Tiki Central's Official Drink contest: Deadline over!

I've been kicking around the idea for a while now ... to have an offical drink, preferably one we name ourselves. One that's easy to make, and easy to get (cool) bartenders to make for us.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy, in fact the easier to make the better: Having to drive around to find some exotic ingredient will make it a little harder for some of our more remote members to make it.

So, I asking all of the great mixologists to put your brain to the test.

Dean TheJab: if you could help moderate, officate, and judge, well, that would make it a lot easier on me. Of course, you're welcome to come up with your own concoction, too.

Whoever (if any) comes up with the chosen Offical Tiki Central Drink wins a special prize!

Offical rules:

1. By submitting a drink recipe you are giving Tiki Central and its members the right to reproduce the recipe and drink it.
2. The drink has to be original. Don’t submit a drink recipe without changing something. Since there’s hundreds of thousands of drinks out there, some in books, some not, “Original” well be defined by our mixologist TheJab, but you can guarantee that if it’s a standard drink, it’s not going to win.
3. In order to not stifle creativity: all drinks that fit 1 and 2 will be considered. However, these are the qualities we will be judging them on:
   a. Taste– How good is the flavor?
   b. Tikiness – does it taste like a Tiki drink? This means Rums and tropical flavors may win out over other types of drinks.
   c. Ease of creation - This means finding the ingredients, preparing the drink. If your drink uses some special garnish or has a preferred mug, that does not count towards ease of creation. Only things that affect taste affect this rating. So, fruit squeezed into the drink affects it, but garnish does not.
   Creativity - Not just in the ingredients, but it the recipe. In the name. In the delivery.
4. There may be more than one winner, there may be none.
5. Hanford Lemoore reserves the right to modify the rules and deadlines at any time.

If you want you recipe to be a secret, send it to [email protected] and it'll be safe with me. If you’d like to post an entry here, feel free. James gets a special prize whether he wins or not for posting already.

Mahalo and good luck!

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2003-04-02 02:10 ]

You know, Hanford, Sam's seafood here in So Cal named a drink after Tiki Central. Dr. Z probably knows exactly what's in it but I think it's basically a mai tai that's got some blue cuaco in it. It's uaually my drink of choice when I go there.

Dr. Z?

On 2003-03-17 02:30, hanford_lemoore wrote:
Dean TheJab: if you could help moderate, officate, and judge, well, that would make it a lot easier on me. Of course, you're welcome to come up with your own concoction, too.

I'm honored to do it.

One that's easy to make, and easy to get (cool) bartenders to make for us.

One thought that comes to me right away:
Almost all good tropical drinks have either fresh lime or fresh lemon juice in them. That limits the number of bartenders who can make the drink. Not too many will squeeze fresh juice. I don't think the official drink should necessarily have to be one that almost any bartender can make by request.

Most of the drinks I've come up with are strained and served up in a cocktail glass. I would think that the official TC drink is one that would be served in a tiki mug- seems more appropriate to me. I'd also say:

1. I second thejabs suggestion/observation that this have either fresh lime, fresh lemon, or a combination. It really is a hallmark.

2. I would prefer that it not be blended and slushy, but over ice. There's some great blended drinks out there to be sure, but some people really don't like blended drinks as they come with too many bad memories of syrupy pina coladas. But who doesn't like a drink over ice in a tiki mug? C'mon, who? I dare ya to post that.

3. Another prime classis ingredient that isn't too exotic (anymore) is orgeat. Might that be a part of it?

Just some ideas to bounce around.

-martin

On 2003-03-17 14:25, martiki6 wrote:
Most of the drinks I've come up with are strained and served up in a cocktail glass. I would think that the official TC drink is one that would be served in a tiki mug- seems more appropriate to me.

Agreed - the drink should be served in a Shecky mug.

One thought that comes to me right away:
Almost all good tropical drinks have either fresh lime or fresh lemon juice in them.

Yeah, that's cool. I am worried more about instructions like: "Take a coconut and break it open... pour the juice into a glass then lightly toast the rind in a toaster oven, then scrape the rind into a blender..."

