Quarantiki - Hawaiian Sunset

Saturday, May 23, 2020

So today I decided, just for kicks, to make the Hawaiian Sunset the correct way. I liked where improvisation took me last night but thought it would be fun to compare it to the original drink.

Although the Hawaiian Sunset is quite awesome I think I like my accidental discovery from last night just a wee bit better. There's something about the flavor of the grapefruit juice with the other ingredients that makes it just a little more unique. Maybe it's just because grapefruit juice isn't quite as common as lime in tiki drinks. 

If I make either drink again the only thing I would change is the proportions used in the homemade grenadine. Rather than 1:1 I'd use 2 parts pomegranate juice to one part (and maybe even less) sugar. The orgeat syrup adds enough sweetness. I'll have to play around with it a bit. The Hawaiian Sunset consists of vodka, lime juice, lemon juice, orgeat, and grenadine and the recipe is found on page 165 of Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's Sippin' Safari. The garnish is fresh mint. 

Quarantiki - Tiki Tuesday

Tuesday, April 15, 2020

My brother Pete and his girlfriend lived in Hawaii back in the late 90s/early 2000s. They were married in 2001 and returned to the mainland not to long after that. Pete gave me the above tiki upon his return. I lost it not long after that and have been looking for it ever since. Well, today I found it just in time for Tiki Tuesday. It was pressed against the back of an old wooden shelf in a located in a dim corner. It blended in very well so no wonder I couldn't see it. Glad I found it. It says Hawaii at the bottom. 

I made a new drink from a recipe I found in Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's book Sippin Safari.  It's called the Rum Cow and it's awesome and I'm for sure making it again.

Quarantiki - Out in the Yard In Search of Tiki Drinks

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Not quite as warm as this past Tuesday but still feeling pretty good with a jacket on and in direct sunlight. 

Checked out Sippin' Safari by Jeff Berry to scope out some new and simple tiki drink recipes to try. 

Dale and Athena enjoyed the nice weather too. 

For cocktail hour I made another Mai Tai. This one looks rather sad as I'd been nibbling on the mint garnish before thinking to take a picture. 

You really have to take advantage of these nice days. That's just part of living in Minnesota but it's also a part of the new normal that is shelter-in-place. There are only so many places to go since most places are closed. Any chance to be out of the house is welcome. By the way, it's supposed to snow tomorrow.

Quarantiki - Hula Hula Cocktail

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Such was my success with using fresh lime juice in the daiquiri I made the other day I decided to make one of my favorite tiki drinks, the  hula hula cocktail from Sippin' Safari by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, using fresh orange juice instead of from the carton. Wow, what a difference - so much smoother tasting and refreshing. I was a bit surprised to find out that an average sized orange only produces about a half ounce of juice. 

This one's waiting patiently to see if she'll be lucky enough to get a blue corn chip.

Birthday Week Tiki Tuesday - Joe's Signature Tiki Cocktail

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Yes, I realize I'm really dragging this birthday thing out by making my birthday weekend into a birthday week but I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm trying to create my own signature tiki cocktail and here is one attempt. It's a version of the hula hula cocktail from Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. In my version I use the the same ingredients as the hula hula cocktail but instead of shaking on ice and straining, I mix the three ingredients in a glass (in this case one of my favorite tiki mugs, see above), add ice and top with tonic water. It's really not bad - very refreshing. As I continue to experiment I think I may try ginger ale next time.

Also, Julie and Regina took Dale and me to see The Meg on Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of fun. Afterward we went to Parkway Pizza and I had a Hawaiian pizza. Today I ate the leftovers. Parkway has amazing pizza.

Madeline Island

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Have spent time with Dale on Madeline Island this summer. Bought an aloha shirt at a discount store in Ashland, Wisconsin and donned it for cocktail hour today. Spent a little time with Beachbum Berry and his Potions of the Caribbean.

Rum and Coke

Tried to bring a little bit of home up north.

UnderTow - Phoenix Arizona

As far as posting this is concerned, I'm behind. Back on April 4th, during spring break, I had the chance to visit UnderTow in Phoenix, Arizona. 

UnderTow is the stuff that tiki bar dreams are made of.  Located beneath Sip coffee bar, UnderTow is supposed to be located in a ship of which the bar is in the hold complete with portholes that depict leaving port, sunset, moonrise, and even passing ships that fire cannons at UnderTow as it passes. 

I made reservations (recommended, especially if later in the evening and on the weekends) and my party (John, Dianne, Dale, Peter, and I arrived as the bar opened at 4 p.m. Our friendly hostess, wearing a muu muu, greeted us and sat us at the corner table they had waiting for us. Good thing we made a reservation. Although it was early and the bar wasn't completely full, all other tables were for only two people. This was the only table that could accommodate more. 

The two bartenders on duty were friendly and attentive and brought John a Zombie. According to Jeff "Beachbum" Berry in his book Sippin' Safari, the likely story of the Zombie's creation is described as follows on the back of a 1941 Beachcomber's menu: "The Zombie didn't just happen. It is the result of a long and expensive process of evolution: In the experiments leading up to the Zombie, three and a half cases of assorted rums were used and found their way down the drain so that you may now enjoy this potent 'mender of broken dreams.'"

Dianne ordered a  Blue Hawaii.

Dale had some Japanese beer and Peter a Smoking Cannon. I got a Three Dots and a Dash.

I went on to consume a Jet Pilot. When I order the Jet Pilot,Dianne asked the bartender what it was like. She told us it was very similar to a Zombie only not as big. I had sampled John's Zombie and liked it so I decided to go for it. Although I had tried a Jet Pilot back at Archipelago in Washington D.C., I couldn't remember very well what it tasted like. This Jet Pilot very much indeed tasted similar to the Zombie. 

After the Jet Pilot  I continued with a Mai Tai. It was spot on and came in a clear glass with 3 different tiki faces embossed on it. Dianne told me she noticed in the menu that the glass was for sale. I double checked for the price and saw it was available for (I thought) a very reasonable $12 dollars. I bought two!

In addition, the art work on the glass was done by Danny "Tiki Diablo" Gallardo, who did the interior design of the bar. How awesome is that?!?

Back patio of Sip coffee bar

Cigar Time

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Another gorgeous day, perfect for a cigar in the back yard. Trying to tackle Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean.

Sippin' Safari

Saturday, March 3, 2018

As if getting my Shag tiki pendant yesterday weren't enough, today Sippin' Safari by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry was delivered. Yay! 

I globbed on to one recipe pretty quickly while previewing the book because it looked so easy even I could do it. The Hula Hula Cocktail is one part gin, one part orange curacoa, and one part orange juice shaken on ice and strained. No 1/4 ounces of 4 different kinds of freshly squeezed fruit juices. No three different kinds of rum. No drink mixers with shaved ice and agitator cubes. I'm too impatient for all of that. I mean I love a well made craft tiki cocktail it's just that I'd rather have someone else make the hardcore stuff for me. 

Music tonight included a couple of mixes I downloaded from iTunes (see above and below).