TIKI CULTURE

The Old Fashioned: This Week’s Retro Cocktail Recipe

With Season Six of MAD MEN in full swing, I thought I’d (finally) feature the favorite cocktail of Creative Director Don Draper,

The Old Fashioned

Truly old fashioned, this drink has roots that go back to the early 1800s when, according to some historians, the “cock tail” was a drink made with liquor, water, sugar and a few drops of bitters. It’s been said that the addition of citrus came during prohibition, to hide the taste of cheap booze.

The version that Don drinks was the cocktail that dominated swanky lounges and corner bars alike, a cool combination of rye whiskey, bitters and soda with citrus. This is the Old Fashioned that we’ve come to expect, and love. If you want an older version of the Old Fashioned, leave out the citrus and the soda.

Ingredients

1 sugar cube
3 dashes of bitters
2 teaspoons water
1 strip lemon zest
1 small wedge orange
2 maraschino cherries
Ice, as needed
2 ounces rye (or Bourbon. Bourbon is a little sweeter. Canadian Club has a lot of rye, and works very well)
Club soda
Cherry for garnish

Don Draper pondering his favorite booze

Add the sugar cube to the bottom of an old fashioned glass, then add the water and bitters to it. Place the lemon zest, orange wedge and one cherry in the glass. Use a bar spoon to gently muddle the cube into the liquids so the sugar will begin to dissolve. (Note: Some people prefer to leave out the cherry). Use the back of the spoon to coat the bottom sides of the glass with the mixture. Throw a couple of cubes in the glass and top with bourbon and club soda and stir well. Top with a cherry and an orange slide on the rim.

There are tons of variations on the Old Fashioned. In fact, you can use any booze you want, with varying degrees of success. Of course, there even more modern Old Fashioneds…Recently on a trip to Sonoma, I had one made with “local Bourbon” (which isn’t really Bourbon if it’s made in California), and no cherry. It was very good, and the bartender took pride in making it.

So if you want to impress your vintage-diggin’ pals, or show a skirt that you know how to order a cocktail with plenty of pizzaz, memorize this recipe and make yourself an expert at throwing one together. You’ll have the chicks (or kats, whatever’s your thing) eating out of your hand.

-Tiki Chris P, Reporting from the Tiki Bar at Tiki Lounge Talk, the interwebs’ favorite B-lounge for retro fun stuff and Tiki Talk.

Huge Tiki Party in Fort Lauderdale - Benefit for Preston Weber - Jr. World FireKnife Champion

Preston Weber performing his FireKnife routine.

If you’re in the Fort Lauderdale area on Sunday, April 28, swing by the 5-Points Lounge for a very special Tiki fundraiser.

Dubbed the “Sunday Aloha Fun-Raiser”, proceeds from this show put on by Polynesian Proud Productions will benefit Preston Weber, 14 year-old Jr. World FireKnife Champion and Fort Lauderdale local. Preston will be flying out to Hawaii in May to defend his title, and this fundraiser is to help him get there.

The event will feature Polynesian music, live Tahitian drumming of Uhi Api, PolyProud performance, beautiful Hula, RONIN TAIKO (Featuring Marina The Fire Eating Mermaid drumming), special guest performers, $5 Hawaiian Plate Lunch sponsored by the NEW Florida Hawaiian Civic Association, island treats by way of Kauai, from DelaCruz Delights and Onolicious Cakes by Kathleen.

This event is open to the public, and any donations at the door are greatly appreciated. There will also be raffles and prizes, so throw on your best Aloha shirt and swing down to the 5-Points Lounge, 2608 South Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, Fl. There is Free parking in back of building.

5-Points is located at the KREEPY TIKI PLAZA, “Home of South Florida’s only 20ft. Hula Girl landmark”. Kreepy Tiki Tattoo is a very kool place for vintage & Tiki lovers. They are not only kool kats and kittens who ink some very impressive tattoos, they also carry some vintage clothing and goodies, and have Tiki-esque art by local artists including one of my favorites, De Tiki.

PRESTON WEBER has been performing since he was 10 years old at the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale. He won his first Jr. World FireKnife Championship at 11 (2010), then skipped a year to audition for America’s Got Talent where he placed 49th out of 100,000 auditioned acts. Preston won his 2nd Jr World Championship title at 13 (2012). He is now 14 and looking for his third win! Congratulations and best of luck to Preston…break a leg!

-Tiki Chris P, Tiki Lounge Talk

Rum Swizzle - Your Weekend Tiki Bar Cocktail Recipe

Rum Swizzle

As the saying goes, Thank God It’s Friday. Been a long week here in paradise, getting up early for some annoying thing called “work”, dealing with insane clients, formatting by newest book and feeling sorry for Wahini Colleen, who got attacked by a deranged pussycat (she actually got some pretty deep scratches on her face and head, but she’ll be ok).

