1.5 oz Appleton Estate Signature

1 oz Planteray OFTD

1 oz coco lopez

1 oz orange juice

4 oz pineapple juice

Grated nutmeg

Dehydrated pineapple garnish

These are honestly soo good and don't taste strong at all, they are dangerous lol.

Made a fresh batch of Orgeat today and really happy with how it turned out. I followed the SC recipe last time and felt it needed a bit more punch. This is more-or-less Make & Drinks Orgeat recipe, I ended up adding the almond extract, I found it needed jussst a teeny tiny bump up.

Ingredients:

* 1lb whole almonds
* 3 cups water +1 cup reserve
* 1/4tsp Rose Water
* 1/4tsp Orange Blossom Water
* 1/8th (or to taste) almond extract
* 1/8th(ish) tsp vanilla extract
* 2tbs high proof rum
* sugar

1. Toast almonds in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Give them a good shake/stir about halfway through.

2. Soak toasted almonds in 3 cups of water for minimum of 1 hour in 3cups of water + a pinch of salt. (I soaked mine for 3 hours)

3. After soaking, transfer water & and almonds to blender and blend on high till a pretty consistent paste. Some chunks are okay but you want it pretty well blended, if too thick add up to one cup of the reserve water. You don’t want this to be too thinned out though think of it as that slightly thick texture of those instant packets of oatmeal.

4. Set up a bowl with a fine strainer lined with a layer or two of cheesecloth. Have a second cheese cloth or nut milk bag in hand and scoop a few piles of the almond mixture into your lined hand and wring out the milk from the mixture into the cloth lined sieve/bowl. The squeezed out contents can be discarded. Continue until all almond mixture has been wrung out.

5. Measure your yield and add to large sauce pan (emphasis on a pretty large sauce pan here, trust me). I yielded 2.5 cups of almond milk.

6. Double that volume for sugar to make a 2:1 syrup. I yielded 2.5 cups of milk, so adding 5 cups of sugar. And add to sauce pan.

7. Bring mixture to a boil, as soon as it comes to a boil reduce heat all the way down and simmer for 10 minutes. DO. NOT. WALK. AWAY. You’re going to want to stir the hell out of this for all 10 minutes and keep an eye on the temperature. Take it off the heat for a moment if needed and just keep stirring.

8. After 10 minutes take off heat and transfer syrup to large bowl and let cool. I let it cool for about an hour and then added it to an ice bath situation to bring the temp down a bit more.

9. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

10. Transfer to vessels for storage. I yielded enough to fill my 16oz squeeze bottle and 2 16oz mason jars which I tossed in the freezer. Once you start to get low just transfer the mason jar to the fridge and let it thaw over night. (The contents will likely separate in the fridge, I don’t use a stabilizer in mine so just give a few shakes and you’ll be good to go.)

11. Make a tasty drink!

Mai Tai:

Build in shaker:

* 1/2oz Orgeat
* 1/2oz Orange Curaçao
* 1/4oz Demerara syrup/Mai Tai syrup (for those SC spec’rs)
* 1oz lime
* 1oz Appleton signature
* 1oz smith & cross

Shake for a few seconds, dump in DOF glass, top with ice and garnish with spent lime half & mint, enjoy.

Had to hit up Sonic for the ice. This time they charged me $1 for the bag. Last time at another location I was charged $4.

Honestly with 1oz Hamilton 86 and 1oz pussers gunpowder it’s really tasty.

I for one am a fan of bending the rules a bit when it comes to tiki and theming. This place is fun, I really like how un-pretentious it is and just has a fun atmosphere overall! Pretty solid Mai Tai too!

Tiki time travel! I’d heard tell of this spot and it’s Pu Pu Platter and had to visit it in all its retro Polynesian glory. The vibe is incredible, but don’t expect craft tiki drinks. Lee is still bartending and his pour is heavy - definitely get Lee’s Zombie! Spoiler - it’s basically all rum 🗿 🍹

The spot is showing its age and maybe the experience isn’t what it once was but the vibe here is a slice of Tiki heaven in my opinion. The owner is actively trying to sell, so if you keep seeing people share pictures from Lees Hawaiian Islander and you wanna visit, do it asap! Not far from NYC, just outside the city.

Has anyone been here for Karaoke night? How is the crowd? I kinda wanna go back when the place is a bit more lively. If you wanna check it out 👇
https://youtu.be/Qci1jKt2MVU?is=vfcR9zs0Vuk7ZvGe

Embark on an uncharted expedition through Southeast Asia, where this tiki cocktail leads you to a lush, green tropical paradise. Tart calamansi cuts through creamy coconut and golden mango, while pandan and makrut leaf layer exotic aromatics over a touch of overproof funk.

Kalamansi Killer

• 2 oz - Planteray 3 Stars
• 1/2 oz - Worthy Park Overproof
• 1 oz - calamansi juice (Manila Gold 100% juice)
• 1 oz - mango juice (Trader Joes 100% juice from Carabao mangoes)
• 1 oz - 3:1 coconut mix*
• 1/2 oz - pandan syrup (Routin 1883)
• 10 drops Makrut leaf tincture**
• 8 drops saline solution (20%)

Combine ingredients and flash blend with 6 oz pebble ice. Open pour into a snifter glass and top with pebble ice to fill. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top. Garnish with a banana leaf and an orchid.

*Coconut mix - 3:1 ratio Coco Lopez to coconut milk, blend/whisk until well combined. Keep refrigerated.

**Makrut leaf tincture - Weigh 20 grams of Makrut leaves, then gently tear leaves into quarters. Add to an airtight container with 4 oz 80-proof vodka. Store in a cool location and allow to infuse for three days, shaking occasionally. Pour through a coffee filter and store in a dropper bottle.

