Juicers for tiki drinks?

Being the lazy bum that I am, I have decided to get a juicer for that fresh squeezed lemon & lime taste. I've been using a nice little hand juicer, but it takes too long when you are mixing drinks for a small group of people.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I was thinking one of those heavy citrus juicers with the chrome handle would be nice, but I'm open to anything. I just want one that does a good job and is easy to clean.

What do you guys use?

-Mike

I'm in the market for a juicer, too. I've been squeezing the little suckers by hand like an eeediot. I just bought my husband a Juiceman for his birthday (he's a sucker for infomercials); it's a little too involved for use at the bar.

How fresh should the juice be, anyway? If I juice a bunch of lemons & limes a few hours or a day before a party in the Juiceman, will it taste any different than if I juice the citrus as I'm using it?

whenever i want to buy a new gadget, i go to http://www.epinions.com

all your cool gadgets make my crummy wood citrus reamer thing look archaic!

Black & Decker CitrusMate Plus Citrus Juicer CJ525 looks cool.. but is no good to make pineapple juice..

elicia

I had been looking for a vintage juice press for a long time. I found them, but they were $50-70. That's a bit much. Then I found a Juice King for $10 and grabbed it. A little Mother's metal polish made the chrome look new. It works great. The lever action just squeezes the hell out of whatever you put in there. These come up on Ebay regularly and at low prices. I don't know why the Juice Kings are relatively cheap, but mine works great.

I inherited an old juice squeezer that is a hinged aluminum thing, sort of like a huge garlic press. I used it alot for a while but recently, at least for lemons and limes, have found the old glass reamer gadget that you press down on works faster and gets more of the juice out. For massive squeeze jobs I am not properly prepared.

The red Juicer is a Salton Electric Juicer. A very good appliance. Pressure activates the motor and the "Juicer" part spins. A little change in pressure and it spins the other way. It can go through an awful lot of limes, lemons or grapefruits very quickly. Shelley picked it up thrifting for a few dollars, I see them from time to time. Highly recommended.

The other juicer is a Hand Juicer from Crate and Barrel. It was a wedding gift and as you see, it is well used. I like these juicers as well, but, they can't beat the electric for volume.

At Trader Vic's in Beverly Hills they use a little open jawed hand squeezer. It doesn't have the little "cup" most handsqueezers have so you can really tear into citrus with it. I asked the bartender about it and he gave me this flyer. W. R. Smith and Co.
PO box 26160 San Diego CA 92196 619-530-1800 I have yet to order , but, I will.

My recipe for sweet and sour is
1/3 parts lemon/lime juice
1/3 parts simple syrup
1/3 parts water
Shake well. Store in refridgerator
Try this mix. It is way better than store bought mixes. Makes a good drink

My recipe for simple syrup
(from the "Grog Log" by Beachbum Berry)
2 LBS sugar
2 cups water
heat to a boil, cool and bottle

Humu Humu, Day old lime juice is fine. The fresher the better.

[ Edited by: Alnshely on 2003-01-03 23:28 ]

Juice-O-Matic electric juicer plus Ice-O-Matic electric ice crusher....the only way to go...have two of each in case one fails me while entertaining. Flea Market or thrift store, about 10 bucks each. I've been hoarding Ice-O-Matics...actually have two extra. I'll bring some to Hukilau for my internet buds.

what I want is one of those hawaiian Ice machines you could make a heavenly mai-tai using the fine shaved ice

Thanks for all your advice. I ended up going to a huge Restaurant supply store that someone had suggested and I found a great manual juicer for $30.00, very similiar to juicers going for $100 or more other places.

I had never been in a restaurant supply store before, but I'm in love with it -- they have the coolest stuff!

In addition to all the bar supplies you could want, I found all kinds of marinades, sauces, and syrups, including orgeat.

I also picked up a dozen of those no drip bottle spouts for a $1.50 so I won't waste any more precious rum.

On 2003-01-03 23:24, Alnshely wrote:
At Trader Vic's in Beverly Hills they use a little open jawed hand squeezer. It doesn't have the little "cup" most handsqueezers have so you can really tear into citrus with it. I asked the bartender about it and he gave me this flyer. W. R. Smith and Co.
PO box 26160 San Diego CA 92196 619-530-1800 I have yet to order , but, I will.

They had these there as well. They didn't have a cup, but they did have a little strainer to stop seeds and pulp from passing through.

My recipe for simple syrup
(from the "Grog Log" by Beachbum Berry)
2 LBS sugar
2 cups water
heat to a boil, cool and bottle

I would definitely make my own over store bought simple syrup, but I prefer to use Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup best, as it has a slight hint of vanilla flavor that really adds a nice touch. And it smells great -- every time I open it, I take a big whiff like the pathetic sugar junkie I am.

-Mike

http://www.reemco.com
Of course our products are SAFE!*
*not responsible for any injuries caused by misuse of our products.

[ Edited by: TheMuggler on 2003-01-06 13:05 ]

On 2003-01-05 20:21, Talkie-Tiki wrote:
what I want is one of those hawaiian Ice machines you could make a heavenly mai-tai using the fine shaved ice

You can get these cheap most anywhere. I bought an ice shaver for $20 at Linens & Things a year ago, and I've seen them at Target for the same price. I'm sure they'll haul them out on display when it gets warmer again.

I use mine to make those nifty ice cones described in the Grog Log. Good stuff.

I'm puzzled as to why you'd need one to make a heavenly mai tai, though. As far as I'm concerned, all mai tai's are from heaven. :wink:

-Mike

http://www.reemco.com
Of course our products are SAFE!*
*not responsible for any injuries caused by misuse of our products.

[ Edited by: TheMuggler on 2003-01-06 13:12 ]

For the little jobs, I use one of the garlic type hand squeezers. Just cut the lime in half and take a little nub of the back so it can squeeze through the bottom- works like a champ.

But for the big jobs, I HIGHLY reccommend the following product:

http://ww1.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=schfname%7Cion%7Cp1%7Crshop%7Csjuicer&skus=30%5F96016&sid=WSW073H554LPOBYJDBFQZ9OZKNNLAZKR200301061403&root=shop

This little sucker is the Chevy big block V8 of juicers. It's a remorseless lime-killing machine. It can't be stopped. I already murdered my Salton- the ACME has been going strong for two years. Plus, that's a name you can trust, unless you're a cartoon coyote who fancies himself a super genius.

-martin

[ Edited by: martiki6 on 2003-01-06 15:10 ]

Thanks for the tips, folks. Grabbed a Juice-O-Matic off of eBay this afternoon for $6 and couldn't be more excited. I'll give it a few months before moving on to the Power Tool Department.