Extolling the virtues of the basement tiki bar

A great thing about the basement is not only is it a warm tropical getaway in the winter it is also a cool retreat in the very hot summer. I raise a glass to all the basement dwellers out there from six feet under in the Hukilau Lounge.

Amen to that!!!!
Been loving the Basement the last few days....

Well it's a year and a day since I started this post. We have our first snow today and I'm laid off again. No better time to get the bar in order for some heavy winter escapism. Give a good dusting to the place. Make sure the mood lighting is just right. Hell I may even reorganize the booze behind the bar. Rotate the exotica selection you say?.....done. Shine all the glassware and lastly a new menu for the bar. This time of year the the busy season for my home lounge and I glad folks enjoy the basement escape.

I'll be setting up the aluminun tree in my lounge tomorrow, Trav.

Man, I'm gonna admit, I'm kind of jealous of all the basement bars. My idea of a classic rumpus room or home bar is always set in a basement, with cold, dark, dreary winter weather just outside the confines of the sanctuary. It just seems like the juxtaposition makes it that much better. It's like getting under your blankets after the cold walk from the bathroom (or kitchen, or garage...I really don't care where you get ready for bed.) That's kind of how I imagine it at least.

But I don't have a basement, so I guess this is all just my wishful assumption. :)

I miss basement bars, especially this time of year. In my general area the basements are mostly dirt and cinder block based. I plan on sitting in my one nearly finished tiki lounge chair and look at home listings while sipping a drink or three.

One day I may have a basement bar... I do have a basement. A good portion of my basement is my music room and it is quite tiki-fied. I have four resin-chunk lamps, and a few glass floats, tiki mugs on a retro wall shelf, a couple of tiki lava lamps, and then guitars, ukuleles, congas, bongos, drum kit, organ, marimba, and all the electronics, etc. It's got a pretty cool feel, but hard to get a good picture if it.

I can honestly say that having my home bar makes winters in Wisconsin a lot more tolerable. When it's freezing cold and the snow is piled up deep, I can retreat to my own little slice of paradise.

I know that a lot of people suffer from seasonal affective disorder and tend to get depressed during the winter months. I have one comment for them: build a tiki bar. It works wonders. Forget things like light-boxes, the deviced used so people are exposed to more daylight and vitamin D in the winter. A tiki bar is worth a dozen light-boxes when it comes to raising one's spirits -- sorry for the pun. A tiki bar may not provide vitamin D, but it certainly provides relaxation and vitamin C.

It's always easier on the face and limbs falling upstairs when under the influence of strong libations, than falling downstairs.

Surely, the best reason possible for having a basement bar?

I was watching the season finale of The Walking Dead last night and (no spoilers) they were in a basement bunker of sorts and, in the corner... a tiki bar. It's good to know that, even in the event of world collapse and zombie takeover, people still have their priorities straight.

Uncle Trav,

Basements are hard to come by out here in California, I am jealous.

I found this old photo of a couple dancing at an indoor luau staged in the Basement Bar and thought of this thread.

Looks like some of the items were purchased from the United Airlines Luau Party Planner catalog.

DC

Bottom right corner has a fake pig with an apple in its mouth wearing what looks like a couple garters. That completes the luau vibe in my books. (gotta lose the black socks though brah) Cool pic that captures the never ending quest to bring paradise into your own personal asylum.

Stayin' cool here in Chicago...at least today. Most other days have circled cool straight into COLD this winter.

Alas, the condo association won't let us build a bar in the basement (and... you wouldn't want to even if they'd let you) so we'll have make a couple Suffering Bastards and belly up to the ol' Llama to get through the winter...

--Pete

It's Saturday and it's cold. I just turned a Christmas gift certificate for the liquor store into a bottle of Appleton Estate Extra and I am good to go. The space heaters are roaring as I write this and I will soon be juicing lemons and limes. I have some guests coming over this evening and the exotica is ready to chase the chill from the air. Nothing will raise your spirits like good company with good cocktails. We may not have palm trees swaying outside here but I couldn't see them from my basement lounge anyway. To all of the other TC members stuck in the snow, this evening I will be raising a Mai Tai to you. Tonight is cocktail night in the exotic underground of Kalamazoo.

Hey, Trav!
I'm holding a car club meeting in my basement lounge this evening. There'll be Exotica, Rum & PuPu. I've got 2 1/2'-3' of snow outside & it's about 27 degrees. We'll be warm & toasty in the Mauna Kai Lounge tonight. I'll post some pics, later. The name of my car club is the Idol Mixtures.

Well That's two of us. Looks like a multi-state event!!!!!

I say thee nay to snow and cold weather. Especially since I had a pipe burst in the basement and it filled up with a few inches of water forever dashing my hopes of turning it int o a small lounge. Basement tiki love will have to wait a while longer in Lansing.

Having experienced ErkNoLikeFire’s part of Michigan in January about a decade ago, I’d advise that any freezable commodity in that basement bar contain at least 25% ethanol, in case the heat fails. Trav’s choice of Appleton Estate Extra, at 43% ethanol by volume, should be good to pour at temperatures below minus 10 degrees F. Depending on the mixers and the ambient temperature, one might need to float some 151 proof to maintain the resulting cocktail in a liquid state.

Luckily I have 2 5ths of Lemon Hart 151 to alleviate any frozen drink issues. Unfortunately for some reason that mystifies me, 2 bottles of Orgeat that I haven't a clue how they got down there were frozen solid. I now have two 5ths of syrup cicles.

Hang in there Erk. I know all about the water in the basement issue. If it gets deep enough you can have a real dive bar. Tom, I had plenty of antifreeze for the guests last night so no problems with the cold at all just a very pleasant evening.

After last daughter moved out mid '09, her upstairs room became her father's Tiki-theme music room. Couple big windows for light, no basement "vibe" wanted, thank you. "Quest for loght and ventilation"

It's been a delightful daily-use place and sanctuary-micro asylum. No formal bar, plenty of ambiance, tho.

You folks taking advantage of e-piping in some Exotica-Lounge-Surf-Crime Jazz music from Cudra Clover's Exotica Hour podcasts from Maui? Free and excellent!

Thanks for the music tip, Jim. I'll have to check it out.

On 2011-02-12 13:40, Big Kahuna wrote:
I'm holding a car club meeting in my basement lounge this evening. There'll be Exotica, Rum & PuPu. I've got 2 1/2'-3' of snow outside & it's about 27 degrees. We'll be warm & toasty in the Mauna Kai Lounge tonight. I'll post some pics, later. The name of my car club is the Idol Mixtures.

Hey Big Kahuna,

I know next to nothin' about cars but I know plenty about booze! Would love to see the Mauna Kai sometime and in return you & yours are invited to Chongo's Lounge in Brimfield (not too far from Grafton).

'Course, my bar's only open in the warmer months on account of no insulation. All I can do is press my nose up against the cold patio doors and dream of Summer...
(Almost defeats the purpose of the damn place!)

Time to fire up the space heaters kids. The first snow of the season is falling in my part of Northern Polynesia and it has been waaaaay to long since my last cocktail night in the home lounge. Need a new sound system and have to rearrange the bar a bit to fit in some new items. A perfect time of year for a bit of faux Polynesia to take the chill off.

Trav, though it's a beautiful sunny morning in Florida, the flames are dancing in the faux fireplace next to the Blowfish Bar, as temperatures are in the bone-chilling 50s.

-Tom