TIKI CULTURE

Happy Thanksgiving from the Tropics!

While most of America is looking at a weekend of freezing temperatures, snow storms and cloudy days, we here in South Florida are thankful for the one biggest thing that makes our area great: Tropical weather.

We’ll be basking in the warm sun on Thanksgiving Day, and although a “cold front” is moving across, temperatures on Thursday are expected to be in the 70s during the day, dipping into some unusually cool 60s at night, just to remind us of the weather up north.

A lot of people down here hold traditional Thanksgiving BBQs, or fry their turkey out on the lanai. The Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale always has Thanksgiving Dinner along with their spectacular Hula show. And of course, many from the great white north come down and hang out on the beach!

We have smoked out turkey on the grill in past years, but usually, (as with this year) Wahini Colleen enjoys cooking the whole, traditional Thanksgiving feast (this is “her” holiday, like Halloween is “mine”). This year we’ll have the pleasure of some last-minute company to share all this food with, along with a few planned Exotic Cocktails (I’m thinking Banana Banshees and Zombies).

Also…now that Halloween season is over and (most of) the spooky decor is down and stowed, I’ll have time to concentrate on more Tiki posts here and on our Retro Tiki Lounge Facebook page!

Aloha and Happy Thanksgiving, you swingin’ kats and kittens! -Tiki Chris, reporting from the carving station at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar

It’s National Rum Day! August 16, so here’s your weekend Tiki Bar Cocktails!

Yes, there is a “day” for everything…but when there’s a day for something as important as RUM, you know damned well there will be a post about it at The Tiki Lounge! A quick search of teh interwebs doesn’t give us much info on the origin of this fantabulous day, but who cares!

Ok, first of all, a very nice person (Christine) representing Captain Morgan’s Rum sent me some very tasty-looking recipes. I haven’t tried them yet (saving them for Rum Day) but I dig Captain, and I’m pretty sure these are going to be winners. I’ll list them at the end of this post.

Second, I can’t help but bring back one of my favorite original recipes,

The Pirate's Wench, original rum recipe by Tiki Chris Pinto

The Pirate’s Wench, Your Weekend Tiki Bar Cocktail

I came up with this a few years ago while experimenting at the Tiki Bar on the lanai. It’s a twist on a Cuba Libre, and it will knock your socks off!

1 oz strong spiced Rum (Captain Morgan Black, Sailor Jerry, Kracken work nicely)
1 oz Malibu Coconut Rum
1 oz Dark Rum (I prefer Meyer’s)
3 drops bitters
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
sprinkle of nutmeg
Coke
Lime

Start with a shaker of ice, add the three rums, bitter, and vanilla. Shake it up, baby. Strain into a large Tiki mug filled with ice. Liquor should fill mug about half way. Fill with Coke, squeeze in juice of 1/4 lime, and two shakes of nutmeg, stir. Top with a little more nutmeg and lime wedge. Damned good grog! It you like it sweet, add a little pineapple juice to taste. If you like it super strong, add a 151 floater, if you dare, and call it the Drunken Wench. Avast! And May Ye Enjoy The Captain’s Original Concoction !

Now for MORE Cocktails…those cool drinks from Captain Morgan…

Port Royal Punch

PORT ROYAL PUNCH (Serves 25)

Ingredients:

2 46-oz. cans of pineapple juice
3 cups mango juice
1 750 mL bottle of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
4.5 oz. grenadine
3 oranges sliced thinly and quartered
3 cans of Sprite for fizz

Directions:
In a punch bowl or large serving vessel, add the above ingredients and stir. Serve over ice in a punch glass – or glass of your choosing.

Black and Ginger Tea

BLACK & GINGER TEA

Ingredients:

·          3 oz. Ginger Tisane (tea base)
·          1 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
·          1 Tablespoon agave nectar (or sweetener of choice)
·          1/4 oz. lemon juice

Directions: Brew tea base or tea bag in 6-8 oz. of water. Brew hot for four minutes and flash-chill, or cold for one hour. Shake with Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum, sweetener and lemon juice, and pour into rocks glass over ice.  Created by Owl’s Brew <http://theowlsbrew.com/> .

Captain's Invasion

CAPTAIN’S INVASION

Ingredients:

·  1 oz. Captain Morgan Sherry Oak Finish Spiced Rum
·  1 oz. Grand Marnier® Liqueur
·  1/2 oz. lime juice
·   2 dashes of bitters

Directions: Add all ingredients to an ice-filled rocks glass. Stir to blend and garnish with lime wedge. Created by Owl’s Brew <http://theowlsbrew.com/> .

