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Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean
Written by Tiki legend Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, Potions of the Caribbean is chock full of tropical drink recipes and the history behind these tasty island treats. Over the course of 300+ pages, Beachbum Berry covers more than five centuries worth of tropical drink history. This gorgeously designed book even features 77 vintage Caribbean drink recipes, many of which have never appeared in print. Think of this sturdy hardcover book as the world's most interesting history lesson about the one-of-a-kind people who created, served, or even just drank these one-of-kind tropical cocktails. Trust us, it's a great literary addition to your coffee table, bar library, or bed stand. Order your copy of Potions of the Caribbean by Beachbum Berry today! In stock and ready to ship. Features: Written by tiki legend Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Spans five centuries of West Indian history through a cocktail shaker. Serves up 77 vintage Caribbean drink recipes - 16 of them "lost" recipes that have never before been published anywhere in any form. Even more delicious are the stories of the people who created, or served, or simply drank these drinks. Hardcover. Full color pages. Specs: Size: 317 pages.
315 pages, Hardcover
First published December 9, 2013
16 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Beachbum Berry
7 books42 followersOne of Imbibe magazine’s “25 Most Influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century” and one of The Daily Meal’s “60 Coolest People in Food & Drink,” Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is the author of six books on vintage Tiki drinks and cuisine, which Los Angeles magazine dubbed “the keys to the tropical kingdom.” Esquire calls him “one of the instigators of the cocktail revolution” and Food & Wine “one of the world’s leading rum experts,” while Las Vegas magazine cites him as “one of the world’s leading mixologists.” Jeff’s been profiled in the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, Wine Enthusiast magazine, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Florida Sun-Sentinel; he’s also been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Every Day with Rachael Ray, as well as on PBS Television, the Travel Channel, National Public Radio, and Martha Stewart Living Radio.
“A hybrid of street-smart gumshoe, anthropologist and mixologist” (The Los Angeles Times) and “the Indiana Jones of Tiki drinks” (The New York Times), Jeff has co-created Total Tiki for iPad and iPhone, a drink recipe app which Macworld magazine calls “beautifully rendered and, thanks to Berry’s tireless reporting, impeccably sourced.” He’s also co-created a line of Tiki barware with Cocktail Kingdom, which Imbibe hails as “especially notable because it revives old styles of essential glassware that were previously almost impossible to find.”
Jeff’s original cocktail recipes have been printed in publications around the world, from Bon Appetit and Fine Cooking magazines to such books as World’s Best Cocktails and the venerable Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide. And now his drinks are being served at his restaurant in New Orleans, Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, which the New Orleans Advocate calls “a treasure chest of the tastes and attitude that first made Tiki so popular, curated by someone uniquely qualified for the task”; in its first year, Latitude 29 made the “best” lists of Playboy, Esquire, and New Orleans magazines.
Jeff has written for Saveur and Caribbean Travel & Life magazines, and has conducted tropical drink seminars and tastings across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.
“A hybrid of street-smart gumshoe, anthropologist and mixologist” (The Los Angeles Times) and “the Indiana Jones of Tiki drinks” (The New York Times), Jeff has co-created Total Tiki for iPad and iPhone, a drink recipe app which Macworld magazine calls “beautifully rendered and, thanks to Berry’s tireless reporting, impeccably sourced.” He’s also co-created a line of Tiki barware with Cocktail Kingdom, which Imbibe hails as “especially notable because it revives old styles of essential glassware that were previously almost impossible to find.”
Jeff’s original cocktail recipes have been printed in publications around the world, from Bon Appetit and Fine Cooking magazines to such books as World’s Best Cocktails and the venerable Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide. And now his drinks are being served at his restaurant in New Orleans, Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, which the New Orleans Advocate calls “a treasure chest of the tastes and attitude that first made Tiki so popular, curated by someone uniquely qualified for the task”; in its first year, Latitude 29 made the “best” lists of Playboy, Esquire, and New Orleans magazines.
