Rum Cannonball: The Life Aquatic's Mythical Drink on Bill Murray's Birthday

Bill Murray as explorer Steve Zissou in The Life Aquatic

1 hour and 26 minutes into Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, as he's about to lead a daring raid on the decrepit Hotel Citroën, Bill Murray, with his trademark deadpan brilliance, tosses off an intriguing line (one of many such throwaways in the film): "They had a bartender here, Kino, made the best rum cannonball I've ever tasted."

A stealth reference to Murray's groundskeeper Carl Spackler uttering "Cannonball!" in Caddyshack? Perhaps. We'll probably never know. Just as we'll probably never know what actually goes into the mythical rum cannonball.

Everything looks better in The Life Aquatic: wetsuits, sea creatures, pregnant journalists, hot air balloon rides. Why wouldn't the cocktails also taste better? Fortunately, the air of mystery has inspired film geeks and amateur drinksmiths to concoct their own version of the exotic cocktail.

Today, in honor of Bill Murray's birthday (it's his 62nd, along with Leonard Cohen's 77th -- and what would have been Chuck Jones' 99th and H.G. Wells' 145th), we've dug up some of the "scholarship" devoted to this bit of onscreen arcana.

Or you can always invent your own. If we may be so bold: a shot of Old Havana dark rum (smuggled in under the driver's seat of your vehicle from Tijuana), a shot of Kraken rum, a splash of pineapple juice, a splash of fresh coconut juice, a dash of falernum, a dropper of toasted nutmeg extract and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Rum Cannonball (via Blogadilla)
1 part white rum
1 part gin
1 part orange juice
1 part pineapple juice
1 part lemon-lime soda
1 part strawberry soda

Serve over ice with a key lime, pineapple, or tropical orchid garnish.

Rum Cannonball, alternate (via Blogadilla)
2 ounces rum
Top-off with orange juice
4-5 dashes of Angostura bitters

Rum Cannonball (via Keep The Feast)
3 ounces dark rum
3 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
3 ounces cola
5 shakes bitters

Mix all ingredients in a tall glass with ice.

Rum Canonball (via Drinks Mixer)
Invented by Daniel of Portland, OR. Inspired by "Life Aquatic" scene and Montigo Bay trip. The Orange Squash is a Jamaican version of Sunny Delight and is a local favorite mixer. Try to get the real stuff and don't use Sunny D.

Bacardi 151 rum shot
white rum double-shot
rum shot
orange squash shot
ginger ale shot
rum floater
lime wedge

Cannonball!

[@elinashatkin / eshatkin@laweekly.com]