It just happens to be the International Pina Colada day so who am I to say no to a lush Colada drink? I decided to make a slight twist of the iconic classic and without further ado here is the recipe:
Hawaiian Coffee Colada
15 ml/0.5 oz cream of Coconut
15 ml/0.5 oz roasted orgeat
15 ml/0.5 oz Alamea Hawaiian Coffee liqueur
45 ml/1.5 oz fresh lime juice
60 ml/2 oz fresh pineapple juice
45 ml/1.5 oz Rhum JM XO
45 ml/1.5 oz Dr Bird Jamaican rum
Flashblend for 5 seconds with 2.5 dl/ 1 cup crushed ice and pour into a frozen pineapple. Garnish with pineapple leaves.
Roasted orgeat
Toast 60 ml/2 oz almond flakes in a dry pan or in the owen at 100C. Watch it carefully, and stir it a little because almond easily burn. But let them get some brown color. Crush them lightly and leave to cool on a plate.
Make a 2:1 simple syrup with light muscovado sugar and water. Add the toasted crushed almond flakes. Heat it up on medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, let it simmer for a minute while stirring but do not boil. Set aside and leave for at least a few hours or overnight. Strain and bottle.
Two posts in one … the Nu Lounge Bar Tiki XMas Tribute to the Mai Kai party and a sumptuous tasty tropical rum dessert recipe.
I think it doesn`t matter when or where… we always need a decadent dessert every now and then to add some sweetness and spice to life … and when they are spiked with rum it´s even better!
Here`s a tropical tiki style dessert, using the amazing Alamea Spiced Rum and Hawaiian Coffee Liqueur created by Daniele Dalla Pola, owner of the Nu Lounge Bar in Bologna, which btw on december 18th threw THE party of the year, the Tiki Xmas Tribute to the Mai Kai at the bar with guest bartenders, seminars, tiki market, live tiki carving, Polynesian buffet, tiki drinks and show at the bar, plus a live rockabilly band, the Lucky Strike, playing all night, and a tattoo artist doing alamea tattoos and a very lovely aloha vibe all around the place for almost 12 hours straight! I have added a few pics and videos after the dessert.
I was actually supposed to make this dessert for the Polynesian buffet but then it turned out not practically possible so instead I present it here so you can make it at home and you should because it´s that good…
Aloha Coconut Ice Cream with Alamea Hawaiian Coffee & Spiced Rum Pineapple!
For 3 servings, you need:
1/2 pineapple cut in 2 quarters, one with leaves still attached.
1L coconut ice cream
¼ cup (1,25 dl) demerara sugar
2 oz (60ml) Alamea spiced rum
0.5 oz (15 ml) Alamea Hawaiian Coffee Liqueur
Tropical orchids for garnish.
Cut up the pineapple in 2 pieces and save one for garnish with the leaves still attached. Peel the other pieces and slice them in ½ inch slices (1.2 cm) and set aside.
Pour demerara sugar in a nonstick pan on high heat and make sure to coat the entire base with sugar and place the pineapple slices on top of the sugar in one layer filling the pan. Cook and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes or until caramelized.
Add Alamea spiced rum and Hawaiian coffee liqueur and cook for another 2 minutes or until it`s brownish and syrupy. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Place coconut ice cream on a serving plate, just a little bit ahead of time so it becomes a little bit soft. Garnish with the quartered pineapple and tropical orchids at the base of the ice cream. Pour the rum sauce on top.
This is a variation of a dessert I saw somewhere and turning it tiki style! it fits any tiki or tropical party or any other occasion or just no occasion at all, it`s simply delicious! and ridiculously easy to make. The only thing to pay attention to really, is to let the sauce cool down to room temp before pouring and to not take out the ice cream too early, but at the same time allow it to become just a little bit softened.
The Alamea exotic infusions are available at various places in Europe, and soon in the US and an online source is in the works. I will post more info when I know.
Nu Lounge Bar and the Tiki Xmas Tribute to the Mai Kai Party
Nu Lounge Bar is amazing, ecclectic and one of those tiki bars so full of things everywhere that you never get tired of looking. And the drinks … they are great, the menu fun and variable (and beautiful) the bartenders excellent and the aloha vibe is embracing you like a soft Hawaiian breeze…
There`s a restaurant there too and you can eat both outside and in the bar and Italian food does not suck … personally I`m a huge pasta lover but there`s so much more. But the last thing I had there the day after the party was an amazing lasagna al forno with a Nu Painkiller! not a bad combo.
