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. 

So Long Suzy

Had a meeting recently at the union hall so I made a stop by the empty Psycho Suzi's.  

Psycho Suzi's - More Photos of Last Visit

Psycho Suzi's: The Last Visit

Recently Dale took me to Psycho Suzi's for my birthday. It was a bittersweet visit as they are closing at the end of next week. 

Huge rainstorm before we made the trip to Nordeast but the sun was out by the time they got there. 

Truth be told I haven't been a fan of the direction Suzi's taken since the pandemic. You can make a reservation for a table but you have to wait in line to order drinks and food and then they bring it out to you. The drink and food menu are more limited than they used to be and they serve the drinks in plastic cups rather than glassware. We didn't get a table and order food tonight but the last time we did so it was served on disposable plates. 

I ordered a Psychotic Suzi and Dale got a glass of red wine. 

We only stayed around for one round and then grabbed dinner at Jax. We had a great time but it was a little melancholy. Lots of memories. 

Psycho Suzi's Drink Menu

From the Psycho Suzi's website:

Bye, Suzi. You'll Be Missed

On August 2, 2023, Leslie Bock announced the following:

After 20 fantastical years, I'm sad to announce that Psycho Suzi's will be closing on Aug. 19, 2023.

For the past two decades we've welcomed you through our tiki laden jungle to enjoy tropical drinks, pizza pies, waterfront seating, and the company of new and old friends… but all good things must come to an end and this Psycho Suzi is ready to hang it up and put on her retirement hat. 

I'll never forget the memories we've shared under these thatched umbrellas - the laughs, the stories, the events we succeeded at and even the ones we failed at! To our biggest fans and even to our biggest haters, we salute you. Mary’s Christmas Palace, our 4-month Christmas spectacular, will surely be missed!   We had endless ideas and yet 20 years was not enough time to try them all. Saint Sabrina’s (30 years), Betty Danger’s Country Club, Betty Danger’s Animal Farm, Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den and Mr. Steven’s Snuggery, Felicia’s Navidad, Undead Frank’s, Heather’s High School Hairball, Rock-O-Horror Drinking Showstopper, Kentucky Derbatante, Bizarre Bazaar, Psycho Luaus, and New Year’s Passport parties. We’ve had DJ’s, live bands, our house band Exotik-A-GoGo, fire breathers, drag shows, parade floats, a muscle car show, our own monster truck, a Tiki Tram offering Tiki Tramsportation, Pontiki rides (our thatch covered pontoon boat), puppy pageants, halloween costume dance parties, parking lot carnivals, motorcycle rallies, and tropical Mother’s day buffets, and Father’s day grill outs.  These memories will stay with me forever, and they're proof that random ideas of weirdness and fun can be worth pursuing.  Striving to create a bit of magic where folks could escape the humdrum of everyday life, and offer a sliver of something a little less dull gave us pure joy.  We’ve seen many friendships and more than a few romances connect through it all.

So come on by one last time and say goodbye to this wood plank carpeting, the tiki mug vending machines, zombie slushies, and fire lit torches that have watched over us these past 20 years. Let’s raise a glass to us all and this magical oasis we created together. Though the Psycho Suzi's experience is ending and Suzi is saying her final goodbye to Minneapolis, we hope the mending of broken dreams carries on.  I humbly pass the torch.

Love,

Suzi (aka Leslie Bock)

The writings been on the wall for a while as the place has been up for sale for the last year. That said, I'm incredibly dismayed. This was my favorite hangout in Minneapolis. Suzi will be missed. 

Celebrating A Birthday

I had a birthday recently and Mom and Dale and I  celebrated by heading to Psycho Suzi’s to sit on their glorious patio.

For my first drink I had the Paralyzed Politician. I believe it used to go by the Paralyzed Polynesian. Here’s how it was describe on the menu:

I didn’t get it in the mug (I already have it) but here’s how it looked in a regular glass:

Quite tasty. Dale and Mom had beer. 

In the above photo you can see Mom and Dale in the lower right quadrant. Dale was a little pissy that they didn’t have table service so I went and ordered the food from the bar which is where I took the picture from while waiting in line. Dale got a hamburger and Mom and I shared a Hawaiian pizza. We also had some appetizers (tater tots and calamari). It was a gorgeous evening to sit on the patio overlooking the Mississippi River.

For my second cocktail I got the Psychotic Suzi Shipwreck (see above) which I believe used to go by the Psychotic Suzi. 

I did not get the drink in the collectible mug (I already have it). However, the presentation was still quite lovely in a regular glass (see above). 

Dale cheered up especially once we got a little food in him and a good time was had by all. 

Especially me.