TIKI CULTURE

New Booze for the Tiki Bar: DeKuyper’s Key Largo Schnapps Liqueur

Ah, the Tiki Good Life

I honestly don’t know if this stuff is brand new (Bought it last night, but it’s nowhere to be found on the DeKuyper website) or if I’ve just missed it. Either way, it’s new to me, so here we go…

DeKuyper’s Key Largo Schnapps Liqueur Review

The Label says it mixes tropical flavors with island breezes or something…Ok, I was already into some rum when I tried to read the damned thing…anyway tasting it straight up (which I never recommend for anything intentionally made for mixing, unless it’s to get an idea of the flavor…translation, don’t do this as shots) it has an extremely sweet, vaguely citrus flavor with a silky, syrupy feel. It’s not as orangey as Triple Sec, not as strong as coconut rum. It’s clear, so it won’t screw up your drink’s color. Basically a sweet, mellow, fruity liqueur that adds a nice flavor without overpowering the drink.

Key Largo Liqueur by DeKuyper

The Bottle:

Clearly I only bought this ($9.99 at Winn Dixie) because of the bottle. No Floridian Tiki Bar should be without any booze that has “Key”, “Tiki” or “Parrot” in the name. On that same note, Anything bright green, blue or orange is also required. This bottle has Key in the name and parrots on the label. Fannnntastic.

Recipes for this stuff range from simply mixing with OJ and grenadine to a nice sounding concoction called the Key Largo Kooler. There’s not much about it online (which is why I suspect it is fairly new…either that or hopelessly unpopular). I tried it with the orange juice and thought it wasn’t bad, although a little too sweet for my taste (and way to sweet to be considered a real, Exotic Tiki bar cocktail, although the potential is there with some tinkering). The krazy thing is, with all the other flavored brandies and liqueurs in the world, I’m not sure stocking this stuff for drinking purposes is necessary. But for ten clams, it sure looks great next to the Tiki idol on the bar.

Have you tried this booze? Leave a comment with your recipe or…well, comments!

-Tiki Chris reporting from the floor in front of the bar after too many Zombies.
Tiki Lounge Talk, the Tiki Culture Blog for swingin’ hipsters and hep kats.

Click here to check out the Retro Tiki Lounge on Facebook!