25 Drinks of Christmas – Day Twenty Three: Backscratcher at Tambu Lounge

We’re back with everyone’s favorite theme park advent calendar: a daily countdown of our favorite drinks at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld building anticipation to the Big Day. 

Criteria: Drinks can be alcoholic or nonalcoholic. Drinks can come from any venue on property. Bonus points awarded for atmosphere where the drink is served. Any drink with glow cubes is immediately disqualified. Ready? Let’s go!

DAY TWENTY THREE: Backscratcher at Tambu Lounge (Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort) 

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The Backscratcher at Tambu Lounge is a 25 Drinks of Christmas entry that is literally a year in the making. When we decided to make this virtual advent calendar last year, the first two drinks we immediately knew would make the list were Tambu’s Lapu Lapu and Backscratcher. Unfortunately, every single time we went to the bar, they were out of the drink’s signature bamboo backscratchers.

So our New Year’s Resolution for 2015 was a simple one: to get a Backscratcher at the Tambu Lounge with a backscratcher in it, and guess what? Mission accomplished. One of the most iconic cocktails on Disney property, the Backscratcher is strong but not overwhelmingly sweet. Because a reservation at the nearby ‘Ohana is almost as hard to get as a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite, we recommend a Backscratcher at Tambu, an order of the honey-coriander chicken wings, and of course bread pudding for dessert.

Ingredients: Bacardi Superior Rum, Myers’s Original Dark Rum, and Passion Fruit Juice topped with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and a Bamboo Backscratcher.

Previous Drinks of Christmas:

DAY ONE: Polynesian Pearl at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

DAY TWO: Dufftoberfest at Duff Brewery

DAY THREE: Godiva Chocolate Martini at Mizner’s Lounge

DAY FOUR: Blood Orange Side Car at Swizzle Lounge

DAY FIVE: Imperial Pilsner at Morimoto Asia

DAY SIX: Smoking Gun at Emeril’s Orlando

DAY SEVEN: Mint Julep at BOATHOUSE

DAY EIGHT: Bees Knees at The Cowfish

DAY NINE: Cool-headed Monkey at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar

DAY TEN: 5 O’Clock Somewhere at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

DAY ELEVEN: Key West Kiss at Shark’s Underwater Grill

DAY TWELVE: LeFou’s Brew at Gaston’s Tavern

DAY THIRTEEN: Himalayan Ghost at Thirsty River Bar

DAY FOURTEEN: Schweitzer Slush at Skipper Canteen

DAY FIFTEEN: Dark & Tropical Stormy at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

DAY SIXTEEN: Pear Cider with Firewhisky at Leaky Cauldron

DAY SEVENTEEN: Under the Florida Moon at The Wave… of American Flavors

DAY EIGHTEEN: Hog’s Tea at the Hog’s Head Pub

DAY NINETEEN: Swedish Fish at Todd English’s bluezoo

DAY TWENTY:  Potion of the God’s at Mythos

DAY TWENTY ONE: HippopotoMai-Tai at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

DAY TWENTY TWO: Cotton-Tini at T-Rex Cafe

Interested in theme park drinks? Then do we have a eBook for you! The Walt Disney World Bars and Lounges eGuide by Brian McNichols. Over 250 pages and containing well over 400 photos, this eGuide takes you through EVERY bar and lounge on WDW property (trust me, Brian has the kidneys problems to prove it!) Also included? Recipes for some of your favorite WDW drinks. Ratings, descriptions, and photos for each of the 70+ bars and lounges. Talk about the perfect Christmas present!

Special thanks to crack staff photographer Brandon Glover and Fred Weasley’s widow Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Be sure to also check out Brandon on The Park Blogger podcast with co-hosts Aengus Mackenzie and Brian Carey.

You can always find Your Humble Author each week on the SATURDAY SIX, each month with the Disney Outlet Store Photo Report, and on Twitter (@derekburgan) producing original pieces of Burgan Fine Art™