Three Dots and a Dash

Name: Three Dots and a Dash
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 1.5 oz aged rhum agricole; 0.5 oz aged rum; 0.5 oz fresh lime juice; 0.5 oz fresh orange juice; 0.5 oz honey syrup; 0.25 oz allspice dram (pimento dram); 3 maraschino cherries and 1 pineapple chunk, to garnish

A Tiki WWII classic: three dashes of rum, allspice dram, honey, and lime — named after the Morse code signal for 'V' (victory).

More drinks like this

Three Dots and a Dash cocktail made with rum, served in a hurricane glass

Base

rum

Glassware

Hurricane glass

Flavor Profile

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Ingredients

1.5 oz aged rhum agricole
0.5 oz aged rum
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
0.5 oz fresh orange juice
0.5 oz honey syrup
0.25 oz allspice dram (pimento dram)
3 maraschino cherries and 1 pineapple chunk, to garnish

Instructions

1Add all liquid ingredients to a shaker with ice.
2Shake vigorously until well chilled.
3Strain into a hurricane glass over crushed ice and garnish with three cherries and a pineapple chunk on a pick.

Origin & Story

United States, 1944

Donn Beach (Don the Beachcomber) created this drink during World War II as a toast to Allied victory — the name encodes the letter V in Morse code. Traditionally garnished with three cherries and a pineapple chunk (the three dots and a dash), it represents the philosophical peak of the Tiki movement's storytelling: every element of the drink — from name to garnish — tells a complete narrative.