Jeff has written for Saveur and Caribbean Travel & Life magazines, and has conducted tropical drink seminars and tastings across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 25, 2020
My tiki history reading continues apace, but maybe not in the way you'd think. I've now read more books by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry than I have by Hemingway this year, which is pretty funny. The first I read, Sippin' Safari, was one of those standard - yet immensely exciting - delves into the tiki culture in America, starting with Donn Beach and through Trader Vic and the Mai-Kai and Kahiki Supper Clubs and so on and on. I picked up Remixed, which is straight-up mixology, a refined combo of his Grog Log and Intoxica! books, and the one I use most weekends in conjunction with his Total Tiki app to make my exotic cocktails.
I thought Potions of the Caribbean would be a little more of the same. Another look at tiki history, with drink recipes interspersed. And that's part of it. But most of it is the history of the exotic cocktail itself, and how it's not really a Polynesian thing at all. In fact, I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out, but while the look and feel of tiki bars and restaurants is an intoxicating swirl of idealized South Seas living, the food and especially the drinks come from elsewhere. This is such a simple concept, and I never got it until this book.
Vic Bergeron, aka Trader Vic, gets a spotlight here as someone who thought actual Polynesian food was garbage, and instead went for the generically "exotic" of Chinese, Hunan, and Indian foods. The drinks? Almost all of them came from the Caribbean, in the Atlantic. IN THE ATLANTIC! Berry dives deep into what amounts to an alternate - and very much true - history of tiki drinks as they made their marks earlier, somewhere other than the continental US. I was unprepared for - and delighted by - the history of Sloppy Joe's and the other bars in Cuba. How Hemingway and Noël Coward were a big part of what made the Caribbean popular to mainlanders. How piracy, slavery, and imperialism threatened these islands, and how tourism both saved and condemned them. And how very atrociously the Piña Colada nearly ruined everything.
This book was a deeper (and sometimes darker) look at the past of exotic cocktails, where they came from and why they survive. We're still in the grips of the tiki revival, and knowing the backgrounds of these amazing drinks feels oddly important. This is a history lesson I didn't know I needed, told entertainingly and intelligently. I want more.
I thought Potions of the Caribbean would be a little more of the same. Another look at tiki history, with drink recipes interspersed. And that's part of it. But most of it is the history of the exotic cocktail itself, and how it's not really a Polynesian thing at all. In fact, I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out, but while the look and feel of tiki bars and restaurants is an intoxicating swirl of idealized South Seas living, the food and especially the drinks come from elsewhere. This is such a simple concept, and I never got it until this book.
Vic Bergeron, aka Trader Vic, gets a spotlight here as someone who thought actual Polynesian food was garbage, and instead went for the generically "exotic" of Chinese, Hunan, and Indian foods. The drinks? Almost all of them came from the Caribbean, in the Atlantic. IN THE ATLANTIC! Berry dives deep into what amounts to an alternate - and very much true - history of tiki drinks as they made their marks earlier, somewhere other than the continental US. I was unprepared for - and delighted by - the history of Sloppy Joe's and the other bars in Cuba. How Hemingway and Noël Coward were a big part of what made the Caribbean popular to mainlanders. How piracy, slavery, and imperialism threatened these islands, and how tourism both saved and condemned them. And how very atrociously the Piña Colada nearly ruined everything.
This book was a deeper (and sometimes darker) look at the past of exotic cocktails, where they came from and why they survive. We're still in the grips of the tiki revival, and knowing the backgrounds of these amazing drinks feels oddly important. This is a history lesson I didn't know I needed, told entertainingly and intelligently. I want more.
March 10, 2014
The ultimate guide to tikis history as well a European exploration and conquest of "land-grabbing" during the era of imperialism, slavery, and pirating (along with old Indian and colonial libations). Jeff Berry covers the creation of the much debated Mai Tai (Trader Vic vs Don the Beachcomber) as well as a nod to the long forgotten Joe Scialom (a giant whom spoke 9 languages and masterfully designed cocktail blue prints while believing 3/4 of the cocktail was customers perception of the creation and garnish). The most fascinating aspect of the book to me was prohibition-era Havana and the Americanized country of Cuba where gambling and vice were led by Batista & a Chicago mobster. It was only at this point where the daiquiri could be perfected by a Galician Constante Ribalaigua whom is credited for inspiring many bartenders around the world (as well as writers and movie stars). Read this book if interested in all things Caribbean (1500-1970s).