Before the party we had a tasty fusilli pasta dish for lunch with a lovely tomato sauce served in a huge pot, very typically italian and with tiki drinks to wash it down of course … or was it rums shots? and during the party there was a Polynesian luau style buffet with all kind of tasty things. You can say that both the”food-me” and “drink-me” was very happy! but it was so much more than just food and drink, the ambiance was fantastic, the seminars interesting, the Lucky Strike band great, the tiki market beautiful with plenty of mugs from Maka Tiki (mostly)and wood carvings from Tiki Matt and Tiki Sam.
Here`s a few photos and videos of the fun, not the best of quality but hey I wasn`t there as a professional photographer … I was there to meet friends, party and visit the Nu Lounge Bar!
It´s a Zombie…
The topic of this party, Tribute to the Mai Kai.
Tiki Diablo Mai Kai Mug 2017. This mug is based on the Barney West tiki, one of the tikis in the Mai Kai garden. Amazing mug!
The tribute drinks.
The man behind the party … Daniele Dalla Pola, owner of the Nu Lounge Bar and Tiki King is on his throne, so the party can start!
But before that, our lunch…
And of course, espresso!
Then tiki drinks… this is Kama` Aina`, a mix of Plantation OFTD, tropical juices and spices.
Don the Beachcomber is watching over us.
And the rums…
Cool tiki mugs on the shelves in the bar.
From another era…
The King of fruits!
Seminars, here with Oriol Elias talking about tiki in his “Expanding the tiki flavors palette†and Clementine Guillot presenting Rhum Damoiseau. There was also a Masterclass called “Banks: il Rum di nuova generazione†by Daniele “James†Pons, sponsored by Bacardi, but I didn`t see it because it was in italian and I wouldn`t have understood much 🙂
After the seminars, the tiki market started. Mugs from Maka Tiki and wood carvings from Tiki Matt and Tiki Sam.
Mugs and decanters from Maka Tiki. http://makaproject.altervista.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/MakaTikiProject/ and http://www.makatiki.it/
Carvings by Matteo Cappellozza aka Tiki Matt, https://www.facebook.com/Tiki-Matt-1198157160275432/ and Instagram – @tiki_matt_
Moai by Tiki Matt and it`s mine…Â 🙂 (happy happy)
And tiki carving by Samuele de Vietro aka Tiki Sam, https://www.instagram.com/the_tiki_sam/?hl=en
I bought this cool little tiki while Oriol scored the one and only pineapple jigger…
Bad mobile pic… the pineapple jigger on the left side, how cool is that!?
More drinks! this one in a Re`al mug designed for Daniele Dalla Pola by Baï Tiki ( http://bybai1.wixsite.com/artbybai )
The Last Fang with edible cinnamon straw… I get really happy when I get these kinda drinks in my hand! rummy, fruity, spicy, rich and big! (by Oriol Elias)
And here´s the recipe.
And the man behind it, Oriol Elias, www.threeofstrong.com
And the oh so tasty Elixir Tropical…
Created by Maurizio la Spina. It was so tasty I ordered more than one… This amazing cocktail was in the Bacardi Legacy Competition.
The Nu Mai Tai with passion fruit…
Happy bartenders 🙂
And the rockabilly band Lucky Strike kept playing all night…
Me getting the alamea tattoo, both a memory and a hommage.
One of the things I like about this place… among all the tiki stuff you see a deer horn? 🙂
And some videos…
What a party! they say this was the party of the year and I agree on that, it was amazing.
Tiki World Rejoice!! This is super exciting! four stunning products will soon be released (in october) that I know especially the tiki world will LOVE! It`s the Tiki maestro Daniele Dalla Pola behind them, you know that guy who loves pineapples so much? and builds up a real show during his entertaining presentations? and not to mention amazing tiki drinks and tiki drink photography, plus he owns the Nu Lounge Bar in Bologna, Italy.
The vintage style tiki labels on these products are something you really want in your tiki bar or home bar or any bar for that matter. They are stunning work of exotic tropical art! And the products? I have tasted them all and they are just as good as i thought, or even better. Personally I do not ever want to not have them in my home tiki happy place/bar. These will be available for shipping worldwide and I will update in this post when the website is ready.
The name Alamea on the label is named after a starfish species (crown-of-thorns starfish). An old Samoan saying is that among Samoan traditional fishermen it has been said that if you happen to get stung by the spines of the alamea, you should turn the starfish over and have its spongy-like feet touch the area where you have been stung and the alamea will heal its own doing.
Here are my taste notes and impressions of the Alamea Hawaiian Coffee Liqueur, Peach Brandy Liqueur, Pimento Rum Liqueur and Spiced Rum.
Alamea Hawaiian Coffee Liqueur
Deep Coffee flavor from Hawaiian coffee…sumptuous and satisfying.
Alamea Pimento Rum Liqueur
I tasted it side by side with the Hamilton Pimento Dram and I find the Hamilton to have more punch and body but this one to be more refined and frankly I like them both equally much. I think they can be preferred in different drinks depending on how heavy the drink is. Sometimes a heavier or lighter pimento dram may be called for.
Alamea Peach Brandy Liqueur
This one is so good I could lick the bottle, it´s just so incredibly TASTY! made from fresh peaches of italy.
Alamea Spiced
One of the best spiced I`ve had. I`m usually not a fan of spiced rums so very much but it depends, and this one I find to be good and not too sweet (super important when it comes to spiced rums) and with natural flavors.
You will see more of these products on this website in the future because I know I will use them a whole lot. So now…on to the drinks! these are fun to mix with and a great addition to the tiki and other exotic (and other) cocktails.
O`opa`s Trap
1 oz/30 ml Laphroaig 10 whisky
1.5 oz/45 ml Plantation OFTD overproof rum
0.5 oz/15 ml Alamea Hawaiian Coffee Liqueur
0.25 oz Alamea Pimento Liqueur
0.25 oz/7.5 ml Alamea Spice
0.5 oz/15 ml banana cream mix*
1.5 oz/45 ml fresh lime juice
1.5 oz/45 ml fresh pineapple juice
Blend in blender with 1 cup/2.5 dl crushed ice and pour into a zombie (chimney) glass and add more crushed ice if needed. Garnish with cocktail umbrella and speared Fabbri Amarena cherries.
Banana Cream Mix – 1 part butter + 1 part honey + 1 part banana syrup
Make a simple syrup with 2:1 ratio of demerara sugar and water (about 1 cup/2.5dl of sugar) and slice 1 banana in it and mash slightly with a fork and bring to boil, then simmer on medium-low heat for a couple minutes. Take off heat and leave to cool and settle for about 1 hour, then strain and bottle in a clean bottle.
Make the Banana Cream Mix and keep it slightly above room temp for use. This is sumptuous and delicious….perfect for tiki drinks with pineapple, banana and coffee.
2 Ports Cup
1 oz/30 ml GunRoom 2 Ports rum
1 oz/30 ml Plantation OFTD overproof rum
0,75 oz /22.5ml Alamea Peach Brandy Liqueur
0.5 oz/15 ml Campari to float in a half passionfruit shell on top of the ice.
0,75 oz /22.5ml fresh lime juice
0.5 oz/15 ml fresh pineapple juice
0.5 oz/15ml passionfruit juice
The passionfruit seeds from one passionfruit.
Add everything to shaker except the Campari and shake hard with ice, strain into a snifter. Add the passionfruit shell with the Campari float on top of the ice, to be floated before drinking. Garnish with pineapple leaf.
Punch Taiohaè
2 oz/60 ml fresh pineapple juice
0.75 oz/22.5 ml cream of coconut
0.25 oz/7.5 ml Alamea Hawaiian
Coffee Liqueur
1 oz/ 40 ml fresh lime juice
0.5 oz/15 ml Alamea Spice rum
1 oz/30 ml aged rhum agricole
0.5 oz/15 ml Demerara rum
0.5 oz/15 ml Appleton Rare Blend (Appleton 12)
Blend with 1 cup/2.5 dl crushed ice or shake very hard with ice cubes to get that cream of coconut to mix in perfectly and pour into a tiki mug filled with crushed ice.
Garnish with grated nutmeg, flower, tropical leaf and 3 speared cocktail cherries, Fabbri Amarena or Luxardo.
Up for review is a downright fantastic fizzy drink made with ginger, tonic and hot pepper natural flavors and it is strong!! but let me tell you something…this is the best fizzy ginger drink i`ve tasted in a long time – if ever… yes it´s that good!
It was actually made as an alternative to alcohol that isn´t weak but very strong –  but it can be used with or without alcohol and bland is the last thing this drink is. It reminds me of ginger beer with a chili bite without being an actual ginger beer. I think it´s fantastic and it´s low in sugar and full of taste, and really delicious!
As a non alcoholic beverage it´s perfect if you want something that has a bite and a bucket load of flavor. Also it´s a great paired with spicy exotic food and it should always be served very cold! The cocktail recipes here can be used as non-alcoholic drink alternatives, just omit the alcohol, with Pimento in it they will have enough flavor.
Pimento mixes well with rum, tequila and vodka and there´s no end to the amount of tasty drinks you can make with it. Here´s four drinks i made, three are my own creations and one i picked from the recipe booklet i got with the Pimento drinks. I especially enjoyed the first drink:
Red Hot Chili Pepper
(created by Jeremy Kent and Anthony Nasty at the Saloon Bar (Val Thorens)
0.25 oz  ( 1 cl) grenadine ( i used homemade hibiscus grenadine)
2 oz ( 6cl) Havana Club Anejo Especial ( or use other similar type of dark rum)
0.5 oz (1.5 cl) fresh lime juice
Top with Pimento
Serve in highball glass or other with ice cubes.
This drink is like…dang!! absolutely lovely and the chili flavor really comes through and marries just perfectly with the grenadine and dark rum. I loved it!
Pimento Storm
2 oz ( 6 cl) dark Jamaican rum
0.5 oz (1.5 cl) fresh lime juice
Top with Pimento
Shake all ingredients except Pimento, strain and top with Pimento, serve with cracked ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
This tastes like a spicy strong Dark N Stormy with a sexy hot chili bite…
Mayahuel on Fire
2 oz ( 6 cl) tequila reposado
1 barspoon good coffee liqueur ( i used Fair Cafe)
0.75 oz ( 2 cl) pineapple juice
Top with Pimento
Shake and strain into a rocks glass or other filled with cracked ice and garnish with a pineapple leaf and cherry.
Pimento goes exceptionally well with tequila – not surprising since tequila and chili pepper is a natural match, this drink is refreshing and strong with that earthy character from tequila that tastes so good. The coffee fits in very well too adding a third dimension to the flavors.
Hot Pimento Swizzle
1 oz ( 2.5 cl) pineapple juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 barspoon falernum
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz green Chartreuse
Top with Pimento
Swizzle with crushed ice until frosty and top with Pimento, garnish with a good bunch of fresh mint.
This drink is a take on the Chartreuse swizzle and it´s herbal and fresh, gingery and strong!
My conclusion of this product is that i really like it! I find it very versatile and the flavor is awesome. The bottle itself is also a pleasure to both handle and look at and the label is beautiful. it looks classy and cool at the same time with that black chili pepper and red metallic text that says Pimento, simply beautiful and i love the chili red bottle cap!
Pimento is like a strong ginger beer with a hot bite of chili and a refreshing tonic quality.
As for now it`s sold in France, England, Holland, Denmark, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Africa, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Tahiti, Australia, Guadeloupe and Haiti and they are looking for distributors and can be contacted on their website.
Third drink up for the Tiki Month hosted by the Pegu blog is a drink that was created by Martin Cate at Smuggler’s Cove – the nicely spicy 2070 Swizzle.
I`m serving it in my third mug from the Fireworks studio in Glagow, the coconut mug. I could have made a drink that contains coconut and the best one that comes to mind i the Coconaut but i have already had it on here so i went and searched for something else and found the 2070 Swizzle.
This swizzle contains Angostura 1919 and demerara rums, lime and honey, allspice dram, angostura bitters and what i believe is the secret to success . 4 drops of pernod which is an ingredient that was extensively used by Don the Beachcomber and which in very small amounts ( 4-6 drops usually) adds a third dimension to the drink by adding contrast, i really like it.
If you can`t find pernod you may use absinthe or herbsaint. The absinthe is less sweet than the other two which are not absinthes (pernod is a pastis and herbsaint is a brand name of anise-flavored liquor, originally made in New Orleans, Louisiana) – but since only only drops are used it doesn´t matter which one you use. Personally i used absinthe which are more to my liking in tiki drinks while i prefer herbsaint in say a sazerac.
2070 Swizzle (by Martin Cate)
1 oz Angostura 1919 Rum
1 oz 151 Demerara Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/4 oz Allspice Dram
4 drops Pernod
2 dashes Bitters
Swizzle and sprinkle nutmeg on top.
