Got a bottle of this rum from an old friend and I was pleased to revisit it. For a while now my “go to” light rum has been Denizen 3 Aged White Rum, which is a blend of aged rums from Trinidad and Jamaica. I like that it tastes like rum and not vodka (unlike many of the other unaged/lightly aged rums on the market), but obviously is still clear and lighter on the palate. Great for Daiquiris and as a sub for Puerto Rican or Cuban rums when called for in recipes.
Hamilton 87 White Stache serves the same market niche, using a blend of rums from Trinidad, Guyana, and Dominican Republic. But, notably, is set at 43.5% ABV and so may add a little bit more character than 40% ABV rums. This is a pretty similar animal to the Denizen and quite good in the same sort of cocktails. As with the Denizen there is no added sugar, a trait that I find helpful especially for this style of rum.
We were lucky to snag tickets to the @sac_ohana monthly gathering this month, since the event sold out in just 3 minutes. It seems everyone made this month’s event at Birds of Paradise Lounge a priority, even on Easter. Easy to see why, though, since the house is so well appointed and the homeowners @mrs_bravo and @midcenturytiki are even nicer.
Truly a sight to behold, with a nondescript living room transformed into a tiki bar with artwork, mugs, and spirits galore. And then there’s the living room with wood paneling and wall to wall Witco. And finally the spectacular pool in the very large backyard. What a dream.
We were quite impressed by the cocktails, which included a cinnamon-forward Zombie and a light and refreshing Pisco Punch. And the Mai Tai? The best I’ve had all year. The Birds of Paradise Mai Tai includes a rum blend of Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Plantation Xaymaca, and Kō Hana Kea. So flavorful, with a savory finish that was fantastic.
The Sac Ohana group is doing a great job with these monthly meetups, and certainly are a model for any local community of tikiphiles to follow. Nice to see some familiar faces, even if our visit was not quite as long as we would have liked.
Written by Jordan Reichek, owner of Peekaboo Gallery, this new book covers the history and immense influence of art and material supplier Oceanic Arts. Founded in 1956 by Robert Van Oosting and LeRoy Schmaltz, OA has supplied a who’s who of famed establishments: Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic’s, motion picture studios, Walt Disney World, and more.
The book is a thick 500 page tome with high quality paper and photographs. So many historical details and just plain eye candy. The forward is from Book of Tiki author Sven Kirsten.
The book is finally available from Peekaboo Gallery, the organizers of this month’s Aloha OA events at the warehouse in Whittier. After this weekend, Oceanic Arts will auction off remaining stock and Bob and LeRoy will retire.
Prep work for my Tiki Kon presentation starts with revisiting the 1956 Mai Tai recipe. This was provided by Trader Vic himself to a customer and propertied to be the recipe used at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Definitely different than the classic 1944 recipes, but most certainly not an Island Mai Tai with pineapple juice.
Original 1956 Mai Tai recipe: Juice of One Lime Dash of Rock Candy Syrup Dash of Curacao Dash of Orgeat 1½ ounces Trader Vic’s Puerto Rican Rum ¾ ounce Myers’s Plantation Punch Rum Stir and decorate with fresh mint
1956 Mai Tai – Adjusted for 2022 1 ounce Lime Juice ¼ ounce Rock Candy Syrup ¼ ounce Curacao ¼ ounce Orgeat 1½ ounces Lightly Aged Puerto Rican Rum ¾ ounce Hamilton 114 rum or Worthy Park 109 rum Mix in 16 ounce tumbler glass with shaved ice. Drop half a spent lime shell in the glass. Stir and decorate with fresh mint.
As if you need any more excuses to attend Tiki Kon this year, you can come attend my seminar on the De-Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai. This session is based on the same research I did for the forthcoming article for next month’s issue of Exotica Moderne magazine and will include additional detail, content, media, and stories.
The session explodes a few myths about this iconic drink, as well as the timeline for when the cocktail changed at the iconic Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Tiki Kon: Rim of Fire is in Portland from July 1-3. Learn more at www.tikikon.com.
Mrs. Mai Tai hosted her monthly Book Club with friends and asked me to make cocktails for the group. This was the menu I came up with, intended to present some different kinds of flavors than are usually seen on mainstream cocktail menus.
The Pampanito: a Smuggler’s Cove recipe featuring Molasses Syrup
Saturn: a Gin-based cocktail with exotic cocktail sweeteners
Blue Hawaii: I included a little quarter ounce of Wray & Nephew Overproof to give this a little extra kick of flavor
Tradewinds: a great combination of coconut plus Apricot Liqueur
The cocktail that blew everyone away was the Saturn, served up. Even the attendees who said they didn’t like Gin found this delightful. I made more of these than the other cocktails combined.
I can see why people build or acquire bars for their homes; trying to make this many drinks sink-side in the kitchen is kind of a pain. But at least the results came out great.
Such a great event at Oceanic Arts in Whittier, CA, which hosted the second of five special events to celebrate the legacy of the decor supplier to so many tiki bars and Polynesian restaurants.
The Oceanic Arts warehouse has been transformed into an event space with two stages, several bars, space for food vendors, and still has space to show off many of the items from the collection. An auction later this month will clear the space and owners Bob Van Oosting and LeRoy Schmaltz will retire after running OA since 1956.
This event featured a slideshow from Sven Kirsten documenting the tiki revival from the late 1980s to early 2000s. Though not focusing on OA specifically, Sven worked through several notable mentions of items that originated from there. There were also talks about creating your own home bar as well as one on home cocktails.
Several great musical acts played the event. We were welcomed by Jill Martini and the Shrunken Heads as we entered the event, and later saw the Ding Don Devils, Creepxotica, and The Hula Girls play. The volcano stage build inside was elaborate and was smoking all night as if it might actually erupt.
Creepxotica
We’d heard the first night had some issues with the cocktails, but thankfully all those kinks were worked out for us. There were two main bar stations, hosted by Long Beach bars Bamboo Club and Secret Island Tiki Restaurant and Music Longe. We especially liked the Dr. Bamboo from Bamboo Club. There were a few food booths including a place doing Chicken and Tofu Satay that Mrs. Mai Tai and I both loved.
We saw so many old and new friends in attendance. I spoke with many who had always meant to visit Oceanic Arts but never made the time. We were sadly in that club too. So, while we celebrate the legacy of Oceanic Arts we must remind ourselves to make doing these visits a priority. You never know when they’ll be gone.
Thanks to Peekabo Gallery for putting on such a great event.
Mrs. Mai Tai, everyoneLeRoy’s WorkshopSven Kirsten’s presentation
