to make a Bahama Mama than to use lemon and pineapple juice? Sometimes, people like to get funky and use orange juice, grenadine syrup, and a cherry liqueur. Either way, the recipe can be adapted to fulfill all of your wildest vacation dreams. What happens on vacation stays on vacation, right? We hope the same goes for a staycation…
How to get your hands on ingredients
Don’t want to make various trips to different stores hunting down these numerous ingredients? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. We can deliver the ingredients needed for a Bahama Mama practically 24/7 (okay, not actually 24/7, but our delivery is pretty close to that).
Saucey delivers everything you need between the hours of 8 am, and 2 am. Chances are we deliver to your area, and if we don’t, we promise we are working on getting there. One of the best parts is that there is no small cart fee—so if you just need one of the many ingredients for your delightful Bahama Mama, we’ve got you covered.
Of course, we will check your ID upon delivery. We want to ensure that only people over 21 can enjoy a Bahama Mama (responsibly, of course). Once your ID has been scanned, you’re all set to enjoy the contents of your delivery.
Other drinks like a Bahama Mama
Now we’ve got in the mood for tropical drinks that can transport you on a mini-vacation. But don’t worry, because we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve. Here are some of our other favorite summer fruity drinks that give us similar vibes to a Bahama Mama.
- Pina Colada: truly will make you feel like you’re sitting poolside at some all-inclusive resort.
- Rum Punch: a throwback to the jungle juice days in college, this recipe will leave you really wanting to go on an adventure
The takeaway
It’s time to treat yourself to that staycation you’ve been thinking about for at least the amount of time it has taken you to read this blog post. Keep things sweet and simple, and opt for a Bahama Mama the next time you’re looking for a little glimmer of hope that warm weather and summer are approaching quickly.
Kick back, relax, and enjoy a Bahama Mama responsibly with the help of Saucey.
