Tiki Central Canada

Happy Holidays everyone!!!We decided this year to add our Christmas scene at the end of the show so you can enjoy the regular show. So, as a bonus and our traditional Christmas show we have added a Christmas Carol scene for you from us (end of the show)!!This episode we will discuss the very tiki cocktail Voodoo Grog. This cocktail is like a combination of Don the Beachcomber's Navy grog and Trader Vic's Navy Grog. It was created back in the 50's by Trader Vic who was always trying to duplicate Don's drinks and so this is his attempt to make his version of the Zombie. It would come in a special Trader Vic Voodoo Tumbler which is very rare and no I don't have one. You can use a double rocks glass instead. It has a ginger bread kinda of taste and frothy as well. It will be made in a blender so yes you will need that!This drink will us Martinique Rhum which is a rum from the French Caribbean island of Martinique. Yes, it is spelt RHUM not rum. We go over the differences. This drink does contain an egg white but

Hi Guys, NOTE: This is not our regular show format as we don't feature a drink or its history at all. We been asked by many listeners, what rums I should have on my bar to make these tiki drinks? Do I need all these rums to make drinks? This is a tasting show that Cam and I did where we describe some basic rums from different parts of the world to give you an idea of what you need for our drinks. We will cover in this show the following rums: John Watling (Bahamas), Havana Ritual Spicy rum (Cuba), Gosling Black Seal rum (Bermuda), and finally Cam's favorite (I really do mean that as I have converted him from Malibu to Cruzan) Cruzan coconut rum (St. Criox). We will go over the locations of these rums; the distillation of the rums (pot/column) with video attached on what these means (on the website page); history of the rums; tastes; and smells plus drinks that you can use for them for. Page for the show is: https://tikicentralcanada.ca/rum-tasting/Enjoy as we sure did...LOL! We also will suggest some rums to

Happy holidays guys!!We know that our USA listeners just celebrated Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday (ouch!).We will be discussing Missionary's Downfall cocktail which is an original Don the Beachcomber classic. It is a drink that was actually inspired by the Cuban's Daiquiri which Don found while travelling the Caribbean. He was fascinated that they would alter the drink and this drove him to do the same.This is a blended drink and so yes you will need a blender for this amazing drink. BUT wait there is more...a second drink that is from Smuggler's Cove book that is less frothy and slightly different in texture. Smuggler's version is altered enough that they call it Aku Aku. What does that mean...well listen to find out.Don the Beachcomber: we give you recap of this amazing man who created tiki in North America and how he got his start. From bootlegger to valet to bartender, he had a great adventure for sure.On "Did You Know?" segment: we go over just how did Thanksgiving start in USA/Canada and why is

Hi Folks!This is a great episode that deals with a new spirit we haven't discussed before. This spirit is called Mezcal (which is Tequila's brother) as it is made from only kind of agave plant (Blue agave). We go over two different cocktails that contain this great spirit. Also, we discuss a holiday celebrated in Mexico called "Day of the Dead". This amazing celebration is a three day event that starts on October 31st and goes through to November 2nd. It is a time spend with the past deceased relatives who say come back to party with their family. The culture believes that there are several levels one must go through to get to heaven and so this event is a guidance in some way to help the deceased get to their final destination. It is looked upon as a positive moment and not a grieving moment as we have in our culture.The idea for the show came from an event I go to annually called the Third World Bizarre which is held every October here in the Ottawa region. This amazing event is a collection of arts and cra

Hi Guys,NOTE: This is not our regular show format as we don't feature a drink or its history at all. We been asked by many listeners, what rums I should have on my bar to make these tiki drinks? Do I need all these rums to make drinks? This is a tasting show that Cam and I did where we describe some basic rums from different parts of the world to give you an idea of what you need for our drinks. We will cover in this first part the following rums:Flor De Cana, Cruzan Aged rum, Plantation 3 years pale rum, Pusser’s Rum, El Dorado Demerara rum (5 and 12 year), and Bacardi Reserva 8-year rum. We will go over the locations of these rums; the distillation of the rums (pot/column) with video attached on what these means (on the website page); history of the rums; tastes; and smells plus drinks that you can use for them for. Part 2 will follow next month after our regular show....Page for the show is: https://tikicentralcanada.ca/rum-tasting/Enjoy as we sure did...LOL!We also will suggest some rums to use as star

