To Serve Man
Rum

Jet Pilot

Glass
Double Old-Fashioned

Stephen Crane's overproof-Demerara riff on the Test Pilot, sharpened with cinnamon syrup and absinthe.

rum tiki mid-century blended falernum grapefruit
Scale
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Ingredients

  • crushed ice (1 cup)
  • fresh lime juice (0.5 oz)
  • white grapefruit juice (0.5 oz)
  • cinnamon syrup (0.5 oz)
  • falernum (0.5 oz)
  • Angostura bitters (1 dash)
  • absinthe (6 drops)
  • gold Puerto Rican rum (0.75 oz)
  • dark Jamaican rum (1 oz)
  • 151 proof Demerara rum (0.75 oz)
  • mint sprig (1)

Instructions

  1. In an electric blender combine crushed ice, fresh lime juice, white grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup, falernum, Angostura bitters, absinthe, gold Puerto Rican rum, dark Jamaican rum, and 151 proof Demerara rum.
  2. Pulse-blend briefly until just combined.
  3. Pour unstrained into a double old-fashioned glass.
  4. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Sources

  1. Berry, Sippin' Safari (2017 ed.), Jet Pilot chapter, attributes the drink to Stephen Crane's The Luau in Beverly Hills (c. 1958) and traces the spec lineage back to Donn Beach's Test Pilot. ↩
  2. "Jet Pilot / Test Pilot." Proof Cocktails. https://www.proofcocktails.nl/2018/10/19/jet-pilot-test-pilot/ (accessed 2026-05-03), published version of the Berry reconstruction; source for this file's measurement bill. ↩
  3. Kirsten, Tiki Pop (2014), Stephen Crane / Luau material, biographical context on Crane (Lana Turner's second husband, briefly) and the Luau's role in the Hollywood postwar tiki scene. ↩