~Hanford

*On 2003-03-17 13:14, Luckydesigns wrote:*You know, Hanford, Sam's seafood here in So Cal named a drink after Tiki Central. Dr. Z probably knows exactly what's in it but I think it's basically a mai tai that's got some blue cuaco in it. It's uaually my drink of choice when I go there. Dr. Z?

Wow, I didn't know that. Was it posted here? I've never been to Sam's. Dr. Z, do you know???

I don't think the drink has to be named "The Tiki Central" to be the offical drink. I think there's probably room for plenty of drinks.

~Hanford

Yeah Pop, I like putting it in our Shecky, seems like a nataural.

I'm thinking rum based here... but not some hoity-toity specific rum that I can't get here on the East Coast. It's got to have Global appeal.

so far, sounding good! fresh lime juice, rum, over ice in a shecky mug... excellent start!

I'd vote for something not too sweet, but rather tart and sweet, to better match the personalities of most TC members! :)

I agree the recipe should be something with universal mixability, with easy access ingredients. I'd also like to have an "official mixology & serving" protocol, like the style of mug, and type of garnish. Those details wouldn't have to be followed for a great drink, but would add to the authenticity of a classic exotica cocktail.

:tiki:

I'm going to chime in here as a cocktail waitress. Please, please no blended drinks, drinks with wierd ingredients, or too many ingredients. I hate it when people come into my work and ask for a "surfer's piehole" (make up any name) Many establishments come up with their own drinks and people go elsewhere to order and are stunned when you say, "I don't know what that is" to which they reply "well go ask the bartender HE'LL know" I say "I worked in bars 9 years and have never heard of it, tell me what's in it" Many times they say "I don't know" or if they are the bartender who made up the drink that everyone should know by NOW, they rattle off a list of 5 liquers (always some peach schnaps, midori, or apple pucker) with just as many "fresh" juices.
If we are going to make up a drink that we'll drink in public, please make it simple.My work is guilty of this to as we have a shot called "wet pussy" and I tell people not to order it anywhere else or you'll get slapped!

An easy way to do this is replace one part of an existing drink. For example, I love Cadillac Margaritas with Amaretto insted of Gran Marnier. Also if you are a regular at a bar and your special drink requires a special ingredient, take them a bottle to keep behind the bar for you. I'm sure they'd do this for us at Sam's.

I'll be working late trying to come up with a new drink for us. I tried to make a "flaming bitch shot" named after hulalula, one night- Mango liquer with a float of 151-light and yum! But I got a bloody nose on my way home from work, my 2nd in my life. Is it related? I don't know and won't try it again to find out.

Let's keep it open to other types of alcohol-not just rum. I know this sounds gross but I'm not a fru-fru drinker, (a Manhattan with bitters is a fru as I get) but try Remy Martin with pineapple juice. It is yummy and tastes like a tropical drink.

This sounds like a fun hangover!

[ Edited by: laney on 2003-03-17 16:34 ]

[ Edited by: laney on 2003-03-17 20:01 ]

Laney,

I thought you worked at a strip club? If you're serving alcohol, it must be something like a Sugar's you work at?

You know, the more I think about this, I think we ought to give up on the idea that we can come up with something that a regular bar will make. In response to laney's post, I think she's absolutely right to tell us not to bother barstaff with a thousand strange ingredients. And even if we kept it to relatively normal ingredients, complicated drinks just irritate bartenders (unless you tip well) and I'll tell you what will happen: You'll tell them the drink includes (for example) 1.5 oz of pineapple, .5 oz fresh lime, 1 oz orange, and 2 oz rum, and they will just pour a slug of everthing into a shaker and be done with it. If you want fine measurements to be handled well on a drink with more than two ingredients, you'd better go to the Tiki Ti or Vic's. Yes, this is a generalization, but this drink was to be taken into general bars right?

No, I think we should focus on a drink that we can make without too many strange ingredients, for those of us in far flung locales, like kick-the-reverb. That way, we can make it for home bar parties, pre-crawls, the Oasis, Mondo, etc.