Cheers, kids! -Tiki Chris, reporting from the Tiki Bar on the lanai

PS: Don’t forget, Friday, October 4th is International Exotic Cocktail Day! Watch for details…

In Remembrance: Memorial Day 2013

It’s Memorial Day, 2013. That means that in my lifetime, which started in 1968, Americans have fought in the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan War and Iraq War, along with hundreds of military operations around the world.

Before that, our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers sacrificed everything in Korea, WWII, WWI, Civil War…

These are the people who have offered their lives to make sure that people like you and me could enjoy everything America has to offer. Without them, there would be no internet for me to write this article on. There would be no laptop for me to type it on. There would be no cold Mai Tai sitting next to me on the tropical style end table, and I myself…and most of you…wouldn’t even exist.

Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines…the men and women of the U.S. Military have played just as major a role in the forming of our nation as the scientists, artists and politicians. Maybe a larger role. The point is, without them, we would be nothing.

Here’s a big salute to all those who have served, and a special thank you to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to stand for what they believed in.

Just wanted you to know, that you are appreciated.

The Other Meaning of Memorial Day

It’s a drag that many people don’t know or forget that Memorial Day is to commemorate our fallen heroes, but at the same time I personally think it’s great that our society has also turned this into a day of celebration…what better way to honor those who fought for our freedom and country than to spend a day enjoying it to the fullest?

I most parts of America Memorial Day means the official start of summer. The 3-day weekend is always mayhem in the shore towns of Jersey where I grew up (Wildwood, Ocean City, Atlantic City swell with tens of thousands of people heading to the beach and boards). Here in South Florida, since it’s always summer, it’s more of a weekend for relaxing, having a BBQ with friends, or going to the malls (and of course the beach).

Today we’ll be BBQ’ing some burgers and dogs, and I’ve made my mother’s infamous South Philly Macaroni Salad (recipe here). We’ll have our burgers on the lanai by the pool, with a tropical drink or two, and be thankful to those great people who fought and won to give us opportunity to have the things we enjoy today! Read the rest of this entry »

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It was the morning of Sunday, September 15th, 1963.

In New York City, a group of white ad execs had breakfast in a diner. They noticed a black family walk in, dressed for church. They thought it unusual for blacks to be in that part of town, but not unheard of. Everyone went back to eating breakfast without a second thought.

At the same time in Birmingham, Alabama, a white supremacist and  member of the local KKK planted a bomb under the steps of a church known to be a place where civil right leaders met. The bomb exploded at 10:22 am, murdering four teenage girls (Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14) and injuring 23 others. This bombing was in response to the attempted desegregation of Alabama.

Just a week before the bombing, Governor George Wallace, an outspoken segregationist, had told The New York Times that to stop integration Alabama needed a “few first-class funerals.”

After the bombing, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (among others) voiced their outrage. But Dr. King went beyond voicing outrage. He wired Wallace that “the blood of four little children … is on your hands. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder.”

It takes guts to stand up to a Governor, especially to accuse him of having a direct impact on the cause of four children’s murders. But that’s what Dr. King did. He fought. Not with his fists, not with guns or dynamite. He fought with the power of his words, and 50 years after that tragic event we still hear his voice. It doesn’t matter if we saw him live, on TV, or in a taped speech years after his death. His spirit and legacy live on.

Here’s last year’s post on Dr. Martin Luther King, including the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Here’s a timeline of Dr. King’s accomplishments, courtesy of OnlineCollegeCourses.com.

-Tiki Chris for Tiki Lounge Talk

HAPPY TIKI NEW YEAR from Tiki Lounge Talk!

Happy New Year!

Holy Caldonia, another year has come and gone. And it’s been a fun one here at the Tiki Lounge, filled with friends, booze, books, laughs, hot rods and tunes.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and swingin’ 1957! Uh, I mean 2013!

Last Drink of the Year

Well, here’s your last Tiki cocktail recipe for the year, and it’s a fun one…

The Blue Whale

I found this poking around on the net…it’s a new drink, created by Aidan Demarest, “one of L.A.’s most sought-after mixologists and the owner of Neat in Glendale”. The drink calls for vodka, but I’m betting it can be just as good…or better…with rum. Actually, I’m pretty sure this is a rum drink already…

Blue Whale (Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times)

1 part vodka
1 part Blue Curacao liqueur
1 part orange juice
1 part pineapple juice
1 part sweet and sour mix

Pour ingredients over ice and mix in a shaker. Strain into a Tiki glass, and serve cold.

Well, that’s it kids! Drink up, but stay safe. And remember… like good rum and good Scotch, you only get better with age (and a high alcohol content!)

Cheers, kids!

-Tiki Chris, reporting from Fort Lauderdale Beach, toasting the New Year in style.