Headhunter Cocktail is based on the retro1960’s tiki drink from the Hawaii Kai restaurant, with lime, papaya, peach and rum.
Headhunter Cocktail
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Headhunter Cocktail is my recipe of the day. It had been meant to be shared with a blog team-up for Halloween cocktails but it totally slipped my mind. And I wasn’t able to get it up until tonight. So solo it is.
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The Headhunter is a tiki drink that was developed by Mannie “Blackie” Andal at the Hawaii Kai restaurant in NYC during the sixties.
It seemed the perfect drink for me to make since I love fruit juice tiki drinks, And the theme seemed to go perfectly with the little Head-Light from the Beetlejuice movie that I grabbed at a Halloween store. I had been in about a month ago looking for more spider rings to use as prop decor. I also got an ink pen that looks like a bloody syringe. Fun!
Headhunter Cocktail
This is based on the original drink. I actually found the original formula to taste like sour gasoline. I toned the rum way back (it also had 151 rum in it). And didn’t futz around making honey syrup when I could get by with sugar.
The drink is fine for a boat drink although I wouldn’t score it a ten. I am huge on drinks like the Scorpion. I think this with be better with a splash of creme de banana but didn’t want to stray too too far from the original.
Play around with it and see what you can do. Coconut rum will also benefit. You can punch up the rum amounts if you like more. And if you go too far tone it back by adding in fruit juice.
It’s fun to be a mad scientist at the bar.
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Headhunter Cocktail

Headhunter Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 ounces papaya juice
- 1 ounce peach nectar
- 3/4 ounces fresh lime juice
- 2 ounces Demerara rum
- 1 tablespoon superfine sugar or powdered sugar
- 1 cup crushed ice (divided)
Instructions
- Place fruit juices and rum in a blender with half cup crushed ice and blend on high.
- Pour into a cocktail glass with the remaining crushed ice.
- Serve with a fruit garnish if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Love that shrunken head and the cocktail sounds very tasty. Sorry you missed the link. I will add you to mine.