Harry Yee Biography | Harry K. Yee | Who is Harry Yee?
Harry Yee’s full name Harry K. Yee is a former bartender from Honolulu, Hawaii who is credited with having helped to spread tiki culture during the mid-twentieth century, both in Hawaii and in the continental United States.
He invented the Blue Hawaii cocktail and is attributed with being the first bartender to use paper parasols and Vanda Orchids in tiki drinks. In 2018, Yee celebrated his 100th birthday.
Born in 1918, 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 thirty years.
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 five million visitors, compared to seven million today.
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.
Yee is attributed with being the first bartender to use paper parasols and Vanda Orchids in tiki drinks. In an interview on the subject, Yee said “We used to use a sugar cane stick garnishes, and people would chew on the stick, then put it in the ashtray.
When the ashes and cane stuck together it made a real mess, so I put orchids in the drink to make the ashtrays easier to clean. I wasn’t thinking about romance.”
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.
Harry K. Yee is a former bartender from Honolulu, Hawaii who is credited with having helped to spread tiki culture during the mid-twentieth century, both in Hawaii and in the continental United States.
Harry Yee Age | How Old Is Harry Yee?
Harry K. Yee is a former bartender from Honolulu, Hawaii who is credited with having helped to spread tiki culture during the mid-twentieth century, both in Hawaii and in the continental United States. Harry Yee is 100 years old in 2019. He was born on September 26, 1918
Harry Yee 100
KUPUNA WISDOM: Legendary bartender Harry Yee shares his secret to living 100 years
On September 26, 2018, Harry Yee celebrated his 100th birthday. The centenarian is the legendary bartender from the Hilton Hawaiian Village who created one of our island’s famed cocktails, the iconic “Blue Hawaii.” Yee shares his secret for living 100 years in our Kupuna Wisdom segment.
Known as a pioneer in tiki bar culture during the mid-twentieth century, Yee continues to be an inspiration among modern mixologists who are bringing back tiki-style cocktails. In the late 1950s, Yee was asked by a Bols Liqueur representative to create a new drink using its new Blue Curacao.
Thus, Blue Hawaii was created. Yee went on to create more than 15 other specialty cocktails including the Tropical Itch, Hawaiian Eye, and Banana Daiquiri to name a few. He is known as the “king of tropical cocktails.”
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Harry Yee Family | Wife, Children, Net Worth
Harry K. Yee is a former bartender from Honolulu, Hawaii who is credited with having helped to spread tiki culture during the mid-twentieth century, both in Hawaii and in the continental United States.
There are no details about his Family, Wife, Children, net worth and also siblings but stay ready for the update soon
Harry Yee Blue Hawaii
How to make original blue Hawaii by Drinks Made Easy. We’re back with another video on how to make cocktails at home.
Today we bring you Blue Hawaii, originally created in 1957 by the head bartender at the Hilton Hawaii Village, Harry Yee. The story goes that the Dutch Bols distributor wanted Harry to make a drink around their new orange liqueur, Blue Curacao.
Also, it is incorrectly believed that this drink was inspired by Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii feature film. Actually, Harry drew his inspiration from the 1937 Bing Crosby movie, Waikiki Wedding.
To make this drink you will do the following: Add 3/4 oz of vodka, 3/4 oz of Puerto Rican Rum (spiced rum will do in a pinch), 1 oz sour mix or sweet and sour mix, 1/2 blue curacao, and 3 oz of Pineapple juice to a shaker-tin of ice and shake for 10-15 seconds.
Strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice, garnish with a cherry and a pineapple wedge and serve.
As is common with Tiki drinks, not all drink invention attributions go unchallenged. Some credit other bartenders with having invented the Banana Daiquiri and the Hawaiian Eye cocktail.
Tropical Itch
The Tropical Itch is a Cocktail which consists of Rum, Bourbon Whiskey, Orange Curacao, Passionfruit, and Bitters. Some bars and restaurants called it the Backscratcher.
The Tropical Itch was invented in 1957 by Harry Yee, the bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Other cocktails he invented include Blue Hawaii, Hawaiian Eye, and Hawaiian Cooler.