Ohana 2010

Its On!

Ohana 2010!



Andy and I had such a blast last Fall at the Tiki Resort, I wish we would have taken more pictures. We have the memories which is better anyway!

The website isn't updated yet, but the dates for 2010 have been announced..... June 25th and 26th with some extra little bits before and after.

We'll see you there!

Wow! So that's what that sounds like....

OK, you don't realize how much you can't hear until you can hear it again!

I got hearing aids today and I have to get used to everything again. Typing this sounds like those keyboards in the movies that go klakity-klak when you type.

More on this subject as I adjust to a new world again.

Blue Zombie's?

The Beachbum found a real deal on some Zombie Mix but wonders why Blue? I have to agree, why not green, or even red?

Many of you will look at that and your immediate reaction will be one of eye-rolling or shoulder-shrugging. You will react at first very negatively because of any of a number of things, the Blueness, the Barcardi name, the price on the shelf, something about it will immediately put you on edge.

Here's the rub, you will most likely be reacting to the wrong part of the idea..... the Fail of that product is not immediately visible because the Fail part is the 'general public.' The Fail is the fact that someone is trying to turn drinks into a commodity. 'They' are trying to turn what was once the highest public art into the lowest common denominator and squeeze out every possible bit of profit and gain from it.

Don't believe me? Take a look at the Beachbum's link above. Or this one talking about a prepackaged "Premium Vodka" flavored Martini. (personal note, they don't even bother to capitalize Martini as the proper name that it is.) And there are countless more on the shelfs of your local suppliers just sitting there trying to get in the gullet of some early drinker (I mean experience, not age).

These kind of prepackaged, premixed, pre-made or any other verb you can add a Pre too, are slowly eating away at the art of the cocktail. We can't stop them so this is not a call to arms. What we can do is keep making the best cocktails we can. We can keep blogging about good recipes and show up the bad products as the Fail that they are when it comes to cocktails. We can go down fighting!

And, now that I have myself all worked up, I am going to go and make a cocktail out of my morning coffee. This should be a fun day!

Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya....

Inigo Montoya
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

Yes, that Inigo Montoya..... from Rob Reiners Princess Bride.

Inigo is the newest addition to our household. She is about a year old and just came home from the pound today. They said she is mostly Rat Terrier but suggest some beagle because of her tricolor coat. Her ears, on the other hand, look like she should be able to fly.

The cat is pissed, but should get over it quickly because so far Inigo has shown no interest except the usual puppy-like "what is that?"

Mr. Moai Mourns Mouthlessness

Mr. Moai mourns mouthlessness
Originally uploaded by Tedtiki.Patty

Note to self..... when designing props for events, include mouth holes at least large enough for straws.

Thanks to Patty and Ted for the wonderful shot from the Home Tour!

Home Bar Tour....

glhbt09
Originally uploaded by Johnny Dollar

Some of you are just coming out of the rum-induced mental fog of the weekend, the rest of you will just have to read long and nod like your in on the joke....

Last weekend was the Hukilau and a whole bunch of people came around for the event. Specifically a huge group of my FOM Fellows were in town for said Hukilau and the Local Lodge decided to host a Home Bar Tour. Hire a bus, drive around to three different host homes, serve some food, some drinks, and generally have a blast!

I will share this with you..... Hire a Bus! There is nothing better for this kind of party! Well, any kind of party. I think we are going to hire a bus for all of our parties from now on. It is fantastic! The bus arrives, the party is on and everyone is laughing and eating and drinking and having a good time. Then the bus returns and the party moves on. You aren't stuck with that one couple that insists on staying until the food or drink are gone while telling you awkward stories about the last key-party they attended.

And, as if you needed proof of this idea.... Check out the pix from this year and last.

And thanks to Johhny Dollar for a great shot of Mr Lobster Pants shilling his Professor Lipskirrel Healing Tonic!

Working at the Mai Kai.....

Andy in the Mai Kai Bar
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

The Eighth Annual Hukilau was this past weekend, a three day event that culminates in a big party at the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Ft Lauderdale. This years events included a seminar entitled "A Mai Tai Paternity Test" by Beachbum Berry.

