Podcast

A dimly lit tiki bar that lives in your head. Each and every podcast we bring you a new exotic cocktail followed by plenty of tiki talk, exotica tunes and whatever else your loyal hosts Sunshine, Pumpkin and Starshine care to dispense. Politics, religion and current events are all free game. This podcast is not for the kiddies, so remember to get a sitter before tuning in. Mahalo.

December is up on us. That means it's time for the annual ZTL tiki gift giving guide. As usual, we suggest music, mugs, books and wares from many of the friends we discover as a result of this podcast. We personally use and have everything we suggest. No duds here. Please check out the links below and get some of the great stuff from our tiki friends all over the country. This week isn't just about gifts, its also the first week in many months that Pumpkin and Sunshine had a chance to be in the lounge together. The two original hosts of Zen Tiki Lounge act as if no time ever passed. And our show wouldn't be complete without a great cocktail, this one is courtesy of Ken Kanaka of The Crazed Mugs. Coquito is a version of eggnog that comes to us from Cuba and has become popular in Florida. We think it could be a holiday favorite here in the lounge. Try the recipe below. Thanks for listening, tell a friend, find us on facebook, Google+ and Mahalo! Tiki Gift Ideas for anyone:

Music: The Crazed Mugs, The Revomatics, Tiki Joes Ocean,

Tiki Mugs: Only the best at PopTiki.com, the offical mug of the Zen Tiki Lounge

Bar/Cocktail Books: Kahuna Kevin "Why is all the Rum gone", get volumes 1 and 2. Over 100 outstanding recipes with superb illustration.

Books/Beach Reads: The Parrot Talks In Chocolate, In The Middle of the Third Planets Most Wonderful of Oceans, Death by facebook, Banana the fate of the fruit the changed the world, And a Bottle of Rum, Tiki Modern

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 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. Spinkle 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.