Which makes me ask the question: To those of you not in California, particularly in the big middle part of the U.S.: How easy is it for you to get Kern's nectars or their equivalent: papaya, guava, mango, etc? Because that should be a factor in this decision.

I also really think for the sake of tradition that we should stick with rum as the base liquor, with plenty of room for other things, like gin and brandy (a la Samoan Fogcutter)

-martin

PS- There's no way we'll come up with something that will taste good to everyone. Except those of us who are hopeless drunks and drink Sterno.

.

[ Edited by: purple jade 2006-03-20 21:31 ]

formula.. almosth there....

firsth 23 tries today, not sutthessful... going to keep try..... hwaaarf

On 2003-03-17 16:33, laney wrote:
I'll be working late trying to come up with a new drink for us. I tried to make a "flaming bitch shot" named after hulalula, one night- Mango liquer with a float of 151-light and yum! But I got a bloody nose on my way home from work, my 2nd in my life. Is it related?

"Instant Karma's gonna get you...."

Yeah, the main idea isn't to ONLY concoct a drink that bartenders will make it for us. I know that's a sketchy proposal all the way around. I think it would be cool to have a drink that doesn't take 15 minutes to make, doesn't take 2 months to find all the ingredients, and isn't real easy to fuck up while making. It could be tough for the Judges if I we to do that for each entry.

I'm not expecting to get a bartender on a busy night at a popular bar (like Trad'r Sam's or Bamboo Hut) make it, but perhaps on a dlow day, if you get the right bartender you could get them to fire one up for ya.

And who knows, maybe we can get a Tiki Bar or two to add it to their menu.

I think the focus of the drink should be (in order):

1. Tastes good.
2. Is fairly original (not just a renamed standard, although changing 1 or 2 ingredients of a standard is fine)
3. Isn't real complicated to get ingredients or make.

Fresh lemon or lime juice is no big deal I don't think. If no bars will make it for us, again, no big deal. But the easier we make it, the easier it is for everyone to enjoy!

~Hanford

I agree with Martin in that I would rather us have a delicious traditional style drink that would be welcome in the Grog Log or Intoxica (vol. 3 perhaps?) rather than one that any bartender can whip out. Who cares if we can't walk in to any bar and order it?

Just no silly names like Scooby Snacks OK? Somebody tried to order one of those in the Fisherman's Grotto the other night. The bartender was nice but had no clue what that was. He suggested a grasshopper instead. "Flaming bitch shot" indeed!

Any base liquor should do but not vodka exclusively. We want to be able to taste the booze right?

To the best of my knowledge, the "TikiCentral" Jeff makes at Sam's is a standard pineapple juice-based Mai Tai with blue curacao used instead of orange curacao - exact same taste, interesting color!

While I'm a hoity-toity Mai Tai purist and will mix nothing but THE Trader Vic version here at the Castaway Lounge (especially now that I've finally secured my St. James rum connection...), I've had at least one "TikiCentral" every time I've been to Sam's. They're pretty good and I really like to be able to order them by name! Jeff is the only one who makes 'em, I think - the other guy (whose name I can't remember) doesn't seem to know about them...

I think it's a pretty good candidate for being the "official" TC drink as it has a lot going for it already: it's already being made under the name "TikiCentral"; it fits the criteria of being a common, easily made drink with an easily substituted ingredient (as Laney suggested) and is rum-based (as Martiki suggested - I mean really - a TikiCentral drink based on something OTHER than rum??); any bartender that can make a Mai Tai usually has blue curacao behind the bar, too; but I also think that it has the extra bonus of being (you have to actually see it...) SHECKY COLORED!!

Of course, I was going to suggest that the "official" drink be one that can only be made one-at-a-time (none of this Sparkletts bottle/serve yourself stuff...), but that kinda kills the Sam's TikiCentral right there...

Maybe we could have different 'levels' ala "Member","Centralite" and "Socialite"?

On 2003-03-17 16:45, Tiki_Bong wrote:
Laney,

I thought you worked at a strip club? If you're serving alcohol, it must be something like a Sugar's you work at?

