A very happy 50th Anniversary to Tom and Sally Fouch. My parents, who invited us to Kona Hawaii for a ten day family celebration of their anniversary, with relaxation and all the wonders that can be found on The Big Island. One of our gifts to them was the creation of a signature cocktail.

Presenting: The Thirsty Bulldog! Read about it after the pic.

The recipe follows at the end of the post, so if you are so inclined, go make your drink and come on back to learn about this tropical little bit of magic.

The name of the drink

Some time ago, my parents were dining on a patio at a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, where they live. The day was warm, but pleasant. In Portland, when the weather is sunny and warm, the patios fill up.

While waiting for their happy hour libation and nosh, they heard a nearby party mention a thirsty bulldog. Intrigued, they took the next opportunity to ask the waiter what was in this cocktail. After a little bit of confusion, it was revealed that the customer actually had a bull dog with them, and lo, the bull dog was thirsty! A cocktail was conceived!

Hawaii is in there!

Meanwhile over at M Delish Boutique’s headquarters, my husband Mike strictly adheres to a Sunday night cocktail tradition, and I started documenting it on this blog. My parents suggested that Mike come up with the Thirsty Bulldog cocktail. For the better part of a year, Mike and I have discussed different concepts for the drink. At some point we realized that it would make a great signature drink for the trip to Hawaii, and a fun thing to surprise my folks with.

So while this post is appearing on April 16, 2016, my parents 50th wedding anniversary, I am writing it with the sound of the ocean on a warm tropical evening from the rental house in Kona where I have a nice little buzz from my cocktail. Aloha!

Why the recipe is what it is

Our thinking: So now we’re making a signature cocktail for a presentation in Hawaii. So let’s go tropical. We agree on that. We also agree that rum is quite sweet, and although very islandy, we decided to avoid it. Vodka provides a nice clean slate both flavor-wise and color-wise. So we started there. Hawaii = pineapples, citrus fruit, coconut, the color of the ocean. Most of you know that there is a cocktail called The Blue Hawaiian, which looks a lot like Windex. That color comes from a cordial called Blue Curacao. Enter our liqueur.

With a little practice (yes we’re dedicated to this work) we arrived at our recipe and presentation.

We’ve also come up with a variation based on our rental house landlord’s adorable pug Boozer. More on that when we get to the Variations section of this long-winded post. If you’re a dog lover, or you adore coconut you’ll be all over The Thirsty Boozer.

The Recipe

The Thirsty Bulldog

• 3 ounces vodka
• 6 ounces pineapple juice
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• Splash Blue Curacao
• Lime wheels
• Pineapple wedges

Shake vodka, pineapple juice and lime juice with ice in cocktail shaker. Pour into glasses. Top of glasses with more pineapple juice, add a splash of Blue Curacao. Garnish with lime wheels and a wedge of pineapple.

Recipe Variation

The Thirsty Boozer —

This variation is based on the lovely little doggy “Boozer” in the photo below. Boozer belongs to Seth Meyer, our landlord at the house we rented. If you’re interested in staying on the big island, I urge you to rent this amazing house where we stayed. Seth is incredibly hospitable, helpful and was available by text for recommendations about everything under the sun (literally) there on the island. Mention this blog and I guarantee he’ll rock you with some extras (check out his friend Justin’s insane poke and other island treats…link coming shortly).

This is Boozer, the adorable Pug who we named the drink variation after. He’s awesome.

• 6 ounces Vodka
• 12 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 4 ounces Blue Curacao
• 2 ounces coconut syrup
• Ice

Put first 5 ingredients in blender. Fill to top with ice. Blend till slushy. Drink up! Serve with lime wheels and pineapple wedges.

If you’re at Seth’s awesome rental house, get a snorkel and be just like the drink. Cool, buzzy and boozer friendly!

Aloha, and here’s to the amazing 50 years my parents’ have achieved. May we all have the love, intention, will, love, fortune, grace and rewards in our lives and relationships. Mahalo!