Harry Yee

Harry Yee

Harry K. Yee is a legendary Honolulu bartender credited with helping spread tiki bars and tiki culture during the middle 20th Century, both in Hawaii and to the Mainland.

Biography

Born in 1920, Yee began bartending in 1952, before the advent of jet airliners and seven years before Hawaiian statehood. He soon joined Henry Kaiser's Hawaiian Village Hotel, where he served as head bartender for more than 30 years.cite web|title=Harry Yee, King of Tropical Cocktails|author=Rick Carroll|url=http://www.kevdo.com/maitai/harryyee.html|accessdate=2007-07-03|publisher=kevdo.com] Along with Ernest Gantt ("Donn Beach") and Victor Jules Bergeron ("Trader Vic"), Yee did much to popularize a faux version of the tropics consisting of rum drinks, hula girls, and tourism. Yee's time at the bar spanned statehood and the rise of Hawaii as a major international travel and retirement destination. When he began, Hawaii hosted approximately 100,000 visitors per year, mostly around Waikiki. By the time he retired tourism exceeded 5 million visitors, compared to 7 million today. [cite web | url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/print-narrative.cfm?destID=781&catID=0781020044 | publisher=Frommers | title= Hawaiian History|accessdate=2007-07-03]

His many innovations were an attempt to create a sense of locale for his tourist customers. When they asked for Hawaiian drinks, he had nothing to offer because there was no such thing, so he invented them and often coined names on the spot. At times during his career he was a teetotaler who relied on his customers for feedback on his drinks. He does not drink rum, and instead prefers cognac. After retiring he taught for several years at the Bartending Training Institute in Honolulu.

Notable Innovations

During his more than 30 years bartending in Waikiki, Hawaii, Yee invented among other things:
* The blue Hawaii [cite web | title=Tropical drinks, part of the Hawaiian experience | author=Lance Tominaga|accessdate=2007-07-03|publisher=alohahawaii.com|url=http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/tropical+drinks/]
* The banana daquiri
* The vanda orchid garnish
* The Hawaiian Eye, featured in the television series of the same name that was set in his hotel
* The tropical itch (a popular drink that substitutes a bamboo backscratcher for a swizzle stick

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care — The Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a residential community for senior citizens, particularly those unable to care for themselves. It came about when Dr. Joseph Wong witnessed the lack of emotional support and… …   Wikipedia

  • Harry Bosch — For the Dutch painter, see Hieronymus Bosch. Detective Hieronymus Harry Bosch (  /haɪˈ …   Wikipedia

  • Blue Hawaii (drink) — WPMIXInfobox iba = no source = Chow sourcelink = http://www.chow.com/recipes/10304 name = Blue Hawaii caption = Frozen Blue Hawaii at Gold Spike bar near Union Square, San Francisco type = mixed rum = yes vodka = yes curaçao = yes served = rocks… …   Wikipedia

  • Lust, Caution (film) — Infobox Film name = Lust, Caution caption = Theatrical release poster director = Ang Lee producer = Ang Lee William Kong James Schamus writer = Eileen Chang (story) Hui Ling Wang James Schamus (screenplay) starring = Tony Leung Chiu Wai Tang Wei… …   Wikipedia

  • Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — The Board of Supervisors meets in San Francisco City Hall …   Wikipedia

  • Navaho (langue) — Navajo (langue)  Cet article concerne la langue navajo. Pour le peuple navajo, voir Navajos. Navajo Diné bizaad Parlée aux États Unis d Amérique et Mexique. Région Arizona, Nouveau Mexique, Utah …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Navajo (langue) — Cet article concerne la langue navajo. Pour le peuple navajo, voir Navajos. Navajo Diné bizaad Parlée aux États Unis d Amérique et Mexique. Région Arizona, Nouveau Mexique, Utah, Color …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Navajo language — Navajo Diné bizaad Spoken in USA Region Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado Native speakers 171,000 …   Wikipedia

  • Bronze Bauhinia Star — The Bronze Bauhinia Star (zh t|t=銅紫荊星章, BBS) is the lowest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star in Hong Kong. It is awarded to persons who have given outstanding service over a long period of time, but in a more limited field or way than that… …   Wikipedia

  • 1954 in sports — yearbox in?=in sports cp=19th century c=20th century cf=21st century yp1=1951 yp2=1952 yp3=1953 year=1954 ya1=1955 ya2=1956 ya3=1957 dp3=1920s dp2=1930s dp1=1940s d=1950s da=0 dn1=1960s dn2=1970s dn3=1980s|Artistic Gymnastics*1954 World… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”