Said event was at the Mai-Kai on Friday afternoon, treating the guests to not only an informative show from the Bum but a very welcome respite from the afternoon heat.

Since the show was in the afternoon, well before the Mai-Kai normally opens, there was a question of staffing the bar to make the two specific cocktails the Bum was presenting. Since we consider the Bum to be one of our friends (he may not consider us the same after our 'special presentation at the end) we volunteered to help out.

As you can see from the huge smile on Andy's face, the ability to simultaneously help out the Bum AND work in the most magical of magical places for a pair of Rummys like ourselves will be one of the stories we tell your grand kids when we get old(er).

If you missed the Hukilau, you'll just have to live vicariously through pictures until next year. Until then.......

Beachbum Berry's Mai Tai One On....


Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Dinner Show
3599 Federal Highway
Ft Laduerdale, Florida
www.maikai.com

Hukilau Polynesian Festival
http://www.thehukilau.com/2009/

I know that many consider the cocktail umbrella as the Kiss-of-Death to most cocktails. I do too, at least when I am out at a bar.....

But, after much testing and thinking (and drinking!), I want to stand up for the lowly little bits of paper on a stick!

Dismiss the Cocktail Umbrella No More! (insert evil laughter and menacing sound effects here!)

Why, you ask? Simple! Most Tiki drinks are rum based. Rum is an aromatic liquor, and usually come in a reasonably high proof. As a reasonably high proof liquor, it has a tendency to evaporate. That process is what makes 151 flammable.

So what, you are saying as you contemplate the flammability of the average cocktail umbrella......

Let us examine the lowly cocktail umbrella from a different perspective.... Join me in my lab......


(thank you http://www.wellfed.net for the picture)

First, from the perspective of a drink. An 'internal' perspective..... We have established that Rum, and most high proof liquor, is basically a volatile substance. Since that volatility is usually why we are imbibing the stuff anyway, why would you want to let any of it escape? The lowly little cocktail umbrella works as a shield, or cap if you will, to keep the interesting bits in the cocktail. And, what happens when you drink from the cocktail protected by our cocktail umbrella? You tilt it to the side allowing all of the goodness trapped underneath to rise up into your waiting nostrils. Nothing wasted!

From an external perspective (the weaker case for the umbrella).... Spring has sprung and many of you are moving your cocktails to the outside of your homes to enjoy the increasingly fine weather. I myself have already had a couple of weeks of sitting by the pool enjoying a cocktail or three. And, here in south Florida our sun is pretty intense even in the spring. All of the solar energy is wonderful for the pool, but hard on the ice in my cocktail. Just as I sit under my umbrella, my cocktail is sitting under its umbrella. OK, this is a pretty lame excuse for the cocktail umbrella........

Tease the Cocktail Umbrella No More! Dress your cocktails without fear or shame! Never snicker or make snide comments again about the little blue umbrella in your drink. It is there to help! To help you have the best damn cocktail alcohol can provide!

And Yes, this is a drunken post. And, as soon as I send this I am going back to the bar, I mean Lab! Lab! Thats it, my LAB.... to finish my research!

And, for those of you wishing more conversation on this subject, my limited research found this.... this...... and this.....

Coconut Economy

I am a Fellow in good standing in the Fraternal Order of Moai.

Some of you know that already. Some of you don't, or don't care. We of the F.O.M. have a little 'thing' going on the side called Coconut Economy.

What is Coconut Economy? It is a commerce site where the Fellows can buy, sell, or trade goods and services. Everyone is invited to shop, and I encourage you to stop by and see what we have to offer.

Recently added is a custom creation from Andy. She was inspired to create an Orchid Bikini based on an image from an album cover. The piece was a huge hit at the Sarong-O-Rama fashion show at this the 2008 Hukilau.

And. tapa-covered hip flasks from Loki and Stumpgrinder. Show your Tiki-Colors and carry your beverage of choice in style.

And, from the Velveteen Lounge we have some pillows worthy of your home bar in a variety of prints and styles.

All of this and more is just a click away.

Stop by, check it out, show your support of the artists of F.O.M.

The Bengal Cocktail

Its that time again..... Mixology Monday! And this time Metagrrrl is hosting, and the theme is 19th Century Cocktails.

