109 Holiday Music for your Tiki Bar

It may seem far to early to bring you the merry and exotic sounds of the holidays.  But, because the actual reality of exotica Xmas music is relatively rare we thought we should tell you where to get it early.  Sunshine shares a few artists that endeavored to mix polynesian percussion with the usual kitch of the season.  Arthur Lyman is most notable, probably the best example of this sub genre.  Music alone does not put the holidays right, so we bring you an island inspired hot punch cocktail that will please even the Virgin imbiber.  Think pineapple, spices, honey and your favorite rum.  Outstanding after a heavy meal, its like dessert in a tiki mug.  All things festive put aside, Sunshine and Pumpkin each share some much pent up bitching.  Our recent listener email suggests that a good bitch fest was in order anyway.  We aim to please.  Ted Haggard, Paula Abdul, dumbasses in minivans and artificial sweetners are just some of the bashed.  So sit back, drink your hot pineapple tea and spin yourself a vintage holiday....a little early. This weeks drink: Hot Pineapple Tea

1 can Dole pineapple juice (try to find NOT from concentrate), 1/4 cup honey. 3 cinnamon sticks broken in a few pieces, 3 peppermint tea bags.

On the stove top or in a crock pot, add all ingredients except the tea bags.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer.  Add tea bags, brewing tea for approx 10 minutes.  Remove the tea bags.  Serve as is, or as we do here in the Zen Tiki Lounge: add 1 to 1.5 ounces of your favorite rum to one glass of the tea.  We recommend Bacardi O, Captain Morgan spiced rum, Sailor Jerry, Myers Dark just to name a few.

108 Pumpkin's very special day!

This weeks show is very special.  Special with a capital "S" and everything.  Little did Pumpkin know (she may have suspected a little something, but she was surprised when it happened) but I decided to give her a surprise birthday party while recording the podcast.  We start the show out just like any other, a delicious cocktail, some tiki music and a little mail.  Then everyone showed up and it turned into a party.  FUN!  Our cocktail this week was concocted out of necessity.  Basically my bar is still very low from a lot of parties, so you gotta use what you have.  Luckily I threw together a boozy treat that even Pumpkin gave high marks.  The "French Mai Tai" as I called it is a twist on the Trader Vic's original, but has a French twist.  Cognac and Cointreau give this drink a sophisticated palate, but the Mai Tai origins are not lost.  Using Cognac as a float instead of a dark rum actually turned out to be an amazing discovery.  Try this one at home today.  Besides the cocktail we did welcome a few new listeners to the lounge and had a few interviews with some of the party guests.  You will either be turned off or laughing to hear our friend tell all about her romantic adventures with her home spa.  Naughty. This weeks drink:

French Mai Tai

2 oz pineapple juice (not from concentrate)

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz simple syrup (don't use orgeat)

1 oz silver rum

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Cognac for float (Hennessy works great)

Add everything but the cognac to a shaker with crushed ice.  Give just 4-5 good shakes, you don't want froth.  Pour into a chilled, clear glass with plenty of crushed ice.  Top with the cognac.  Garnish with a really think lime wheel on the rim, a cherry and sword or pick and the pretty parasol of your choice.  Looks great, tastes even better.

107 Passion fruit and the Thai Princess

The entire country has been caught up in one of the most debated political races in a few decades.  We don't know about you but it all got to be a little much for us.  So in typical fashion, Sunshine and Pumpkin raise their tiki drinks high and drink up.  Some things are better in the past, yet still give us hope for the future.  Without spilling our presidential opinions to much we do a little commentary and toss in plenty of tropical goodness.  Our cocktail for example is a deliciously fruity rum variation of the virgin Bora Bora punch.  So much better with the booze and as you will hear, Pumpkin gets a little saucy after #2.  Sunshine shares some highlights from this years Halloween party.  Including some of the fun tid bits that party guests left behind.  And, it may sound a bit early but we give a good holiday shopping tip or two for your tiki friends.  Good ol Trader Vic has a gift package waiting for you.  Lastly we share what has become Sunshines favorite new podcast.  The quiet village podcast is full of great exotica and some good DJ work to go with it.  Check it out NOW!

Drink of the week

Bora Bora Cocktail

3oz pineapple juice 

1oz passion fruit juice (not syrup)

1.5oz gold rum (Mt. Gay is good in this one)

.5oz lemon juice

.5oz grenadine

Shake it all up real nice with some ice.  Pour into your favorite tiki mug filled with crushed ice.  Garnish with a pineapple wedge, cherry and pick or sword.  Lime on top is also a nice treat.

106 Sarah Palin on the downswallow

Sometimes you just can't pull it together.  Like this weeks show prepartion, just didn't happen.  Sunshine and Pumpkin just walked in and babbled, something we haven't done in a good while.  It was nice to know that some of you had asked us to be more off the cuff more often.  Well, here ya go!  Our contemporaneous topics included tiki floral arranging, sort of.  Also, Justin Dick was just an average citizen until someone vandalized his vote yes on prop 8 sign.  Now he is sad.  To get things a little less heavy, Sunshine invents a new phrase "on the down swallow."  Find out how it relates to Sarah Palin and the McCain Mob.  We almost forgot to mention that Pumpkin has started giving her dog a special dog beer.  Proof that our society has crumbled,,,,,,giving your dog his own beer?  Its all over.  So lets drink and celebrate the Halloween season.

Rub HERE for a fun surprise : )

Drink of the Week 

Dra Kahlua

1.5 oz Kahlua

 .5 oz Cognac VSOP

.75 oz Orange curacao

 .5 oz fresh lemon juice

Our second cocktail for Halloween, the Dra Kahlua is as good as it is strange.  In a shaker, add ice and all ingredients.  Shake very well for 30 seconds.  Pour into chilled martini glass rimmed with chocolate or lemon or a combo of both.  Sip while very cold.

105 Jesus, Suze Orman and Sarah Palin

Sunshine was observing that Suze Orman may be the queen of the cougars.  Cougars are getting a lot of hype lately and Suze the money guru really knows how to get what she wants.  Pumpkin changes the subject to Jesus and the commercialization of the Christian religion.  What does Jesus have to do with Halloween?  Nothing!  However John McCain and Sarah Palin will do everything they can to ban Halloween altogether.  But thats not all.  Sunshine shares some of his favorite zen sleep music.  Have trouble sleeping like Sunshine?  Then go get yourself some of these selections for meditation and sleep  And much much more.

Click HERE to see the queen of the cougars, Suze Orman

Drink of the Week 

Smashed Pumpkin

1oz Voyant (or any chai liqueur)

3/4oz amaretto

1/2oz high proof cinnamon schnapps

This cocktail or shooter is just in time for Halloween and makes a good addition to any holiday party all the way till Thanksgiving.  Put all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice and shake for at least 30 seconds.  You want some good froth and dilution of the ice.  Pour into a chilled martini glass and serve very cold.

104 Sarah Palin in the lounge

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if crazy people were pulling all the strings?  So do we.  Thats why we spend so much time this week talking about Sarah Palin and her crazy ass run for the white house.  Jesus Christ already, we get it.....you are exactly what America needs.  But here in the lounge we aren't quite going along wit that.  So, first we had a cocktail or two.  Then we roll played to see what might really happen if Sarah Palin were in the white house.  Then we cried.  Not everthing this week is so heavy.  Sunshine gives some party planning tips for Halloween and keeping it tiki.  If you try making our cocktail of the week be sure to prepare the holiday brew a day ahead.Drink of the week: Island Trick

4oz apple juice or cider

3/4 oz dark rum

3/4 oz cointreau

3/4 oz holiday brew

In a heat proof mug or irish coffee mug, add the heated apple juice (make it nice and hot cause it will cool when you add the other ingredients.  Add rum, cointreau and holiday brew.  Give a gentle stir.  Serve hot and top with fresh whipped cream.  This "Island Trick" will sneak up on you, be careful.

To make the Holiday Brew: keep this around from fall to winter

1 large lemon

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup Bacardi 151 gold

In a container with lid add rum, zest of the lemon, vanilla, almond and cinnamon.  Cover and let sit for at lest 12 hours.  Strain out zest and cinnamon with a coffee filter over another bowl.  Add mixture to water, sugar and the juice of one lemon.  Shake well till sugar disolves.  Keeps in fridge for about 60 days.

103 Two shakes of pineapple juice

This weeks episode is a little sick in more than one way.  Not only was Sunshine deathly ill from a killer cold, but Pumpkin felt like discussing a subject that many of you may find extremely revolting.  Sunshine gets up on his soap box to warn everyone about the evils of concentrated pineapple juice as it is one of the needed ingredients for many a tiki cocktail.  Check those lables carefully or you may end up with a poor tasting mai tai.  Our regular listeners were very active in the past few weeks, giving us lots of subject matter and even some Music.  Thank you to Peter for the cool 80's tunes and listener Don for the feedback on a previous show topic, the merkin.  Because Sunshine was so ill he didn't conjure up a new cocktail so we had some old favorites instead.  Try a Yellow Bird for example, always a crowd pleaser and Pumpkins favorite cocktail.

Click HERE to get yourself registered to VOTE!

Click HERE to see the High Fructose Corn Syrup commercials, you won't believe the LIES!!!.

Drink of the Week 

Yellow Bird

3oz Pineapple juice (not from concentrate)

1oz banana schnapps

1oz coconut rum

Use a small hurricane glass for this one.  Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice and pour into chilled glass with cubed ice. This drink is for those with a sweet tooth.  Don't like em so sweet?  Try a squeeze of lime, it works well with this cocktail.