Killer Klown Halloween Overlay at Dr. Funk

Dr. Funk did a Beetlejuice overlay last October and the tiki bar is back with a new theme this year: Killer Klowns from Outer Space. If you’re not familiar, this is based on the “cult classic” film from 1988 – and there are few things scarier than aliens that resemble clowns! The decorating committee certainly did a fantastic job, including a circus themed light display outside, plus decorated booths, giant mutant popcorn kernels, and a few Killer Klown figures.

There’s a special menu available including a deep fried Twinkie that I wanted to hate but I can’t lie – it’s amazing. There are also four speciality cocktails:

Peanut Gallery – if you’re looking for something that’s more traditional for a tiki bar, this is the item to choose. It has a balanced approach including rum you can taste plus banana flavors from the liqueur and the “circus peanut elixir.” This was my favorite, though regular readers know I’m a nut for circus peanut flavor.

Peanut Gallery

Chubby’s Fix – this clarified cocktail has mild rum flavors and a bright blue passionfruit float. It tastes great and the foam sort of melted into the cocktail to make the whole thing blue, making this another standout.

Chubby’s Fix

Cotton Candy Cocoon – Coconut leaning and not particularly spirit-forward, and very heavy on the matcha-pandan milk syrup. Mrs. Mai Tai likes pandan and appreciated it much more than I did.

Cotton Candy Cocoon

Human Puppet – a lighter cocktail featuring Cocchi Americano, so a wine-forward taste, and includes a flashing cube inside. Again, not very rummy.

Human Puppet

Dr. Funk is getting pretty good at the pop-up/overlay thing and Killer Klowns is no exception. The theme is interesting and unique, something to seek out this month in downtown San Jose.

Spooky Fun at The Cauldron

Our SoCal trip continued with another visit to the horror-themed bar The Cauldron near our Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel, with an offer of a discount if you come costumed as witches or vampires. They don’t offer reservations for large groups but Brenda booked the secret room for our larger group. It would be perfect for sacrificial ceremonies but we stuck to appetizers and cocktails.

The Cauldron definitely puts an effort into making interesting drinks, even if their rum selection leans sweet. I ended up going with the Devil’s Margarita that has a float of red wine that looked great and tasted quite amazing. The staff were even able to make a cherry-leaning cocktail that David tried on an earlier trip, and generally we found the cocktail game to be pretty good here.

Inside, the spooky vibe was in full effect thanks the every day decor and also to other groups getting the memo on the dress code – lots of witches or just people in pumpkin gear.

Halloween Pop-Up at Livermore’s Fat Pigeon

The Fat Pigeon seems to be the Tri-Valley’s go-to venue for cocktail pop-ups, previously hosting Miracle at Christmas, Golden Girls, and Alice in Wonderland themes previously. Since spooky season is upon us, there’re now running a Halloween theme.

The setup includes a special cocktail menu including low ABV and mocktail options, plus fun and fairly elaborate decor. There are no special costumes or wildly immersive soundscapes, though, just fun drinks in a welcoming venue.

I enjoyed the 13 Stabs Later, a refreshing drink with soda and blood orange apéritif that leans fruity. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Offering which is a clarified drink including bourbon and pumpkin spices. It’s served with a Biscoff cookie which you’re supposed to take a bite of before taking a sip.

13 Stabs Later

The highlight for us was the Spooky Tini Flight, with an okay Espresso Martini but amazing Bad Apple and Pumpkin Spice variants. The little tiny martini glasses are a fun delivery method and we enjoyed rotating the display to get to our favorite item.

Spooky Tini Flight

As pop-ups go, Fat Pigeon seems to have the format and execution locked in. The atmosphere is fun and the quality cocktails offer something for nearly everyone.

The Best Mai Tai in Marin County at California Gold

Still catching up on somewhat old news, but I didn’t want to skip highlighting the fabulous tiki takeover weekend at California Gold in downtown San Rafael. This was appended to the weekend after Halloween and was a tiki/horror theme with a special menu of exotic cocktails. The overall decor was a pretty nice overlay on the “history of California” theme that California Gold already has and which I enjoy.

We’ve always had great experiences with the cocktails here, and their rum collection shows they know and appreciate our particular favorite cocktail genre. The takeover featured a number of classics but also recently created tropical tipples mostly from California Gold’s Isaac Shumway. The Mai Tai features a nine-rum blend. Not two or three or four, but nine! The flavorful blend was full of flavor and one of the best of the year for me.

We hear California Gold is considering doing this menu occasionally starting in 2025, so keep an eye out and make plans to visit San Rafael’s charming downtown.

Ultimate-ish Zombie

I was really happy with the recipe for the Ultimate Mai Tai, using my Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend. And I was super happy with the Ultimate Navy Grog which used that rum in combo. But I’ve never been able to come up with a Zombie recipe that I liked using that rum. But after some experimentation and tinkering I’m pretty happy with how this came out.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t as good as a 1934. All hail Donn Beach for developing it and to Jeff Berry for rediscovering and decoding the recipe decades later. So, it is only ultimate-ish. But if you’re looking for a little twist on the Zombie I’d suggest giving this a try.

Thanks to Ed Hamilton and the aforementioned Jeff Berry for developing a Zombie rum to give this the necessary flavor profile and kick.

Ultimate-ish Zombie
1 oz Ruby Grapefruit Juice (strained)
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Passionfruit Syrup
¼ oz Molasses Syrup
½ oz Velvet Falernum
⅛ oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 oz Hamilton Beachbum Berry Zombie Blend
1 oz Ultimate Mai Tai Blend
4 drop Pernod
4 dash Angostura Bitters
Shake with crushed ice
Garnish with mint

Tipsy Terrier Halloween Party

Thanks to Amy and Kirk for throwing another amazing backyard Halloween Party last night in San Jose. Their large home tiki bar, the Tipsy Terrier, is the centerpiece and fantastic but we most spent time in the yard and patio enjoying the myriad Halloween decorations.

They served a wide assortment of boozy beverages including fantastic versions of the 1944 Mai Tai, Three Dots and a Dash, and great blood red Zombie. Super flavorful and definitely not watered down for a general audience. There were also Aperol Spritz’s and Champagne Cocktails. So nice when the host give you the fixing and you can prepare it to suit. Beer on tap and Sangria from a fountain were available for those with less ambitious prep desires, or just because they prefer it.

Mrs. Mai Tai came up with the idea for our costume – Jack and Wendy from The Shining. All works and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Some truly outstanding costumes at the party, and nice to see some familiar faces but also to meet some new people too.