March 21, 2014
Jeff Beachbum Berry has done for tropical drinks what Mad Men has done for the 1960s: infused a wonderful story with a historical backdrop that makes the tale (and history) even more compelling. Only, the Bum's characters are real! From Christopher Columbus to Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffet, Potions of the Caribbean pays tribute to the cocktails and the creators who made them famous. This is a must-read for any fan of Tiki drinks with a thirst for historical knowledge. Bravo, Mr. Berry!
May 30, 2015
This is an absolutely beautiful book I will go back to again and again. I'd say 90% of my reading is via e-readers but I got this hardback book via import and it is simply delightful.
It is a joy to hold and a joy to flick through. The art direction in the book is excellent - as well as photographs, there are kitsch menus, tourist leaflets, maps and so much more. The spirit of the Caribbean cocktail history at any point of time is vividly illustrated and captures so much of the culture.
Ostensibly I bought this as 'another cocktail book' as I'm really fond of other books by the Beachbum. However, the book is so much more than a cocktail book. Yes, the history of the Caribbean is presented through it's drinks history and on that level the book works well. It's also a history book as Berry goes back to the indigenous inhabitants of the islands when covering the work.
I loved the chapters on early invaders, the slave trade and the era of piracy. Informative, engaging and interesting - Berry is a very good writer as he captures the personalities of everyone from drunken film stars to buccaneering pirates. The chapters on pre-Revolutionary Cuba and the Tiki explosion are fantastic. I'd always known that Tiki was effectively an American creation but I had never appreciated that Tiki drinks were basically Caribbean based and Tiki-fied for American drinkers and diners.
The stories of influential celebrities and famous drinkers are covered well. What I really like about Berry's writing is that he is very opinionated - he does not gloss over the cruelty of slavery and racism, the land grabs and industrialisation of the capitalists. Equally he is equally as critical of ruthless dictators. Basically a book like this could be politically neutral (if such a think exists) but I think Berry chooses to describe the history and political periods with his own voice, warts and all. One thing that comes through in all his books is that he is a decent guy and someone I would love to have a drink with!
The less interesting chapters for me where the later ones where jet flight enabled wealthy Americans and then Europeans to descend on the Caribbean and wave after wave of hotels sprung up. You do sense it would be hard to get an actual decent drink in some of them. However, in this sense it is part travel guide and captures the early burgeoning tourist industry in the Caribbean.
So what of the drinks? I have to be honest I have not tried any of the recipes. I'm currently not drinking but I can say that from previous recipes in books they will be spot on, and even if they are not what he tries to do is be authentic (even if the results are not the best!). I just loved his opinions on pina coladas and their variations. Yep, I'm not a fan of them either. I love his diligence in identifying the correct ingredients, even if they are lost and his attempts to recreate them using alternatives.
So mix a mai tai (still my favourite cocktail even though the recipe I use isn't the original one) and raise a glass. Not just to Berry and the wonderful people who put the book together but the drinkers, bartenders and ordinary people who created this history.
Highly recommended.
It is a joy to hold and a joy to flick through. The art direction in the book is excellent - as well as photographs, there are kitsch menus, tourist leaflets, maps and so much more. The spirit of the Caribbean cocktail history at any point of time is vividly illustrated and captures so much of the culture.
Ostensibly I bought this as 'another cocktail book' as I'm really fond of other books by the Beachbum. However, the book is so much more than a cocktail book. Yes, the history of the Caribbean is presented through it's drinks history and on that level the book works well. It's also a history book as Berry goes back to the indigenous inhabitants of the islands when covering the work.
I loved the chapters on early invaders, the slave trade and the era of piracy. Informative, engaging and interesting - Berry is a very good writer as he captures the personalities of everyone from drunken film stars to buccaneering pirates. The chapters on pre-Revolutionary Cuba and the Tiki explosion are fantastic. I'd always known that Tiki was effectively an American creation but I had never appreciated that Tiki drinks were basically Caribbean based and Tiki-fied for American drinkers and diners.
The stories of influential celebrities and famous drinkers are covered well. What I really like about Berry's writing is that he is very opinionated - he does not gloss over the cruelty of slavery and racism, the land grabs and industrialisation of the capitalists. Equally he is equally as critical of ruthless dictators. Basically a book like this could be politically neutral (if such a think exists) but I think Berry chooses to describe the history and political periods with his own voice, warts and all. One thing that comes through in all his books is that he is a decent guy and someone I would love to have a drink with!
