Sippin' Safari "Review"

Kaiser Penguin has a "review" of Berry's new book. I've posted a few recipes as well!

http://www.kaiserpenguin.com/sippin-safari-a-book-advertisement/

Thanks for posting this!

Even without all the new "Lost" drink recipes it is a fascinating exploration of the history associated with the great names of Tiki past and present I read the whole book in a single sitting . . . couldn't put it down! I also especially liked the breakdown and recommendations of ingredients although some of the sources are not readily available to the general public.

Let's go sippin' now
Everybody's learning how
Come on and safari with me
(Come on and safari with...)

Early in the morning we'll be startin' out
Some honeys will be coming along
We're loading up our coolers
'Till they're bursting with ice
And headin' out singing our song

Come on baby wait and see
Yes I'm gonna take you sippin' with me
Come along baby wait and see
Yes I'm gonna take you sippin' with me
Let's go sippin' now
Everybody's learning how
Come on and safari with me
(Come on and safari with...)

A Kon Tini expedition
Going back in time
From one Tiki port to the next
At some point we'll be hitting the Forbidden Isle
To catch some tunes on Project X

Come on baby wait and see
Yes I'm gonna take you sippin' with me
Come along baby wait and see
Yes I'm gonna take you sippin' with me
Let's go sippin' now
Everybody's learning how
Come on and safari with me
(Come on and safari with...)

I really got my mojo
Workin' overtime
I'm not sure if I'm asleep or awake
But I'm whippin' up Zombies just as fast as I can
While I'm walkin' on coals I don't bake

Come on baby wait and see
Yes I'm gonna take you sippin' with me
Come along baby wait and see
Yes I'm gonna take you sippin' with me
Let's go sippin' now
Everybody's learning how
Come on and safari with me
(Come on and safari with...)

With me...
...Sippin' Safari
With me...
...Sippin' Safari
With me...
...Sippin' Safari
With me...
...Sippin' Safari
With me...
...Sippin' Safari
With me...
...Sippin' Safari
With me...
...Sippin' Safari

The revelation of the book for me was the 1934 Zombie recipe.

I have always urged people to try the Mai Kai's Zombie. It is really unique and quite different from any other Zombie recipes out there. Then I had this original Zombie recipe and I realized, my god!, the Mai Kai recipe is close! That Zombie I have there is not the exceptional recipe, it is the original.

Very incredible journey. I felt like I was on that voyage of discovery myself that day in the Yankee Clipper as The Bum unfurled his story and then handed out our ration of grog... I had sailed home to the Molokai Lounge...

I'm gonna have to try that one soon.

Just wanted to chime in. I couldn't be happier with Bum's new book. You should buy it.

I also would like to chime in, and say Sippin' Safari is an amazing book. I think the Bum has outdone himself. His forte has always been the rigorous research, and this book has it in spades. Plus the recipes are fantastic and art and photography are lovely.

My only complaints are the lack of the spiral binding and the smallish type on the recipes (I might just pick up an extra and have it rebound.) Otherwise, It's a beautiful book, great for bedside reading or barside mixing. if you don't have it pick up a copy. If you don't have his previous tomes, be sure to get those NOW--or pick up an extra for spillage! (Actually, to anyone out there who doesn't have the Grog Log already, GOOD GOD MAN what are you thinking?!)

[ Edited by: Quince_at_Dannys 2007-07-06 08:00 ]

I consider this book as my new bible pocket.
It's not a new cocktail book, it's THE book of the history of my favorite part of tiki culture : the bars and cocktails.
The stories are fantastic, and it's great to read about the early days of tiki bars, that is not so well known.

And I was the happiest man to have the pearl diver cocktail made by the Bum and listen to his stories while sipping it at the Hukilau.

On 2007-07-06 08:51, virani wrote:
And I was the happiest man to have the pearl diver cocktail made by the Bum and listen to his stories while sipping it at the Hukilau.

Yeah, you got the full-size drink while the rest of us had to make do with the itty bitty plastic sample cups! But, gee, I guess you deserved it, having flown half way around the world to be there and all. :)

And, about Sippin'... The Jim's Special wins the award for "Best Cocktail with Least Inspired Name". Love the drink. Not so fond of the name. Although I guess I would if I was Jim.

GatorRob,
you will have to make it out to Tiki Ti and meet Jim, you will have more appreciation for the name then

I just got my copy of Sippin' Safari in the mail today from Amazon. The book is fantastic, except for some reason my copy is randomly missing pages 161-176. They haven't been torn out or anything- looks like a printing defect. Has anyone else had this problem with a copy from Amazon or is it just my lousy luck?

Sorry to hear about that Fugu. Mine was fine but I ordered it directly when they were first anounced so I can't comment on the Amazonian affect.

On 2007-08-11 22:03, Fugu wrote:
I just got my copy of Sippin' Safari in the mail today from Amazon. The book is fantastic, except for some reason my copy is randomly missing pages 161-176. They haven't been torn out or anything- looks like a printing defect. Has anyone else had this problem with a copy from Amazon or is it just my lousy luck?

Mine is from Amazon and it has all its pages. But Amazon has a pretty good return policy so you should be able to either have it replaced or get your money back. Check the web site for details -- or the info that came in the box it was shipped in.

Yeah, I just printed out all of the return stuff and the process was pretty easy. They are supposed to be shipping out me out a new copy, and since the original was defective the return shipping is free, so I can't complain too much. I was just so excited to finally have my copy, and now I have to wait again. Oh well...it's definitely well worth it!

