Last week's sea of cards, and today's Voodoo

Adventurers who have heard the call of the Pearl were able to gather a sea of cards last week, and those who brought their twelve-sided die even more... and delicious cocktails accompanied them all! Here are some wonderful photos of some of those mysterious wild card cocktails, by the very talented Gabriel Hurley and Paul McMillan of Zero Coordinate, Inc.

Havana:


The Treasure Chest:



Tradewinds:



Harbor Lights:



Come in and try tonight's special, VOODOO:

This witch doctor’s potent potion of rich homemade pomegranate grenadine,
mind-erasing rums, tart citrus and unspeakable spices will haunt you
...like Robert Drasnin’s première exotica album.

I'll see YOU, TONIGHT, at the Island!

--Suzanne

Week Ten -double digit awesomeness

This will a brief post, as I have to go make it all happen, but I simply *must* tell all of you about tonight… off the hook doesn’t begin to describe the fun in store.  If you play your cards right (I’m not even going to apologize for the pun!), you’ll be able to head home tonight with five (yes I said it, FIVE) cards tonight.  Glorious cocktails are there to be had!  Fun with dice and cards!  Bring that useful garnish from a few weeks back!  You’ll be glad you did!

Peppercorns from last week?  Yes!

Cards from last week?  Yes!

A cocktail called Tradewinds?  Yes!

A cocktail called Harbor Lights?  Yes!

A taste of old Havana….  oh yes, baby, yes!

and MORE!

I’ll see YOU at the Island!

--Suzanne

Misirlou!

Printers be damned, you can’t stop this game!

For those of you who were unable to collect your cards yesterday evening, please accept my sincere apologies.  Below you will find the card for last night’s cocktail, Misirlou:

Note the web address:  SeeminglyUnrelatedToThePearl.blogspot.com

You may also be interested in the puzzle piece on the back side of the card:

And what’s a Black Orchid Club blog post without the sweet, lilting tunes of the cocktails we sip?  Take an audio taste of the glorious sounds of Arthur Lyman and his Misirlou:

Game cards for week 9 will be available for you to pick up next week.  In addition, the wild card and cocktail from the puzzle above will be available… take into consideration all of your small cards and how they may work together.  You will probably want to bring all of your cards and effects (including some of that special, non-edible garnish) into Forbidden Island on Wednesday evening.  Having all of your playing pieces will you on Wednesday, September 8th *may* earn you special privileges… and it will make the game more fun!

I’ll see YOU, Wednesday September 8th with all of your collected game pieces, at the Island!

Oh, and the peppercorn cocktail will be available too.  It will be worth the wait.  I promise.

--Suzanne

Awesome, tonight!

What an awesome few weeks it has been!  Tiki Oasis, some glorious Black Orchid Club cocktails, and me getting almost no sleep at all… you know that’s truly the heart of creativity.  :)

 

Tonight at Forbidden Island, for week 9 of the Black Orchid Club, come and taste the unparalleled Misirlou:  

The dark eyed beauty of Ancient Egypt beckons you! This cocktail of brandy, honey, plum nectar, brandied raisins and the intoxicating kiss of rose and anise will capture your heart, leaving you helpless to resist the magical Egyptian night.

Also, word has it that a very special Wild Card cocktail will be available this evening, featuring caramelized candied peppercorns as garnish…  you truly should join me.  All of this PLUS Otto’s Grotto, when Mr. Von Stroheim spins his excellent mix of jazz, lounge and exotica for your audio sipping soundtrack. 

In other fabulous news, this week’s JazzWeek World Music chart named the Waitiki 7 #1 for their newest release, New Sounds of Exotica.  Congratulations to an absolutely phenomenal group!

Tiki Oasis was a blast.  Two of the members of the Waitiki 7, Randy Wong and Tim Mayer, were kind enough to assist me in the Cocktail Presentation and Garnish Symposium I taught on Saturday.  I was also assisted by the illustrious cocktail aficionados and killer DJs Jack Fetterman and Gina of the Jungle from NYC.  I couldn’t have wished for a more fantastic team, and we had a blast carving up fruit and setting things on fire.  I also served up my Adventures in Paradise cocktail (featuring Zaya Rum) in the Taboo Island/Thor suite.  We made tons but it was gone in under an hour!  Thanks to all who attended, came by and said hello, and for everyone’s wonderful words of encouragement.  Kari Hendler, thanks for your photos and it was wonderful to see you in the symposium.  Thanks also to Otto Von Stroheim, for a fantastic event.  Here’s looking forward to another fabulous ten years!

Here’s a recap of the last few weeks of The Black Orchid Club:

Week 6:  Firecracker

 Explosive and delicious, this cocktail will rock you like the immaculate percussion of the Waitiki 7 in their performance of this fantastic exotica standard.  Canton Ginger liqueur explodes in flavor when paired with pickled ginger, vodka, our custom sesame syrup, fresh lemon and a fine dusting of toasted wasabi sesame seeds.

Those who solved the riddle of what all of these cocktails have in common also earned themselves the “12” cocktail, with it’s very unique garnish.

 

Week 7:  Adventures in Paradise

The ability to serve this cocktail at Tiki Oasis with a Zaya Rum sponsorship and the assistance of Randy and Tim of the Waitiki 7, after a cocktail that was named and created in honor of their fantastic record release of last year was an honest treat.  Thank you again, gentlemen, for all of your help and support last weekend.  Special thanks also to Zaya Rums, for sponsoring me and Forbidden Island! 

Real Madagascar vanilla, allspice, rich dark rum and pepper berries... a glorious cocktail, worthy of the stunning tune that is its namesake!

Week 8: American in Bali

American Bourbon in a soothing sea of coconut, cinnamon and rice milk will carry you to the shimmering lush Balinese jungle.  We won't fault you if you decide to never return from those lush bowers.

Perhaps you also asked about the “Party on Saturn?”

Wild Card:  Saturday Night On Saturn

Wild times await on the exotic shores of Saturn!  This sparkling flaming bowl for two features pomegranate, honey, cinnamon and cardamom with a medley of rums and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.

 

More fabulousness awaits, more wild cards, more fun with great vinyl spinning and one of the hottest September 1sts you’ve ever had… so come and see me tonight at Forbidden Island, 1304 Lincoln Avenue, Alameda, CA. 

You’ll be the thirsty one… I’ll be the redhead with the cocktail shaker behind the bar… it’ll be love at first sight, baby.

I’ll see YOU at the Island!

--Suzanne