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Tiki Central / General Tiki / The Tiki Times: News and events calendar

Post #737564 by Hurricane Hayward on Tue, Feb 17, 2015 3:20 PM

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South Florida appears to be the nexus of the Tiki universe this week ...
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2015/02/16/the-week-in-tiki-feb-16-2015-tiki-cocktail-showdown-on-south-beach-ukuleles-and-lost-cocktails-at-the-historic-mai-kai/


On Friday, Emeril Lagasse hosts a who's who of Tiki bartenders and VIPs for "The Art of Tiki: A Cocktail Showdown" at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. The showdown will feature eight cocktails from some of the most notable Tiki mixlogists, bars and restaurants from near and far: Lost Lake (Chicago), The Mai-Kai (Fort Lauderdale), Tiki Mondays With Miller (New York City), Frankie’s Tiki Room (Las Vegas), Royal Kona Resort (Hawaii), The Rum Line (Miami Beach), The Broken Shaker (Miami Beach), and Spike Mendelsohn’s upcoming Miami restaurant. Judging the competition will be Lagasse, Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (Latitude 29, New Orleans), Martin Cate (Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco), and Lynnette Marrero (Diageo rum ambassador; DrinksAt6, New York City). Look for more info and full coverage upcoming on The Atomic Grog.


The Mai Kai hosts special musical guests on Friday and an evening of "lost cocktails" on Saturday. This all comes on the heels of last week's news that the Fort Lauderdale landmark has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Friday's happy hour features Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel, an acclaimed duo who have spent the past two years performing and teaching ukulele at festivals around the world. On Saturday, The Mai-Kai will serve a flight of cocktails that have never appeared on the acclaimed 58-year-old tropical drink menu.

Also upcoming this week in South Florida: A grand opening reception at the new permanent home of the "Surfing Florida: A Photographic History" exhibit; and the 12th annual Polynesian Cultural Festival.


We have more on The Mai-Kai's historic status, plus weekly spotlights on Critiki, Koop Kooper’s Cocktail Nation, and Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas. The rum of the week, Tanduay from the Philippines, is featured in the Shark’s Tooth cocktail.