Bong, like you don't know the laws here in CA. Sugars is a bikini bar, totally nude joints can not serve alcohol, and topless places, (like Fritz That's Too where I waitress) can have a full bar. They all have different licensing requirements.

"Scuby Snacks" are pretty common ultra fru-fru shots. Anyone tried my favorite fru-shot a Washington Apple? Crown, Apple Pucker and a splash on cranberry juice-yum tastes JUST like an apple! Everyone keep in mind that some of the best drinks are made with things you wouldn't think go together.

Oh yea, I think hulalula changed her name to TC'ers RULE. Hmmmmmmmmm?

On 2003-03-17 17:48, martiki6 wrote:
In response to laney's post, I think she's absolutely right to tell us not to bother barstaff with a thousand strange ingredients. And even if we kept it to relatively normal ingredients, complicated drinks just irritate bartenders (unless you tip well)

Don't we all tip well anyway??? If a customer is cool and comes in with a new drink idea we make it, take a straw, dip it in, cover the top with our finger and taste what's at the end. If it's good and the guy tips well we'll make it again. So this thing could actually catch on! If we make it easy to make and good. Maybe we could call it something simple like a "Tiki-Tiki" or "Freaky Tiki"

Just think of going into any bar and ordering a Tiki-Tiki! SWEET!

Doctor Z's suggestion sounds good, but I have another one:
I know the name isn't very Tiki, but from the Grog Log I suggest "Pieces of Eight":
Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Passion Fruit syrup and White Puerto Rican Rum.
Easy to make, tastes great - not too sweet, very sour and refreshing.
Maybe we can substitute the white rum for dark rum to make it a little different.

Ran

On 2003-03-17 23:56, kick_the-reverb wrote:
Doctor Z's suggestion sounds good, but I have another one:
I know the name isn't very Tiki, but from the Grog Log I suggest "Pieces of Eight":
Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Passion Fruit syrup and White Puerto Rican Rum.
Easy to make, tastes great - not too sweet, very sour and refreshing.
Maybe we can substitute the white rum for dark rum to make it a little different.

Ran

Sounds good, but as Hanford stated I think we are looking for something original.

After last night, I think the drink should be water! ouuuuu my head You could add a frsh lemon or lime but ouuuuch my head I should have drank more water last night. I'm going back to bed ouuuuuuuuuuuu

I think laney was on to something.

We need to totally change our strategy. Why invent a new drink, that will only catch on at a few bars that we personally frequent, that will lose popularity in a few months because we are all sick of drinking it?

I suggest a total PR spin rehaul: "Operation Tiki Freedom"

We should get the word out that shots of rum are now called Tikis, or TikiCentrals, or something like that. I leave the nomenclatural deliberations to you, my fine colleagues. Why invent a drink when a perfectly good one already exists - without a name! Hopefully, we can get the entire world to start calling rum by another name. Then, in revisions of classic books on the fictitious Atlantic trade triangle, all mentions of rum will be replaced. We can totally revise history. Whuhahahah!

If you think this sounds like too much work, then I will give you my suggestion for a drink:

Two parts coconut rum and one part Pacific saltwater in a navy canteen, with a shaky landing on a hastily built airstrip.

It is with that suggestion, and with that suggestion alone, and with a heavy heart, that I end this post.
-Thor

We have Kearns nectar in Portland. Very little availability of Trader Vic liquors.

Perhaps the So Cal or No Cal TC could have a "bake-off" type of contest. Set up a panel of judges and let recipes be submitted for consideration. If nothing else it would be an excuse for another get together.

Hmm.... how about a Tiki Oasis mixologist showdown?

:tiki:

Well, the idea here is to invent the Tiki Central drink. Getting it to catch on and be made outside of our home bars is secondary.

I do think that coming up with a name for a rum shot is a brilliant idea, though. We could have a bunch of different shots, all with cool names. Like, 3 different rums in a shot glass. Or a shot of rum with a teasoon of pineapple juice in it, or something like that.

~Hanford

I've seen Kerns in Phoenix but ran across Jumex in the Mexican import aisle and promptly forgot to look further.

