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!