Because You Asked (How to Make a Mai Tai)

Recently, more than a couple of folks have asked me about how to make a Mai Tai. Here's my recipe, kinda sorta based on the recipe of Mai Tai originator, Trader Vic. It could probably use a bit of tweeking but I'm rather inclined to keep it as is and no one's complained yet.

• 2 jiggers of Jamaican rum (Appleton Estate Reserve)
• 2 jiggers of Martinique rum (St James)
• ¾ jigger of orange Curacao (Yes it must be orange!)
• ¾ jigger of Trader Vic’s Rock Candy Syrup or Saint James’s Sucre de Canne
• ½ jigger of orgeat (to be honest, I’ve recently been using Italian orzata)
• Juice from one fresh lime
• Shake vigorously with crushed ice
• Add a sprig of fresh mint and a maraschino cherry
• Enjoy!

There are a gazillion valid recipes out there and lots of opinions. And if you're looking for a good one at a bar in London, the best I've had have been at Trader Vic's and Trailer Happiness.

Tuesday night at Sugar Cane tiki bar in Clapham Junction, London

Here's a little diddie from last night's get together at Sugar Cane, a pretty cool newbie tiki bar in Clapham Junction, London. Big thanks to MrBaliHai for organizing this impromptu gathering and to Sugar Cane for the attentive service, fine drinks and good eats!

tuesday night @ sugar cane
a short film by chris osburn featuring:
will kane, world of kane
trader jim, pocketiki
mrbalihai, eye of the goof
sian, exotic tramp
tiki racer
tiki chris

I ♥ T-Shirts: Forbidden Island

Comfortable, practical, and these days the only accessory you need to make a statement, it's hard to imagine a world without the ubiquitous T-shirt. I ♥ T-Shirts takes a subjective approach to this modern fashion phenomenon with each post dealing with a favorite shirt.

Shirt: Forbidden Island
Designer: Tiki Diablo (the tiki on the back), Martin Cate (lettering), Hanford Lemoore (boards, tiki torches and flames)
Price: ???
Purchased: Gift from the Forbidden Island staff
Status: Top of the stack!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in November (seems like ages ago now) while tiki road trippin' through California, I had the pleasure of mingling and drinking a few times at Forbidden Island, a fine little Polynesian-themed bar in the East Bay town of Alameda. In a show of aloha spirit, the folks there were kind enough to slide a free FI T-shirt my way. Mahalo! It's a comfortable Hanes "Tagless 6.1" (whatever that means), and I wear it often. There's a big ass tiki on the back of the shirt (an image based upon an actual carving in the bar). The graphics on the front are pretty awesome too. I love the crossed tiki torches and wonky letters. I'm not sure if you can order the shirts online (click here for the FI website) but that's all the more reason to visit one of the San Francisco Bay area's coolest bars.
























Interested in contributing a review of a favourite T-shirt or perhaps sending along a sample Tee to be reviewed? Click here to access my email address. Then, send an email with a brief description of your idea/product along with any relevant online links.

I ♥ T-Shirts is sponsored by Chongolio's Lost-Isle.

Hukilau 2008, Ft Lauderdale, June 12-15

The Hukilau 2008 dates and events have been announced. Check it! I had all sorts of fun at last year's event, which provided all sorts of Tiki Chris blog fodder.

California Road Trip: Forbidden Island

I’m back from an incredible adventure along the California coast. Arriving on Halloween, I started in LA, dipped down to San Diego for Tiki Magazine’s “Tiki Island at the Bali Hai” art show and then cruised up to the Bay Area for the Tiki Central Tiki Crawl with all sorts of memorable pit stops along the way. Most of the time, travel buddies Tiki Racer (who'd flown over from England with me) and Chongolio (who’d flown in from Kauai) were by my side. In retrospect, the whole trip seems very Wizard of Oz, with fascinating characters, new and old friends making appearances and plenty of lessons learned. However, when it came time to fly back, I was clicking my heels wishing I could stay just a little bit longer.

The Tiki Crawl was an absolute blast with plenty of good times. Some of the best moments were by no coincidence at Forbidden Island, a fine little Polynesian-themed bar in the East Bay town of Alameda. What a place! Phenomenal drinks (I highly recommend the house cocktail, the Nui Nui and the Monkeypod) in a honest to goodness Tiki setting (kitted out by folks who know). To have opened only in 2006, the place oozes with atmosphere and ranks up there with some of the all-time great Tiki bars of yore.


















