Aruba Ariba!
On April 12, Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino’s famed Aruba Ariba was featured in a story on USA Today’s 10Best.com, which highlighted ten tropical cocktails and where they were invented.
In 2018, Hilton Aruba celebrated the 55th anniversary of its iconic Aruba Ariba cocktail, first created in 1963 by bartender Juan “Jocky” Tromp, who was 24 at the time. He distinctly remembers being tasked with inventing a tall, tropical cocktail—in fact, a signature Aruban cocktail—that is sweet and stress-free to make. As soon as he presented his original version of the new cocktail to the resort’s general manager and a regional food & beverage executive, raising the glass for a toast and saying “Ariba Aruba,” that was it—he received two thumbs up immediately for the refreshing addition to the bar menu and its cool name.
The novel libation has been served at all resort food & beverage outlets since then and has been growing in popularity over the past decades. The Aruba Ariba, now an iconic cocktail here, is part of the Aruba Caribbean’s heritage and attests to its authentic Aruban roots.
The original recipe calls for ½ oz vodka, ½ oz white rum, ¼ oz Grand Marnier, 1 oz crème de banana, and 5 oz fruit punch. The fruit punch recipe requires 3 oz orange juice, 2 oz pineapple juice, ½ oz lemon juice, and ¼ oz of grenadine syrup.
So next time you’re on the island, enjoy an Aruba Ariba at its birthplace, the Hilton Aruba. Or try making it yourself and enjoy some Aruba vibes wherever you are!