If anyone needs a belt this weekend, it’s me. So I looked around for a cool recipe, and didn’t have to search far to find

The Rum Swizzle

Bermuda’s official national cocktail.

This drink is not only tasty, it’s easy to make and has enough ingredients in it to fully appreciate the fun of making a real cocktail. It’s also the kind of drink you can spruce up with lots of garnish, including the old standbys pineapple, lemon, orange, and cherry. Or go crazy and add candied fruit and a hunk of sugar cane. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you have a nice cabana chair facing the ocean when you’re ready to drink this one down.

4 oz. Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
 (has to be Gosling’s to be official)

4 oz. amber rum

2 oz. triple sec

5 oz. pineapple juice

5 oz. 
Orange juice

Juice of two fresh lemons

2 oz. Falernum

4 dashes bitters

Throw everything into a shaker and shake it up until it’s nice a frothy. Strain into a hurricane glass and garnish. This drink should not be served over the rocks and definitely not with crushed ice. You don’t want to water this down.

Aloha!

-Tiki Chris reporting from the Tiki Bar at Tiki Lounge Talk, everybody’s favorite Blounge for conversing over exotic cocktails.

Vintage Cocktail Recipe: Negroni (Campari)

You may have noticed I refrained from delving into the myriad cocktail concoctions that have sprung up in the last few years in response to St. Patrick’s day. Although Medori Martinis and Baily’s-laced White Russians might be “St. Paddy’s” for some, for me unless you’re drinking Irish Whisky, Guinness or green-tinted beer, you’re not doing it right.

That aside, I felt I owed my readers a true Vintage cocktail recipe. So this week we’re featuring Campari, with its most famous cocktail, Negroni.

The story of the Negroni (by most accounts) dates back to the 1920s, when Count Cammillo Negroni ordered an Americano (Campari, Vermouth and Soda) with Gin in place of the fizzy stuff, at Caffe Casoni in Florence, Italy. The stronger drink caught on, and became a favorite of Continentals and Americanos alike.

Campari on its own is bitter, and I personally don’t have a taste for it. But mixed up the right way, you’ve got a very good, old-style drink that will instantly remind you of what things were like before flavored vodkas ruined everything.

NEGRONI

• 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• 1 1/2 oz Campari
• 1 1/2 oz gin
• Orange slice or twist for garnish

Negroni

Build in a large rocks glass or Old Fashioned glass with ice cubes, starting with the Campari, then the Vermouth, then the gin. Give it a couple of stirs with a glass rod and add the orange slice. Can also be shaken with ice and strained into a cocktail glass.

Here’s the recipe for The Americano:

• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• Club soda
• Orange slice for garnish

Build in a large rocks glass or Old Fashioned glass with ice cubes, starting with the Campari, then the Vermouth, and give it a quick stir. Top off with soda, garnish with orange. This can also be built in a highball glass with more soda.

You can squeeze a little extra orange in either, to taste.

Cent’ Anni!

-Tiki Chris reporting from the Palazzo, where they speak Italian at the Tiki Bar.

Lava Flow - Your Tiki Bar Cocktail Recipe for the Weekend!

Tiki drink purists will argue that anything “frozen” and made in a blender goes against the grain of traditional Tiki cocktail concoctions. But there’s no denying that a few frozen favorites have made it into the Tiki Bar drink menu, and

The Lava Flow

is probably one of our favorites. With a great flavor and fun presentation, The Lava Flow is a cool treat on a steamy tropical night…or a cold winter night, if you crank up the heat and have a few palm plants by your indoor Tiki bar.

Ingredients:

•    1 oz. light rum
•    1 oz. coconut rum
•    2 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries
•    1 small banana
•    2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
•    2 oz. coconut cream

Photo from http://www.youaremyfave.com/2012/06/page/2/

You’re going to want to make this in a clear glass, to show off the “flow”.

Blend the 2 rums and the strawberries in a blender until smooth. Pour into a tall (Collins or Hurricane) glass. Blend the banana,  coconut cream, and pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until smooth. Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums very slowly and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass creating the flowing lava effect. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and little umbrella, for maximum Tiki-liciousness.

Our “Tiki” Weekend…

While most of you are freezing your maracas off, here in South Florida the temperatures are in the 70s. That makes it the perfect time to go to the Miami Zoo. We’re heading down that way this weekend to check out the lions and gators, and of course some tropical birds and snakes. The zoo’s theme is jungle, and there are even a few (newish) Tikis posted around!

-Tiki Chris, reporting from the bar at Tiki Lounge Talk