Name: The Bushwacker
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 oz. Kahlua; 1 oz. Bacardi rum; 1 oz. white crème de cocoa; 4 oz. Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut; 4 oz. half-and-half; 2 cups ice

The Bushwacker, a delicious and surprisingly versatile frozen cocktail, was invented 50 years ago at The Ship’s Store at Sapphire Village Resort (now the Sudi’s Caribbean Bar and Grill) in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Tom Brokamp, the bar’s manager at the time, the cocktail’s origin is tied to bartender, Angie Conigliaro. “She was constantly trying to come up with new drinks with the blender,” he recalls. “I was on a White Russian jag, and I suggested it, and she started playing around with it, and I made a couple of changes to the formulation.”

Nowadays, the Bushwacker is more rum-focused and can include floaters or toppers, but Brokamp said the drink’s original version incorporated vodka. The initial recipe also featured half parts of Kahlúa and dark creme de cacao, along with cream of coconut, milk, ice and a splash of triple sec, topped with freshly grated nutmeg.

Its moniker derives from the name of an Afghan hound belonging to a pair of flight attendants. Ut was Conigliaro who suggested applying it to the cocktail. “I gave her the go-ahead, and she promoted it because she was behind the bar all the time, and she is really the one who’s responsible for it,” says Brokamp, who is now retired and living in Virginia.

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In early 1977 while vacationing in St. Thomas, Linda Taylor (now Murphy) went to see her friend working at The Ship’s Store. “It was really good,” she recalls. Back home, Murphy ran the Sandshaker Lounge on Florida’s Pensacola Beach and began experimenting with her own version. The bar is credited with being the first to serve the Bushwacker in the mainland United States, and Murphy is acknowledged for her role in making it Pensacola’s official drink.

For the Bushwacker’s 50th anniversary, Pensacola’s tourism board has unveiled a self-guided trail featuring drink-serving bars and restaurants, including Flounder’s Chowder House, The Hideaway Beach Bar and, of course, the Sandshaker Lounge.

The Sandshaker Lounge in Pensacola, which helped popularize the Bushwacker

Visit Pensacola

Originally, the Sandshaker’s system for making Bushwackers was four blenders running constantly. It wasn’t until Memorial Day weekend in 1980 that a frozen drink machine was tagged in. This setup evolved to a draft keg cooler and pump system with two machine heads continuously filled. With her version, Murphy said she substituted white crème de cacao and added milk. “And then we decided you could add whatever shot or rum you wanted to it,” she says.

The bar’s mixed clientele would vary on how they liked their Bushwackers, from requesting fresh strawberries and a slice of banana, to Navy pilots wanting jet fuel in theirs. “We had a lot of fun; we sold a lot of them,” says Murphy, who owned the bar until 2004. “It did a lot for Pensacola and our businesses. I mean, it’s good for all of us.”

As time passed, the Bushwacker caught the attention of other area F&B workers who would develop their own adaptations or twists, such as adding in chocolate syrup.

Pat McClellan, co-owner of Flora-Bama, a popular honky-tonk bar on Alabama’s Orange Beach and Florida’s Perdido Key line, would come to the Sandshaker after work from a previous job, watch Murphy preparing Bushwackers and get a handle on the original recipe. His recipe for Flora-Bama excludes any coconut but involves dark and spiced rums, Kahlúa, crème de cacao, whole milk and a secret ingredient. Nowadays, this establishment produces its Bushwackers with about 36 continuously-churning frozen drink machines throughout its venues. In May, Flora-Bama marked the 50th anniversary with a daylong festival.

McClellan thinks the drink’s consistency makes it popular, along with its sweetness. But it’s best to be mindful of its strength. “You could be ‘bushwacked,’” he says. “You gotta be careful how many you drink.”

A Bushwacker at Lulu's — A Bushwacker at Lulu’s, made with vanilla ice cream, coffee liqueur, and Cruzan coconut rum

Orange Beach Tourism

The Bushwacker has also been picked up along Alabama’s Gulf Shores and Orange Beach communities, and the region’s tourism board has launched a special anniversary trail. Cotton’s Restaurant in Orange Beach was the first establishment in Alabama to serve the Bushwacker. Its claim is through a story involving owner Chris Ybarra’s friend and colleague, Michael Wayne Stuckey. A Pensacola native who frequented Sandshaker, Stuckey’s account involves him directly approaching Murphy about the drink. “I said, ‘Linda — I’m in Alabama, you’re in Pensacola Beach. Why don’t you give me that recipe, so I can take it back to Alabama?” he says.

Stuckey was given a slip of paper listing everything except one ingredient. “We experimented with it until we got what we called our Bushwacker,” Ybarra says. Cotton’s version encompasses an ice cream mix with about three different flavored rums. 151 is a popular choice for floaters, but there are more interesting picks. “Now we’re getting to where we’re putting in some licorice-type liquors and even Schnapps on top of them,” he adds.

A few other area variations:

Tacky Jacks’ signature Bushwacker comes with a floater of 151 or the option of peanut butter or salted caramel whiskey or locally-made Murder Creek Pecan Praline moonshine. For the 50th anniversary of the drink, Tacky Jacks has a rotating Bushwacker of the Month series with selections such as June’s Orange Dreamsicle Bushwacker.

The Beach House Kitchen & Cocktails in Gulf Shores makes theirs with an in-house coffee-infused rum, along with 151, cream of coconut, milk and Mozart chocolate liqueur with a garnish of chocolate shavings.

The Original Oyster House incorporates theirs with white rum, crème de cocoa dark, Kahlua, Coco Lopez, ice cream, a scoop of their peanut butter pie mix and a 151 floater in a chocolate-lined glass. “In the heat of coastal weather, nothing can cool you down faster than a Bushwacker,” says James Nail, general manager of the restaurant’s Gulf Shores location. “It’s so popular because it’s like an adult milkshake — creamy and chocolatey with just the right touch of alcohol.”

If you want to try the original, here’s the recipe from Sandshaker Lounge.