Sippin' Mele-Kalikimaka Style

For my birthday this year, we decide to do something a little different. Since the cold seems to be sticking around, we decided to hit up the new tiki bar right around the the corner from office, Lani Kai.

This new hotspot is the brainchild of Hawaiian-born, cocktail maven Julie Reiner. And like all Reiner establishments, the cocktails are absolutely out of this world. I think between the nine of us, we had one of everything on the menu. Here's a sampling:

8 Days a Week (my personal favorite): Haitian, Jamaican and Guyanan Rums, toasted coconut milk, demerara, vanilla syrup and Donn's spices.

Pacific Swizzle: white rum infused with rosehip, lemongrass and hibiscus tea, lime juice and passion fruit.

Hotel California: Dried apricot infused Old Tom gin, pisco, lime, pineapple juice, toasted almond orgeat, and Peychaud's bitters.

Leilani's Fizz: Gin, lychee, lime juice, lemongrass syrup and club soda.

Isle of Islay Swizzle (another fave): blended scotch, coconut liqueur, house falernum, passion fruit, and lemon juice.

The Lone Palm: Gin, ginger syrup, melon, basil, lime juice.

E Kipa Mai: Mezcal, agave syrup, pineapple, lime juice and amara.

The Maya Well: Raspberry tea infused blanco tequila, ginger, pineapple, and lime juice.

And of course, we needed to try a Mai Tai: aged Martinique and Jamaican rums, lime juice, toasted almond orgeat and curacao.

If I get stuck in Chicago....

Right not I'm in Kansas City on business, waiting to hop a plane to Chicago. There's a good chance I'll get stuck there since one of my flights today has already been canceled, and its major snowin' in NY. But if that happens, I'm not worried. It'll give be an excuse to finally go tiki!

There has been a lot of tiki talk lately on cocktail blogs and magazines. I've been meaning to get some tiki drinks up on Martini Talk, but haven't had time to check out a real tiki bar myself. So if I get stuck in Chi-Town, it's Mai Tai's for me in at new outpost of Trader Vics. Otherwise, I promise to get some tasty recipes from New York up here soon. Stay tuned...

The Original Mai Tai Recipe
Courtesy of The Food Network
1 1/2 oz. Myers's Plantation Rum
1 oz. Cuban Rum
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 Falernum*
1/2 oz. Cointreau
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash Pernod
1 cup cracked ice
Slice squeezed lime, for garnish
Pineapple spear, for garnish
Mint sprig, for garnish
*Falernum is a lime/ginger based syrup and can be found in some large liquor stores.

Pour all the liquids into a cocktail shaker. Fill it with ice and shake for about 30 seconds. Pour it all into a 16-ounce double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with lime slice, pineapple, and mint sprig.