To Serve Man
Bourbon

Honi Honi

Glass
Double Old-Fashioned

A Mai Tai built on bourbon, "honi honi" means "kiss" in Hawaiian.

bourbon whiskey tiki hawaiian mid-century shaken orgeat
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Ingredients

  • fresh lime juice (1 oz)
  • rock candy syrup (0.25 oz)
  • orgeat syrup (0.5 oz)
  • orange curacao (0.5 oz)
  • bourbon (2 oz)
  • mint sprig
  • lime shell

Instructions

  1. Combine fresh lime juice, rock candy syrup, orgeat syrup, orange curacao, and bourbon in a shaker with crushed ice.
  2. Shake vigorously and pour unstrained into a double old-fashioned glass.
  3. Top with more crushed ice.
  4. Garnish with a mint sprig and a spent lime shell.

Sources

  1. Bergeron, Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, Revised (1972), p. 233, Honi Honi entry: "1½ ounces Trader Vic Mai Tai mix, 1½ ounces blended whisky," shaken with shaved ice in a mai tai glass and decorated with mint and a fruit stick. ↩
  2. "Honi Honi." Difford's Guide. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2446/honi-honi (accessed 2026-05-03), corroborates the 1972 TVBG attribution and provides the modern bourbon/Cointreau/lime/orgeat translation of Vic's "Mai Tai mix" shorthand. ↩
  3. Difford's Guide entry above, the source for this file's bourbon-forward 2 oz pour. ↩