Denver Tiki - General info, events, etc.

Gabbahey,
If you're looking to do some serious shopping, I'd probably pay the extra cash to get in at five. There's always the chance you miss that fantastic find in the first two hours! Plus the line at the bar gets long after 7...

Passing through denver and boulder - am i correct in my research that there isnt a current publically operating tiki bar in the area? Any tips?

Thanks!
Mr. Ho

Twin dragon in south Denver is a old school chinese place that does tiki drinks in new mugs. Heaven dragon in western Arvada is another option near Boulder. I love their food and atmosphere. They take great pride in their tiki drinks and their volcano has a good amount of gin which I like.

I feel you would have a good time going to Bastien's on east colfax for a sugar steak. Not tiki in the slightest but is a mid-century steakhouse frozen in time. Neat building.

Just a few suggestions - I moved two hours south a few years ago where the pickings are even worse. Maybe some current Denver residents will chime in.

gabbahey

For those of you not in the know- it's finally happening!

http://maukatiki.com/
Mauka Tiki is opening mid October- and I'll be working there!! It's down on Broadway, a half block north of Alameda. Martin Cate of Smugglers Cove is SF is consulting on the menu, they're very focused on customer service and making the drinks consistent, AND they've got piles of bamboo and a bunch of tiki, including two 15 footers coming to put on each side of the entrance. Killer patio too- with a lava fire pit! They're truly doing it right!

Follow them on FB and Twitter, if you're on there, for more announcements and to see picts of the building progress!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mauka-Tiki/183123931728821
http://twitter.com/maukatiki

Once we've got a set opening date, I'll let you all know!

Double good news....congrats Michelle!

Great good heavens.
At work yesterday we received an entire case of Lemon Hart 151 from one of our distributors.
The real LH151... the old LH151... the holy grail LH151.
Come and get ya some.
Davidson's in Highlands Ranch.
And hurry before I buy all of 'em myself.

Burleyque,
If you're still looking for some local Clement Creole Shrubb, Mrs. Moai found it at Applejack last week. Two bottles left after she bought one.
Any updates on Mauka Tiki?

Thanks!!
Mauka is looking good and we'll be open at the beginning of December. As soon as we have a firm opening date, I promise you all will be among the first to know! Also we'll be having several tastings and pre-opening parties - to get on the invite list send an email with your favorite cocktail to [email protected]

Come on come all!!!
From the Denver Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Moai.
http://www.fraternalorderofmoai.org/

The Kahanui are once again hosting a Chinese New Year Meet & Greet.
This years event takes place Friday Jan. 20th 2012 the fun starts 7pm or earlier for the drinking crowd.

Location will be the Twin Dragon
http://www.twindragonrestaurant.com/con ... ation.html

Seating is limited to the first 60 folks that RSVP here or send me a PM.

To the Fellowship... you know why you want to be here...

There will be a raffle to help support our local charity Foothills Animal Shelter.
http://www.foothillsanimalshelter.org/

Aloha ya all.......
I was sittin' at some french absinthe bar / bistro in the highlands Saturday night when Jay Dedrick walks up to my table and sits down.
We talked about everything under the sun. Nice guy.
He's super excited about his Mauka tiki bar and has been working on it seven days a week.
They went to California and trucked back the two Fifteen foot tikis. Now they just gotta figure out how stand them up and make sure they stay there without pulling the building over. 2000 lbs each they gotta stay still.
He grudgingly had to shake up management already but is still hoping for a December opening.
And I guess mostly the reason for this letter is I just wanted to share his excitement in the enthusiasm Denver has in Tiki culture and mentioned Steve (Fink) and Michelle (burleycue) by name.

Good job ya all....See ya there.......Mr. Dale

1340 am..... Newish radio station ran by professor Mikey of radio 1190 Fame. But whats cool is he brought along the policy of playing local bands in the mix. And this week blasting out of the speakers was our very own Mike and Maraca 5-0. A little local surf band warmed my cold December heart. Buy Local....listen local.

I went by O.A. today and Bob was telling me that they shipped a truckload of material to Mauka Tiki. Sounds promising. My best wishes for this to turn out right, for all the true believers in the area!

We have high hopes but realistic expectations, but we will support them.

High hopes - Realistic expectations - Support it in any event!

That seems like a good attitude towards many things, but especially towards such an investment into Tiki in these times. Can't wait to see some pics once it's open.

