A photo interlude... Tiki Oasis 2011

Tiki Oasis was, as usual, a complete blast. Forbidden Island hosted two back to back suite parties which were both packed for three straight hours... and we had a ball. I wanted to share some of the photos. Dig it! My first cocktail of the weekend, being poured into the approved container: A Mr. Bali Hai at the Bali Hai

Loading in a teensy bit of the rum for the weekend!

Line outside the Forbidden Island suite for Friday evening's party:

View from the balcony - floors and floors of parties at the Crowne Plaza Hanalei:

It felt like New Year's Eve! Marissa of Rock-a-Hula, Michael, owner of Forbidden Island and myself right before opening the doors of Saturday night's gala, One Night in Havana:

The Havana cocktail, with fresh mint, champagne,and Mt. Gay Eclipse:

The invaluable and utterly handsome Marty, running the roulette table for the evening:

The party in full swing. We couldn't have done it without our wonderful and generous sponsor, Mt. Gay:

Not to mention the overwhelming generosity of Cruzan, who sponsored Friday night's Fun in Acapulco party:

And Appleton, who sponsored us in the Sip 'n' Shop on Friday afternoon, where I served the "So Danco Samba," made with a flambeed Appleton rum cordial, Punt e Mes, Ramazzotti Amaro, vanilla and fresh lime juice:

Some of the usual characters were present, and a few unusual ones too. Here's a mysterious masked man, who is apparently a little bit ticklish:

Behind the bar with Patrick, who looked like a million dollars and was a darling and so very helpful all evening:

With The Mayor of Exotica (Tim Mayer of the Waitiki 7, and guest soloist with Don Tiki for the weekend), and Patrick:

After hours in the suite, Tim and Alika Lyman jammed straight ahead for us:

And then, there was Sunday. The judges came around to let us know our Saturday night Havana party was the best of the weekend! Here we are with our winning plaque:

And then... DON TIKI! I have to say that this was one of the best concerts I've seen in years. Solid, awesome exotica and latin jazz. The crowd hung on every note and was just waiting for the chance to jump up for a standing ovation. Seeing them on the mainland was an amazing treat. I hope I don't have to wait another ten years!

I love this shot - they were on stage, but the lighting makes it look like Lopaka was playing on the beach at sunset:

Just because we love good rum at Forbidden Island, we got up early on Monday morning and flew back to the Bay Area, just in time for the Brugal 1888 rum launch! Make sure to come by and try this wonderful new treat!

I'll see YOU at the Island! --Suzanne

(Photos by Suzanne Long, Michael Thanos, and the Ohana of the Tiki community. Mahalo!)

Have you experienced SESSIONS lately?

Have YOU tried a SESSIONS cocktail lately?

If you haven't - today is certainly the day to do so. If you HAVE - well, then today is one not to miss, since I have something spectacular for you to try. My special ingredient is a flambeed rum cordial, which you simply have to taste to believe. It came about as an 11th hour fix while creating the Mystery Bowl at Ohana, Luau at the Lake this year - we needed something to fix the flavor of the cocktail, and in a moment of MacGyver inspiration, I decided to flambe the Appleton Estate Reserve with the only sugar we had on hand... about 300 single serving C&H sugar packets. Here are a few photos of me playing with fire in Lake George:










The result was fantastic, and I love it so much that I've created a special cocktail featuring it, which I'll be serving tonight (with a smoked glass, punt e mes, and fresh lime juice), and I feel it is fully worthy of a few sessions cocktails too! C'mon over and try the cordial for yourself, and let's create some spectacular Black Orchid Sessions cocktails together!

As always, it's also HAPPY HOUR all night long, so come and see me!

I'll see YOU, TONIGHT, at 5pm at the Island!

--Suzanne

Photos from Black Orchid Sessions, June 14, 2010

Just wanted to share some exquisite photos of Black Orchid Sessions this past Monday. All photos by Paul McMillan of Zero Coordinate, Inc.


