Post #597963 by TikiTomD on Sun, Jul 17, 2011 9:36 AM

Party time at the Blowfish Bar last night! Joining us were our Space Coast friends, TikiHardBop (George), TornadoTiki (Chris), and metikigal (Christina), as well as Miami friends, Joanie and Oliver.

Mai Tais were the featured drink. Two variations were offered. One was based on the contemporary “Royal Mai Tai” created by Joey Gottesman, an “island” (aka “tourist”) style cocktail offered at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Mai Tai Bar in Waikiki and first featured in the July/August 2009 issue of Hawai’I Magazine: http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2009/10/8/mai_tai_Hawaii_recipe_Moose_Royal+Hawaiian/2

Royal Mai Tai ingredients
1 oz silver rum (used Havana Club)
1 oz dark rum (used Myers’s) (recipe called for ½ oz but increased for a stiffer drink)
½ oz Disaronno Original
½ oz Cointreau
½ tsp Maraschino cherry and vanilla puree (1 tsp natural vanilla extract in 10 oz pureed cherries)
1 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice (not part of the recipe, but added)

While a very flavorful drink, all of us agreed that it was quite a bit sweeter than our taste preferences, much in common with the Mai Tais we encountered on our Hawaiian island vacations.

The cocktail that we all agreed was very fine (“the best”) was based on the original Trader Vic Mai Tai recipe recapped on page 71 of Beachbum Berry Remixed, with slight modifications:

1 oz amber Martinique rum (used Saint James)
1 oz dark Jamaican rum (used Myers’s)
½ oz Cointreau (used in place of Curacao called out by the recipe)
¼ oz orgeat syrup (used Trader Vic’s)
¼ oz sugar syrup (used Master of Mixes)
¾ oz freshly squeezed lime juice (reduced from 1 oz called out in recipe to adjust tartness)

The spousal unit, Pat, made appetizers to balance the cocktail spirits. Being of Italian heritage, she over-excelled with this task, with a rollout of food that included Native Drums (page 31 of Beachbum Berry’s Taboo Table); smoked salmon dip; boiled jumbo shrimp and cocktail sauce; meat balls; summer sausage, cheese and crackers; pigs in a blanket, and salsa with tortilla chips. This sure didn’t leave much room for our planned dinner trip to Julian’s.

Swanky’s Vinyl Exotica I and Vinyl Exotica II (http://www.swankpad.org/exotica/exotica.htm and http://www.swankpad.org/exotica/exoticaii.htm) rendered the perfect sound ambience. Playback was from an iPod Touch connected to a Bose Wave Music System.

After a few drinks, we found out from Joanie that Oliver plays a mean guitar. So, we dispatched Joanie to retrieve his guitar and were rewarded by an afternoon of spirited guitar play, passionately delivered in a variety of musical genres. Not only was Oliver a talented player, but he was also an equally talented vocalist.

Chris (TornadoTiki) and Christina (metikigal)

George (TikiHardBop)

Christina and Pat

Oliver

Oliver and Joanie

Calista, our standard poodle, seeking attention

Chris and Christina, with Tommy and Joanie at edges

Tommy (our son) and Kathy

Tango, our other standard poodle, just chillin'

A gift to the house of George’s peach-mint infused bourbon liqueur

We all concluded the day with dinner at Julian’s Dining Room and Lounge in Ormond Beach. Chris and I, as designated drivers, curtailed our intake several hours before departure, intended at 6:30 pm but actually closer to 8:00 pm, while we partied to Oliver’s guitar play. The food at Julian’s was excellent as usual, though the entertainment was not. Fortunately, the latter was drowned out by the banter of the dining room crowd.

Christina and Julian’s magnificent Polynesian mural

Joanie and Oliver at Julian’s

Life was indeed good in the great company of friends, the best of all mixers...

-Tom

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-07-18 16:01 ]