Hi all- If you haven't been down to Madison Street for Tiki Tuesdays, I highly recommend heading over there. http://www.madisonstreetdenver.com/specialspromos

Bartender Matty is obsessed with tiki cocktail mixology and has memorized a long list of great classic tiki cocktails- I think he's pretty much got Beachbum Berry's books down. He brings in his own home made Dons Mix and other ingredients, and has created some of his own tiki concoctions that stand up to the traditional recipes.

He's also going to be the head bartender at Mauka and has been testing some of the menu on those nights.

If you get there 4-6pm tiki drinks are $5, but the tiki drinks flow all night.

Hope to see some of you there!

Friday Jan. 6th.........Rock-a-billies tavern 12363 w. 64th ave in Arvada........

Its a Fish Fry and the Great surf band The Royal Aces. "Fish dinner and Surf bands you say!?"...thats right brothers and sisters....sure its Arvada but it might as well be a beach in heaven.

Okay...thats a little much huh? ha.

xoxoxo......Dale

Just a heads up- this Tuesday is the last Tiki Tues Matty will be heading up. It's his last night at Madison Street before he moves over full time to the tiki bar to get our program in order. So head down there this Tuesday!

Kevin Burke from Colt and Gray will also be behind the bar- and if you have been to C&G you know Kevin has some serious love for the tiki cocktails, especially historic recipes!

Michelle

Bumpity bump

For the FOM Chinese New Year Meet & Greet!!!

^^^^^^^^^^
I would like to meet some of the up north Denver Tiki folk this year!

Oriental theater.....Wed. February 8th......Horror flick Dawn of the dead.

But it also says $3 Zombies......

I'm gonna have to check on this. A $3 Zombie has got to be a seriously bad beverage......but what the hell. Monsters and cheap drinks could make for one awesome good evening. Long walk from here but I've done worse.

http://www.theorientaltheater.com/show/detail/55386

Apparently Matty Durgin has brought Tiki Tuesday back to Denver at the Coupe Bar/Ghost Plate & Tap. Of course, it was last week (3/27)! Anyone aware of this becoming a regular event for Tuesdays and Tiki (and hopefully myself)?

-Lava

Adrift Tiki Bar is now OPEN! Broadway and Alameda!

The Kiddos and I went tonight and it was very well done....drinks, food and decor are top notch.......Good Job to Jay Dedrick and crew.

It was very nice to see our own Michelle behind the bar looking lovely as always.

But it was also very cool to see all those smiling faces who have longed for another tiki bar to come along since the demise of Boyds........

Tiki Hosts and surf Band Couple Erin and Mike.....as well as all the brothers and sisters Of the FOM........Mike, Patrick, Scott, Jason and Piper......and many more.....

Thanks for Tuesday invite Lava.....we'll have to meet up one of these warm summers nights.....

Adrift is beautiful.
The Brando mural in the back is magnificent.
Can't wait to go again.

I cannot tell you how happy I was to see members of my Denver Tiki family at Adrift last night loving the decor, the drinks and all smiling ear to ear. I remember how dissapoined we've all been in the past with other Denver attempts at Tiki, so it was so gratifying to hear you all complimenting the drinks and looking so comfortable and happy hanging out in Adrift.

I'll be there Mon, Thurs and Fridays and possibly Wed nights too. Come in and see me!

Saturday the 21st a few of us old cats have decided to meet up in the highlands and bicycle it across town to the lovely Adrift.

Were gonna gather like vagrants in front of Amatos Breckenridge brewery Ale house around 8...... and then parade it over the best bridge ever to work our way across to Adrift.

......and then later in all our sure happiness we'll somehow find our way back across downtown.

Its not planned to be a late evening as everyone seems busy Sunday but it should be a nice spring night.

anyone and everyone welcome to join.

-Happy Skull-ptures---

[ Edited by: Mr. Dale 2012-04-20 17:30 ]

Adrift is incredible...Great food, great drinks, and the buikld-out is totally authentic. Yerah for Denver!

Glad it is finally open, and we had a chance to visit it!

My friends and I 'drifted' into Adtrift last week (a few days before they officially opened). The kitchen was closed for the evening, but the drinks were fantastic. The decor is somewhat unique, with big murals instead of the mass of flotsam that usually fills every corner of a tiki bar. Unfortunately, the music coming through the speakers was awful. People on Yelp.com weren't exaggerating about that! It is a great addition to Denver, and brings Colorado's tiki total to 3 bars! Support them, and give them a chance.

...at least only 3 that I know of. There is Mountain Munchies up in Estes Park, Pug Ryan's Tiki Bar at the Dillon Marina, and Adrift. Am I missing any?

I was in Denver about the time it opened and took these pictures of Adrift:

I also saw in back, two large tikis (about 20 ft tall each) and I was told that they will be erected in the front of the building some day.