Hey Folks....It's true ...CAM IS BACK!!!!!This episode is great to the tiki world as we discuss two famous tiki cocktails (that's right: two co-host equals two cocktails). Blue Hawaii invented by Harry Yee in 1957 in the Hilton Hawaiian Village (formerly the Kaiser Hawaiian Village) in Waikiki, Hawaii. Do you know the significance of that hotel in TV land today? Listen to find out!! Also, the Blue Hawaiian cocktail which has the tiki mystery of who created this delicious drink.We go over the Brady Bunch as Cam as returned to the tiki bunch...LOL!!The show is on its 50th anniversary being aired and the famous 3 episode Hawaiian vacation was aired on September 22nd, 1972 and was the first American TV show to film in Hawaii. HGTV bought the original Brady house (exterior shot house) and with the help of all 6 actors who played the kids rebuild the entire Brady house room by room on the "Very Brady Renovation" show which aired in September. Back to the drink...did you know that Harry Yee was the first bartender

Hi Guys,This is a special extra episode we came up with since it will be "Talk Like a Pirate Day" on September 19th. We decided to give you guys a cool episode just for the special day.The cocktail we will go over is Dark N Stormy cocktail since it looks like a stormy black cloud like the conditions pirates dealt with while at sea.We will go over Gosling rum from Bermuda for this cocktail. This special rum has a great story on how it started. James Gosling hit the seas with a mission to the New World and ended up in Bermuda. He figured that he may as well stay and make a business and eventually made rum. Navy sailors drinking ginger beer needed something more and BANG! Dark N Stormy was created!!The Recipe: 2 oz Gosling Rum, 4-6 oz Ginger Beer, 0.5 oz lime juice, 0.5 oz of simple syrup (if your ginger beer is spicy) and garnish with lime wheel. Build over ice in a Collins glass. So some terms to speak like a pirate:Clap of Thunder: A strong alcoholic beverage, usually referring to a shotHearties: Friends,

Hi Folks,Well the summer is over and we are back to work now. Yes :(This episode we will be talking about a cocktail named Nelson's Blood. Why are we drink his blood? Well, there is more to the story then just the drink. We have to start with Pusser's rum (British Navy rum). Why are we talking about this rum and what is its relation to the drink? Pusser's rum was a British royal Navy rum that was portioned out to the sailor from 1655 to 1970 (July 31st to be exact). It was then released to the public (who didn't have access to this prior). Black Tot Day is when the royal navy stopped handing our rations of rum to the sailors. The ships got to technical and the main reason for the ration in the beginning was to deal with hardship and not for drinking. So again...who is Nelson?Admiral Nelson was a killed in battle in 1700's in a colonial war and had requested that his body be put into a cask of Pusser's rum to preserve him for the long journey back to England. The problem was the journey took longer than expect

Hey Guys,So this is a first! This show is co-written by Mark Keill (our tiki expert). So tons of information. This show will be about a tiki bar in California called Tiki Ti. This amazing bar is created and was ran by Ray Buhen. Who is Ray? We will go through his history and that he worked with Don the Beachcomber and was one of the famous Filipino bartender that worked into the back of the bar. These bartenders made the secretive drinks that nobody knew how to make but these guys and ...wait for it...Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. We talk about him too and how he influenced the tiki culture we know today. But back to ray, he went from bar school to Don's to Seven Seas Polynesian restaurant to Christian's Hut (which has its own history) to The Luau and finally to opening Tiki Ti in 1961.The cocktail is called Puka Punch created by Ray. We go through a very detailed recipe with 4 different rums. Why do we need that many rums? Mark helps explain.We will also talk about a bartender technique called: Floating Here is a Y

