Remembering the birth of the Tropicalia and rediscovering a boozy old friend

I was poking around in my mom’s kitchen the other day when I came across her old blender.

A neon blue homage to the iMac, as some small appliances were back then, I was delighted to find that after a couple of decades, it still liquefies raspberries dependably as ever.

And as I whirled together my breakfast smoothie, I realized we were on the eve of an anniversary: the Tropicalia’s.

That’s the Tropicalia’s–- not this magazine. That happy day comes each September, and this year, believe it or not, will mark 19 years.

No, it’s the birthday of Tropicalia the cocktail.

Your field guide to paradise’s eponymous drink came to be thanks to the magazine’s name, which raised some eyebrows in the newsroom when it was announced.

I’d wanted to give the weekly publication its own, distinctive one-word identity: something memorable, exotic, a bit quirky – like the place it celebrates – so we settled on Tropicalia, minus the accent of the Brazilian musical movement.

Some loved the name from the start.

Others weren't sure, wondering if it didn't sound too foreign or too much like corporate orange juice.

One of those who questioned the name was then-columnist Sam Cook, who snarked that the word Tropicalia sounds like a tiki drink shaded by a tiny paper umbrella.

I confess, I agreed with Sam. But not that Tropicalia was a bad name for a magazine - that it's a good name for a drink.

The following summer, I set out to invent a cocktail equal to the name. (The region is, after all, a hotbed of invention.)

And so the Tropicalia was born in July of 2002, in the very blue blender still on my mom’s counter.

As I wrote after the first tasting, mango was its dominant note, its fragrant sweetness braced with enough Key lime tartness to be respectable. And wafting through the flavor like a warm breeze was the Tropicalia's secret ingredient: the subtle surprise of ginger.

I haven't tasted one in years, since distilled spirits don't agree with me all that well, but after some consideration, I think I'm going to have to give it another try, to see if it holds up as well as that old blue blender. You can too - and tell me what you think.

Cheers!

THE TROPICALIA

1 cup peeled and pitted mango

1 cup fresh pineapple

1/3 cup grenadine

1/2 cup Key lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh grated or 3 nickel-sized pieces crystallized ginger

1/2 cup white rum

1 cup ice

Whip everything except the rum together in a blender. Taste. Adjust proportions if necessary, since fruit can vary in flavor and sweetness. Add the rum, give it all one more whirl and pour into tall glasses.