The less interesting chapters for me where the later ones where jet flight enabled wealthy Americans and then Europeans to descend on the Caribbean and wave after wave of hotels sprung up. You do sense it would be hard to get an actual decent drink in some of them. However, in this sense it is part travel guide and captures the early burgeoning tourist industry in the Caribbean.
So what of the drinks? I have to be honest I have not tried any of the recipes. I'm currently not drinking but I can say that from previous recipes in books they will be spot on, and even if they are not what he tries to do is be authentic (even if the results are not the best!). I just loved his opinions on pina coladas and their variations. Yep, I'm not a fan of them either. I love his diligence in identifying the correct ingredients, even if they are lost and his attempts to recreate them using alternatives.
So mix a mai tai (still my favourite cocktail even though the recipe I use isn't the original one) and raise a glass. Not just to Berry and the wonderful people who put the book together but the drinkers, bartenders and ordinary people who created this history.
Highly recommended.
April 29, 2018
There really is no better source for this type of reading. Jeff Berry is a historian, a bartender and a practiced purveyor of a special flavor of humor which seamlessly ties the two together.
The real power and thrill of cocktails is how they are inescapably tired to the times, places, and people who create them. Without that context and culture they're just an overcomplicated way of taxing the liver. But steeped in 50-500 years of deep historical relevance they gain a flavor far beyond the ingredients in the glass.
This book delivers you all of that and more. Buy it for the fantastic recipes, but take some time to read it cover-to-cover as well. It's worth it.
The real power and thrill of cocktails is how they are inescapably tired to the times, places, and people who create them. Without that context and culture they're just an overcomplicated way of taxing the liver. But steeped in 50-500 years of deep historical relevance they gain a flavor far beyond the ingredients in the glass.
This book delivers you all of that and more. Buy it for the fantastic recipes, but take some time to read it cover-to-cover as well. It's worth it.
August 27, 2018
An amazing history of cocktail culture in, from, and inspired by Carribean and South American traditions. More than a recipe book, Berry gives the reader an overview of politics, colonization, invasion, slavery, revolt, development and tourism, and how they developed and influenced our modern trends in hospitality and drinks.
April 6, 2022
A great read for those interested in the true roots of Caribbean cocktails and how those went from grog to zombies to pina coladas! Although this book is front and foremost a history of the drinking habits and libations in the Caribbean, I find that it does a decent job at looking at the broader historical forces as well. The later parts of the book that look into Tiki and post-Tiki are great as well. And of course, the drinks are great! Although you probably wouldn't want to some of the earlier drinks as they are more historical curiosities than anything a modern palate would appreciate, I find them interesting nonetheless. The mid to later drinks, however, will have you running to the liquor store!
July 18, 2021
Beachbum Berry really took on the complicated history surrounding tiki. I learned so much about how different drinks came to be and morphed throughout the decades. The collection of recipes is inspiring and all the vintage graphics and signage made this such a valuable read for anybody who loves tropical drinks and wants to understand the issues with how they have come to be seen today.
July 14, 2022
What a great trove of both history and drinks. The Bum dives way past the liquor and paints a rich tapestry of how first European, then US conquistadors used and built up the islands. From Columbus to Hemingway to Hilton to Dessaline to today, Jeff Berry is a great guide of both historical figures and the bartenders that fueled them.
January 8, 2015
Great read as usual, because the author makes the cocktails seem like archaeology. Can't wait for our next tiki party.
May 28, 2024
I commend Berry for getting the tone exactly right for what turns out to be a touchy subject. Take this classy closing line, for instance: “Above all, here’s to the potions of the Caribbean themselves. Too many of these drinks were forged in times of adversity, uncertainty, and pain. May they help you face yours.”
Berry’s dry, earnest tone complement his thorough research, transparently presenting the harsh reality of Caribbean colonialism - by tribes, empires, states, then corporates in their waves - as context for profiling select mixologist entrepreneurs. Fabulous factoids throughout: did you know that the name Caribbean is a bastardization of the name of an invading native tribe? Or that all drinks of Tiki fame have no roots in the South Pacific and instead were riffs off Cuban drinks?
