ZTL 245 The Return of Campari Kraken, Tiki Bar Psychic

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Feb 122013
 
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Aloha, and welcome to the Zen Tiki Lounge.  It has been a few weeks since we got back in the lounge and recorded a podcast.  Sunshine, Starshine and Campari Kraken are all here this week.  On his first visit, the renowned Kampari Kraken introduced himself as the worlds most famous tiki bar psychic.  This time, Campari sips a cocktail that Sunshine named in his honor and reflects on the difficulties of traveling via flying carpet when  the weather is damp.  No one likes a wet carpet.  Campari also answers a few listener questions, if you consider his responses answers.  Starshine shares of her excitement for a quickly approaching Las Vegas trip that will include a visit to Frankies Tiki Room and the Rhum Bar, our two favorite places in sin city to grab well crafted rum drinks.  If you haven’t been to Frankies, we recommend going while the sun is still up.  This helps you experience the stark contrast of the Vegas sun and the dimly lit interior of a classic looking tiki bar complete with bamboo decor, carved tikis, hanging puffer fish and a few of their exclusive tiki mugs.  And don’t forget the cocktails.  A complete list of drinks is available by clicking the link above.  Sunshine will tell you not to be afraid of their high proof drinks like Bender Ender and Wild Watusi.  And, over at Rhum Bar you can find some Cuba and Florida inspired libations.  Their zombie isn’t quite the traditional because it lacks the anise flavor, which for some is why the like this zombie so much.  An ample selection of rum for mixing and sipping is also available at this bright and airy watering hole.  Well, there is plenty more squeezed into this show.  So listen for all the rest.  Sunshine plays one of his favorite tunes at the end, Passage to Papeetee by Kahuna Kawentzmann.  A true gem of a tune that takes you to the mystical island of your choice.  Cheers and Mahalo.

Campari Kraken Cocktail

1.5 ounces Kraken Rum

.5 ounce Campari

2.5 ounces white grapefruit juice

.25 ounce fresh lemon juice

.5 ounce Orgeat

1 dash orange bitters (Angostura Orange bitters work best)

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass.  Garnish with long curl of grapefruit peel.  Now you will be able to see the future.

 

ZTL 267 The Tiki Gods Defy Mayan Apocalypse

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Jan 052013
 
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Aloha and welcome to the Zen Tiki Lounge, the tiki bar that lives in your head.  Sunshine, Starshine and Kalani sit at the bar for the first time this new year.  Sunshine is very happy to now own a turntable and has converted some exotica albums for the podcast.  This week we listen to Arthur Lyman’s Hawaiian Sunset and Martin Denny’s Quiet Village.  Can’t go wrong with those two classic examples of great vintage exotica.  Our cocktail this week was inspired by all the fresh citrus we have ripening in Southern California.  Fresh grapefruit, limes and oranges combine with El Dorado 15, Plantation 5 and 10 Cane rums, a little homemade falernum and some brown sugar syrup.  A zesty drink packed with vitamin C and exotic spices.  Speaking of vinyl albums, Kalani brought in some more classics like Carmen Miranda, Hilo Hattie and Webley Edwards.  Plenty to keep us relaxing on our bar stools during the next few podcasts.  And if you ever wanted to hear the ladies sing you will love this episode.  A stiff drink removes just enough inhibition for a spontaneous duet of Kokomo.  Fun!

We are proud to say that our good friend Everett Peacock has just published another book!  Escape from Hanalei will entice you to visit the islands and experience that relaxation and paradise that you have dreamed up.  Listen to this episode to find out how you can get a copy in either paperback or kindle versions.  That is if you want to participate in our little game.  You can also get the book right now, click here!

The Unnamed Cocktail

1 ounce El Dorado 15

1 ounce Plantation 5

1 ounce 10 Cane

3 ounces fresh grapefruit, lime and orange juices, any proportion you like

1/2 ounce falernum, homemade is best

1/2 ounce brown sugar syrup

Add all to blender and pulse with 2 cups crushed or cracked ice.  Pour into large tiki mug and enjoy a stiff cocktail packed with cold fighting vitamin C ;)

 

ZTL 266 A Tiki Bar Holiday In Retro Style

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Dec 102012
 
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Notes and song titles coming soon…

Enjoy the podcast and Happy Holidays

Make our classy holiday cocktails in your very own home:

Coquito (“little coconut”)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 12 cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 inch-long piece of fresh ginger, peeled
  • 1 15-ounce can of Coco Lopez
  • 1 12-ounce can of Carnation Evaporated Milk
  • 1.5  cup light rum (I use Cruzan)
  • Powdered cinnamon

Directions

  • Place water, cloves, cinnamon sticks and ginger in a small saucepan to create an infusion. Cook at medium heat until the mixture begins to boil.
  • After cooking, cover and let the infusion cool for 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
  • Place the Coco Lopez, evaporated milk, rum and infusion in a blender. Cover and blend for 30 seconds.
  • Pour contents into a glass bottle with a cinnamon stick and refrigerate until cold.
  • Serve in 2-5 ounce glasses. Sprinkle top with powdered cinnamon.
  • Like an egg nog, the flavor improves with time. It’s quite good freshly made, but a 14-28 day aging in the refrigerator does wonders for it.
Christmas Island Sparkling Punch
1 bottle brut champagne
2 cups peppermint tea (brew 4 bags in two cups boiling water, chill before adding to punch)
30 oz pineapple juice
1.5 cups spiced rum (Sunshine’s Very Spicy Rum, or Cruzan 9)
4 oz Hibiscus syrup or REAL pomegranate grenadine
Lemon juice to adjust sweet/tartness to your liking
Add everything to a chilled punch bowl and use a large ice ring to keep it cold.
Spiced Caramel Apple
3/4 oz Caramel Apple Vodka
3/4 oz Spiced Rum
1.5 oz Apple Cider
Shake well with crushed ice and serve in a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with apple wedges that have been soaked in spiced rum overnight.

ZTL 257 Visiting The Flaming Tiki Lounge and Gardens

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Aug 032012
 
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Continuing our series of home tiki bar visits, we stop by the Flaming Tiki Lounge and Gardens.  This home paradise has been created by the Kilmers, a husband and wife duo who have partnered to build their perfect backyard tropical garden.  Complete with koi pond, lush foliage, tiki torches and several areas to entertain.  And lets not forget the tasty cocktails.  We enjoyed two tasty drinks that we you will hear us sipping on the podcast.  While at the Flaming Tiki we had the opportunity to interview Kelly Hiphipahula who shares some stories of bar tending and tiki drink shenanigans.  Visit her web site and see some of the fabulous drinks she has conconcted over the years along with a great visual example of what a tropical cocktail should look like.  We have personally sampled some of Kellys drinks and she won’t steer you wrong.  Towards the end of our evening we celebrated two tiki birthdays and shared some cake and drinks.  The show concludes with two great tunes from the Ding Dong Devils.

Links from this weeks show:

Kelly  ”HipHipaHula” Reilly

Architecture by Joseph Eichler

Palm Springs mid century homes 

Tiki Oasis 2012: Exotic Espionage and Polynesian Pop August 16-19

ZTL 256 Progressive Tiki Drink Night @ Zen Tiki Lounge

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Jul 082012
 
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One never knows when brilliance will strike.  But when it does, pour a cocktail.  Or 4, or 5.  Sunshine had the idea of inviting listeners (who pass a short background check) into the Zen Tiki Lounge to show off their cocktail mixing/making skills.  Think of it as a Progressive Tiki Drink Night.  Over the course of the evening we dried 4 unique drinks, each one a good deal different than the previous.  And as you may imagine there was an air of inebriation throughout the lounge.  So rather than go into detail that is better heard than read, enjoy this weeks look into our world.

Hear the Revomatics at the conclusion of this podcast.  Two of Sunshines favorite tracks on the current albu: Pipeline and Apache.

Buy the album

Download the album on iTunes

The Revomatics on Facebook 

 

Enjoy the Break 3 cocktail from Listener Kevin.  Make the spiced syrup first and enjoy.  Cheers!

“Using a hammer or other blunt object, break up 3 sticks of cinnamon, 2 whole cloves, ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds and 2 generous tablespoons allspice berries. Add the broken up (but not completely pulverized) spices to 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. Boil vigorously until reduced by half, then strain out the spices. Return the spiced water to the pan and add 1½ cups of sugar. Simmer over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly. Cool before using.” Adding some all-spice berries isn’t a bad thing either. I also up the cardamom because I think it makes for a unique taste. The Brake 3 1 oz Coruba 1 oz Cruzan light 3/4 oz lime juice 1/2 oz grapefruit juice 3/4 oz spice syrup 3/4 oz apricot brandy.