Now, I don't have much of a library for cocktail books. The Internet is almost useless for searching for cocktail recipes, unless you know exactly what you are looking for so you can exclude everything else. And, when I do find older recipes I have a hard time breaking out of the Tiki-Drink frame of mind, which makes thinking about specific ratios of '20 drops' of an ingredient hard to figure. But! All of that is kind of the reason for Mixology Monday in the first place, trying something new. So.....

My one good book that has recipes that qualify for this months theme.....
Cakes & Ale
by Edward Spencer.


A fun book that Andy got for me at the Antique Show in Palm Beach (you have to go in the winter!) that focuses mostly on food, dinner and its preparation mostly. In the back, second to the last chapter, is a collection of recipes from sources known and unknown. I got really excited because there is a recipe for Orgeat that I still want to make, but that will be a future entry here. Anyway.....

I am flipping through the recipes and spot a recipe for the Bengal Cocktail. Now, I just read earlier today that Darcy over at the Art of Drink posted the same cocktail. But wait, its the same in name only! OK, closer review, its almost the same. But not quite. OK, its only sort of like it......

The Bengal Cocktail:


Fill tumbler half full of crushed ice. Add thirty drops of maraschino, one table-spoonful of pine-apple syrup, thirty drops of curacoa, six drops of angostura bitters, one wine-glassful of old brandy. Stir, and put a shred of lemon peel atop.

Or, in the modern format for presentation:

30 drops Maraschino

30 Drops Curacao

1 tablespoon Pine-Apple Syrup

6 drops Angostura Bitters

1 Wine-glassfull Old Brandy.

Stir in a wine goblet with half-glass of crushed ice. Garnish with lemon.


First, the recipe:

I don't have 'good' Old Brandy. I have some good brandy, but it is Extra-Fine, not Extra-Old, so it is much sweeter that what I believe this recipe called for. And then, Drops? I think Darcy had the same issue trying to figure out how to pour that on the modern bar. I cheated and pulled out the eye-dropper and started counting.

If this recipe is as old as the book lead me to believe, Pineapple had to have been a pretty exotic flavor for a cocktail and I am guessing not something every bar has sitting around waiting to be used. I could be wrong, its just a guess.

And, poking around on the internet, I find a variety of variations on this recipe, the strangest includes apple and orange juice. That is the greatest challenge with researching 'older' drinks like this, unclear authorship, conflicting and/or competing stories of genesis. Which one is 'THE' cocktail? Well, as soon as I find the right size batteries for the Time-Machine I'll ask around myself.

Then, the cocktail:



What is it like? Well.... pretty good actually. A bit sweet for my tastes, but that may be my brandy selection more than the actual drink. It is a beautiful reddish color in the glass, the dark of the bitters really bring out the color of the brandy, and the contrast of the bright of the lemon, visually exciting and really makes you want to pick this one up.



The end result:

I can recommend this one as it stands. I will be playing with it to see if I can tame the sweetness for my palate. I am going to have to spend a bit more time looking at Brandy's at the local package store.

Weeki Wachee Weekender

Weeki Wachee Weekender
Originally uploaded by chipandandy

Its On!

It is a Holiday weekend so you should already have the time off!

It is an amazing piece of Roadside America!

It is Mermaids!

What more could you ask for?

Please join us on Labor Day Weekend for a visit with the Mermaids at Weeki Wachee on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

There will be a Pot-Luck luau Friday Night. We have access to a grill so something that can be cooked is an option.

There will be a Carving and Music Jam Friday afternoon into the evening as long as people are willing to work or play. Bring your tools, or you instrument, or both, and have some fun with the Ohana.

Saturday is the Big-Event! The Former Mermaids will have control of the Lagoon and will be performing for your pleasure.

Saturday night will be a Dinner with the Ohana, details are still being worked out with the restaurant so more on that soon.

It will be a whole lot of fun, even more so with you there.

Tails of the Merman

OK, it is finally done! Episode Five!

Tails of the Merman on YouTube

This project was so much fun! I am hoping that we can do some more with it, spin-offs with the Henchman, a Mer-vixen story line. And of course many more cocktails with a generally underwater theme!

Give a watch! Give it some stars! Let us know what you think!