To honor the Bayview Yacht Club’s 102nd Port Huron to Mackinac Freshwater Yacht Race, we are sharing the yacht club’s famous ice cream cocktail, the Hummer. This iconic ice cream cocktail, perfect for the hot days of summer, is made in a blender and served with a straw in a brandy snifter for visual appeal.
Legendary bartender Jerome Adams of the Bayview Yacht Club invented the original Hummer in 1968 at the yacht club, located on Detroit’s east side on the Detroit River. The creamy, frozen drink—traditionally made with white rum, Kahlúa, vanilla ice cream, and ice—was supposedly named after a customer’s remark that drinking the cocktail made him want to “hum”. The Hummer has become an iconic staple of the sailing community and Michigan summer nightlife. It has been served in private clubs across Michigan, usually featuring Hagan Dazs ice cream.
Jerome Adams, a beloved figure at the Bayview Yacht Club, who served behind its bar for over 50 years, created the drink while experimenting with blended, ice-cream-based cocktails. Adams began working at Bayview in 1967 as a dishwasher and was elevated to bartender shortly thereafter, replacing another longtime bartender. He worked at the private club as the bar manager as recently as 2017 and died the following spring.
Equipment:
Hummer Cocktail
This famous Detroit cocktail was first developed at the Bayview Yacht Club, the host of the Port Huron to Mackinac Yacht Race.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a blender, pour in ice, rum, coffee liqueur, followed by ice cream. Blend until smooth and combined.
- Pour into a brandy snifter with a straw for a beautiful finish.