This may sound incredibly stupid and cheesy but Forbidden Island kinda reminded me of a Tiki version of "Cheers" - everybody seemed to know each other. The bar certainly had the vibe of being a preferred drinking establishment. Of course, there was plenty of aloha spirit for first-timers like me. Regulars aren't necessarily all that local either. If only I were a little more local though. I would love to spend more time drinking at Forbidden Island!

Click here to view my Flickr set of photos of my visit to Tiki Farm and be sure to check out all my California Road Trip posts!

Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

California Road Trip: Tiki Crawl!

I’m back from an incredible adventure along the California coast. Arriving on Halloween, I started in LA, dipped down to San Diego for Tiki Magazine’s “Tiki Island at the Bali Hai” art show and then cruised up to the Bay Area for the Tiki Central Tiki Crawl with all sorts of memorable pit stops along the way. Most of the time, travel buddies Tiki Racer (who'd flown over from England with me) and Chongolio (who’d flown in from Kauai) were by my side. In retrospect, the whole trip seems very Wizard of Oz, with fascinating characters, new and old friends making appearances and plenty of lessons learned. However, when it came time to fly back, I was clicking my heels wishing I could stay just a little bit longer.
























The gods must have been with me when I initially planned to make the Bay Area the final destination of my California Road Trip. Without knowing it, I had arranged to be there just in time for the Seventh Tiki Central Tiki Crawl (Indeed, the Crawl had not even been announced yet). I had almost made it to this event a few times in the past but more pressing matters always managed to get in the way. At long last, this was the year.

I've been gabbin' online at Tiki Central for the better part of a decade and subsequently have made some pretty great friends without ever meeting most of them in person. It was so awesome to finally put names to faces and talk in real time. Gosh, everybody was so flippin' nice. Mahalo to all for the hospitality, especially my hosts for the weekend, TofuJoe and Haole'akamai!

As anyone who was there could tell you, I took several zillion photos during the event. For the time being, I'm gonna hold on to them until my article about the Crawl (with pics) appears in the Spring '08 issue of Tiki Magazine. Of course, there are plenty of photos and commentary over at Barefoot Bloggin', and of course on Tiki Central.

Make sure to check out all my California Road Trip posts!

Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

California Road Trip: Tiki Farm

I’m back from an incredible adventure along the California coast. Arriving on Halloween, I started in LA, dipped down to San Diego for Tiki Magazine’s “Tiki Island at the Bali Hai” art show and then cruised up to the Bay Area for the Tiki Central Tiki Crawl with all sorts of memorable pit stops along the way. Most of the time, travel buddies Tiki Racer (who'd flown over from England with me) and Chongolio (who’d flown in from Kauai) were by my side. In retrospect, the whole trip seems very Wizard of Oz, with fascinating characters, new and old friends making appearances and plenty of lessons learned. However, when it came time to fly back, I was clicking my heels wishing I could stay just a little bit longer.


Leaving San Diego, Tiki Racer, Chongolio and I zipped up the road to San Clemente, home of the "purveyors of Polynesian Pop," Tiki Farm! In case you didn't know, Tiki Farm is the word in Tiki mugs. The odds are pretty good that, even if you didn't realize it, you've at least seen a mug that came through here. And if you're even remotely into Tiki or low brow art, you probably own some.


Founder/president, and all round cool kahuna, Holden Westland kindly opened up his warehouse (on a Sunday morning no less!) for us to snoop around and drool. He showed us sketches of pre-production mugs and dug out some of the first ones he ever produced. He also opened up his awesome private bar, Mugoomba, for us. As was the case at Oceanic Arts, all that Polynesian Pop in a warehouse setting made my head spin. In addition to a few incredibly generous freebies, Holden was thoughtful enough to throw in a couple of bottles of Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix for our next stop, Ken Ruzic's studio (more on that in my next post)! Mahalo for taking the time for us, Holden!




Click here to view my Flickr set of photos of my visit to Tiki Farm and be sure to check out all my California Road Trip posts!

Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

California Road Trip: Tiki Island at the Bali Hai

I’m back from an incredible adventure along the California coast. Arriving on Halloween, I started in LA, dipped down to San Diego for Tiki Magazine’s “Tiki Island at the Bali Hai” art show and then cruised up to the Bay Area for the Tiki Central Tiki Crawl with all sorts of memorable pit stops along the way. Most of the time, compatriots Tiki Racer and Chongolio (who’d flown in from Kauai) were by my side. In retrospect, the whole trip seems very Wizard of Oz, with fascinating characters, new and old friends making appearances and plenty of lessons learned. However, when it came time to fly back, I was clicking my heels wishing I could stay just a little bit longer.
























One of the main reasons I traveled to California was to attend "Tiki Island at the Bali Hai," a group exhibition featuring several of today's top Polynesian Pop artists. As the name implies, the show was held at the Bali Hai restaurant on San Diego's Shelter Island (see Thursday's post about Trader Mort's for a description of Shelter Island).


The Bali Hai, a fifty four year old Polynesian-themed restaurant of circular shape with an infamous and iconic crowned head of a "Goof" atop its roof, provided an excellent setting for the show. A good number of Tiki fans made it out to the event, which featured live music by Hapa Haole band, the Smokin' Menehunes. Many of the exhibiting artist were also on hand, coming from as far away as Hawaii (Brad "Tiki Shark" Parker, Thor and Chongolio), Georgia (Derek Yaniger), Florida (Hassan Patterson) and England (Tiki Racer). A number of the artists in attendance had participated in my Halloween Skull Mask Project. It was awesome to have 'em all in one room and to shake their hands. Equally awesome was finally meeting Tiki Magazine's publisher Nick Camara and senior editor Eileen Silva, both whom I've worked closely with as TM's marketing director but had yet to actually meet in person. The presence of so many enthusiastic and talented people created a palpable buzz. It was a real fun night filled with aloha.


Click here to view my Flickr set of photos of the Bali Hai and be sure to read more about the "Tiki Island at the Bali Hai" art show in the Spring '08 issue of Tiki Magazine.

Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

California Road Trip: Tiki-Ti

I’m back from an incredible adventure along the California coast. Arriving on Halloween, I started in LA, dipped down to San Diego for Tiki Magazine’s “Tiki Island at the Bali Hai” art show and then cruised up to the Bay Area for the Tiki Central Tiki Crawl with all sorts of memorable pit stops along the way. Most of the time, compatriots Tiki Racer and Chongolio (who’d flown in from Kauai) were by my side. In retrospect, the whole trip seems very Wizard of Oz, with fascinating characters, new and old friends making appearances and plenty of lessons learned. However, when it came time to fly back, I was clicking my heels wishing I could stay just a little bit longer.





















I spent two nights in Hollywood at the beginning of my trip with both nights ending up at the half century old landmark cocktail bar, Tiki-Ti. And with good reason! I sampled some of the best cocktails I'd ever had, including the Tiki-Ti's signature drink, Ray's Mistake. Concocted in 1968, Ray's Mistake (named after original Tiki-Ti owner Ray Buhen) is a mix of "our own super secret flavor, botanic liqueurs, passion fruit ... floated with Dark Corub rum." Some mistake. This liquid masterpiece tasted unlike any drink I'd ever had and is one I highly recommend.

Interestingly, the Tiki-Ti is one of the few watering holes in California where people can legally smoke. Because the bar is solely owned by father/son duo Mike and Mike (Junior) Buhen, smokers at the Tiki-Ti are thus able to blow smoke through a legal loophole and ignore the Los Angeles County smoking ban. The two nights I was there, this fact seemed to be a big selling point for a number of patrons.

My first night at the Ti (Halloween) was particularly nice as my travel partner Tiki Racer and I were greeted at the bar by Tiki Magazine photo editor Jonpaul Balak and his super sweet lady friend Marie. I hadn't seen those kids since Hukilau and was pleased to discover they had waited (quite some time) for the Racer and me.



















Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

Schmap!! Ft Lauderdale: Mai-Kai Photo

Yep, that' s my "Schmap" shot on the Mai-Kai page of Schmap's Ft Lauderdale listings. Here's a closer look:

Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

Click here for a bunch more of my Mai-Kai pics Flickr.

Tiki Magazine presents Tiki Island at Bali Hai

Mark your calendars!

Click here for more info.

Hukilau 2007 Photos

Here are some of my photos from Hukilau 2007. Good times! Among the many highlights was finally making it to the Mai-Kai. Wow - worth the trip alone! I hope to make it back in years to come and to bring a few more folks with me.

