Post #429563 by Tipsy McStagger on Mon, Jan 19, 2009 5:56 PM

On 2009-01-19 17:15, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2009-01-19 16:41, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
....there tends to be a air of elitism surrounding the tiki scene in more aspects than just how to mix a proper cocktail that i find increasingly difficult to stomach and when it rears it's head i tend to get cranky!!..... :)

I sat with James at the OLD Beverly Hills Trader Vic's and sampled several of their concoctions, and the verdict was thumbs up on all of them. The books me and Jeff Berry wrote inspired a revival of the art and taste of the Tiki lounge BECAUSE they set high standards. These standards are not a dogma, but an ideal. But if we give up standing up for that ideal, where does it end? And where the hell are we supposed to do that but here, our little esoteric haven called Tiki Central.

I find it "increasingly difficult to stomach" that, when I and others stand up for "true" Tiki taste here (which is demonstrated in these books, and is the cause for much of its revival), it is characterized as "elitism". It's not, it's just what we were into all along.

are you nuts??.... I happen to love your books and beach bum berry's books and do not consider them elitist by any stretch of the imagination but informative tomes that yield a wealth of information....in fact, if it had been berry writing a review of trader vics chicago cocktails i would have had far more respectful in my commentary.....I have no problem with high standards in tiki ....only when they are foistered upon me by those i feel do not have the level of expertise warranted to make such evaluations.....