Does anyone know where the decorators for Adrift purchased all the bamboo, matting, lights, etc? Was it from somewhere in Colorado?

Most of it is from Oceanic Arts http://www.oceanicarts.net/

I got a lot of the bamboo for my basement bar from here http://www.calibamboo.com/

Thank you for the two links. I'll probably put in an order sooner than later! While I'd love to eventually drop a tiki-bomb in my house, I'm starting small. We just started on tiki-fying our tricycle. We'll need bamboo and matting for it and another bike in our garage.
Here is the Tiki Central thread for the work so far (in General Tiki):
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=34990&forum=1&10
Hopefully we can finish them up soon and ride them in the Denver and Ft. Collins Tour de Fat. They'll definitely be parked in front of Adrift for a few hours before weaving back to the hotel.

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-06-06 14:19 ]

ALOHA FROM ADRIFT!

Adrift is kicking off our new Sunday hours with a very special Father's Day Luau and pig roast! $15.00 all you can eat pig roast, Happy Hour Specials all day and all night, featuring $5.00 El Diablos, Bourbon Specials and Suffering Bastards. $4.00 Drafts and $2.00 off any Tiki Drink.

You don't have to be a dad to have fun on Father's Day at Adrift!!

Luau wear encouraged but not required.

June 17th 1:00pm - Close

218 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80209

I sent some info off to Humuhumu at critiki.com; Adrift is now on her website! http://critiki.com/location/?loc_id=811
Now if someone in Denver (MaukaHale?) could add a few decent photos, it would be official! All of mine are crummy phone photos.

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-06-08 12:50 ]

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-06-08 12:55 ]

Does anyone know where to buy Lemon Hart Rum here in Colorado? I've tried a few of the bigger places in Denver, Ft. Collins, and Glenwood Springs, but no luck so far.
Thanks for the help.

Winejester in Denver (Highlands Neighborhood) has Lemon Hart and all the other weird tiki extras. Argonaut on Colfax also has Lemon Hart. They had switched to new label last time I was in.

gabbahey

[ Edited by: gabbahey 2012-06-20 20:09 ]

Mark your calendar! It's the return of Tiki Fink Theatre at ADRIFT. July 15th at sundown.
Adrift is located at 218 South Broadway in Denver.

We will be showing Roger Corman's The Creature from the Haunted Sea ( 1961 )

Food and drink specials all night!

Any questions please PM me right here on TC.

[ Edited by: Tiki Fink 2012-06-22 15:19 ]

Check it out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/235507063234253/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

[ Edited by: Tiki Fink 2012-06-22 15:20 ]

Gabbahey, Thanks a lot. You saved me a lot of phonecalls. I'll definitely stock up next time I'm in Denver.

Monument? That sounds great and close! Thanks for posting.

Fraternal Order of Moai Meet and Greet @ Adrift
218 South Broadway, Denver, CO (blue bldg with tiki sconces)
Sunday, July 1st 5pm-9pm

http://www.facebook.com/events/257448611023096/

http://fraternalorderofmoai.org/huimalu/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14468

Avoid the smoke and Pele's revenge on our lovely state by drinking rum in a suitably tikified (and air conditioned and fireproofed) setting. Adrift offers up a fantastic array of tiki and classic cocktails accompanied by a top-notch menu. Meet your local Kahanui, participate in yummy beverage consumption and sign up for an exiting raffle to win many exotic prizes.

Can't wait to see you there!

-Lava

[ Edited by: HotLava 2012-06-27 22:08 ]

Anyone going to this?

http://www.voodooisland.org/Voodoo_Island/Welcome.html

[ Edited by: MaukaHale 2012-07-04 18:26 ]

I am! Looks awesome! and you can also get a discount if you want to stay there, just mention it's the Voodoo Island group rate:

Our room discount and block is now confirmed. Here are the rates:

Room
Classic
Superior

Single Rate
129
159

Double Rate
129
159

And Hula Moon is bartending, so the cocktails will be awesome! http://www.hulamoonbar.com/

Hey Denver tiki peeps -

The 9th Annual Tiki Fest is next weekend, July 14!

Everyone is welcome to swing by. This year's theme is "Asia Exotica," and that means Singapore Slings, Fu Manchus, Dr. Funks and more. For more info go to: http://www.tiki-fest.com. Email me @ [email protected] if you need directions.

See you there!

Lovely Mrs. Erin and Mr. Mike. Just got back in town but....as always..........count me and few buddies in. Awesome.

Excelsior, Mr. Dale!! :wink: