St. Thomas's Bushwacker Has Inspired Beach Bar Battles in Florida for Decades

The blanketing heat in Florida calls for a frosty beverage that slides down easy. Enter the Bushwacker. Brought over from St. Thomas by Linda Taylor Murphy to Pensacola in late 1975 to her bar, the Shaker, the cocktail has inspired battles among the beach bars across the Gulf Coast surrounding who made it first and who makes it best. 

Bartender Angie Congliaro and restaurant manager Tom Brokamp at the Ship’s Store and Sapphire Pub on St. Thomas created the drink in 1975. Named after a guest’s dog, Bushwack, the cocktail quickly spread across St. Thomas and the Virgin Islands. James Murphy, owner of Barefoot BBQ in Seaside, grew up immersed in the Bushwacker trend and learned to make it himself as a young bartender on St. Thomas.

“There's not a bar [there] that doesn’t have a version of it. The original 1975 drink was made with milk because Bailey’s had not hit the island yet. Two years later, in ‘77, Bailey’s arrived and the recipe evolved — the first recipe I was taught included Bailey’s,” says Murphy — or Murph as he likes to be called.

With flavors somewhere between a Piña Colada and a White Russian, with a chocolate milkshake texture, here are Murph’s and my favorites across the Sunshine State. 

Barefoot BBQ (Seaside)

Let’s just put it out there, Murph makes the tastiest version of this frothy drink I’ve ever tasted. He has been serving them from his airstream trailer in Seaside since 2009. The velvety blend of vodka, rum, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and coconut tastes like the best milkshake, but beware it is potent. He garnishes it with whipped cream and grated nutmeg, like he was taught. Even Brokamp who recently visited Barefoot BBQ in Seaside agreed in a tweet he posted to the Twitterverse. “The Bushwacker was our drink on St. Thomas. I know the two people who made it and now one of them has tried mine. I'm not saying I have the best, but he sure thinks I might.” 

Sandshaker (Pensacola)

The story goes that Linda Taylor Murphy frequented the Ship’s Store and Sapphire Pub in St. Thomas and fell in love with the Bushwacker. She brought it back to her bar — then called the Shaker — in Pensacola in 1975. They claim it as the first Bushwacker in the States, and Murph agrees with them. Thirty years later, the Sandshaker team still mixes each batch by hand, adding rum last. They offer variations on that milkshake delight — Banana and Strawberry Bushwackers incorporate fresh fruit and if you really love the drink, visit the Sandshaker in August for their annual Bushwacker Festival.

Flora-Bama (Pensacola)

Another claim on primacy comes from the hallowed halls of this Perdido Key beachfront honky-tonk. Digging a little deeper, the story goes that Flora-Bama co-owner Pat McClellan bellied up to the Shaker bar in Pensacola many a night to imbibe their delicious Bushwackers. He liked it so much, he developed a recipe for the Flora-Bama. As Murph says, “They are the Vatican of bars, and they do use milk like the original recipe, but I think where they and others fail, is they weren’t taught to make it by someone who grew up on St. Thomas. It’s our national drink and we understand the texture and flavor profile better than anybody. It’s good, but it’s not mine.” 

Boat Drinks Bar (St. Augustine)

This tropical outpost in St. Augustine has had a Bushwacker on the menu since day one and it does not disappoint. They use rich coconut milk instead of the ice cream base many bars employ and pay homage to its Caribbean roots by incorporating multiple island rums. Whenever I’m in America’s Oldest City and the summer sun beats down, I swing into this brightly colored haven where Boat Drinks is a state of mind, and Rob and Whitney whip up refreshing beverages — like their version of the Bushwacker — with balance and flair. 

Juana's Pagodas (Navarre)

Located at the foot of Navarre Beach Bridge, Juana’s Pagodas oozes classic beach bar vibes and their version, the Juanawacker, has a deep fan base. They make theirs with rum, Kahlua, and chocolate liqueur, and for an extra kick, you can add a floater of banana, raspberry, 151 rum, or Screwball peanut butter whiskey. Halfway between channel marker 93 and Navarre Beach Bridge, boating up to this sprawling mass of palapas may be the best way to get your Juanawacker. They’ve been making these since 1989 and still keep the recipe a family secret.

The Rum Bar (Key West)

Located on the ground floor of the Speakeasy Inn on Duval Street in Key West, this cozy bar features over 350 rums from all over the world. Their love of rum goes back to the rum-running days of original homeowner Raul Vasquez who put balustrades straight from Cuba around the second-floor balcony to signal to people on the street that alcohol and gambling happened inside during Prohibition. It’s also one of the only homes with a basement — Vasquez stashed his illicit rum there. The Rum Bar doesn’t have a Bushwacker listed on the menu, but I ordered one on my last trip down to the Conch Republic and it was one of the tastiest, and most potent, I’ve ever tasted.