

And the pineapple adds a nice tropical sweetness to the drink’s nose, too. That remarkable garnish makes the Three Dots and a Dash one of the few cocktails that can be recognized from across the room. (One of these days, I’ll get around to making my own falernum-it’s not that hard, after all…) I used Fee Brothers, which is only lightly flavored it seems to get lost behind the allspice, and doesn’t really contribute very much beyond sweetness to the formula, but it’s the only one I had available. The honey and falernum are hallmarks of Don the Beachcomber tiki creations, particularly the sweet, nutty, ginger-tinged falernum. In fact, there’s no shortage of sweeteners here. As a result, they are a bit dryer and grassier than molasses-based rums, and considerably less sweet. That that small portion of Demerara rum adds a bit of sweetness back into the drink’s rum profile. Martinique’s rums are made in the rhum agricole style-distilled from fermented cane juice, rather than from molasses. The allspice liqueur gives a solid, apple-pie aspect to the drink, with earthy clove and cinnamon coming to the fore-very similar to the flavors of Berry’s own Ancient Mariner. Without it, the drink is a run of the mill fruity rum drink with nothing much to distinguish it.

#Three dots and a dash driver
The pimento, or allspice, liqueur is the special, spicy flavor driver of Three Dots. Garnish with three cherries speared to a pineapple stick-the “three dots and a dash.” Pour into a fat, short-stemmed wine glass or a Collins glass. Put all ingredients in a blender, blend 5 seconds at high speed. ¼ oz pimento liqueur (DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters).1½ oz amber Martinique rum (Clement Vieux Agricole).It’s the garnish that makes Three Dots one of the most recognizable of all Tiki creations-three cherries and stick of pineapple all speared together-three dots and a dash. It has all the hallmarks of classic Don the Beachcomber styling: multiple rums, multiple fruit juices, a hefty dose of spices, and an ostentatious garnish. The Three Dots is another of Donn Beach’s creations that seemed lost to history until Jeff Berry sussed out the formula, and published it in his 2007 Sippin’ Safari.
#Three dots and a dash code
It was a potent and durable symbol, and lasted through and beyond the War.įor Don the Beachcomber, the Morse code “V” for Victory-” dit-dit-dit-dah“-was the inspiration for his Tiki tribute to the achievements and sacrifices of American soldiers and seamen: Three Dots and a Dash. One of the lasting icons of World War II is the public image of Winston Churchill-short, round, with a fat cigar clamped pugnaciously in his jaw.Īnd that ubiquitous, two-fingered “V” salute that became shorthand for the hope and courage of Allied soldiers and civilians alike.