OK, can we make sure the TikiCentral drink can be made in all TikiCentral zones?

In other words, it can be made in Israel (until kic_the_revurb leaves), Britain and Europe, the East Coast, Canada, the Deep South, then the West Coast. Then finally, Gecko and the Islands crowd must be able to make this fine drink in the same way it was first made half a day ago.

Trader Woody
PS - We need more Tikiphiles from the Far-East to make Tiki Central truly 24 hours!

On 2003-03-19 14:41, mrtikibar wrote:

Perhaps the So Cal or No Cal TC could have a "bake-off" type of contest. Set up a panel of judges and let recipes be submitted for consideration. If nothing else it would be an excuse for another get together.

I love this idea. We set up some basic rules (i.e. must have rum!) and have all the recipes submitted with the exact intructions for name, proportions, ingredients, assembly, and presentation. We make each one for a tasting panel- without the name of the drink or it's creator so it's anonymous. Each panel member rates it based on certain criteria- does it achieve the balance of sweet/tart/alcoholic content in a pleasing way, aroma, appearance, etc. Jab can moderate. Then we could have a southern california panel try them, and a northern california panel try them, and then send the two champs head to head.

Didn't mean to sound California-centric, but we can get big groups together in a hurry. Maybe NYC? Don't want to get too many cooks in the kitchen.

I know it sounds a little anal, but I think it would be fun.

Thoughts?

-martin

I will definately voulenter to be part of the panel. I think the show down is the only way to really make it fair and universally excepted. I think Pup is onto something, maybe we can hold it at the Oasis.

$10.00, maybe $20.00 entry fee to pay for ingredient costs. A workable list of ingredients to be supplied for recipes submitted. It could be fun.
P.S. maybe funds from the Raise-a-Tiki fund could be recovered for an event. I have no idea where my $20.00 ended up.

I think the meeting to taste the entries sounds like a great idea. However, I won't be attending the Oasis so I won't be able to judge if it's there.

When are the drink ideas going to come pouring in? I started experimenting at home last night. Maybe I'll have to declare myself the winner!

Well, perhaps we should have the judging up here. I'm not going to be at the Oasis either.

I propose a deadline of the 28th. And remember, the winner gets a special prize!

~Hanford

Here's a name suggestion:

THE TIKI STANDARD

Since we are trying to make a universal tiki drink, afterall.

...okay, no one has actually submitted a recipe yet, so I'll kick things off.

I agree that the main ingredient should be rum, as it is the most traditional liquor in the classic tropical drinks, but I have this rum-free recipe that I have been tweaking over the past few years that I can donate to the cause.

It is loosely based on the pisco sour recipe used all over south america (and on Easter Island), but extensively modified.

5 ounces Pisco Capel
4 ounces sour mix
3 ounces orange juice
1 ounce Triple Sec
1 ounce rock candy syrup
limes / pineapple chunks

After shaking, pour over crushed ice in Moai-shaped Tiki Mugs.
Squeeze 1/4 lime each into the Tiki Mugs, and drop the rind in. Add umbrella skewering pineapple chunk. Serves two or three.

I just call it a gringo-ized Pisco Sour, but I could easily see calling it an Aku Aku, or some other Easter Island influenced name...

Of course, Pisco Capel is not seen in many bars, so that is the one strike against this drink. But it's a start.

What else do y'all have?

On 2003-03-19 15:53, Trader Woody wrote:
OK, can we make sure the TikiCentral drink can be made in all TikiCentral zones?

Yah, i think universally available ingredients is a must for the rules. Hanford - since this is a contest... what are the rules?

I like that idea about doing a few local tasting contests and since we do have a big T.C. event coming up in April - Mondo Tiki - do the final judging of the various local winners and announce the final winner there?
Maybe Sven would be a celebrity judge?

