Post #780599 by Hurricane Hayward on Sat, Oct 14, 2017 10:55 PM

Catching up on a few bits of news in Hurricane Irma's wake last month ...

The storm wreaked havoc on Florida's citrus industry, which we follow closely due to The Mai-Kai's use of the state's fresh fruit and juices. Here are a few stories that cover the highlights:

Irma may speed the end of orange juice (The Washington Post)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/irma-may-speed-the-end-orange-juice/W1QeemIvGz71nBFKp6DdIN/

Why Your Orange Juice Might Be From Brazil: Florida’s Trees Are Dying (The Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/floridas-orange-industry-symbol-of-a-state-is-dying-1506437044

Citrus groves regroup after getting ‘kicked in the teeth’ by Irma (The Palm Beach Post)
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/business/citrus-groves-regroup-after-getting-kicked-the-teeth-irma/r2bnA6mYaHy132lLYzscLJ/

The third story does offer a glimmer of hope:
"We’re down but this industry is not out. We’re not going away," one industry exec adamantly insisted. "We’re doing all we can to make sure this is a sustainable industry going forward. And it will be."

Click back to page 13 of this thread for lots more on the juices of The Mai-Kai:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=47293&forum=10&start=180

Meanwhile, damage at The Mai-Kai was minimal and limited mostly to the trees and grounds. However, sadly, we lost the iconic moai Tiki carved by Barney West that stood on the southeast corner of the property facing Federal Highway for more than 50 years. In better days:

Plans are in the works to replace the giant carving with a similar moai, but in the meantime we can remember "Big Barney" with The Mai-Kai Moai, a cocktail I created back in 2015 to fill the special mug created by Tiki Diablo for the wedding of Mike and Chelsea at The Mai-Kai ...

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2016/04/16/miami-rum-festival-boldly-explores-the-next-frontier-of-cane-spirits/#Mai-Kai-Moai