This Tiki tome is THE history of Polynesian pop as seen through the cocktail glass. What stellar research! It goes much further than just into the mysteries of mixology, it reaches deep into the history of Tiki culture as a whole. So many open questions are finally answered, so many new findings enlighten the curious Tikiphile. And the rare images tie it all together, what a joy to behold. A lil power book that packs a punch!...oh yeah, and it contains some fine old, previously unknown cocktail formulas, too !

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-08-12 22:23 ]

A great book, indeed. Not only some great recipes, but a terrific read. My only complaint is I haven't been able to finish it, because my wahine keeps taking it- she can't put it down!

Cheers,
Ray

[ Edited by: Urban Tiki 2007-08-13 06:47 ]

On 2007-08-11 22:03, Fugu wrote:
I just got my copy of Sippin' Safari in the mail today from Amazon. The book is fantastic, except for some reason my copy is randomly missing pages 161-176. They haven't been torn out or anything- looks like a printing defect. Has anyone else had this problem with a copy from Amazon or is it just my lousy luck?

I pre-ordered mine direct from SLG Publishing and it was missing about 20 pages. I received a replacement last week, a month and a half after I reported the problem:(

This is a great book. Got my copy a while back and been reading quite a bit. I was surprised, expecting something more like the previous books, but the Bum did some amazing research and got some great stories. I love this book!

I read this book flying from Columbus to Houston and back on a business trip. Couldn't put the thing down. Much as I like all the previous Berry books for recipes, this one was a great read front to back. Extremely informative and interesting. Highly recommended.

A truly terrific read, but just a reminder to check for missing pages when you get your copy. I purchased a second copy through Borders just a couple of weeks ago - today I went to show a co-worker the Zombie section, and was stunned to find Pages 105 - 120 missing. I would have thought the publisher would have caught all the defective copies by now.

Now the important question - are the Sippin' Safari's with missing pages a future collectible? Will I be able to trade it for a flying car in 2037?

Beachbum has perfected his methods with these recipes. I am in debt to his advanced tastebuds.

Jeff Berry does his research, no doubt. His investigation into the elusive "Don's Mix" ingredients was tenacious and determined, or at least it read that way. One thing I've always been confused about with Jeff Berry's books- he's researching all these lost recipes drawing from all these veteran minds, including Ray at one time and certainly Mike Sr. The Tiki-Ti is, from what I can tell, his "home bar" of sorts. As he explains in chapter 6, Mike Buhen offers assistance in solving the Don's Mix mystery. But now that almost all these lost recipes are out there for the public, I wonder how Mr. Berry and the Buhens relate. It's as if the apprentice became the master, not that Mike or Mike Jr. could give a shit, at least from what I know of them. They seem like they do their thing and they like the way they do it, whether or not it pleases the Tiki people. But it does strike me as incongruent that Sippin' Safari calls for butter in the Pearl Diver and Pearl Diver Punch, yet the center of the center, the mecca, the Tiki-Ti, does not use butter (unless I wasn't watching close enough, I don't know). Of course it seems a little overboard to actually use the Pearl Diver's mix, I tried it and it seemed superfluous. So if they don't, I don't blame them. If they do, I'm blind. It's just the little things like that. I believe the last time I had a Sumatra Kula at Tiki-Ti, it was green. Maybe it's just Don Beach's recipe with some food coloring in it, but still, it was green, and in Safari there's no coloring agents listed (blue curacao, etc). Perhaps this bothers me because I'm on the west coast and Tiki Ti is close to me and I hold them in high regard. The recipes in Safari were not the attraction for me, the stories were the real interest, even though two of them had already appeared in some form or another elsewhere. Grog Log and Intoxica were consistent presentations of the best tropicals curated by an expert with impeccable taste and expertise. Safari seems, recipe wise, like mop-up duty. Old Don Beach leftovers that use lime, grapefruit and orange juices over and over. And now the Tiki-Ti menu no longer holds much mystery for me, except for that green stuff in the Sumatra Kula.

On 2007-10-18 19:20, Registered Astronaut wrote:
And now the Tiki-Ti menu no longer holds much mystery for me, except for that green stuff in the Sumatra Kula.

What about Ray's Mistake then?

True, Ray's Mistake, Carribean Limbo, Hawaiian Twist, Space Pilot. I looked at the menu last night and realized I still couldn't make 40% of the drinks on the menu. A few I could attempt to mimick, probably with lame results. Tiki Ti also does a hot buttered rum during december which is "off menu" but quite worth it. They use Myer's in it but I'm sure you could ask for something else. I'm ranting because I just had a nice mint julep.
Astronaut
P.S. I have a story about Sippin' Safari. I usually obtain Jeff Berry's books at Wacko (de La Luz gallery). They hadn't gotten it, or hadn't ordered it, much after its' release, and I don't believe in buying books online...so one day I found myself at Forbidden Island after a Raiders game. Much to my dismay, it was a limited cocktail menu because they were having a parking lot sale. I was totally dissapointed, because I really wanted the whole Martiki experience, but I ended up not ordering anything because I wanted a China Clipper or nothing at all. So I wondered in the parking lot and found the book for sale and bounced out to "Aculpulco," which is a Mexican restaraunt but not the chain version you are thinking of. They had beers, no tropicals. But I got the book.

Just got my book yesterday and I'm pouring through it! Really gets a person excited about mixing drinks. I think I'll order one for each of my bars-- no bartender should miss this book-- I'm making it required reading!

I just wanted to start reading it but in my copy the pages 9-24 are missing. I will keep it, cause I want a flying car one day...