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You’re Invited: Virtual Tiki Party Saturday, January 8th

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Aloha, we’re having a Virtual Tiki Party Saturday, January 8th 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM Central (01:00 UTC).  We’ll be streaming the party live from our basement tiki bar.  You can join in by going to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/let-s-tiki.  Also, if you have Skype and want to join in via your web cam just add our Skype account, LetsTiki, to your contacts and give us a call during the party. 

Some things that will be on the agenda for the Virtual Tiki Party are:

Discussing rum made in my hometown Milwaukee, WI.

Eating Flaming Gummy Bears

Tiki Drink Recipes

 Fabulous Prizes

Tiki Music

General Tiki Drunken-ness

And More….

Go to http://www.facebook.com/LetsTiki, say Aloha, and We’ll add you to the Facebook invite. So, make yourself a Mai Tai, and hope to see you there.

How to Make a Hot Buttered Mai Tai

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Now, that it is cold outside it is time to warm things up with some hot Tiki drinks.  There are many classic Tiki drinks that are served hot. As far as I know the Hot Buttered Mai Tai isn’t a classic Tiki cocktail, but it has the right ingredients to be classified as a Tiki drink.  This drink is a variation on a Hot Buttered Rum.  It is made with Dark Rum, Butter, Orange Zest, and Honey. 

Hot Buttered Mai Tai Mix Ingredients:

  • 4 Tablespoons Butter, softened
  • 2 Tablespoons Orange Zest
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract

Combine, the butter, orange zest, and almond extract in a small bowl.  Smash the ingredients together with a fork until they are well combined. The mix will make four Hot Buttered Mai Tais.

Hot Buttered Mai Tai Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. Dark Rum
  • 1 Tablespoon Hot Buttered Mai Tai Mix
  • Hot Water
  • 2 Teaspoons Honey

Put the dark rum, and the Hot Buttered Mai Tai Mix in a coffee mug.  Top it off with hot water.  Then, add Honey to taste.  Stir the ingredients together until the Hot Buttered Mai Tai Mix and honey is dissolved.

The sweetness factor is pretty low on this one.  The orange and almond flavors really come through nicely. This one will warm you up and take you to a tropical paradise.

Enjoy! 

Tiki Bar Review: De Minibar

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Last week I had the chance to visit The Netherlands.  While there I had to search out some Tiki. I came accross De Minibar on Facebook.  De Minibar isn’t a tiki bar, but they do specialize in Tiki Drinks.   Sten Vd Berg the founder of De Minibar is very passionate about Tiki drinks and rum.  

I started out with a Mai Tai.  It was made in the classic way with rum, crushed ice, lime juice, and sugar syrup.  It was pretty good.  The lime juice did come out of a bottle, but I understand that it is much more difficult to get some of the ingredients in Europe.  That being said De Minibar had the largest selection of rum and other spirits that I had seen in The Netherlands.  It was quite impressive for a country where you can only get Bacardi generally.  Some of the highlights included Bacardi Reserva Bacardi Reserva Limitada, a 15 year Havana Club, and Lemon Hart Demeraha, but there were many more. 

Next, I had a Zombie.  It tasted just like a Zombie should with flavors of citrus, and a touch of absinthe.  It was delicious. Watch out for this one. The menu says you are limited to two a night.  After that I tried the passionflower.  This drink was amazing. If you were to have just one drink at De Minibar I would suggest this one (But who has only one Tiki drink?).  The passion fruit, caramel syrup, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice went great with the rum.  

I rounded out the night with a drink that wasn’t on the menu.  Sten made a chocolate fire drink.  I can’t recall the name, I can probably thank the Zombie for the memory loss, but it was delicious and amazing to watch being made.   The drink was lit on fire and then poured from one shaker to another.  It was a lot of fun to watch.

I really enjoyed my evening at De Minibar, and I can’t wait to get back for another visit.  If you are ever in The Netherlands be sure to check out De Minibar.  Sten also plans to open up a Tiki bar at some point in the future.  I’ll keep you posted on any news about the project.

For those of you from the US like me be sure to try some Havana Club rum if you are in The Netherlands. Many bars stock it along side Bacardi.  I found it to be smoother and not as sweet a Bacardi.  

Mahalo!

Mysterious Carving Found Inside Tree

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I received an email the other day from a man in Nevada who is a tree trimmer.  He was cutting down an old tree; when he looked inside a knothole he saw a face.  So he carefully cut the tree down and removed the piece from the tree.  Inside was a wooden carving that stood 12″ high, 6″ wide, and 5″ thick.  It wasn’t carved into the tree. It was a stand along carving that was inside. The tree trimmer estimates that the tree must be 80 to 120 years old based on its size.  He figures that the tree somehow grew around this wooden statue.  He is calling on the Tiki Community to now identify what the carving is and how old it might be.  The picture in the post is a picture of what he found.  You can click on it for a bigger image.  If anyone has any information you can contact us here, or put a comment on the post.

Tropical Tiki Thanksgiving Recipes

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Traditional Hawaiian PoiGive your traditional Thanksgiving dinner a Polynesian twist with some of these recipes.  