The Brake 3

1 oz Coruba

1 oz Cruzan light

3/4 oz lime juice

1/2 oz grapefruit juice

3/4 oz spice syrup

3/4 oz apricot brandy

Shake with ice cubes and pour unstrained into a double old-fashioned glass. Optionally top with a splash of club soda. Garnish as you like. Mint is a good choice.

ZTL 252 Grapefruit Racism Isn’t As Bad As It Sounds

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Jun 022012
 
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Many times the content of this podcast is driven by nothing more than the most random of ideas.  But this show is different.  Listener Frank asked why Sunshine always recommends white grapefruit over pink and red?  A simple enough question, but one requiring a long answer.  So, we dedicate this episode to Frank.  Listen and learn a brief history of the larger of citrus fruits.  Where did they come from?  When and where were they introduced to the USA?  What country eats the most “forbidden fruit?”  These and many more questions will be answered.  And you can’t have all this talk about cocktail mixers without drinking a cocktail.  The Puka Shell is a beverage that Sunshine crafted around the holidays as a lower calorie option, and darn tasty.  And it happens to use grapefruit juice.  We try it with both white and pink and come to a unanimous decision.  Listen to the show to hear our thoughts.  After drinking grapefruit drinks the conversation becomes much more varied.  We just may try on some Depends undergarments, answer plenty of listener mail, listen to some great bachelor pad tunes from Les Baxer, Al Caiola, Cy Coleman and Terry Snyder to name a few.  Be sure to toon into our next podcast and hear us invade the home tiki bar of a podcast listener.  But before we go, we leave you with a great song by The Crazed Mugs, “Smuggler’s Cove.”

ZTL 250 Zen Tiki Lounge LIVE from Tiki Caliente 4

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May 202012
 
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After many months of waiting and testing cocktails, Tiki Caliente came and went.  The weather in Palm Springs was perfect for cocktails by the pool all day and all night.  The ZTL crew enjoyed hitting all the room parties.  Special mention to The Hair of the Dog Party and Flaming Tiki, two of our favorite rooms and cocktails.  Music by the Martini Kings poolside with Sonny Moon were another of the big highlights.  Meeting Sonny Moon at an after party later in the evening was the bees knees.  The Hula Girls played Sunshines favorite song Volcano.  That makes him very happy.  And for those that were lucky enough to see the Deadbeat Daddies on Friday, you know what a great performance it was.  Great to see them at the event and the first time we were able to see the guys live.  Then of course there was Moai Man, Listeners carrying around their Big Orange Richard mugs by PopTiki, our funner than fun room party, using pool floaties for innuendo, the LIVE podcast with great listeners in our hotel room, and so much more.  Listen for to hear everyones favorite tiki podcast game show “whats in Kalani’s bras.”  As if that isn’t enough we open up the mic to our audience for LIVE listener mail and sip the two fabulous cocktails you see below.  Cheers and Mahalo

Ginger’s Passion

1 oz Guava Juice

1.5 ounces Passion Fruit Juice

.5 ounce Lemon Juice

.25 ounce Passoa Passion Fruit Liquor

.5 ounce DeKuyper Ginger Liquor

.5 ounce Stirring’s Ginger Liquor or Canton

.5 ounce Cruzan Estate Light Rum with Ginger Infusion or another very dry white rum*

*In a .750ml bottle Cruzan Estate Light Rum, add 2 ounces freshly juiced ginger.  You can purchase ginger juice as a substitute but increase to 2.5 ounces.

Shake all together with ice.  Strain into glass filled with crushed ice.  Garnish with a cherry and pickled ginger on a skewer.

The Luckubus

1 ounce White Grapefruit Juice

1 ounce Pineapple Juice

.5 ounce Lemmon Juice

.5 ounce Orgeat

1 ounce Sunshine’s Very Spicy Rum*

3/4 ounce Vodka

Shake all together with ice.  Pour into double old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice.  Garnish with Pink Grapefruit wedge.  *Click here for the recipe for Sunshine’s Very Spicy Rum

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