Jacksonville FL / Northeast FL Tiki

This is a general thread for tiki discussion pertaining geographically to the greater Jacksonville FL and Northeast Florida area.

Other "Jacksonville" threads here on Tiki Central are more specific in nature, and this one is intended to serve as a "catch all" for general messages and information.

The Jacksonville / Northeast Florida ohana is growing, but still lacking any real tiki anchor. Hopefully that will change in the future. For now we're a relatively small cadre of friends and social connections, and as we grow, we may be able to organize some formal events in the same way that others have done elsewhere in North America.

Mahalo and cheers!

To get things started in this thread --

Hamilton 151 has been available in Jacksonville, but is currently out of stock, at Grape and Grain Exchange in the San Marco district. This shop has, in the past, carried Lemon Hart 151 until it went away. Then they started carrying Hamilton 151.

They told me today that they re-ordered and expect a delivery next Friday, May 29th.

This venue is both a shop and a bar. They own, read, and learn from Jeff Berry's books. The ownership team is into tiki, but does not currently embrace tiki décor in their front bar or in their rear speakeasy. They are pretty popular, are always busy on the weekends, and are able to keep plenty of business happy so they can keep their doors open. Real mixology is practiced here, and at least some of it is tiki or tiki-inspired.

AceExplorer. Glad to see there are some other Jacksonville a Tiki enthusiasts. I am fairly new to the world of a Tiki,but I have a small back yard a Tiki a Bar and am interested in maybe meeting up with other Jacksonville locals who also love Tiki. I am happy that I found this forum as it has a wealth of knowledge.

Nautiki, thanks for reaching out! I'll send you a private message in the near future with details on a small event soon. We are working to connect more tikiphiles in this area, and we would enjoy meeting you and introducing you to some others here. Cheers!

"Cocktails & Island Culture"
I'm planning on attending this event in the north-easternmost corner of Florida, the town of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. There is a local distillery involved in this event - check them out at https://www.facebook.com/MarlinBarrel. This is not a tiki event per-se, but it is very likely, given the name of the event, that there will be some tiki present in the form of carvings and cocktails. There may even be some Party City and dollar store luau crap to be found as well - YAY! Actually, fund raising and charity events on the island are often elegant and classy because this is a town with several very high-end resorts where big names vacation. Don't miss this if you're in Northeast Florida. Drinks and appetizers are included. Details are below, and tickets are available from Eventbrite at:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/cocktails-island-culture-a-night-at-the-museum-with-first-coast-magazine-tickets-17086199282?aff=es2

Cocktails & Island Culture - A Night at the Museum with First Coast Magazine
Tuesday, June 30, 2015 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT) $25/person
Fernandina Beach, FL

Event write-up:
Join us for Cocktails & Island Culture, A Night at the Museum with First Coast Magazine featuring local guitar virtuoso, Dan Voll. Don’t miss out on craft cocktails from Marlin & Barrel Distillery, sweet treats from Nana Teresa’s Bake Shop and seasonal Southern fare from Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen and 29 South Restaurant.For more highlights and information, please visit the event website at http://www.firstcoastmag.com/islandculture

Ticket includes drinks and appetizers.

A portion of the ticket proceeds from this event will benefit the Amelia Island Museum of History.

Reminder to our Jacksonville ohana - "Cocktails & Island Culture" is tomorrow night, June 30th, 2015, on beautiful Amelia island.

Drinks & appetizers are included in the $25 ticket, and if you've never been to an event on the island, they're usually classy yet still casual, and always fun. More info, along with the link to buy tickets, can be found at http://www.firstcoastmag.com/islandculture

A new local distillery on the island, Marlin & Barrel, will be showcasing their products, so expect some very good tasting opportunities. (https://www.facebook.com/MarlinBarrel)

Wear a cool Hawaiian shirt; I look forward to seeing you there. Cheers and mahalo!

"Cocktails & Island Culture" last night on beautiful Amelia island was great fun! Local restaurants provided appetizers, and several cocktails were served featuring local distillery "Marlin & Barrel" rum and vodka. A small contingent of local Tiki Central folks made the drive to the island and we all had a great time.

Tickets sold out shortly before the event when the venue reached maximum capacity. The venue was the old Fernandina Beach town jail and the building has been transformed into a local history museum. The area has a rich history spanning several hundred years, and the museum has a number of very interesting displays. It includes information on our favorite rum-consuming pirates who "worked" in the area extensively before the Florida territory joined the United States.

The owners of the Marlin & Barrel distillery, Roger and Heather, were on hand showcasing their products and answering questions. Those who asked were able to taste their rum and vodka neat. Their spirits are made from Florida-grown cane molasses, and the quality and flavor of both were very good because they are careful not to over-distill their spirits and leave behind some of the pleasant characteristic flavors of the base ingredients. (Otherwise it would just be a bland high-grade version of grain alcohol, right?) The owners have travelled the world before settling on specific stills, methods, and ingredients, and their efforts have paid off nicely. While they were not able to sell bottles at this event, they do offer tours of their operation which is brand-new having opened just this past March 2015. Bottles are for sale at the distillery, and they also have a tasting room. A visit to the distillery is in my near future, and soon thereafter I am planning a visit for just a group of Tiki Central folks. I'll post more details on that soon. (https://www.facebook.com/MarlinBarrel)

I regret that I didn't take any photos to share - I was quite occupied talking with folks, and eating and drinking. It was great fun.

Aloha all! I'm in JAX this week for work, staying near the airport. Is there anything I should check out?

I attended First Coast Magazine's "Toast of the Coast - Cheers to craft cocktails" event in Downtown Jacksonville last night with Tiki Teresa and it was great fun. While not "tiki" per se, there were many of the finest craft bartenders competing, along with a number who ARE into tiki and who display an array of Jeff Berry's books and mixology products in their bars.

The event featured craft cocktails along a seasonal "holiday" theme, and guests were asked to vote for their favorites. But that's not all -- the event organizers invited some of the finest restaurants in the Jax metro area to participate with free samples, some of which were quite large samples. Shrimp and grits, barbeque, tuna poke', and many more amazing food items complemented the offerings of mixologists from Orsay, Moxie, Dos Gatos, Grape & Grain Exchange, Taco Lu, and more.

The magazine partnered with Absolut Vodka for sponsorship, which concerned me a bit, but then I saw that there were some fine rums on the mixologists tables.

A brief write-up by the magazine, along with a number of recipes from the event, are available here:
http://firstcoastmagazine.com/news/toast-of-the-coast-2/

I took a few photos, but had my hands pretty full with food and drinks most of the evening. It was great fun, and next year I will make every effort to mention this event here well ahead of time.

I was once again reminded that even though a mixology event isn't "tiki," you can still learn a lot from others about mixology which will help you step up your game in your home bar.

Cheers!

On 2015-07-20 15:21, Piratiki wrote:
Aloha all! I'm in JAX this week for work, staying near the airport. Is there anything I should check out?

Piratiki, sorry I missed your message when you were in town. It's been a busy summer, and maybe we can catch you on a future visit to our city. There ARE good places to check out here, and there IS tiki in a number of our better bars.