For those of you who've never heard of the Hukilau, just think of it as Burning Man for the Mai Tai set.
"The height of the Polynesian restaurant craze dovetailed with the advent of the Space Age, and almost every tiki bar named at least one drink in honor of the Final Frontier...This is our humble addition to the Astro-Aku convergence..."
1 1/2 oz. Fresh lime juice
1 oz. Papaya nectar
1/2 oz. Apricot nectar
3/4 oz. Sugar syrup
1/2 oz. Falernum (Fee Bros.)
Dash of Angostura bitters
1 oz. Lemon Hart 151 Demerara rum
1 1/2 oz. Gold Puerto Rican rum (I used Appleton's Gold)
Blend with 1/2 cup of crushed ice. Pour into Easter Island mug or large snifter filled with ice cubes.
[Link: New Home for Tuscon Tiki Head]
[Link: Giant Tiki in Tuscon Moving Next Week]
I whipped up the coffee grog using the basic recipe for the Volcano House Hot-buttered Rum drink in Beachbum Berry's Grog Log, but I subbed Cruzan Blackstrap rum for the Myer's Dark called for in the recipe, and added 3/4 oz. of Patrón XO Café (a surprisingly delicious coffee-flavored tequila). I dubbed the resulting beverage the "Popocatépetl", after a 17,000-foot volcano in Mexico.
The Hot Zombie recipe is from Sippin' Safari. It contains lime and pineapple juice, passionfruit syrup, gold Jamaican rum, brown sugar, hot water, a pat of butter, and a cinnamon stick. Delicious, easy to make, and even though it's served hot, it still tastes much like the Speviak Zombie, which is also in Sippin' Safari.
In other news, I received a most pleasant surprise in the mail the other day. Kevin, the head bartender at the Tiki Bar and Lounge in Melbourne, Australia, sent me a copy of their new menu, beautifully illustrated in classic mid-century Polynesian Pop style by local artist, Fiona Palmer. The drinks sound great. I'm particularly intrigued by the "Get Smart"-inspired Cone of Silence, which features a shaved-ice cone.
As they were closed for remodeling, I unfortunately missed out on the Tiki Bar when I was in Melbourne last January. However, I'm (very tentatively) scheduled to go there again this March, and Kevin assures me they'll be open for all of my tropical refreshment needs this time. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.
Needless to say, I've been too busy digesting these delicious sh*t sandwiches to blog much, but I have managed to escape downstairs to the Hai'deaway for a couple of exotic libations recently, so I'll tell you about them.
The Chief Lapu-Lapu is named after the Filipino Chieftain who whacked the famous world-circumnavigating Portuguese sailor, Ferdinand Magellan, during a battle in 1521. I drank my first one at the Royal Hawaiian Restaurant in Laguna Beach a couple of years back. The restaurant is still around, and they continue to serve this fine potable, although a change of ownership and a poorly-conceived remodel have stripped it of much of its vintage charm.
Like its namesake, this drink packs quite a wallop, and thanks to my use of homemade sweet and sour mix, along with some good-quality Passionfruit-pulp syrup, it was far tastier than the one I had in Laguna.
3 oz. Sweet and sour mix (homemade: 1 part lime juice, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part sugar syrup)
3 oz. Fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 oz. Passionfruit syrup (Finest Call)
1 1/2 oz. Dark Rum (Cruzan Blackstrap)
1 1/2 oz. Light Rum (Appleton Gold)
Shake with ice cubes and pour into large snifter filled with more ice cubes.
I made some Grenadine syrup from fresh pomegranates a while back, and I've been itching to try it out, so I whipped up a Dr. Wong last night, it's a variation on the Dr. Funk cocktail I blogged about a while back. Wong and Funk clearly graduated from the same med school, but Dr. Wong advises his patients to cut back on the rum, and take a healthy dose of Passionfruit juice before bedtime. This drink was served at the old Luau of Beverly Hills. A new 90210 Luau just opened up in the past month or so, and although they've "updated" the decor with the typical pan-Asian crap you find all over LA these days, they've kept much of the old Luau's original drink menu intact. However, I'm not sure if Dr. Wong has been resurrected along with them.
1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Tonga Mix (4 parts grenadine, 1 part Passionfruit juice)
1 Tsp. Pernod or Absinthe
1 oz. White Rum (I used Rhum Agricole Blanc)
Blend at high speed for 5 seconds with 3 oz. of crushed ice. Pour into a pilsner glass.