And what a TDN it will be. We have a superior theme: Tiki! We have a superior Guest: Jeff Berry! We have fabulous prizes: Greg Boehm is providing gold bar tools, Mudpuddle books will be offering up vintage reprints of classic cocktail books, Port of Barcelona Gin and Obsello Absinthe will be up for grabs, and let’s not forget Old New Orleans Cajun Spiced Rum as a prize.

Get your syrups and fruit juices and rums in gear and get on into TDN this Thursday night at the Mixoloseum’s online bar. We have a new full-featured chatroom to enjoy if you haven’t stopped in recently.

I’ll see you this Thursday, September 3rd!

Mark your calendars: NWTiki presents Tiki Kon 2009: Tiki Speakeasy. We return to our 3-day tiki-rific event this year from July 31 – August 2.

More information will be presented as we get closer (such as schedules and ticket sales) to the date. I hope you’ll get the password to the speakeasy!

So welcome to the new site and new relaunch: The layouts are due to change as I refine them and update them, thanks for coming along. It’s been about 2 and a half years since I started this blog adventure and I hope to continue along for many more.

Look for a new update about our yearly Summer event: Tiki-Kon soon. This year promises to be a load of fun. The secret theme?

Tiki Kon 2009: Tiki Speakeasy

However, there are time when I have to break my habits, especially when a friend gets featured in the Wall Street Journal.

Eric Felton (of How’s Your Drink? ) and columnist at the WSJ today published a column covering The “good” tiki resurgence, tying it a bit into the escapism of troubled economic times.

It is a wonderful information piece — It is quite nice to read about Polynesian Pop where the author gets it Right. I might enjoy the drinks at Trad’r Sam’s more than he, but he is spot on.

Martin Cate and his Forbidden Island get a good mention in respect to their rightful lead of the properly done (hopeful) future of the Tiki Bar.

But don’t take my word for it! Go and read it yourself!

Congratulations, Martin! I can’t wait to see you this Thursday.

I along with the other winners will be on Forbidden Island‘s Fall specials menu. I’ll be enjoying having someone other than myself make it when the Mrs. and I attend Tiki Central‘s eighth annual Tiki Crawl, the crawl that started it all.

If however you are far from Alameda or Portland, I share the recipe with you below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I.

Gantt’s Caipirissima
¼ Grapefruit, cut into 3 or 4 pieces (White grapefruit if seasonally possible)
1 oz Cinnamon Syrup (or 2 Tbs Cinnamon Sugar)
2 oz rhum agricole (Clément VSOP preferred)

Muddle grapefruit and cinnamon syrup in a double old fashioned glass. Add 4oz of crushed ice and rhum. Stir to mix and garnish with cinnamon stick.

I name it thus because I’ve long noted the similarties in vegetal flavors (and methods) between cachaça and rhum agricole. Donn Beach had a warm spot for cinnamon and grapefruit — and with good reason: They love each other. Donn also liked the martinique paired with his Mix (Donn’s mix, 2:1 grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup), so I thought all these separate points of information needed to come together in a cocktail. I name it a Caipirissima (a Caipirinha with rum instead of cachaça) because I’m pedantic. Rhum agricole may be simmilar to Cachaça, but not enough to pretend it warrants the position under the caipirinha umbrella.

As a child (and still as an adult), I would spend most of my time in Adventureland and New Orleans Square; these locations drove my imagination more than any other aspect of the park. I often joke that Disneyland ruined me for my sense of decoration; I feel the over-fantastical theme and attention to detail to be the norm. You can see a basic example of this phenomenon the Monkey Hut and the Buccaneer’s Bathroom at the old house.²

But enough about that, we were talking tiki. For the 40th anniversary in 2003, artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily sculpted a number of mugs. You may remember Kevin from his “Miehana” mug (and accompanying beachbum recipe in “Grog Log”). I’m lucky enough to have a Pele mug from this run.

The interesting thing is that one mug that was designed was not produced: The Rongo Bowl. Humuhumu wrote about this back in 2006. Well, lucky us. The 45th anniversary was another chance at a run of production and 500 Rongo Bowls were produced. On Monday, June 23 of this past June, Disneyland hosted a collectable event offering a grand selection of 45th anniversary merchandise. I was heartbroken that I could not make it down for the event. My good friend Brian did, however. He was unbelievably kind enough to get me a Rongo Bowl of my very own.

For this great occasion, I felt a new bowl drink creation was in order. This would be my first attempt at a bowl drink, which is very exciting. Since Rongo is the god of agriculture, I felt a strong fruit forward flavor was necessary, as well as a floral and fresh aroma. After three attempts I decided upon the recipe.³

Rongo
God of Agriculture
In Tropic Lands the Legends Tell
Astounding Pioneers Did Dwell
This Wise Fella Began All-Flight
For Rongo Flew the World’s First Kite!

