TIKI CULTURE

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.

Kalikimaka Cocktail, Christmas Punch & Pirate Eggnog: Your Tiki Bar Christmas Drink Recipes are here!

Every year I try to find some cool new drink recipe to feature for Christmas at the Tiki Bar. Last year I shared my own age-old Eggnog recipe, an easy concoction that starts with store-bought nog and goes crazy from there. I’m adding that in at the end of this post, but first here is this year’s featured cocktail,

The Kalikimaka Cocktail

1 oz Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
1/2 oz Kraken Dark Rum
1 1/2 oz. mulled apple cider (Apple juice will do in a pinch)
1/2 oz. cinnamon syrup (see below)
1/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1 dash bitters
Cinnamon sticks

Throw everything in a shaker with ice and shake it up good. Rim a martini glass lightly with cinnamon, and fill the glass with the chilled booze. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and enjoy the holidays!

Cinnamon Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 cinnamon sticks, broken into large pieces
Bring everything to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 8-10 minutes until sugar has dissolved, stirring frequently. Let cool. Ditch the cinnamon sticks, strain into a clean glass jar and cover. Store refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Chris’ Christmas Punch (Non-Alcoholic)

There’s nothing worse for kids at Christmas than to watch the adults making special drinks that they aren’t allowed to have. So here’s something that both adults and kiddies will dig…

1 liter Ginger Ale
2 quarts Apple Cider or Juice
1 cup orange juice
oranges
apples
cinnamon
cinnamon sticks
nutmeg
ice

In a punchbowl, combine the ginger ale, juices, and ice. Add about a teaspoon of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of nutmeg and stir well. Slice oranges into wheels and apples into small cubes and float; sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Serve ice cold with a cinnamon stick. Deee-lish.

And of course, the infamous Eggnog.

Keep out of reach of children.
1 quart good quality store-bought eggnog
About 1 1/2 cups Captain Morgan’s or Sailor Jerry Rum
2 oz Coconut Rum
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pour the nog into a large bottle and add all ingredients (start with ½ cup of rum and keep adding to taste). Shake vigorously and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

Hope this helps with your holiday parties! Merry Christmas!

-Tiki Chris reporting from under the Christmas Tree at Tiki Lounge Talk

A Video Salute, in Honor of Pearl Harbor Day

December 7, 1941. To most of us, it seems like a thousand years ago, and at the same time just yesterday. I suppose it depends on how much you realize that infamous day, and World War II, affected our parents and grandparents, and still affects us today. Although it’s true that Hitler was changing the world in Europe, it wasn’t until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor forced America full-on into the war. Had Japan not attacked, we may have never committed to the fight in Europe (American sentiment at the time was mostly one of support, but not one of entering England and France’s war). Germany may have conquered all of Europe. It may or may not have conquered Russia, it may or may not have set its sites on the U.S. But one thing is completely clear: The events of the morning of December 7, 1941 allowed the first domino to fall in the chain of events that lead America to become the strongest nation in the world.

On a happier note, there is one very good thing that came out of America’s involvement in World War II: Those soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors who survived the war in the Pacific brought back with them a love of the tropics, palm trees, grass shacks and exotic women…which led to America’s love affair with Polynesian pop and the wonderful world of Tiki.

See last year’s Post on Pearl Harbor Day

Here are some video clips that I relate to Pearl Harbor Day, and WW2 in the Pacific general. Take a few minutes and allow yourself to go back in time…

Tora! Tora! Tora!
Movie Trailer, 1970

Pearl Harbor Attack Scene
Pearl Harbor, 2001

In Harm’s Way
John Wayne, 1965

South Pacific,
Bali Hai, 1958

Taps
From Here To Eternity, 1953

The Sands of Iwo Jima
Final Scene, Infamous Flag Raising, 1949

-Tiki Chris

Happy Thanksgiving from Tiki Lounge Talk!

Seems like just yesterday I was writing the 2011 Thanksgiving post, and here we are a year later…2012, the end of the world if you’re a Mayan, the last year before we hit the “teens” to everyone else.

The Teens…remember how your grandparents used to talk about being alive in “The Teens & Twenties”. Bet you never thought you’d be able to say the same, did you?

As Thanksgiving is a time for family and being thankful for what we’ve got, it’s also a time reflection, and memories.

I’m sure you all have your great memories of this fun holiday. Mine have to do with everything from giant family and friend gatherings at show-offy relatives’ houses, to quaint, personal dinners at South Jersey diners with my parents. One particular diner dinner stands out…when a sudden snowstorm shut almost everything down, but the diner on Tilton Road in Northfield, NJ stayed open…and honored our reservations. There were only two other families in the restaurant, but they stayed open anyway, and it was loads of fun for everyone including the people working there. Sounds kookie, but it’s true. That was in the late 1980s.

Of course here in the subtropics of South Florida, we don’t have to worry about snow storms shutting anything down. As a matter of fact, things kind of empty out down here as so many people leave the area to go “home” for the holiday. A lot of restaurants are actually closed here today, while up north Thanksgiving is one of the biggest restaurant sales days of the year.

It’s about 72° here, and the sun is shining. Later we’ll take the 53 Chevy Hot Rod out for a drive, maybe take the pooch (Snoopy-Cookie) to the park. We’re having dinner at home, the traditional turkey set up, just my wife and me, very nice and intimate. Today’s cocktails will be Kahlua and cream with a touch of cinnamon, in keeping with the Tiki-Turkey tradition. We’ll watch Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving Special as we both have all of our lives, and be thankful for the wonderful things we have: nice weather, a fun house with a Tiki bar, a kool car, goofy pets, and most of all, each other.

Happy Thanksgiving, swingers!

-Tiki Chris, reporting from the kitchen at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar