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!)

Week 5 - Come and taste the mystery... of history!

Tonight is week 5... more adventurous discoveries of hidden cocktails await you! Join us tonight for the Limehouse Blues Cocktail:

Rings on your fingers and tears on your crown, that is the story of old Chinatown. Our custom tonic syrup with fresh lime, English Dry Gin, hidden ancient spices and a sparkling finish will take to you to the edge of the Thames River and a shipside delivery of awaited treasures.

Also... a hidden cocktail will be rewarded to those who hear the call. Listen for your clue in a very special way tonight! Want to know more? Come in and collect your card to see.

All this happens to the luscious vinyl sounds of DJ Otto, with all the best Exotica, Surf, Lounge and Latin Jazz.

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

--Suzanne

Season II: Pearl of the Black Orchid

TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adventurers and Cocktailians, Heed the Call! The Secret of the Orchid
Compels You!

Once, in the torchlit years of tiki's heyday, splendid cocktails
were the norm. Palaces of tiki abounded; alchemic mixologists brewed their potions for the layman to enjoy, and all was right with the world. But too soon the dark days came. One by one these palaces disappeared into the mist, and with them went the mixologists, taking their magical elixirs with them. Uncountable years passed in sobriety without these potent potions. Yet somehow, somewhere, shrouded in mystery, the secret recipes still remain. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to forge through webbed jungle, lush lanai, and forests of metal giants to rediscover these liquid treasures. The rewards are rich... and delicious! The Pearl of the Black Orchid is the most coveted treasure, and only the cleverest adventurers will discover it in the petals of mystery.

Join us tonight for the kickoff of the Black Orchid Club, Season II: The Pearl of the Black Orchid. Receive your parchment and taste your first hidden cocktail! Time is short and adventure calls!

Also, VERY special guests with Otto's Grotto tonight... Jack Fetterman and Gina of the Jungle (from the exotic isle of Manhattan) spin the very best exotica and lounge. Don't miss your chance to see these all-star exotica DJs in person in a very rare west coast appearance!

I'll see YOU at the Island!

--Suzanne

What an awesome 13 weeks! Reckoning Party tomorrow!

...and here we are! 13 weeks have passed, and the Black Orchid Club has been such a complete blast. Tomorrow is the Reckoning Party, where all the prizes will be awarded and you'll see EXACTLY how many people really did have every single Black Orchid cocktail. I'll tell you one thing, it blows my mind. :)

Awards begin at 7:30pm, so be sure to be here tomorrow by then, and bring all of your cards. You must present your cards to win!

In case you need a checklist, here it is:

Week 1: Song of Delilah
Week 2: Valmont
Week 3: Rhapsody in Blue
Week 4: Pumpkin Delight
Week 5: Bora Bora Tea Punch
Week 6: Bavarian Yule
Week 7: Kiss of the Tiki
Week 8: Alta California
Week 9: Cape Verde Collins
Week 10: Taj Mahal Twilight
Week 11: Howard Street Cocktail
Week 12: Beseme Tamarindo
Week 13: Black Orchid

Wild Cards:

3am Atlantic
Girl From Alameda
Cherry Blossom Fizz
Island Bitters

We've also got DJ Otto for Otto's Grotto, and his special guest Johnny "Big Hands" Bartlett (The Phantom Surfers, The Barbary Coasters, Hillsdale Records), spinning wax for your dancing pleasure. AND it's Baby Doe's birthday!

Looking forward to a fabulous night all around.

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

--Suzanne

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! 2010 is here!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

And here we are, in 2010. Hard to believe, as it all comes so quickly, but 2009 set in motion some wonderful things, and I'm looking forward to this year, and all the good it will bring.

I'd like to take a moment and extend my thanks to all of you. Thank you for reading along with my blog; thank you for watching the stream at Black Orchid Live; thank you for playing along with the Black Orchid Club, both in person and on Twitter; thank you for having such a good time with my puzzles and riddles; thank you for all of your wonderful compliments and encouragements; and most of all, thank you for the honor of allowing me to share my cocktails with you, and thank you for drinking them. Working at Forbidden Island is truly a dream come true for me, and getting to share with all of you is truly a highlight in my life. I'm honored to have the chance.

2010 is already looking to be a very exciting year. The Black Orchid Club will reach the end of these first 13 weeks at the end of January, followed by the Reconking Party on the 1st Wednesday of Feb, where we'll give out all of the prizes to our Black Orchid Club members, and basically have a great big bash. Afterward, I'll be moving into the commencement of the Black Orchid Sessions, where each week, on Wednesday, we'll have a focus ingredient - usually one of my homemade specialty syrups or liqueurs, but also sometimes focusing on a specific spirit - and a short menu of about three cocktails featuring that ingredient will be available. In addition, should you wish to, I will custom build a cocktail for you based on the focus ingredient and any other direction you give me... basically you'll tell me what you want, and I make it on the spot, using all of the premium fresh ingredients available at Forbidden Island. I guarantee you won't have an experience like this anywhere else!

It has been a few weeks since I've posted about cocktails from the Black Orchid Club, and so I'll recap the last few weeks of cocktails and cards:

Last week was the Cape Verde Collins. My inspiration for this cocktail came while I was living in Boston. I was throwing around the idea of using St. Germain in a Collins, because of how floral and delicate it is, while still being very present. It matches well with herbal gin notes. Around the same time, I had a great conversation with a friend about one of his recent trips to Cape Verde (one of many, for him) and how lemons there are intense and very sour, because of the volcanic soil. The image of a lemon tree growing inside the very fertile crater of a volcano never left me, and the two were put together into a delightful effervescent cocktail. The snow cone of crushed ice with Peychaud's and Angostura bitters lends depth of flavor... and of course, makes the drink look like a volcano with its branch of greenery!

Alta California
Legend has it that Spanish Missionaries brought the almond to California, and almond trees are known to have flourished in the gardens of California missions. This cocktail is made with my own homemade orgeat, creme de cacao, and heavy cream, with a shake of cocoa on top and rimmed with sugar and crushed almonds.

Kiss of the Tiki
A less complex cocktail, The Kiss of the Tiki is made with the clean flavors of peach and ginger, and Rhum Barbancourt from Haiti, with the sparkle of champagne on top and a candied ginger garnish. The inspiration for this cocktail came as I was telling a friend about the wonderful Ft. Lauderdale festival the Hukilau, and how in the tropical Florida night, tiki puts a spell on you. He was eating candied ginger as we talked.

In addition to these cocktails, several people have already solved the fortune cookie riddle, and earned their second wild card, along with the accompanying cocktail. Last week, I even had someone earn their wildcards by proxy - that is, they happened to be sitting next to someone who solved the riddle at the bar, and the person who solved it said the answer loudly enough to be heard by the people sitting next to him. When the new group heard the answer and saw the new wild card cocktail, they asked, "Is it okay for us to order it? We don't want to cheat! We overheard the answer just now, but didn't solve the riddle!" I told them, "All's fair in love, war, and cocktails."

If you're still working on the fortune cookie riddles, here are the three clues so far:

Love is Kewpie at Neptune

Four Score and Seven Years

Launching Clipper, China Bound (for easy use chopstick)

Come on in tomorrow for week 10 of the Black Orchid Club, another fortune cookie riddle, and Otto's Grotto (Otto Von Stroheim's DJ night). This month, Otto spins Bond style spy tunes. If you haven't solved the fortune cookie riddle yet, maybe you'll be lucky enough to sit next to someone else who does.

I'll see YOU at the Island!

-- Suzanne

Wild Cards! Wild Cards! Wild Night on Wednesday!

What a night at Forbidden Island! Wednesday was a blast, with Otto's turntables spinning Herb Alpert and all the best Feliz Navidad, and Black Orchid Week 5. I couldn’t stop making drinks even for a few seconds!  Quite a few people figured out the first Wild Card Wednesday night.

Wednesday’s cocktail was the Bora Bora Tea Punch.  The cocktail is based on a 1960’s Hawai’ian cookbook recipe for a non-alcoholic punch, which was very vague and called for “brewed iced tea” and various “tropical juices.” It gave a list of suggestions and basically just told you to pick a few and toss them into the punchbowl.  I took it a step further and picked some of my favorites, then added the potent part – rum, naturally (in this case Goslings Black Seal and Cruzan Aged White) - and decided on African Roobios Tea in lieu of your plain ol’ orange pekoe.  I like Roobios tea quite a bit.  It has no caffeine but retains that nice light tannin tea quality, and it’s fantastic with some vanilla and almond in it.  Apparently one Hukilau villager agrees; I served this punch as part of the first annual Room Crawl at the Hukilau in Ft, Lauderdale, FL in June, and one fellow thanked me for the cocktail, walked out of the room, then came back in two minutes later, got down on his knees, took my hand and declared that it was the very best cocktail he had tasted in his life…  and asked for another.  Life is good at the Hukilau!

Here is the card for the Bora Bora Tea Punch:

For those of you who didn’t make it in, be sure when you come next Wednesday that you bring all of your cards.  Quite a few Black Orchid Club members solved the first puzzle this week, and earned themselves a wild card AND the first Wild Card Cocktail!  Join the ranks of the Wild Card Cardholders! 

Special thanks to Crease Monkey, once again, for awesome photos!  Check him out on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kicksaveandabeauty/sets/72157622709672373/

I’ll see YOU at the Island!

-- Suzanne

Tomorrow Marks Week 5 of the Black Orchid Club!

Thank you to all of you who are continuing to make the Black Orchid Club a success… I’m having a blast sharing these cocktails with you, and sharing my game with you.  I hope you’re having as much fun as I am!

This week’s Black Orchid Club coincides with Otto’s Grotto, Otto Von Stroheim’s DJ night at Forbidden Island, and Otto is going Latin for the Holidays.  He promises to play lots of Herb Alpert (my favorite!) and get December swingin’ with only the best Mid-Century Latin grooves.  

In addition, this week is a very special week for those of you working on the puzzles, so be sure to bring in all of your cards.  Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

I’ll see YOU, TOMORROW, at the Island!

--Suzanne