Author: Ray

Tiki Triangle – A Book About Tiki And Tiki Cocktails by Justin Cristaldi

Posted by Ray on in Tiki Cocktails, Tiki Lifestyle

Visiting your first tiki bar and sipping your first Mai Tai can be a life changing experience. It was for me and for many others who fell in love with tiki culture. As you start to get more and more into tiki, you realize that there’s so much to discover, there’s tiki art, fashion, escapism, mugs and last but not least, cocktails. Tiki Triangle by Justin Cristaldi is a great book to help you enter into this wonderful world of tiki. Tiki Triangle has chapters on the history of tiki, tiki’s connections to WW2, food, rum, ingredients and tons of tiki cocktail recipes!

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #79 The Back Side Of Water – Gig Harbor WA

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars 5 Comments

The Backside Of Water, what an interesting name for a tiki bar, right? But if you love Disney and more specifically, The Jungle Cruise, you will totally get it! When Chris and Lauren Ringlee bought their new home with a finished basement, they knew what they had to do, they built a tiki bar! Here is their story …

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #78 The Parrot’s Perch – Niskayuna NY

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When people think of New York, they immediately think of New York City. But there is more to New York than just the Big Apple, there’s the rest of the state and it’s huge! Niskayuna is located above Albany, and I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of Niskayuna until now. Brendan Halayko and his wife Beth live in Niskayuna and they have an awesome home tiki bar called The Parrot’s Perch. Here is their story …

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #77 Bora Bora Hut – Breda (The Netherlands)

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars

A tiki bar in The Netherlands?

That’s right! Fran lives in Breda, which is located in The Netherlands and as you can guess, there isn’t much tiki going on there. So, Fran decided to build his own tiki bar. He liked names that repeat and he called his bar the Bora Bora Hut! Here is a story about enjoying tiki when there isn’t much tiki close to you …

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #76 The Lost Pearl – Rochester NY

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars 2 Comments

It gets cold and snowy in upstate New York and if you’re looking for a tiki bar, sadly you are out of luck. The nearest tiki bar is three hours away and in Canada. Kirk Doran lives in Rochester and after a life changing trip to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto down at Walt Disney World, he decided to build his own tiki get-away. The name of his bar is called the Lost Pearl which is named after his aunt and it’s a perfect escape from the snow and cold weather. Here is Kirk’s story…

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Tiki VIP #43 Tony Rangel – Big Daddy’s Bear Cave

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If you’re looking for reviews on rum, tiki mugs, how to do tiki crafts or just to learn about tiki, Tony Rangel has you covered! Tony has a YouTube show called Big Daddy’s Bear Cave and each show you learn something new, and I promise that you will be entertained. Oh, did I mention, Tony loves all things Disney as well? There’s tons of episodes that cover Disney culture as well. Here is Tony’s story …

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #75 Baron’s Bamboo Lounge – Vancouver B.C. Canada

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars 4 Comments

When you have Rod Moore (The man who built The Shameful Tiki) help you build a home tiki bar, you know it’s going to be great! Beth MacNeil and Aaron Hicks just moved into a new home and the first thought they had was, let’s build a tiki bar! Beth and Aaron are good friends with Rod, so with his help, they got to work on transforming one of the rooms of the house into Baron’s Bamboo Lounge and the end result is truly stunning, it’s like a smaller version of The Shameful Tiki Room!

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The South Pacific Libation Company – A Pop-Up Tiki Bar, Literally!

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars 1 Comment

Usually when I write about a tiki bar, I mention what city or town it’s located, but when the tiki bar is collapsible and can pop up anywhere, location doesn’t really matter. John Betts was thinking of building a shelf to display his growing tiki mug collection but decided instead to build a tiki bar that he can set up outside on his deck and serve his guests tiki cocktails from. When it starts raining here in the Pacific Northwest, John can easily tear down his bar and pack it away for the Winter. John invited me over for drinks at his home in Redmond WA and we talked about his one of a kind tiki bar called, The South Pacific Libation Company …

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #74 The Lumi-La Lounge – San Diego CA

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars

You live here?!?!

Jennifer and Kenn Watson’s daughter Gillian gets that a lot. Imagine being a kid and having your friends over and taking them into your parent’s home tiki bar. All your friends would think you have the coolest parents ever! Speaking of cool parents, when Jennifer’s parents came back from their dates at the various tiki bars in the area, they would bring back the tiki mugs and give them to Jennifer, in fact she still has them and they can be found in The Lumi-La Lounge …

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Home Sweet Tiki Home #6 The Mainlander Room – Tacoma WA

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Before you reach Susan and Eddie Pena’s home tiki bar, you have to walk through the kitchen, then the dining room, then the living room and finally you turn to your right and bam! You are in The Mainlander Room. Susan and Eddie Pena’s home is a totally mid-century modern time capsule and once you step inside their home, you are transported back to a time before the internet and cable television.

The Mainlander Room is right next to the living room and the transition between the two is seamless, with some of the tiki and mcm blending the two styles together. When I visited The Mainlander Room, I honestly didn’t want to leave! Susan and Eddie, I can’t wait to come back, in the meantime, here is their story …

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