This bowl is deviously deceptive – there are four ounces of 80-proof spirit within. To honor Rongo’s invention of the Kite, this Rongo Bowl will send you soaring!⁴

Rongo Bowl
¾ oz orange blossom honey
¾ oz fresh lime juice
¾ oz fresh orange juice
¾ oz fresh white grapefruit juice
2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
1 oz Demerara (Lemonhart 80)
1 oz Virgin Islands gold (Cruzan 2yr ‘dark’)
¼ oz orgeat
¼ oz passion fruit syrup
10 drops Herbsaint or other earthy absinthe (about 1/8th teaspoon)
3 dashes Fees Bros. old fashioned bitters

Heat honey to liquid and combine with all ingredients in mixing container. Fill Rongo bowl with crushed ice and pour into bowl. Stir with swizzle to cool and dilute. Garnish and serve.

photo and photodesign credit: Heather ‘Tikimama’ Gregg

1. Juan the “Barker Bird”, who was Jose’s cousin was originally outside, announcing the attraction. The crowds that would stand and watch him clogged the entry into Adventureland so he was removed
2. I feel these are now below what I wish to accomplish. Look soon for the plans, in-action shots, and creation stories for the new basement: “Colonel Tiki’s Cove”
3. Thanks to the help of Noel Henneman and the lovely Tikimama who were helpful in constructive criticism
4. Mary Poppins reference, “Let’s go Fly a Kite,” written by the Sherman Brothers who also wrote “The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” as well as numerous other works of genius

I had a Vieux carré at the Carousel bar³ and met up with Rick, Jay, My compatriot in naming Craig (the Good Dr. Bamboo), Trader, Paul Clarke, Mr. Morganthaler, and Seamus. We headed off for a bit at Coop’s place. Perfect Choice, Paul. A belly full of fried seafood, gumbo and jambalaya made a good ballast.

We hit Arnaud’s French 75 Bar where we met with more who’s-who of the blog and non-blog cocktail scene. Matt came along presently and after a french 75⁴, a cigar⁵, a Negroni⁶, and Gabriel‘s arrival⁷ we headed to a location not to be discussed.⁸ We bumped into Ed Hamilton on the way out which was lovely.

Going via Bourbon street to the non-disclosed location, I couldn’t help notice that the block that most smelled sewer-like happened to be the block with the live sex act clubs, Larry Flint’s Barely Legal, and other assorted gentleman’s clubs. It was such a mix of wonderful and horrible: Gaudy, tawdry neon are contrast against shuttered 300-year old windows. The moist heat of the evening was interrupted by cool breezes escaping from the open doorways of the aforementioned establishments. Garbage binge drinkers surrounded the group of cocktail snobs in the birthplace of the cocktail. It is beautiful and shocking and hideous and profane and I love every single damn thing about it.

We finished off the evening back at the Carousel bar. We closed it. Martin Cate dropped by and it was good to play catch-up with him.

Now for today’s fun. I’ve already missed the blog breakfast event (9:00am? Are you serious?). We’ll be toasting the Sazerac at 2pm. Join us, won’t you? I want to find a Rum Swizzle today.

P.S. Anyone have an SD card reader? Just realized this laptop⁹ is free of one. The USB cable is resting comfortably back on the table at home.

1. it has since been found and delivered to the hotel
2. with a perfect crazy/nice/ranting cab driver to boot
3. tasty – but as it was my first, I have no comparison
4. good but not great
5. Montecristo No.3
6. fair
7. with the lovely Joana
8. Thanks, Gabe – now we’ve lost the blackmail ability. First rule of Drink Club, man.
9. thanks, TriMet

At Thatch, I’ll be giving a short Tiki Mixology seminar and offering thirteen classic and new Tiki beverages on our menu. This is what is in store for our group of intrepid Tiki Adventurers:

The weather should be in the middle 90s and sunny. Our last stop will be a home bar with a pool. I think by that time, I will be just about ready to immediately jump in.

After more than three days of infusing the prior ingredients, it was time to strain, press, and complete Falernum #4.

Falernum #4 ingredients, cont.
3 cups simple syrup
1½ cups fresh lime juice

The sunlight was intoxicatingly shining on these halved limes.

You can see the spent remains of the macerate.

I twist the cheesecloth and squeeze every last tidbit of flavorful liquid.

After combining the infused rum liquid, lime juice and simple syrup together, I shook to combine. This produced nearly one half gallon of falernum for bottling and storage. It will last me about three months.

To test and toast my newly born falernum #4, I whipped up a Corn ‘n’ Oil.

Corn ‘n’ Oil
3 oz falernum
2 oz Cockspur 12
dash Fees Bros. aromatic bitters

Shake with 5 oz crushed ice and pour into double rocks glass.

happy imbibe,

cmh

At Tiki Central I run into those who seem to be afraid to experiment in creating their own concoctions of tinctures, liqueurs and juices. There’s no need to dread or disdain working in the kitchen. If you can make an omelet, you can make falernum. There is not a time commitment needed: I spent a scant 25 minutes from start to finish below, and I was taking pictures.

Falernum #4
9 limes, zest from
¼ cup diced fresh ginger
45 cloves
2 cardamom pods
½ cup slivered almonds, dry-roasted
750ml Cruzan 120 Clipper Rum

A picture essay follows after the cut. I hope this inspires the previously kitchen-adverse to start tinkering.


I zest my limes with a microplane. I attempt to refrain from hitting the white pith of the fruit.

This is the zest of nine limes.

Ginger never lasts long in my kitchen.

I purchase these juicy ceylon cloves from Penzey’s spices.

This is the second batch to include cardamom. It’s so hot right now!

I just toss my almonds in a non-stick pan.

Stir the almonds until they show a nice tan color and you can just smell their aroma.

I toss the ingredients from which to infuse together before I add the infusing alcohol.

I have still yet to use J. Wray overproof. I’ll need to get a back stock so I can compare in my future batches.

The magic potion infuses.

After a few days, I’ll do the next batch of work: Straining, mixing, bottling!

Cheers,

cmh