Thanks Futura Girl for reminding me, here's the offical rules:

1. By submitting a drink recipe you are giving Tiki Central and its members the right to reproduce the recipe and drink it.
2. The drink has to be original. Don’t submit a drink recipe without changing something. Since there’s hundreds of thousands of drinks out there, some in books, some not, “Original” well be defined by our mixologist TheJab, but you can guarantee that if it’s a standard drink, it’s not going to win.
3. In order to not stifle creativity: all drinks that fit 1 and 2 will be considered. However, these are the qualities we will be judging them on:
   a. Taste– How good is the flavor?
   b. Tikiness – does it taste like a Tiki drink? This means Rums and tropical flavors may win out over other types of drinks.
   c. Ease of creation - This means finding the ingredients, preparing the drink. If your drink uses some special garnish or has a preferred mug, that does not count towards ease of creation. Only things that affect taste affect this rating. So, fruit squeezed into the drink affects it, but garnish does not.
   Creativity - Not just in the ingredients, but it the recipe. In the name. In the delivery.
4. There may be more than one winner, there may be none.
5. Hanford Lemoore reserves the right to modify the rules and deadlines at any time.

If you want you recipe to be a secret, send it to [email protected] and it'll be safe with me. If you’d like to post an entry here, feel free. James gets a special prize whether he wins or not for posting already.

Mahalo and good luck!

~Hanford

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2003-03-20 00:18 ]

PS: Please notice while technically universally-available ingredients are not required, Easy Of Creation is an important element the drink will be judged on. I hope that clarifies it for everyone. You can submit a drink that uses exotic ingredients, but it might not fare so well.

~Hanford

Atomic Tiki Mai Tai
1 oz. Light Rum
1 oz. Gold Rum
1 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz. Orange Liqueur
3/4 oz. Grenadine
1 oz. Fresh Lime juice

Mix 1-2 oz. of this concoction with
3 oz. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice or Real Fruit Punch

Pour into an iced Tiki Mug
Serve with:
Colorful Bendie Straw
Sliced Orange
Pineapple Wedge
Paper Umbrella
AND Plastic Monkey Garnish

You are now Atomic Tiki powered!

[ Edited by: Cherry Capri on 2003-03-20 01:31 ]

Tiki Breezy
A refreshing tropical cocktail that will blow you away!

3 oz. orange juice
1.5 oz dark rum
.5 oz. grenadine
dash of bitters
pinch of nutmeg
Finish with about 4 oz. lemon lime soda (7up, Sprite or other)

Stir and serve over the rocks in a tall 8 oz. Tiki mug.
Garnish with orange wedge, paper umbrella and straw.

For a less sweet version, skip the grenadine.
A non-alcoholic version of the Tiki Breezy, the "Tiki Tee" for teetotalers, is also very tasty. It's a lot more interesting and complex than a plain ole Shirley Temple.

The Tiki Torture

16oz. Rum
Bucket
Pillow
aspirin optional

It's funny Monkey, I used to make that drink too, except you sustitute whiskey for the rum. I called it sophmore year of college.

Cheri, that drink sounds delicious! I'm gonna have a hell of a weekend trying these recipies out.

Spike

[ Edited by: Luckydesigns on 2003-03-20 12:18 ]

I'll be in Reno Friday-Sunday - mainly drinking at Trader Dick's. So I won't be able to taste all the concoctions until the middle of next week. Let's make the deadline March 31 so some of us can perhaps meet next weekend (March29th) to try them out. Perhaps at my place in Oakland, or at Martin's? If that's OK with you Hanford.

Dean,

The deadline for entering is the 28th. I figured judging would occur some time after that. We can't judge before the deadline has passed.

I think it's fine though, have fun in Reno. We'll judge sometime after the 28th!

~Hanford

since we wouldn't be here without the stylings of don the beachcomber or trader vic( or WWII for that matter), i suggest the mai tai or zombie. F! originality, let's go with tradition.
if it is universal ingredients one is looking after, i suggest the

"chief lapu lapu", because all i gotta say is : "bro the chief lapu lapu kicks ass",

and it is easy to make, in fact i think i'll have one now..

thank you and drive through supporting our troops

Come on! More entries please!!

~Hanford

Question first...
Would you guys even consider a drink that has Malibu in it?