Very keen to start trying the drink recipes themselves; notes are descriptive, and similar ingredients repeat frequently (which is helpful for a shopping list 😅). In fact, you could make great “flights” based on drinks Berry shows evolve over time from the original recipe.
I also enjoy books that spark my interest in reading related books. A history of Haiti on my shelf is probably worth prioritizing, and Berry name drops novels inspired by iconic Caribbean hotels (and their bartenders): Our Man in Havana, The Comedians, Islands in the Stream.
Berry’s dry, earnest tone complement his thorough research, transparently presenting the harsh reality of Caribbean colonialism - by tribes, empires, states, then corporates in their waves - as context for profiling select mixologist entrepreneurs. Fabulous factoids throughout: did you know that the name Caribbean is a bastardization of the name of an invading native tribe? Or that all drinks of Tiki fame have no roots in the South Pacific and instead were riffs off Cuban drinks?
Very keen to start trying the drink recipes themselves; notes are descriptive, and similar ingredients repeat frequently (which is helpful for a shopping list 😅). In fact, you could make great “flights” based on drinks Berry shows evolve over time from the original recipe.
I also enjoy books that spark my interest in reading related books. A history of Haiti on my shelf is probably worth prioritizing, and Berry name drops novels inspired by iconic Caribbean hotels (and their bartenders): Our Man in Havana, The Comedians, Islands in the Stream.
February 26, 2021
What I bought initially as yet another cocktail book to add to my collection has become, to my surprise, one of my favorite history books. While it’s written through the lives of various Caribbean bartenders, bar owners, and bar patrons, in the end you learn a great deal about Caribbean history, from 1492 and the arrival of Columbus up through 1992, just a few years after the deaths of tiki cocktail gods Trader Vic and Donn the Beachcomber. The Caribbean has had it rough, from natives getting wiped out or enslaved by colonists from Europe, through pirates causing troubles, all the way through American capitalism taking it by storm for better or worse. On the flip side Berry tells us about a multitude of interesting characters like the two I mentioned before as well as numerous pirates and other famous Caribbean rascals like Errol Flynn and of course Ernest Hemingway. This is well worth the read - you also get a ton of great historical cocktail recipes.
October 26, 2017
I received this book as a gift and originally planned to use it primarily for the recipes. This would have been a mistake. While Berry claims to be writing a book about cocktails, he has inadvertently written a fascinating and well-researched history of the tropics spanning from early discovery through colonialism and the slave trade and up to today. Given the importance of alcohol, he tells about how we influenced the region and how the region's culture permeated our own. I find all of this context makes all tropical drinks more enjoyable (as they now tell a story) and is invaluable in thinking of new drinks to make.
Overall, a creative approach to telling the story of drinks through the story of a geography and culture.
Overall, a creative approach to telling the story of drinks through the story of a geography and culture.
February 26, 2023
Excellent book. History more than recipes. Although the book definitely does have cocktail recipes, they are often more for historical interest than for practical use. If you are a cocktail aficionado the historical formulations will give you a good base of understanding for rum and tiki formulas to develop your own creations. And the social history truly is interesting--concentrating on the drinks and their creators and their venues, but not ignoring the larger historical perspective of the region.
December 20, 2023
I got this from my friend 2 years ago and have slowly worked my way through it. A great history with plenty of comedy, anthropology, and drinks mixed in. I have only made a couple of the recipes, but plan on working on this the coming months.
December 9, 2020
We had the pleasure of going to Beachbum Berry's Latitude 29 in New Orleans and enjoyed making their fantastic cocktails at home!
December 31, 2014
Fascinating history of the drinks of the Caribbean and the people who made them. I made a few of them and DAMN were they tasty, and deceptively easy to drink!
Do yourself and your bar a favor, and read this book. Great pictures will enthrall you and easy instructions will have you slingin' dranks like it is your job.
Do yourself and your bar a favor, and read this book. Great pictures will enthrall you and easy instructions will have you slingin' dranks like it is your job.
June 17, 2014
Sweet book. Lots of history!
April 26, 2016
An entertaining blend of history and mixology.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews