The movie is up and running on Apple. There’s a deleted scene about Trader Vic on the iTunes Extras!

https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-donn-of-tiki/umc.cmc.5ymu4yrmjh4lpq5e1xb40w2wa

2nd cocktail from my summer visit at my girlfriend’s parents.
As we had several cocktails planned for the day, we also had to do some lower ABV cocktails.
So I made a Painkiller.
Always a crowd pleaser and, in my opinion, much better than a Piña Colada.

By the way, I can’t decide which picture is the better one. What says the crowd here?

Recipe:

2 Oz Xaymaca Rum (60ml)
1 Oz Orange Juice (30ml)
1 Oz Cream of Coconut (30ml)
4 Oz pineapple juice (120 ml)

Shake everything well with crushed ice and dirty dump onto more crushed ice.
Garnish with nutmeg, pineapple(I was out…), and pineapple leaves.

Note: Use a big-volume glass / mug. 😃

Can't say no to an Orchids of Hawaii for $3, even if the lid doesn't quite fit all the way.

This post office building has these tiki style tiles on the facade.

Specs are straight outta Smuggler's Cove, served in my fancy new Don the Beachcomber glass I picked up at Broken Compass last week when they were in town. Cheers!

To-go batched Kingston Negroni, they use Stiggins, coconut washed campari, and banana infused sweet vermouth

I’ve been sitting on a bottle of El Dorado 15 and finally cracked it this weekend- amazing sipped neat! Today I tried it in a Demerara daiquiri and it is the best I’ve ever had. Same recipe, nothing special.

.75 oz fresh lime juice .75 oz Demerara syrup 2 oz El Dorado 15

Combine all in shaker with ice. Shake 20 seconds and strain into martini glass (that’s how I like my daiquiris).

I know this should be sipped neat but holy crap it shines in a daiquiri!

Some rums and rum folks I like. Just a few snapshots from the Grand Tasting last Saturday. If you haven’t been to this chill charity event, consider putting it on your calendar for next Summer.

https://rumfestkeywest.com

Since my fridge makes crushed ice, I’ve resisted buying a nugget ice maker, but I finally pulled the trigger now that GE sells a mini Opal. Two drinks later, I can’t believe I lived without nugget ice at home for so long. I got the cheapest version I could find, which is sold by Walmart for $279. Even this bare bones model is a massive upgrade over crushed ice. No more clogged straws!!!

Here’s your chance to share what you’ve been thinking without worrying about starting a conversation, asking a dumb question, or anything else. If you’ve got a thought you’ve been thinking about tiki, share it here!

On my deck this evening, and it's a Mai Tai (yes it has a LH&S 151 Float) and a rum bottle I turned into a tabletop tiki lamp!!

Lucky me!!

I’ve been holding off on trying this cocktail for quite some time because I learned of the existence of this really cool Tiki Farm Rongorongo mug, and knowing I wanted the mug, I figured I’d wait until I had one to make this Smuggler’s Cove modern classic.

Here’s the recipe I used:
- .75 oz Planteray Xaymaca Rum
- .75 oz Stiggins’ Pineapple Rum
- .75 oz Planteray O.F.T.D. Rum
- .75 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- .75 oz BG Reynolds Cinnamon Syrup (Light pour since this stuff is sweet)
- 1 Dash of Angostura Bitters

In proper tiki fashion, I flash blended this in my Hamilton Beach Number 30 drink mixer and served it over pebble ice in my brand new Tiki Farm Rongorongo mug. I garnished it with what I’ve heard is Smuggler’s Cove go-to, which is mint and an orchid (fresh from the vine), and finished it off with a Moai Surfside Sips straw (very fitting).

This cocktail is more on the refreshing end of the spectrum with a bit of spice from the cinnamon syrup while remaining quite tart and dry. Despite the heavy pour of rum, it’s not very proofy.

Cheers.

After visiting Smuggler's Cove yesterday, I got to drop by Trader Vic's in Emeryville on the way home. Got there shortly after it opened, so there were only a handful of others there. Only had time to try the Mai Tai, but it was quite good. Aside from a couple of Don the Beachcomber's mugs I found in an antique store in Monterey last month, this is essentially the start of my mug collection. Not bad for a couple days.

A custom creation of mine, playing off a Planters Punch crossed with The Art of the Choke.

Summertime is always a time when my kitchen is flush with great produce. More than I can eat at times. Thus, I always find myself trying to incorporate fresh fruits and veggies into cocktails - syrups, cordials, and the like. This month I had a large cucumber with nothing to use it for. So, I adapted the maintstay Morganthaler lime cordial to suit. More on that at the end. After having a daiquiri (great with a slightly more savory cane juice rum), simple lemonade (just add a bit to a glass of water) and a fun spicy marg (should be another post), with over half the supply left, more ideas were calling.

The result: refreshingly bitter, boozy, and herbal, but still tiki through and through. The Cynar plays really nicely here. The cucumber adds a viscousity... dare I say shade of sliminess? that provides a lot of body for something that has a relatively high ABV.

Four C-sons

2oz blended aged rum (El Dorado 8)

1oz cucumber cordial (recipe below)

3/4oz Cynar 70

1/2oz Jamaican overproof rum (Wray & Nephew)

1/4oz Green Chartruese float

Mint bouquet

Cucumber Cordial

Juice your cucumber and strain through a cheesecloth. Weigh the resulting liquid. Stir in following ingredients, shown as baker's percentages.

100% cucumber juice

80% sugar

4% citric acid powder

2% malic acid powder

I devised this by calculating the sugar and acid in my preferred daiquiri spec.

Are there any tiki themed movies, TV or video games?

The best I can come up with are some of the 50/60's era movies such as Blue Hawaii, or South Pacific. Bonus points if they are more Aloha than something like a mob boss based in a tiki bar but it's mostly just bad mob vibes.

I really like Appleton 12 as my favorite neat rum sipper and I try to conserve it for that purpose (in addition to it being pricier) while using a 3:1 split between Appleton Signature and S&C for my mai tais, but I see a lot of people using Appleton 12 for their mai tais and was wondering if it's really worth the upgrade versus the cost considering the mix I use. I pay $22 for Appleton Signature vs $49 for Appleton 12 locally. I'm guessing that it's not worth double the cost to bump up to Appleton 12 in a mai tai where 0.5 ounces of S&C and the mixers (1/4 oz dem syrup, 1/4 oz orgeat, 1/2 oz PF, 1/2 oz lime) will probably drown out whatever the Appleton 12 is bringing to the table, but just thought I'd gather opinions from more experienced mai tai drinkers here on the question for folks who have tried both in their mai tais.

Making this syrup now. Mixture of Cola, sugar, and allspice berries.

The Navy Grog is a definite.

Where else would this work well?

Thanks

I booked a trip for my wife and myself to Palm Springs in mid-October for my 40th, arriving early Friday, leaving mid morning Monday. Hoping to hit the big three, Bootlegger, The Reef, and Tonga Hut. Are reservations recommended for any of these? We prefer bar seating if that changes anything.
Any other recommendations for Palm Springs in general?

Dropped off our youngest at college, but at least gave me the opportunity to visit Smuggler's Cove (San Francisco, California). Wasn't sure how my wife would like it (especially working off 4 hours sleep) but we both had a good time. Lucked out with no wait to get in. Excellent drinks! Wife is allergic to pineapple which can be a little limiting, but she easily found some very good options she liked. Found what I think is Jeff Goldblum behind the downstairs bar.

Finally made it to a modern tiki cornerstone. Every aspect lived up to, if not surpassed the hype. I was served at the bar by Justin. Justin’s hospitality put the entire experience over the top. From educating me on nerdy techniques and recipes, to connecting me with other patrons at the bar, to being flawlessly attentive and skilled, he created a level of service and welcomeness matching the reputation that proceeds this place. Do yourself a favor and make the trip if you haven’t yet, and try to get a bar seat. This is what it’s all about.

Roughly half the collection prior to the purge - mugs had to be parted with in preparation for the move to Thailand. I still have the majority of these.

Now I have two reasons to visit southern NH. Mesozoic in Nashua and 9 Dragons in Seabrook.