Cocktail of the Month: The Coco Kamala
By • August 14, 2024 0 609
People are going nuts — coconuts, to be specific — for Kamala Harris.
Ever since President Biden passed the torch to Vice President Harris, the internet has exploded with coconut memes and coconut tree emojis.
What’s the meaning behind these cryptic tropical messages?
They stem from a 2023 speech Harris gave at an event about advancing opportunities for Hispanic Americans. In it, she referenced a saying her mother used when she was younger: “She would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’”
Laughing, Harris followed that up with her own bit of wisdom: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
Republicans immediately jumped on the quip and tried using it against her. Apparently, they found it more offensive than “Grab them by the [P-word].”
When members of the KHive (pronounced KAY-hive), a play by Harris supporters on Beyoncé’s BeyHive, embraced this coconuttery, it took on an organic life of its own. Everyone — pop stars, politicians, Gen Zers, childless cat ladies — seems to have adopted the saying. Google searches for “coconut tree” skyrocketed and the related memes have gone viral.
As another saying goes, when a tree falls in the forest, it’s not certain that anyone hears it. But when the spunky former California senator talks about falling out of one, it gets blasted all over the Web.
So how does this meme resonate with a cocktail writer? When God gives you coconuts, it’s time to make piña coladas!
It’s not known if Harris fancies cocktails, though Maya Rudolph has sported frozen drinks and martinis during her impressions. However, our veep is a wine drinker and favors vineyards from her home state. The San Francisco Chronicle reported she was a member of the wine club at the (now-closed) Rock Wall winery in Alameda. And back in 2017, when Harris made a bet on the World Series with Sen. Ted Cruz, she paid her debt with two bottles from Sonoma County’s Ramey Wine Cellars.
Were I to create a cocktail for our glass ceiling-breaking VP, it would definitely include coconut, and also pay homage to her diverse background.
Since her father is from Jamaica, I would start with some tasty Jamaican rum. The island’s rums are characterized by their assertive fruit-forward flavor and strong nose.
Her mother’s homeland, India, is more of a whisky-drinking nation (note Scottish spelling), but Amrut, India’s first distiller of single malt whisky, also makes rum.
Much like Harris, Amrut’s Two Indies rum series is an Indian-Caribbean combination. First, Amrut distills two rums, one from Indian sugarcane juice and the other from jaggery (unrefined sugar, traditionally used in Indian desserts). These are then aged in American oak barrels and, when finished, blended with rums from Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana.
Instead of going with a bloated, old-fashioned piña colada, I would create a lime-based drink to add some tang and sass, embodying Kamala’s sharp wit. Fresh mint would represent the brightness and vigor she’s thrown into the 2024 campaign.
The hue from these elements will match the lime green color of Charli XCX’s smash “brat” album cover. When the pop diva posted on X, “Kamala IS brat,” the post garnered over 50 million views in less than a week, sparking the color’s adoption by the Harris campaign.
My cocktail tribute to Kamala would consist of: two portions of rum (to represent how woman must work twice as hard to get recognized), lime, mint and coconut shavings. Essentially, it would be a coconut mojito.
Finally, rather than topping it off with soda, I would add some sparkling California Champagne … for an early victory toast!
The Coco Kamala
1 oz. Appleton Estate Jamaican rum
1 oz. Amrut Two Indies white rum
1 oz. lime juice
5 sprigs mint
1.5 teaspoons sugar
California sparkling wine
1.5 tablespoons freshly grated coconut
Muddle mint with sugar in a glass. Add lime juice, rum and ice, then stir. Top with sparkling wine to 1/8 inch from the rim and spoon on a layer of coconut shavings.