Hey Folks! I hope you are enjoying the summer and some tiki drinks as well!!This episode will cover the cocktail named Chief Lapu Lapu. It is one of those typical tiki cocktails that have different stories of "who" and "when" this was created. We will cover the story with Don the Beachcomber and his Filipino bartenders that he had in the back room creating the secret cocktails. There is the legend of Chief Lapu Lapu from the Philippines who was the first leader who resisted the Porteguese's leader (explorer) Ferdinand Magellan who was the first to go all the way around the world and prove the earth was round. Yes, after Christopher Columbus. The recipes are the following as we cover three of them on the show:Don the Beachcomber's recipe: 1.5 oz light Puerto Rican rum (Bacardi), 1.5 oz Dark Jamaican rum (Blackwell), 3 oz orange juice, 2 oz lemon juice, 1 simple syrup, 1 oz passion fruit syrup. Shake and unstrained pour into a large snifter glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick. Serves 2 people.Jeff "Beachbu

Hi Folks!This episode is all about the “Suffering Bastard” cocktail and yes Paola brought along Justin to help us with Disney segment (and no…he is not a suffering bastard LOL). This drink was made back in the 40s in Egypt of all places. The bartender Joe Shalom, who was a Jewish Egyptian, made this drink as a hangover remedy due to poor supplies provided to the bar. He had to beg, borrow and yes even steal ingredients as tiki culture is like for ingredients. Joe spoke 8 languages and was a popular bartender who rubbed elbows with kings, the rich, and even movie stars. On our Disney and Tiki segment, we brought in Justin who has been to 11 out of 12 Disney parks and has a fascination for Tiki. He goes over some of the history on how Walt Disney infused tiki culture into his parks and still happens today. From talking birds and tiki statues to exploding volcanos, we cover it all in the segment for you. He even brought me a gift so listen to find out what it is…In “Did you know?” segment: we cover information a

Hey Guys,Sorry, for delay of the show (mostly scheduling and summer time which means landscape work and yes, the tiki bar being prepped for the season).On this episode, we will be discussing a classic old tiki cocktail "the Nui Nui" or now known as the "The Pupule" cocktail. It was on Don the Beachcomber's menu from the start. He would use code to make his classic cocktails and we explain how we got the recipe and our good friend Jeff "Beachbum" Berry techniques. By the way, "Nui Nui" in Hawaiian means crazy..and yes we are..well Paola more than me but that's another story.We talk about the recipe and specific glassware and garnish for this one...it's old fashion..and lots of peel!!On our Tiki Bar segment,we have our good friend and expert Mark "Indeed" Keill back to the show and yes Mark...Indeed!We go over on this segment about lighting, music, and equipment.To get all this information plus the part one segment as well, click the link below or go to our website to Mark's page.Tiki Bar (Mark's page): http://

Hey Folks,Sorry for delay but this is a great episode about the amazing holiday called "Cinco De Mayo" which obviously is celebrated every May 5th. Sorry by the way as there is a lot of Spanish names and locations in this episode and if you know me I am not great at Spanish!!We start the show by congrats to Paul Robinson who won our April contest and we do appreciate all who anticipated in it.So what is the drink of this great holiday? Margaritas!!!!We go over the very confusing origin of this drink which like a lot of tiki drinks has questionable starts. We will get you through them all: from a bartender who ends up being a milkman (yes!), to a spin off of a Mexican drink called "the Daisy", to Don Carlos who made it for a showgirl, to the drink made for a dance who was allergic to all spirits but Tequila (yeah OK LOL).We go through the basic recipe which is easy to make on the "rocks" or "frozen". The other recipes we discuss are the Sparkling Margarita (one of my favorites), to a skinny margarita (if yo

Hi Folks!!This special episode we will be doing TIKI TRIVIA with Paola and special guest Norma (she does our Travel Tips segment). We hope you have been listening to all of our episodes as the answers are in them.The link to the page to the questions so you too can follow along (we only do the first 9 questions on the show but see what you know about tiki and have you been listening to the show?). Link: http://tikicentralcanada.ca/tiki-trivia/The drink today: 151 Swizzle which actually started as a boosted Mojito cocktail back in the 1020's with 151 proof rum. You know once Don the Beachcomber got his hand on it that he would change the recipe. So, we cover his plus the glassware it comes in. Yes, it's another special tiki glass that you serve this in but as we discussed in the episode that you put it in whatever you can at your party.Here is the website link to order this special cup: http://beachbumberry.com/barware-swizzle-cup.htmlBy the way, Congrats to TIKIADVENTURERSCLUB on Instagram to win our contes

