TIKI CULTURE

Dark ’n’ Stormy: Your Weekend Tiki Cocktail, and A Flash of Noir

The Dark 'n' Stormy

This weekend I’m officially announcing the latest tome to my collection of books, A Flash of Noir. To go with it, I needed a noir-style cocktail…and what could be more noir than a classic

Dark and Stormy

Trademarked by Gosling’s in Bermuda, the Dark & Stormy uses Gosling’s Black Seal dark rum and ginger beer. It was invented just after WWI, and was a favorite among American sailors who picked it up in the Caribbean. A strong and simple to make tropical drink, it is certainly at home on any Tiki bar.

•    2 oz Gosling’s Black Seal rum
•    3 oz ginger beer
•    lime wedge

Pour the dark rum over ice in a highball glass or Tiki mug, then add the ginger beer. Stir lightly with a glass rod and add the lime wedge for garnish. Don’t squeeze the whole lime wedge in…taste it first, and add a little at a time until it’s the way you dig it.

Annnd…fade to black, bring up sepia lights to

A Flash of Noir

Just before you mix your Dark and Stormy, get out your Kindle (or iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC) and go to A Flash of Noir at the Kindle store. There you can download my latest book, A Flash of Noir for only 99¢! By the time you finish mixing the drink, the download will be complete and you can begin to read while you sip.

A Flash of Noir - Kindle version

Yes, only 99¢

…for 30+ short, short stories, flash fiction, beatnik poetry and kool photos, all authored by yours truly, Tiki Chris Pinto (or as I’m known on my author page, Christopher Pinto). It’s jam-packed with kool 60-second reads full of gumshoe detectives, sultry dames, ghosts, murderers, and monsters. There’s even a story made entirely of song titles…see if you can find them all!

From the book’s description: “From smokey bars in New York City to the tropical islands of the Florida keys, A Flash of Noir takes you for a spin through the seediest gin joints and darkest alleys. One minute you’re speeding down I-95 in a hot rod, the next you’re tasting cheap whiskey in a basement tap room where the women are heartless and the men are unforgiving. Gangsters, cops, private eyes, strippers, murderers, phantoms…plus a few comedy pieces to keep you from wanting to slit your wrists.”

A Flash of Noir - Print version coming soon. Cover model is Colleen Pinto.

Why only 99¢? Well, I can tell you it’s worth a lot more, entertainment-wise. But I’m hoping that a lot of you will give it a shot for a buck. If you dig it, I hope you’ll download one of my other books, Murder Behind the Closet Door: The Wildwood Paranormal Mystery or Murder on Tiki Island: A Noir Paranormal Mystery in the Florida Keys…and if you dig those, I hope you’ll tell your friends so they get em too. The idea is to become rich and famous. Ain’t that what most of us want?

I just realized…it’s beginning to thunder and lightning here at the Tiki Bar. Perfect for a Dark & Stormy!

– Tiki Chris reporting from the library at Tiki Lounge Talk, the Blounge for swingin’ retro kats and hip chicks.

Your Weekend Tiki Cocktail: My Blue Heaven

My Blue Heaven

Here’s a easy one to mix up quick at the Tiki bar. It looks pretty and the chicks really dig it.

My Blue Heaven

1 oz Silver Rum
1 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Coconut Creme
2 oz Pineapple Juice

Easy method:
Put everything in a shaker and shake it up real nice with ice, until the shaker gets frosty. Pour it over the rocks in a Tiki mug and garnish with a piece of pineapple, and if you have it, a blueberry.

Difficult method:
Go to the music shop and buy a book on how to play saxophone. Learn to play the saxophone. Buy sheet music to My Blue Heaven, and record it with a couple of jazzing’ cats to a swing beat. Set up a record deal with a major jazz label and have the recording distributed. When it reaches the top of the charts, have it pressed in vinyl as a collector’s piece.

Buy a high end hi-fi turntable. Set it up at your Tiki Bar and put the record on. Follow directions above.

MMM, good stuff.

-Tiki Chris reporting from the bar at Tiki Lounge Talk

The Playboy Bunny Cocktail: Your weekend Tiki Bar Drink

Since it’s Easter weekend, I wanted to give you kids a drink recipe with an Easter theme. I originally wanted to do a recipe for an Easter Island cocktail. Funny enough, after searching my library of Tiki drinks books and the vastness of Teh Interwebs, I found NONE. That’s right, it’s 2011 and still, apparently, no one has used the name Easter Island for a cocktail. So…all you Tiki-lovin’ bartenders out there, now’s your chance to make one up!

Anyway, the second idea was for something with a bunny. And what better bunny to celebrate than the Playboy Bunny. Sure, the Easter Bunny is great. But let’s face it, Peter Cottontail has about as much to do with the Easter Holiday as Marylin Monroe (the first Playboy Bunny, of course). Think about it…they’re both bunnies. They both have sweet candy that give away. One is covered in fur, one likes to wear fur coats. Both always looked stoned. And neither has anything to do with the religious aspects of the holiday..so, without further possibility of ticking off both religious people and those who love the Easter rabbit, here’s your drink recipe!