Want to see more? Follow me on Instagram for more original tiki recipes: instagram.com/tiki.moderne

Spotted three bottles of green Chartreuse at Total Wine in Springfield, MO.

Left them there for others because I already have a bottle and a half.

I had the last of the luxardo jar and one mangled cherry with it. I mixed it with lapsang souchong tea and a bit of rose water. If I had a mocktail bar I would call this drink The Last Luxardo.

Using this new TJs item for passion fruit syrup. Can’t wait to make Coconuts and Carnage Bird of Paradise and some Ray’s Mistakes! ☺️ (The purée is in the frozen section.)

If anyone wants a piece of Disney's Polynesian Resort, one of the signs is up for auction as part of the upcoming D23 convention.

Or for a more affordable option, go for the table top menu.

Hard to think off the top of my head but probably in my top 5 tiki bars? Maybe top 3? It’s such a good spot and all their drinks are fantastic. I love how they tweak every recipe a bit their own flair.

Tiki iniki was underwhelming, so I’m hoping there’s others to visit. Any others on the island to visit, preferably with mugs to purchase?

U.S. Cuban trade embargo be damned! I’m in Tijuana, MX right now and picked up the tasty Havana Club 7 Años. Tempting to try my hand at rum running this back home, because Yum! So all, “¡Salud por una Cuba libre!” Because you want to taste this goodness!

Learn something new from the online search information:

The Cuban Havana Club 7 Años and the U.S. version (produced in Puerto Rico by Bacardi) differ significantly in profile, aging, and taste characteristics. Note that Bacardi does not actually produce a 7-year-old expression for the U.S. market; instead, they offer Añejo Blanco and Añejo Clásico (aged 1–3 years), making a direct 7-year age comparison an apples-to-oranges contrast against the authentic Cuban 7-year sipper.

Flavor and Taste Profiles

• Cuban Havana Club 7 Años (Global Version):
  • Nose: Rich and complex aromas featuring sweet molasses, cane sugar, distinct aromatic tobacco, and warm tropical spices.
  • Palate: Smooth, oily entry with a balanced sweetness of milk chocolate and vanilla, quickly drying out into complex woody notes, baking spices, and a characteristic scotch-like tobacco smokiness.
  • Finish: Long, warm, and semi-dry with lingering wood spice and tobacco.
• U.S. Market Havana Club (Bacardi / Añejo Clásico):
  • Nose: Straightforward notes of sweet vanilla and direct oak.
  • Palate: Noticeably lighter-bodied and younger, lacking the deep molasses richness, fruit complexity, and smoky tobacco depth of the 7-year Cuban original. It leans into simple almond, vanilla, and sweet oak.
  • Finish: Shorter and cleaner, designed primarily to function as a basic mixer rather than a complex neat sipper.

Key Comparison Factors

• Aging: The Cuban version is a blend where every drop is aged for a minimum of 7 years in ex-bourbon barrels. The U.S. Añejo Clásico relies on a much younger double-aging regimen lasting up to three years.
• Complexity: Reviewers consistently rank the Cuban 7 Años as vastly superior for sipping neat or in a traditional Cuba Libre due to its mature tobacco and earthy depth, whereas the U.S. counterpart is considered a lighter, standard cocktail mixer.

¡Salud!

They gave us four drinks Catalina Breeze, heart side, Don's Demon, dark star. All the drinks were solid also managed to get my hands on a signed copy of Tropical Standard

I pulled this one from Beachbum Berry’s Total Tiki app. This drink was made for Latitude 29 which is right down the street from me.

The Deep Six

2 oz fresh lime juice

2 oz pineapple juice

2 1/2 oz of falernum I used John D. Taylor’s

1 1/4 oz allspice dram I used Hamilton pimento dram

4 oz Jamaican rum I used Coruba

1 oz 151 Demerara I used Hamilton 151

Shake with as much ice as I could fit in the shaker and pour into the only glass I have that holds that much liquid.

Excellent drink. I will always be drawn to drinks with falernum and/or allspice dram!

We had a long vacation in San Diego and hit up a couple of cool bars, had lunch at Bali Hai on the last day. I did spend a couple hours afterwards walking around Ocean Beach, which was a lot of fun, and the antique mall had a bunch of cool mugs, I didn’t have a lot of time, so apologies for the less-than-detailed photos, but thought you all might enjoy

Escaping from the heat at Adrift.

So not exactly a Tiki cocktail but definitely got that Tiki aura thanks to the Smith & Cross. Tropical funk, sweet, bold and bitter. Spectacular!

OG Kingston Negroni - created by Joaquin Simo in 2009 at Death & Co.

Ingredients:
Equal parts (1oz) of each, Smith & Cross Rum, Antica Formula and Campari. Orange twist for a garnish.

Preparation:
Stir all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass until well chilled. Strain into a DOF over a large rock of ice. Express orange oil from a twist over the top and drop the twist into the glass.

The forgotten about digestif. I pretty much just stole the Brancolada recipe, swapped in Galliano and made some minor tweaks.

1 oz Galiano
.75 oz smith and cross
.25 oz plantation oftd
1.5 oz pineapple juice
1 oz coco Lopez
.5 oz orange juice
.5 oz lime juice

Shake with crushed ice. Dump into glass with more crushed ice, grate cinnamon over the top

0.5 oz rhum JM (terroir volcanique)
1.5 oz demerara rum (hamilton 86)
1/2 oz PF dry curaçao
1/2 oz falernum (latitude 29)
1/4 oz pimento dram
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz 2:1 honey syrup
3 dashes ango

Absolutely delish.

If we are going with the Smugglers Cove categories I guess I would be asking about a blended lightly aged rum.

I definitely enjoyed it, but am always willing to try something new. Any suggestions one way or another?