SAN DIEGO — For millions of people, the music of the Beach Boys is the soundtrack of their childhood.
In this Zevely Zone, I went to Mission Beach to take a stroll on the sand with a living legend.
San Diego is known for sunshine, surf and sand, something Mike Love, co-founder of the Beach Boys, turned into hit song after hit song. If you grew up in San Diego, you remember concerts by the Beach Boys after Padres games.
Mike is back on our beaches to promote the launch of his new family-owned rum. On March 19, Club Kokomo Spirits, the company known for award-winning canned cocktails introduced a brand-new line of premium artisanal rums.
Mike once lived in San Diego and back when the Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, they shot their album cover at the San Diego Zoo.
"The nice thing about it is people still love to hear our songs they come out by the thousands," said Mike.
In 2010, when the Beach Boys were on a grueling cross-country tour, Mike's wife Jacquelyne recalled a special date night they shared in New York City. "We happened upon a very, very rare night off," said Jacquelyne. "This guy typically if he's not drinking red wine, if he's not drinking champagne or an occasional beer, he hones in on a mojito. I call him my mojito snob."
Legend has it, Mike was served the perfect mojito that night which inspired him to create his own "Koko" Mojito.
"This is how it all started," said Brian Love.
Mike's son showed us an assortment of their canned cocktails as well as the family's newest creation. "This is launching new this year, these are the three bottles of rum that we are doing," said Brian.
Club Kokomo Spirits are created in San Diego and Seven Caves Distillery. Distilling operations are headed by Geoff Longenecker, founder and owner of small batch distillery Seven Caves Spirits.
Who makes the best mojito in the Love family?
"Oh, debatable," said Brian. While Brian and Jacqueline, went head-to-head in a mojito mix-off, I asked Mike about marketing regarding a jingle for the rum. "Well, the jingle we did in 1988 went to number one it was called Kokomo, so that's the jingle," said Mike.
As for the winner of the mother-son mojito taste test, Mike closed his eyes and took of sip of both cocktails. "They are both good," he announced. The 82-year-old Beach Boy is still creating harmony that's music to our ears. "We want it to have the best vibrations possible," said Mike. "Cheers!"
Club Kokomo Spirits produces award-winning rum and gin-based ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails and now a new line of artisan crafted bottled rums. The company prides itself on using high-quality ingredients, including natural sugars and flavors. For more information, visit www.clubkokomospirits.com. Kokomo topped the charts in countries around the world, hitting #1 in the US and Australia.
WATCH: The Beach Boys in San Diego 1976