Just wanted to highlight this recently issued mug by Woody Miller for Zombie Village. The design pays tribute to Zombie’s cool private huts, and the glass float comes in a variety of colors. It’s really incredibly well done, among Woody’s best.
The initial release for this was August 24 and the first run is already sold out. But I believe more are in the pipeline.
It’s nice to see Zombie doing something to raise their profile and bring some new mindshare to their now well-established venue. People love excuses to revisit places, especially if the place isn’t totally local or if there are logistical challenges to visiting (cause, there are some with this location…). Our visit coincided with the Trader Vic’s Tiki Tai crawl but we’ve been to Zombie Village severaltimes the past year and they’re still making cocktails very well.
We had a grand time yesterday for the first of two open house events for the new Pau Hana Studio in the Oakland Hills.
The project is the brainchild of Laura and Woody Miller and the venue serves as a production studio for Woody’s burgeoning mug and tiki art business. Pau Hana will also host arts and crafts classes on various topics including ceramics, mugs, plant hangers, and tiki lamps. The space includes warm accent touches, skylights, and a wonderfully colorful tropical pattern on the back wall. Some of Woody’s lamps and other art from the defunct Kon-Tiki Room at Palmetto are present to make the space inviting and also providing a showcase for Woody’s diverse portfolio of projects.
Pau Hana includes a great deal of storage for Woody’s various tiki mug projects. We saw mugs in various stages of production including the fabulous event mug for the Sacramento Ohana Home Bar Tour event, and another one that this author thinks is even better and set to debut at a San Francisco tiki bar in the near future. Stay tuned… There’s also storage for wood and other materials.
The registration for some upcoming classes are sold out, but look for more classes to be announced soon. Pau Hana will be hosting another open house on Saturday August 17 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, 11144 Golf Links Rd, Oakland, CA.
Woody and Laura MillerMrs. Mai Tai made this with stamps
Trader Vic’s Emeryville has updated their cocktail menu for the first time since Fall 2021. There are 15 new additions, some of which were developed in Trader Vic’s locations worldwide. There are still many Trader Vic’s favorites including the Original Mai Tai, with a gigantic total of 53 cocktails and eight non-alcoholic drinks on the menu. This also means Vic’s are resetting prices up a few bucks, consistent with price increases we’ve seen at many of our favorites lately.
The most noteworthy new item is the Smoke Show. The cocktail is intended to rotate monthly (ask the server) but launched as a very nice rum old fashioned that’s brought to the table and smoked in front of you in a small ceremony sure to delight guests and your social media followers. The smoke flavor lingers quite well in the cocktail.
We also tried the Lava Haze, served in the wonderful new Atahi A Kai Mug by Reesenik that we bought at a mug release event back in February. Described as creamy coconut and strawberry with smoked pineapple, this is quite smoky and isn’t overly sweet. If you love Mezcal or peaty Scotch this might be a winner for you.
I enjoyed the Captain Rilco’s Odyssey, a lighter cocktail with rum, grog, citrus, and pineapple. The garnish features a ‘coral’ twill and some banana whipped topping with lime zest that’s delightful, making this a non-assertive cocktail that is well balanced and not too boozy or juicy.
Everyone at our table agreed the best of the new items was the Bumbu Hunter, created by Wally Gringco of Trader Vic’s Bahrain. Served in a Headhunter mug, this rich cocktail has four rums, spices, and some sweet tropical flavors. The garnish includes a burnt cinnamon stuck, star anise, and a speared peach, so this is a feast for many senses.
It’s great to see Trader Vic’s continuing the tradition of pursuing complex and interesting cocktails that use current ingredients and techniques. We really enjoyed these cocktails.
Bumbu HunterLava HazeCaptain Rilco’s OdysseySmoke Show Old Fashioned
I’m not a huge mug collector but when this one came back on sale I thought I would pick it up. This is the second mug from Doc Parks Designs and pays homage to Donn Beach and also the blowfish that lived in the tank by the front door at Park’s old haunt, Pagan Idol. That fish had a name which especially this week is no longer a fun nod, so we won’t note it here. See the photo of me with the puffer back in 2017.
The mug comes with a few Doc Parks swag items so this was a pretty good deal and quite unique. The mug was produced by the Kon-Tiki Tiki bar and sculpted and glazed by Tiki Koa in Mexico. Really good quality and it continues my desire to have mugs that tend to be smaller and more suitable for single-serve cocktails.
This mug is sold out but keep an eye on docparksdesigns.com for tshirts and future merch offerings. And then check out the dates for the Doc Parks 2024 Tour stops. We loved the Doc Park Tour stops in the past year so don’t sit on these if they come to your town.
The Tahitian is the second of a series of mug/book bundles from Book of Tiki author Sven Kirsten, produced in conjunction with Tiki Farm and Trader Vic’s. The previous Tiki Portraits release was The Modernist tiki (2021) but the Tahitian is a more traditional style mug. Though, as Kirsten documents in the book, the style and proportions of the Trader Vic’s Tahitian tiki was actually a modern interpretation by artist Ahlo Leon of an older style tiki. The 60 page book is a fascinating read adorned with myriad historical color photographs and images.
The hefty mug produced by Tiki Farm comes in a single glaze, perhaps to avoid the FOMO frenzy that became associated with the multiple glazes of The Modernist. It fits well in the hand and is not improperly balanced despite being top-heavy.
The event at Trader Vic’s Emeryville on Friday consisted of a mug and book signing by Kirsten and some cocktails available at the Cook Room’s bar. The Anana Mango Punch being selected by Kirsten for this event. We didn’t try but heard from others it was a delightful mango-forward cocktail.
Retail price for the book and mug bundle was $120 + tax, and I’d expect any unsold inventory to be available at future events hosted by Kirsten in Southern California and in the Trader Vic’s online store.
Kirsten says that the third in the series is expected sometime next year.
I got this Tiki Tolteca mug at the Alameda Point Antiques Fair (thank you @smuggler_steve), so wanted to make a drink in it. I had a great time visiting Tiki Tolteca in New Orleans in 2018, now sadly shuttered.
The drink was a Samoan Fog Cutter, though I misread the ingredients and ended up switching the ratio of Lemon and Orange Juice. I also used a Cara Cara Orange, so this ended up quite a bit sweeter than it would have been otherwise and I think was a more balanced ratio. I also used a lot more Sherry than what the original recipe calls for and to me is better for it.
I thought this tasted great, and I did find that even the small amounts of Brandy and Gin were providing a more complex blend of noticeable flavors than if this just used light rum.
Samoan Fog Cutter Modified 2 oz Cara Cara Orange Juice 1 oz Lemon Juice ½ oz Orgeat (heavy pour) ½ oz Gin (Beefeater) ½ oz Brandy (Korbel) 1½ oz Light Rum (Trader Vic’s) 1 oz Sherry (Harvey’s Bristol Cream) Shake ingredients with ice, saving the Sherry for a float.