General Hukilau photos:

Mai-Kai photos:

Jetsetter Lounge photos:

Make sure to check out the Summer 2007 issue of Tiki Magazine for more photos as well as my review of this year's Hukilau.

More London Luau photos!

Click here to visit TikiSavage.com and see more great pics from the London Luau!

London Luau 007

London Luau 007
by Chris Osburn
Londonist
June 11, 2007

The main event of the weekend was an actual Hawaiian-style luau on Saturday night at Trader Vic’s, replete three bands, two DJs, one suckling pig per table and plenty of gleeful imbibers clad in loud floral-print aloha wear.

Click here for complete review.

Tiki London: Index of London's Tiki Landmarks

For our upcoming Tiki London limited edition print, Tiki Racer and I came up with a list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Black Pearl
British Museum
Cuming Museum
Gerry's Wine and Spirits
Intoxica
London Aquarium
Mahiki
South London Pacific
Trader Vic's
Trailer Happiness

The posters have gone to press and will be ready for purchase at the London Luau's Market Place on Saturday 9 June (10am-6pm) and Sunday 10 June (11am-6pm) at the Old Truman Brewery (Studio 95) on Brick Lane. Following the London Luau, remaining prints will be available to the wider public.

Click here for some background info about the Tiki London project and make sure to come back for more details about the Tiki London limited edition print!



The Tiki London limited edition print will first go on sale at the 2007 London Luau.

Tiki London: Trailer Happiness

For our upcoming Tiki London limited edition print, Tiki Racer and I came up with a list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks. Last but not least on our list (in alphabetical order) is Trailer Happiness.

A stroll down Notting Hill's Portobello Road (the same street as another Tiki London landmark, Intoxica Records) brings the thristy to the 'retro-sexual haven of cosmopolitan kitsch and faded trailer park glamour' cocktail bar known as Trailer Happiness. Trailer H boasts one of the best Tiki drinks menus anywhere. You can even choose your Mai Tai to be Trader Vic's style or Don the Beachcomber style. One note of caution: BEWARE THE ZOMBIE!

Check back soon for for more details about the Tiki London limited edition print ... and how to get your copy!















The Tiki London limited edition print will first go on sale at the 2007 London Luau.

Tiki London: Trader Vic's

For our upcoming Tiki London limited edition print, Tiki Racer and I came up with a list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks. Next on our list (in alphabetical order) is Trader Vic's.

With the sad and recent demise of the Beverly Hills Trader Vic's, London's Trader Vic's is now the oldest. The restaurant dates from 1963 (with much of the same great décor) and has been consistently slinging out magnificent Mai Tais and other dreamy cocktails ever since. One of the great shrines of Polynesian Pop, Trader Vic's is located on Park Lane in the basement of the Hilton and well worth a visit.

Check back soon for the next in our list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks and for more details about the Tiki London limited edition print.















The Tiki London limited edition print will first go on sale at the 2007 London Luau.

Tiki London: South London Pacific

For our upcoming Tiki London limited edition print, Tiki Racer and I came up with a list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks. Next on our list (in alphabetical order) is South London Pacific.

South London Pacific is the oldest of London's newbie Tiki bars. The masterminds behind SLP seem to have wisely anticipated the New Wave of British Tiki as well as the cocktail culture trends of the past few years. It's a fun place to drink and very popular on the weekends. SLP's kooky South Seas design is the work of Josh Collins, the same guy who tiki-fied Intoxica Records.

Check back soon for the next in our list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks and for more details about the Tiki London limited edition print.















The Tiki London limited edition print will first go on sale at the 2007 London Luau.

Tiki London: Mahiki

For our upcoming Tiki London limited edition print, Tiki Racer and I came up with a list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks. Next on our list (in alphabetical order) is Mayfair hot spot, Mahiki.

Mahiki is London's newest Tiki bar - and also it's trendiest - attracting the likes of Madonna, Paris Hilton, and Prince Harry. And, like the great tiki drinks establishments of yore, Mahiki has a beautifully illustrated drinks menu designed by Tiki Racer.

Check back soon for the next in our list of London's 10 Most Tiki Landmarks and for more details about the Tiki London limited edition print.















The Tiki London limited edition print will first go on sale at the 2007 London Luau.

Jungle Psychotica by the Fisherman