Post #355917 by bigbrotiki on Sat, Jan 19, 2008 12:54 AM

There we hear it: Blenders are GO for the Margarita lovers! :)

I did ask the two Mikes (in person), AND the Bum (via the telephone), and here are the verdicts:

Mike Sr.: "The blenders are stronger and make the ice too slushy, the mixers are more gentle and give the ice the perfect consistency" (he conceded that that might be a function of the TIME spent blending) and "We would not get the same frothy texture that our drinks always had"

Mike Jr. agreed and added to that: "Top mixers are the best way for OUR style of cocktails. I guess it is a matter of preference"

Here is Jr. getting two Lapu Lapus ready on his double Hamilton Beach mixer. Hmm they were goood!

The Tiki Ti was in Tiki folks hands tonight, it was great: Bora Boris, JP Ballack, Tiki Kate, Miles Thompson, Conga Mike, Squid, Humu, Big Tiki Dude....and more! :)

As I thought, the reasons for the Bum not insisting on the top mixer were complex, one being that he felt it was too much to ask to get the old ones, he feels the new remakes are too flimsy. The PROS are that it aerates the cocktail more, and makes it frothier. But then he shared his observation that at any of the Trader Vic's he had been to, including the Beverly Hills one, he had only seen BLENDERS being used. -And those cocktails were some of the best I ever had! So it seems that it is part of the mixologist's personal style. Tony Ramos of Don The Beachcomber and Madame Wu's only used Hamilton Beach mixers.

Here is a little urban archeology: The big Hamilton Beach at the back bar station at the Chin Tiki, Detroit:

....the top mixer, soon another outdated relic.