The Playboy Bunny Cocktail

2 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Tequila
1 oz. Margarita Mix
1 oz. Orange Juice
1/2 oz. Pink Lemonade
1 oz. Cranberry Juice
1 tsp. Falernum (to taste…less if you don’t want it as sweet)

Yeah, it’s a big drink. Pour everything into a shaker and shake it up with ice. Serve in a margarita glass with a sugared rim, and garnish with a pink bunny peep. The drink should be a nice pinkish-red color. If it starts to look muddy, add some red food coloring!

Hoppy Easter from the sub tropics!

-Tiki Chris reporting from the Playboy Club, next to Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar on Tiki Island

Oh, by the way…

Tahitian Rum Punch and Banana Banshee Recipies

We had a little party last night and it was a big hit! Everyone had a great time, enjoying the jazz music, chocolate fondue fountain, and exotic cocktails.

Two drinks were featured at out little Tiki Bar last night: Tahitian Rum Punch, and Frozen Banana Banshees. No one was expecting such tropical and exotic concoctions; Both enjoyed rave reviews. As these cocktails are really from another time (The rum punch enjoyed its heyday in the 30’s through the 50’s, the Banshees are a 70’s delight) their ‘retro value’ rates high. Below are the recipes and a few suggestions on serving:

Mack’s Tahitian Rum Punch

A variation of an old recipe, I am lucky enough to live in Florida where I have a coconut palm in my front yard. I was able to extract the coconut water from two ripe coconuts that I pulled from the tree yesterday!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Meyers Dark Rum
1 Cup Vat 19 Light Rum
(Optional: add one cup Captain Morgan’s for a stronger, spicier punch)
1 Cup Fresh Coconut Water (not milk)
2 Cups Orange Juice
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
1 1/2 Liter Ginger Aile
2 oz Rose’s Lime Juice
1 oz Grenadine
(Optional: 20 Drops Red Food Coloring for Effect)

Garnish:
Maraschino Cherries
Canned or Fresh Pineapple Rings
Sliced Oranges

Mix all ingredients together with ice in a large punchbowl. Float some cherries, pineapple rings and orange slices on top. If you have a Tiki or Volcano Fountain, use the food coloring to give the punch a robust red color. Serve in coconut shells, Tiki glasses or plastic punch cups with Hawaiian Floral prints (all available at Party City, http://partycity.com). Garnish with pineapple, orange and a cherry on a plastic sword and a little paper umbrella. It’s not Tahitian Rum Punch without the umbrella!

Frozen Banana Banshees

I had my first Banana Banshee at a New Year’s Eve Party in 1977. Ok, I wasn’t old enough to drink, but it was my Uncle’s house, at his basement bar, and he made one with less alcohol in it just for me. I’m old enough to enjoy the full hit of booze now, so here it is:

2 oz Creme de Banana
2 oz Dark Creme de Cacao
4 oz Meyers Dark Rum
2 oz Coconut Milk
1 Large Banana
5 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream
1 Cup Ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high, in 5 second bursts, until the ice is crushed and the drink is thick and drinkable (don’t liquefy it trying to make it smooth). Garnish with a cherry and if available, chopped fresh coconut. Makes about four short servings.

Having a little party at the Tiki Bar tonight

It’s been a while since we’ve had a party, and we’re excited to have some friends over for an evening of jazz, chocolate fondue, and Tiki Lounge Conversations.

Colleen at the Tiki Bar

The hardest part about hosting a party is cleaning the house. We have a LOT of collectibles and furniture (What is the opposite of minimalist? Us). But we’ve cleaned and dusted from stem to stern. Out Tiki Bar is on the lanai, which is technically outside (although in Florida the line between inside your home and outside becomes very blurry, especially after the 3rd Mai Tai). So I had to dust off all the bottles, at least the ones that get the least amount of use, wipe everything down, and put everything in ‘party order’ (meaning vodka and tequila up front).

It’s 3pm, and everything is almost ready. The bar is set up. The house is clean. The party doesn’t start until 8:30, so we’ve got hours to rest before the guests arrive.

Tonight, the house will be lit low, the ceiling fan lights dimmed, red and blue mood lighting lit. A few apple-cinnamon scented candles will give a nice glow, but the atmosphere will be very intimate. The Tiki Bar will be lit in black light only; the Tiki masks and the bar itself are accented with ultraviolet paints, glowing green, magenta, yellow and blue. Behind the bar, rattan backdrops are painted with images of cocktails, palms, etc. in a very ’50s style, with the same UV paints. Five CDs of Jazz standards, mostly ’50s and ’60s recordings by Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Sonny Stitt, Oscar Peterson and others, will create the background trac to tonight’s swaree. A chocolate fondue fountain, with strawberries, bananas and pound cake to dip will serve as the main treats. Tonight’s featured Cocktail is the Banana Banshee…dark rum, creme de banana, creme de cocao, vanilla ice cream and coconut milk. Now all we need are the guests <:-}