Hi Folks!!So we will be helping you on build and decorate a tiki bar since the summer is just around the corner. The drink that we will cover is Dr. Funk that has been in the tiki culture since the beginning...yes, the first tiki bar of Don the Beachcomber.The drink came from a gentleman who in 1920's, Well-known German-born physician, Doctor Bernard Funk, who spent 31 years in the South Pacific practicing medicine. This drink had several different names: Dr. Funk of Tahiti, the Mr. Funk, The Dr. Fong, The Dr. Wong and Dr. Sam Tee. Some of the names evoked the imagery of a contemporary cinematic super villain, Dr. Fu Manchu (yes, in the movie played by Peter Sellers who is guess who: Pink Panther Inspector Clouseau). Now, Trader Vic and Don's recipes we will go through on this show...Dr. Funk YouTube video on make Trader's recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWIblJ2ohCUWe brought in Mark Keill to help me go through some tips and tricks of how to start building a tiki bar and decorating it. This is part

Hi folks,This is a short interview with Mark Keill (our tiki expert) while at the "Made with Love" event which was held on April 1st here in Ottawa recently. The main episode from that event will be released on Monday April, 8th to listen to. Stay tuned for that one as we talk with Paola about the event and a cool tiki drink: Planter's Punch. We also go into some cool facts about Disney and tiki. On our "Traveler's tips" segment, we talk about why get that WiFi connection and why is safe and beneficial to tip the staff at the resort or taxis. Finf out why....

Hi Guys,Yes, we recorded this episode live at the "Made with Love" competition in Ottawa on April 1st. There will be in the background so I do apologize ahead of the time for the additional background noise. So, at this event we see the top mixologist in Ottawa making some amazing drinks and food.The drink we discuss on this episode is a classic tiki drink that has changed over the century it has been around called Planter's Punch...and yes that long!!It starts back in civil war times on the plantations and was made with Jamaican rum. Through time, this drink's name even changes from Jamaican Rum Punch to Planter's Cocktail to Trader Vic's Planter's Punch (he actually had four different versions of this drink on his menu as well). We'll give you the Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's version and Smuggler's Cove recipe as well. Here is a video link on how to make a Planter's Punch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-_VN-oB6wA&t=98sWe will then go into some cool facts about how Disney and Tiki are one in the same in

Hi folks, This will be a 11 part series of interviews from the competitors who will participating in the National "Made with Love" competition. This event will be held on Monday, April 1st, 2019 in the horticultural building from 5pm to 11pm. Tiki Central Canada will be there and record a live episode as well. Come by and check out our booth that will be tikified and cool tiki trivia for some prizes as well. The entrance fee at the door is $65 but that gives you an evening of amazing cocktails made by the best bartenders/mixoligist in Ottawa. There will also be some great food pairings with the drinks so come out and see the best of the best. This episode we talk to Warren Frederick from "headquarters" here in Ottawa.

Hi folks,This will be a 11 part series of interviews from the competitors who will participating in the National "Made with Love" competition. This event will be held on Monday, April 1st, 2019 in the horticultural building from 5pm to 11pm. Tiki Central Canada will be there and record a live episode as well. Come by and check out our booth that will be tikified and cool tiki trivia for some prizes as well. The entrance fee at the door is $65 but that gives you an evening of amazing cocktails made by the best bartenders/mixoligist in Ottawa. There will also be some great food pairings with the drinks so come out and see the best of the best.This episode we talk to Shane Gifford from "Jabberwocky Bar" here in Ottawa.

Hi folks,This will be a 11 part series of interviews from the competitors who will participating in the National "Made with Love" competition. This event will be held on Monday, April 1st, 2019 in the horticultural building from 5pm to 11pm. Tiki Central Canada will be there and record a live episode as well. Come by and check out our booth that will be tikified and cool tiki trivia for some prizes as well. The entrance fee at the door is $65 but that gives you an evening of amazing cocktails made by the best bartenders/mixoligist in Ottawa. There will also be some great food pairings with the drinks so come out and see the best of the best.This episode we talk to Drake Ross Evans from "El Camino" here in Ottawa.