Parliament Hill is all well and good, but this summer, there’s an even better reason to visit Ottawa. (Assuming, of course, that we’re able to travel.)
Floating tropical party bars.
Tropical tripping
Tropical dreams
Tiki is back in Vancouver. Why did it ever go away?
Tiki culture is a liquid ticket to an imaginary tropical island where the breeze is always warm, the music sways like the branches of a palm tree, and the rum flows as easily as the waves that wash up on a sandy beach.
Tiki originated in California in 1933, but exploded in popularity after the Second World War. It was inspired by the romance of the South Pacific, the culture of Polynesia, the flavours of Asia and the rum punches of the Caribbean, making it the ultimate fusion cocktail experience, served in a kitschy-cool Hollywood-ready vessel to a market that was weary of war and ready to party.
Mai Tai
A classic from the tiki-culture pantheon.
• 1.5 oz aged rum such as Mount Gay Eclipse
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 1.5 oz orgeat
• 1 oz lime juice
The Alchemist Spring 2019
Quench your thirst for all things spirited: The spring issue of The Alchemist is out this week.
The 11th edition of B.C.’s only magazine dedicated to cocktail and spirits culture brightens the season with a taste of the tropics.
How to build the perfect home bar
Back in 2012, when Rod Moore was about to open his dream bar, the Shameful Tiki Room, he ran into a problem. “It was a nightmare trying to find stuff – even basic tools and bitters,” he says, remembering running all over town to find shakers, jiggers, strainers and glassware. As for specialty tiki mugs? Not a chance.
Tai me up
The origins of the tiki cocktail classic, the Mai Tai
Order the Mai Tai at your peril. It can be one of the world’s greatest cocktails but, like the Bellini and the Margarita, in the wrong hands, it can be an unmitigated disaster. Instead of a delicately fragrant yet powerfully boozy elixir, you are as likely to receive a dispiriting glass of something sweet, sticky and suspiciously hued.
Any bartender who knows their way around the classics should be able to make a decent Mai Tai, but for the real deal, you really want to seek out a tiki expert.