The King Hippo Cocktail--a Tiki Punchout

Lou Bustamante

The King Hippo at Rickhouse

​Some cocktail recipes begin with inspiration from an old bartending book, culinary pairing, or classic cocktail--others start with up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, and pressing B, A, start.

Inspired by a character nicknamed the "Polynesian King" from the 1987 game Mike Tyson's Punchout! on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Rickhouse bar manager Joe Alessandroni created the King Hippo ($10, Zacapa 23 Rum, velvet falernum, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, pineapple gum, lemon, egg white, Angostura bitters). Appointed with an Angostura crown on its frothy head, the drink has the spiced and tropical flavors you would expect of a tiki drink, but also feels as classic as a Sidecar.

Unlike the game, facing one won't knock you out, but taking a few too many to the face and gut could leave you seeing stars.