Fassionola: The Torrid Story of Cocktails’ Most Mysterious Ingredient

Developed by a German immigrant druggist and his wife in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, the brand was coined “Passiflora,” then “Passionola” — a passionfruit product originally intended for soda fountains and ice cream parlors. After the end of Prohibition, Don the Beachcomber used it in many of his original tropical cocktails. Thirty years and several scandals later, it was rebranded “Fassionola.” Along its journey, it touched the lives of music publishers, actors, dancers, soft-porn directors, suspected mob associates, and bartenders keen to keep the legend alive.

Fassionola: The Torrid Story of Cocktails’ Most Mysterious Ingredient is a new culinary history by Gregorio Pantoja and Martin S. Lindsay, with a foreword by Jim “Hurricane” Hayward, and contributions by Daniel “Doc” Parks.  Full-color, 292-page book is illustrated with archival photos and vintage ephemera, featuring new research and over 100 cocktail recipes.

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Published by Classic San Diego Books in softcover (ISBN: 978-1-7328164-3-5). 

Your card will be billed now to reserve your copy. UPDATE: Pre-orders shipping in late MAY or early JUNE 2024 (depending on receipt from our publisher overseas).