The 2070 swizzle is an awesome drink and there´s also a version of it called “2070 Swizzle Redux” created by Jim Hurricane Hayward over at the Grogalizer. Let´s try it:
2070 Swizzle Redux
1 oz Angostura 1919 or other quality Gold Rum
1/2 oz Lemon Hart 151
1/2 oz Smith & Cross
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Infused Simple Syrup (If you use Trader Tiki/BG Reynold’s, you may need to cut it back. His syrup is extremely strong. Cut it in half)
1/2 oz Honey Mix
1/2 oz Strong Kona coffee (chilled of course)
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
4 drops Pernod
2 dash Angostura bitters
1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg on top
Cinnamon Stick swizzle
Here is instructions from Swanky that i found on the Tiki Central:
Use about 1/2 cup crushed ice, flash blended for a few seconds. Lately I prefer to put everything in the blender but ice, set it to the lowest setting, on mine it is “Stir” and get all the ingredients mixed.
Then I add the ice and hit it on high. I zap it for a second, let it stop and repeat. Do that maybe 3 or 4 times. Pour into the proper glass (collins/zombie, or the classic aluminum ones) and add ice to fill. Grate some fresh nutmeg on top. Add cinnamon stick as swizzle.
If you use an aluminum glass, or even a collins, take a napkin and unfold it, then refold it longways. You should have a good frost on the glass. Lightly wet one corner of the napkin and press it to the glass so it freezes in place. Wrap around and do the same to the other end. This makes the drink easier to hold since it is so cold.
I didn`t have any Angostura 1919 but i do have some left of the Caroni -97 single barrel rum so i used that with excellent results in both drinks, awesome actually…
And my blender has broken down so this one is swizzled the old fashioned way with a wooden swizzle stick.
The 2070 Swizzle Redux tastes to me like a coffee spiced cousin to the first one with a  little bit less demerara flavor and more of the Jamaican funk and (in my case) strong Caroni heaviness – and even though Caroni is a rum from Trinidad many of their strong rums does resemble Jamaican pot still rum.
Tiki Month is already half gone…at least on the Pegu blog and therefore it´s time i come up with a drink in my next mug of the three i got from the Fireworks Studio.
There`s so many great tiki mug makers out there and i have a bunch on my list. I`m not obsessed with collecting yet but that has very much to do with that most mugs are made in the US and the shipping is high. If they were more easily accessible i`m sure i would have had many many more…
Today the theme is Pineapple!
For the pineapple mug i wanna make a drink containing pineapple but not a Pina Colada even though this specific mug is made for the Glasgow Tiki Bar´s Pina Coladas.
I`m very vey fond of the combination of strong Jamaican rum and aged rhum agricole and so that´s what`s going into this drink which is my own creation. And i`m gonna add some sparkling white wine to the party.
The name of the drink means “Pineapple” in Hawaiian which is just about right since the drink has it and the mug has it´s shape…I`ll also add some coffee for contrast – pineapple and coffee is a match made in heaven and a well known flavor combo when it comes to tiki drinks.
Hala Kahiki (hah.lah-kah-hee-kee)
5-6 fresh pineapple chunks (or enough to give about 2 oz juice)
0.25 oz demerara syrup + 0.25 oz liquid honey
0.25 oz coffee liqueur
1.5 oz Jamaican dark rum – preferably a flavorful and strong one like Smith and Cross
0.5 oz aged rhum agricole
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
A little sparkling white wine to top
Crushed ice
Muddle the pineapple slices with the syrup and honey in a shaker. Add coffee liqueur, rum and lime and shake well with ice. Double strain into a tiki mug filled with crushed ice and top with sparkling white wine.
Garnish with pineapple leaves, chunks and maybe a cherry.
One thing when garnihing with pineapple leaves, don`t let them sit in the drink for very long because the drink will get bitter.
This drink tastes just awesome, it´s fruity, strong and spicy but of course the choice of rums will have a great impact on the flavor in the first place but also the choice of coffee liqueur. I used Fair Cafè which is made from organic fair trade coffee and is very tasty. I once wrote a review of it and the link is here.
Now say “Inu A Kena”…which in Hawaiian means to “drink until satisfied†or “drink to quench thirst†– and it also is the name of a very good blog worth checking out!
