It’s Fool’s Paradise Day. This Shakespearean term means that someone is in a state of happiness based on false hope. However, I just like to think of actual fools in actual paradise.

This brings me to my drink inspirations for the day. Who better than to personify fools in paradise than margarita loving, Jimmy Buffet, and anything-as-long-as-it-has-liquor-in-it, Hunter S. Thompson.  Both men liked boozing, both of them liked paradise, and both of them are at some level, fools.

Jimmy Buffet

Now, I’m not going to insult you by doing a generic margarita recipe in honor of Mr. Buffet. I am going to pull inspiration from another song of his entitled “Boat Drinks,” which can be way more fun and leave you acting like way more of a fool.

A boat drink is really just an exotic cocktail, but commonly of the rum variety and usually extremely strong.  One might call them “umbrella drinks” or “tiki drinks” as well.

One of the most famous drink creators, Don the Beachcomber invented an especially fun boat drink that gets only a moderate amount of attention compared to its cousins and siblings, and that’s the Zombie.

The Zombie

Recipe from Don the Beachcomber in Waikiki, according to a 1956 Cabaret Quarterly Magazine article (via webtender.com)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 1/2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1/4 oz. Falernum
• 1 1/4 oz. Puerto Rican gold rum
• 1 oz. Jamaican dark rum
• 1 oz. 151-proof Demerara rum
• 3/4 oz. Maraschino liqueur
• 1/4 tsp. Grenadine
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 6 drops Pernod

Put all in blender with ice. Blend for 5 seconds. Pour into glass and garnish with mint sprig.

Hunter S. Thompson

If ever there were a fool, Hunter S. Thompson was it. His brilliant mind, eclectic repertoire, and eccentric life are often overshadowed by the one wild weekend he spent in sin city, which would eventually become Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Thompson was a drinker, with a taste for Chivas Regal or Wild Turkey on the rocks, but since those don’t do well as recipes, I thought I’d look into my favorite work by the man, The Rum Diary, which takes place in San Juan, Puerto Rico and involves an awful lot of rum drinking. However, that doesn’t do me any good either, because he’s only drinking rum straight up or on the rocks. Oh Hunter. You Gonzo.

Instead, I offer you a shot of a San Juan favorite, the chichaíto.

The Chichaíto

The word chichaíto refers to someone who has recently been…intimate.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 oz Light Rum
• 1 oz Anisette
• 2 drops lemon juice

Pour anisette and rum into a shot glass. Add two drops of lemon. Sip.