Apologies if I’ve posted this already, I can’t remember, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t. Oh, and pre-apologies to any religious nuts that will take offense…Actually, no, I take it back, be offended. It’s your choice. Listen now, I’m not talking about the father, son, and holy spirit of ancient myths, nor am I speaking of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth (although that’s a great one if you want it to be your personal holy trinity). Shit, now that I think about it, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll are up there. Hmmm. This makes me think of my old watering hole, The Three Needs, in Burlington, VT. The owner, Glen, always said the three needs were whatever you wanted them to be. Total cop out answer if you ask me.

Before this post veers completely off the deep end, I’ll explain that this particular holy trinity pertains to bartending, not life or religion. I’m talking in tiki terms, people. Yes, the four tiki gods have blessed us with the guava, the pineapple, and the passionfruit. Put them all together, add a little hibiscus and strawberry and you have yourself some fassionola.

Unfortunately, we don’t grow pineapple here in Southern California, so technically it’s against the rules at Rustic. Yeah, I know, we still use Mexican limes…Anyway, local farmers do grow the ever mercurial guava and passionfruit. Both of which are liable to pop up at weird times throughout the year but usually can be counted on toward the end of summer and beginning of fall, what we like to call “Tiki Season” due to all the other tropical fruits being available as well.

All three in each of their own ways, when combined with rum, I dare say make for a better daiquiri than a daiquiri itself. There’s few components that go so well with one another than fruit, lime, sugar, and rum. If only life were so easy.

Guava is the weirdest of the three, the most likely to be unripe one day and rotten the next. The most fragrant. On days when it’s fully in season, it is all you can smell on Arizona Ave. in Santa Monica. Even the salty ocean breeze cannot overcome guava’s bouquet. Raw, they are tasty, exotic, a little gritty, but once added to sugar, lime and rum, something downright mystical occurs. It’s a transformation for the senses, for the palate. It makes no sense but they all complement one another like instruments in a symphony.

Passionfruit on the other hand, live up to their namesake by way of pure sensuality. Don’t believe me? Crack one open and eat it without feeling a stir in the nether regions. And with a little rum or gin, our favorite three letter words? You can expect fireworks. Fresh is best. Yes, the seeds are annoying, but anything worth eating necessitates some struggle. I know someone who purees the seeds and uses them as a facial scrub.

Last but not least, the humble pineapple. Where would we all be in life without the piña colada, the painkiller, and the unlimited plethora of beverages spawning from this oddity? I was once told by someone the pineapple grew from a bush that only produced one fruit. Not so. They grow in the ground like a single, fat, holy tuber. I once saw fields of them in Costa Rica. Fronds as far as the eye would allow. Not only delicious but packed full of anti-inflammatory properties, vitamins, and strange chemicals swirling inside your glass.

All three take work to prepare. These aren’t bananas or berries. You can’t just pick one up and eat it. You also must wait for perfect ripeness, in some cases at the precipice of overripe. For all three members of the holy trinity, you’ll need a knife, a board, and some patience. Yes, there will be scraps, and damned are those who throw those scraps in the waste basket. Guava scraps, the seeds and skin, can go into the rum vats. Pineapple leftovers made into tepache. Passionfruit husks into syrup or vermouth.

From the ground, the branch, the vine and into the glass and into the body.