Summer 2025 - Tiki Cocktails But No Cigar

 Wednesday, July 30, 2025

No cigar tonight.

However, tiki cocktails were made - Joey's Orange Speedo. 

Haven't listened to Voodoo by Robert Drasnin for a while so I pumped it up on the Bose speaker. 

Summer 2025 - And Then Even MORE Cigar Time & Tiki Cocktails

 Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Today a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur.

A couple more Orange Speedos. The orange pop was used up so I added back the orgeat and topped it off with blackberry Bubly water. Looked a bit more yellow-y than orange-y. Maybe next time I'll use grapefruit juice rather than orange juice to orange it up a bit more. 

Esquival for cocktail music. 

Summer 2025 - Even More Cigar Time & Tiki Cocktails

  Sunday, July 27, 2025

More cigars today. In fact, 3 little Macanudos. 

Hot as hell but beautifully sunny. 

Chilled out with my signature cocktail. 

Listened to The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter, a great collection compiled by Capitol Records. 

Summer 2025 - More Cigar Time & Tiki Cocktails

 Saturday, July 26, 2025

Another cigar today. This time a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur and it was fantastic. 

Also made a couple more Joey's Orange Speedos. This time I left out the orgeat which made it a little less sweet.

                       

Not sure I'm gonna keep using the Sunkist Zero Sugar. Despite being sugarless it's still made to taste quite sweet. If I don't use it next time I may reintroduce the orgeat. 

I used a fun tiki glass I got from The Black Lagoon Room. I like their stuff. I got it when they a booth at a previous Big Kahuna Bash. 

Speaking of the Big Kahuna Bash we didn't make it to this year's event. This is the seventh year and as sorry as I am to miss it it's probably for the best since the heat and humidity are dangerously high today. Maybe next year. Shag designed the linocut print for the event (see below).

Dale joined me outside as I was getting to the end of my cigar. I was on my 2nd Orange Speedo and he had a glass of white wine. 

Listened to Arthur Lyman which is always enjoyable. 

Summer 2025 - Cigar Time & Tiki Cocktails

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Summer's in full swing and I've appreciated the time to relax and smoke lots of cigars. My cigar of choice today was a La Flor Dominicana also known a "the digger." It's one of my favorites and can take a couple-plus hours to smoke.

Set up shop in the garage and lit up shortly before 4 p.m.  Dewpoint and humidity were quite high so saying it was sultry is more than appropriate. 

                         

Made a tiki drink, the Joey's Orange Speedo. It goes really well with tropical-type weather. 

I'm continually playing with and slightly adjusting the recipe. This time I used 2 ounces of Captain Morgan spiced rum, an ounce and a half of orange curacao, one ounce of falernum, and half an ounce of orgeat. After adding these ingredients I eyeballed how much liquid was in the glass and then added an equal amount of orange juice. Next I added a few ice cubes an then, new to the recipe, I topped it off with Sunkist Zero Sugar. 

I gotta say that although the Sunkist orange pop made it a little sweeter than I like it really gave it the color I've wanted. 

Next time I think I'll leave out the orgeat to take the sweetness level down a skosh. 

Listened to one of my favorite Ultra-Lounge collections, Mondo Exotica. I remember when I first listened to this back in the late 90s and thinking that all the bird and animal calls were kinda weird but after getting used to that I found it quite wonderful and became a fan of exotica music.

Due to the length of time it takes to smoke a digger I also listened to a rather lenthy collection of Martin Denny music titled The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny. Back in the days of CDs this would have been a two disc set. 

The combination of the sultry weather, tiki drinks, a cigar, and exotica music made for a fun summer afternoon. 

Summer 2025 - Orange Speedos for Pride

 Friday, May 27, 2025

Warren and I went to the Eagle's patio party for Pride this afternoon. Afterward we headed back to my place and met up with Dale and Gary for pizza from Pizza Luce. 

                     

I made Orange Speedos for Warren and me. Didn't follow the recipe exactly (I usually don't) but they were still delicous. Used Aperol to top them off. 

Joey's Orange Speedo

We had Warren over not to long ago and I made my signature tiki cocktail, the Joey's Orange Speedo.

Here's how I made it this time: 

3 ounces orange juice (I often use grapefruit juice)

1 1/2 ounces rum (I used Myer's)

1 ounce orange curacao 

(recipe calls for falernum but I couldn't find it although later I notice it was in the basement with some other extra booze)

I topped it off with Aperol (although I originally used club soda and I'll sometime use Bubly brand charged water)

Warren loved it. 

It's Been Awhile

Saturday, April 2, 2022

The last couple years have been challenging to say the least and the last month has been a whirlwind. Three weeks of being on strike followed by one week back in school has been rewarding but exhausting. Finally on spring break and celebrated with a mini Macanudo this afternoon. 

We had Warren over for dinner tonight. He brought tacos and we watched Who Slew Auntie Roo with Shelley Winters which was a TRIP.

Made some Joey's Orange Speedos for Warren and myself. It's been ages and they turned out quite well. Warren really loves 'em. 

Today was the first day of Spring Break 2022 and I'm so looking forward to resting. 

We'll be headed to Arizona soon to visit Brenda, Irv, Dianne, and John. Looking forward to some tropical cocktails. 

Joey's Orange Speedo with a Variation

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Perfect afternoon for a cigar out back. 

For cocktail hour I made a Joey's Orange Speedo but with a variation.

Instead of making it on the rocks and topping it off with strawberry Bubly I shook the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, strained it, added not ice and did not top it off. 

I listed to some Shelly Manne...

...but also some new Abba. Forty years since their last album. Wow. 

Labor Day, 2021 - The Tiki Hour

Monday, September 6, 2021

Today has been a most beautiful summer day which is especially nice on this last official day of summer. 

It was a great day for a cigar in the back yard. 

This cigar was a La Gloria Cubana. 

And it wasn't as strong as the cigar I had a few days ago. 

Sat in the backyard with Dale...

...and listend to Mondo Exotica. 

We moved inside to the porch and entered the Mermaid Lounge.

And Athena begged for snacks. 

I made a Joey's Orange Speedo, or two. 

And listened to Ritual of the Savage by Les Baxter.