Quarantiki - Psycho Suzi's Waterfront Lounge Part 1

Friday, June 19, 2020

Dale and I made reservations for an event at Psycho Suzi’s which, as you can see on the above sign, they’re billing as an “All-Inclusive Tropical Vacation Starting at $29.” This is the first time since shortly before March 16 we’ve been out to eat at a restaurant. We’ve been very excited not only to eat out but to eat out on Suzi’s huge expansive patio overlooking the Mississippi River.

They had the logistics for the event well planned out. Once you were let in for your 1.5 hour time slot (we started at 5:30) you were to do things in the following order:

1. Order Your First Beverage a) Order at the bar b) Make wristband always visible c) Have ID ready for alcohol

2.Choose the Right Table a) Match the table number color card to the color of your wristband b) Choose a table appropriate to the size of your party

3. Order a) Food and additional drinks ordered at the bar b) Check brochure for menu options c) remember table number for ordering d) Food delivered to your table

There were 4 different colored table number cards. At any given time each the tables that matched a given color were being cleared and sanitized for the next shift. 

All you can drink and eat!

Quarantiki - The Mai Tai

Mai Tai I made back in April.

Fun article on where the Mai Tai has been and where it is going. Click on the link below. 

https://www.liquor.com/articles/mai-tai/?utm_campaign=liquor_consumer&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cn_nl&utm_content=20602664&utm_term&fbclid=IwAR3TjZa-n2uTmbq-TBpf_C09hCc4lA3CtlMLgCJA00rEilZHmbuhzQNt-Qc

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 - Hawaiian Sunset....Or Not

Friday, May 22, 2020

My intention this afternoon was to make a Hawaiian Sunset for cocktail hour. It didn't play out the way I was hoping but serendipity stepped in. The drink recipe comes from Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's book Sippin' Safari (p. 165). The drink calls for vodka, lime juice, lemon juice, orgeat, and grenadine. Now, in every tiki drink recipe book I've ever seen commercial grenadine is not recommended as it's usually just sugar water with red food coloring and artificial cherry flavoring. Real grenadine is supposed to taste like  pomegranate. 

The Smuggler's Cove book has a recipe for home- made grenadine (see pg. 328) which I decided to consult for my venture in making the Hawaiian Sunset. It calls for sugar (I used Demerara) and pomegranate juice (Pom) and although I changed the amounts to make a smaller batch I kept the ratio of one part to one part the same. Also, rather than boiling the juice to dissolve the sugar I simply placed it all in an old mayonnaise jar and shook it. Much easier and I think just as good. 

As I began to get the other ingredients ready I realized that I had forgotten to have Dale pick up limes for me at Kowalski's. What's a boy to do? Substitute grapefruit juice! Wow, it turned out to taste pretty awesome. Dale suggested that because of the grapefruit juice I call it a Hawaiian Sunrise rather than a Hawaiian Sunset. Voila! A new drink is born!

Note: Like the Aku Aku Gold Cup I made last week, the Hawaiian Sunset comes from the Aku-Aku restaurant, Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas, circa 1960s.

For round 2 I remembered to add the fresh mint as a garnish.

Quarantiki - Aku Aku Gold Cup

Saturday, May 17, 2020

The Aku Aku Gold Cup is my latest tiki drink effort. This one is from the book Sippin' Safari by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry and was originally served at the Aku Aku Room restaurant at the Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas, circa 1960s. To make it you need light Puerto Rican rum, dark Jamaican rum, lemon juice, falernum, and a little powdered sugar. It was quite good although I think I prefer lime juice to lemon juice in my tiki drinks. 

Quarantiki - Joey's Orange Speedo

Friday, May 15, 2020

Decided to try something new tonight. I took my creation The Hula Joe (one part rum, one part orange curaçao, one part pineapple juice) and switched to grapefruit juice instead of pineapple, added a little falernum and then topped that off with club soda. I rather liked it. I've named it Joey's Orange Speedo which is a riff on both the Tangerine Speedo from Frankie's Tiki Room in Las Vegas and the Joey's Banana Hammock from Archipelago in Washington DC. I gotta say it was rather quite delicious. I'm gonna make it again!

Quarantiki - Tiki Tuesday

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

A pair of  ten inch high Moai by Tiki Bosko.