I couldn’t wait to unwrap my new Don Tiki vinyl album and take it for a spin! It’s soooooo freakin’ awesome! It’s in lava red with black swirls….and it comes with a rad pair of 3-D glasses! My birthday present came early, and I couldn’t just let it sit there until the 26th! You know me! I’m a sucker for exotica albums! If you’re thinking of getting this, don’t wait! It sounds and looks great! Cheers, Baby!
By popular demand, here is the recipe for “Kitty & Mr. C’s Enchanted Mai Tai!” Ready…Set…GO! Start pouring, people!
Servings: 1
1 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. orgeat (We use Giffard’s)
1/4 oz. homemade simple syrup made with dark brown sugar (or you can use Demerara sugar).
1/2 oz. Licor 43 (or, your favorite orange curaçao) 😉
1/2 oz. El Dorado 12 year rum
1/2 oz. Smith & Cross rum
1/2 oz. Plantation OFTD
1/2 oz. Doorly’s 8 year
Put all ingredients into a shaker filled with crushed iced. Shake until you have a nice amount of frost on your shaker (or until your hands experience “brain freeze”!) 😀
Strain and pour into your favorite glass or mug, filled with ice.
Add spent lime shell.
Add a sprig of mint.
Enjoy!
Cheers, Baby!
Mr. C and I hope you’re all having a great weekend! We’re enjoying Blue Margaritas while watching Elvis in “Blue Hawaii” on the big screen TV! Cheers! Hang ten, baby!
Recorded in 1963, in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, and featuring the rhythmic sounds of Charles Mauu and Roche’s Tahitians, this record is an essential addition to any lover of Polynesian music. It will make you feel the sudden urge to wrap a sarong around your hips and start dancing to the chants, melodies and rousing beat of the drums! Just make sure you put down your mai tai on the bar first before dancing with wild abandon! Cheers, Baby!
Mr. C and I finally got a chance to relax today and listen to some records we have gotten recently! Here’s one of them! “Honeymoon in Hawaii” by The Hilo Hawaiians is a lovely album that instantly transports you to the tropical islands. But…wait! There’s more! The package also contains a spiral bound travel guide highlighting some of the cultural and natural treasures of Hawaii! Here are some pages from the album package! We hope you, too, are enjoying the holiday with some music…and maybe a tiki drink…or two! Thanks for listening and for your constant support! Cheers, Baby!
It’s finally Friday! Yeah! We just picked up the album “Brazil! Brazil! Brazil!” a breezy, lovely album featuring jazz greats Bud Shank, Laurindo Almeida, Chet Baker, Joe Pass, Clare Fischer and Joao Donato! If you don’t have this one in your collection, get it! It makes Happy Hour just perfect, as do a pair of Saturns, made by Mr. C! Cheers!
Yes, I know I posted about this Cal Tjader Album before, but not THIS one! This is a cleaner copy of the one we found around town, about a month ago! I was so in love with that album, but kind of bummed out that it was somewhat scratchy, so Mr. C found me another copy of the same album to gift me for Mother’s Day! He’s the best! Don’t you think?! I was dying to share it with you! Here’s a pic of our happy hour, made complete with prickly pear margaritas and Cal Tjader’s music! Mr. C and I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day! Cheers!
This week’s artist spotlight is on vibraphonist extraordinaire, Cal Tjader! I pride myself on being Cal’s #1 fan, and collector of every one of his albums, give or take a few. So, when I saw this album recently, took a look at the song list, the personnel, not to mention the action shot of Cal on the cover, smiling, mallets in the air, playing live for KHIP, an FM Jazz station out of San Francisco, I knew it had to come home with me. Prior to seeing it in person, someone in one of the exotica music groups I belong to on Facebook, had posted a YouTube of one of the songs on it, along with the shot of the album cover. I’d never seen this album before, and didn’t even know of its existence! (How this one managed to slip past my radar, all this time, I’ll never know.) Perhaps I attracted it to me, because I really wanted to find it after that….and about a week later, BAM! There it was, staring me in the face! And it was a red disc! I love colored vinyl records!
The album was recorded live at The Blackhawk in 1959 and features some mellow as well as fast rhythms. My favorite track is “Mambo Terrifico.” The musicians include:
Bass – Victor Venegas – Drums – Mongo Santamaria, Timbales – Willie Bobo – Flute – Rolando Lozano Piano – Lonnie Hewitt
If you don’t have this record, you need to get it! Some say Cal’s music isn’t exactly exotic, but it depends on what album you listen to, as well as what you consider exotic, really. Some of it is more Latin Jazz, some completely different, like Several Shades of Jade. What made Cal such a great musician, in fact, was his versatility and willingness to explore different musical landscapes. We play a lot of his music on our show because we feel it pairs well with exotica music, which contains lots of Afro-Latin rhythms. If you already love his music, this album is definitely one to add to your existing collection of Cal Tjader albums.
Can’t get away for a tropical vacation? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with our very own tiki cocktail, the “Polynesian Paradise”! One sip of this tasty banana-coconut-pineapple baby and you’ll think you’ve been transported to the South Seas! Cheers! Here’s the recipe:
Servings: 1
1 ounce Cruzan coconut rum or rum of your choice
1 ounce 99 bananas
1 ounce cream of coconut
3 ounces pineapple juice 1 ounce Meyers’s dark rum to float on top
Combine coconut rum, banana liqueur, cream of coconut and pineapple juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill with crushed ice. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Fill two tiki mugs, Hurricane or brandy sifter glasses, your choice, half way with crushed iced. Pour mix. Finish with dark rum float on top. Enjoy!
Kitty & Mr. C's Enchanted Tiki Hut Show 