Teriyaki Turkey

This one is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  Marinate your turkey breast overnight in a Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce, Sherry, Ground Ginger, and Garlic marinade.  Full Recipe at allrecipes.com

Rum & Cherry Cornbread Stuffing

Forget boring old celery.  This rum and cornbread stuffing has 3/4 cup rum, dried cherries, turkey sausage for a change.  This easy recipe can be made one day ahead of time.  Full Recipe from Celebrations.com

Tropical Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Give your sweet potatoes a taste of the island by adding some pineapple.  With this recipe from Taste of Home.

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What Tiki Thanksgiving would be complete without some of everyone’s favorite edible wall paper paste.  If you really want to know how to make it check out this food network article. 

Tropical Pumpkin Pie

This isn’t your Grandma’s pumpkin pie.  A little coconut, pineapple and ginger will surprise your family on Thanksgiving.  Recipe from Butterball.com

Tiki Bar Review: Psycho Suzi’s

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Psycho Suzi’s MinneapolisSo I had the opportunity to visit Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge, in Minneapolis, on Saturday.  Immediately upon entering I was surrounded by classic Tiki Bar adornments including bamboo, grass mats, Tikis, and dim red lighting.  With wooden paneling, retro booths, and a Schmidt Beer sign there was also a bit of timeless mid-western retro mixed in ; This made for a fun combination.  There were some fun Halloween decorations up too. In the back of the dining area a nice Tiki Mug collection lined the wall.  I immediately felt at home.

Psycho Suzi’s classifies their drinks in three categories. Feeble, standard, and strong.  I first ordered a Walking Dead.  The Walking Dead had a very sweet pineapple flavor. It was delicious, but almost a little too sweet.  If you are looking for a drink that hides its alcohol well try this one.

The Paralyzed Polynesian and The Walking DeadNext, up was the Paralyzed Polynesian.  This one was classified as strong, and it lived up to that rating.  It had a delicious rum and fruit flavor.  It wasn’t overly sweet like the Walking Dead.  I really enjoyed this one. Two, drinks weren’t enough so I sampled the Fu Manchu next.  The Fu Manchu was a coconut flavored rum drink, and was quite delicious. The final drink I sampled was one of the specials of the evening.  It was called Running With The Devil. This was a delicious change of pace to your standard rum drink.  It tasted like a cinnamon roll.  The combination was great. I’d definitely recommended you try Walking With The Devil sometime.

I also had some of Psycho Suzi’s food to go with my tiki drinks.  I started with the Backfire Dip which was an artichoke and jalapeño dip, and it was served with toasted bread. The dip was amazing.  The heat of the jalapeños blended really well with the cheese and artichokes.  It was served hot and bubbly.  Yum! It was so delicious! I also had the Paradise City pizza which was similar to a Hawaiian Pizza, with ham and and pineapple, but it also had rum soaked Raisins.  The rum soaked raisins worked great with the ham and pineapple. It was a pizza that I couldn’t stop eating.

Backfire DipTo add to my personal Tiki Mug Collection, I purchased the Fu Manchu mug and the Psycho Suzi glass that the Walking With The Devil came in.  The waitress wrapped different glasses since we were still drinking.  When I got home and unwrapped the Psycho Suzi Glass I was a little disappointed to find the glass was dirty, and it had a big chip out of the bottom.  If I’m going to have sticky lip marks on a glass I’d prefer them to be my own.  I’m just saying…

Overall, Psycho Suzi’s was a great Tiki experience.  Great food, great drinks, and a great atmosphere.  They will be moving to a new location in a couple weeks. I can’t wait to get back and check the new place out.

Mahalo!

Have you been to Psycho Suzi’s? Let me know what you think.Update on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 8:13PM by Let’s Tiki

Psycho Suzi’s read my review and apologized for the glass. They offered to swap it out.  Those guys are great. I really can’t wait to go back now!

Top Five Halloween Tiki Cocktails

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Happy Halloween from Let’s Tiki.  It is time for those spooky cocktails.  Here is a list of the top five Halloween Tiki Cocktails:

1. The Zombie

A zombie is a classic Tiki Cocktail invented by Don the Beachcomber in the 1930s. 

There are a number of variations on The Zombie but here are a couple recipes:

http://cocktails.about.com/od/z/r/zmbi_cktl.htm

2. Devil’s Advocate

To make a Devil’s Advocate Combine:

  • 1 oz Bacardi Lemon
  • 1 oz Triple Sec
  • 3/4 oz Sour Mix
  • A splash of Grenadine
  • 4 oz Cranberry Juice

Shake and pour unstrained into a glass.

3. Dark ‘N Stormy

 The Dark ‘N Stormy is popular in Bermuda and Australia.  It’s a very simple drink. Most commonly Gosling’s Black Seal Rum  Just combine:

  • 2 oz. Dark Rum  
  • 6 oz Ginger Beer
  • Garnish with a Lime Wedge

Pour into a glass and garnish.

4. The Red Death

Thanks to tikiloungetalk.com for this one. The Red Death has Amaretto, Peach Schnapps, Slo Gin, and Southern Comfort and Vodka. Check out the full recipe at:

Weekend Drink Recipe: The Red Death

5. Voodoo

What would a Tiki Halloween be without a little Voodoo?

  • 1 oz Kahalua
  • 1 oz Coconut Rum
  • 1 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
  • 2 oz Milk

Pour over ice and serve.

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