Flambe of brown sugar and pineapple for a Sessions cocktail. This one was created for Sessions Bookholder Dave Hildebrandt:




The completed flambeed cocktail:


Me, preparing Pineapple Rhubarb Mojitos with the fresh rhubarb syrup and Cruzan rum:


Garnishing the mojitos:



Completed Pineapple Rhubarb Mojitos:



Thanks, Paul, for these lovely photos!

More photos and information about Monday nights and Black Orchid Sessions is available at http://www.facebook.com/forbiddenisland and http://www.forbiddenislandalameda.com/

More info about Zero Coordinate and all the awesome things they do at: http://zerocoordinate.com/


I'll see YOU at the Island!

--Suzanne

What a recap! PDX Cocktail Camp! Sessions XII and more!

Wow, has it been an AWESOME few weeks. Amazing things have been happening at Forbidden Island, with Black Orchid Sessions, and in my other adventures, and so much exciting stuff if coming up that it nearly warrants three or four blog posts. But, you're getting it all, right here, right now!

I recently returned from Portland, OR for the first ever CocktailCamp, an awesome all day event put on by Kenn Wilson (of Cocktailia.com), and Aaron Jorbin (http://twitter.com/aaronjorbin). The event took place at the New Deal Distillery, where seminars were programmed all day with break-out sessions available. This was a wonderful event! I spoke as part of a panel of professional mixologists and bartenders (Jacob Grier, of Branch Whiskey Bar, Portland; Ricky Gomez, of Teardrop Lounge, Portland; Mindy Cook, of Toro Bravo, Portland; Elizabeth Markham, of Beaker & Flask, Portland, and myself, of Forbidden Island, natch) fielding questions from the audience. It was a treat to meet some of these clearly very talented and innovative folks, and I was really pleased to be there. There was also a just phenomenal triple presentation on tiki topics (Rum, Gum, and Lime) by the illustrious tiki trio Craig “Colonel Tiki” Hermann, Blair “Trader Tiki” Reynolds and Matt “Rumdood” Robold. I highly recommend setting your sights on this for next year, if you want to plan a trip to the City of Roses.

My trip was further highlighted by a visit (actually two visits!) to Clyde Common (fabulous food and excellent cocktails), and Thatch. I was very impressed with the barrel aging they're experimenting with in cocktails at Clyde Common (Barrel-Aged Negroni - what a brilliant idea - not too dissimilar to the aged rum barrels available by request at the Mai Kai), and I really enjoyed the One-Trick Pony made with a house-made tonic water. Good stuff. And Thatch.... WOW. Let's just say that some top secret, top shelf, amazing things appeared. While we weren't paying attention. And we don't remember any of it. At all.

The Oregonian ran a nice story about CocktailCamp and quoted me. Check it out:
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/thanks_to_a_growing_interest_i.html

In homefront news, on April 22nd we celebrated Forbidden Island's 4th anniversary... by rolling out a brand new, 20 cocktail addition to our menu! This addition focuses on Savoy-style classic cocktails, and innovations in the style. Let me tell you, there are some out-of-this-world cocktails to be had. You're going to love 'em. Take a peek at all the new potables at: http://www.forbiddenislandalameda.com/fi/menu/

What about Black Orchid SESSIONS, you are wondering? (It was loud. I could hear it. I know you're thirsty, and I know you want to know what this week's secret ingredient is, so here it comes...)

Flambeed Banana Coconut Curry.



Yep.

It is as amazing as it sounds! I am so excited about this mix, I can't begin to tell you. It is decadent, delicious, dangerous, and very, very, very drinkable. Just wait til you get your monkey hands on the cocktails for tomorrow evening. Fantastic! Gitarzan!

Also, stay tuned for Street Food Carts at Forbidden Island - this Sunday, May 2, we've got wood-fired pizza from the portable ovens of The Pizza Hacker.


...and very soon, Forbidden Island will be OPENING on MONDAY EVENINGS, with custom cocktails from yours truly, all night long.

You've heard the whispers. Start saving those Monday nights!

I'll see YOU at the Island!

--Suzanne