Part 2 of our Tiki Series! We’ll talk with art historian Carol Ivory, Tiki authority Jeff Beachbum Berry, and Cédric Caer, co-owner of Le Tiki Lounge in Paris
Carol Ivory is an art historian (Ph.D., University of Washington) and is Professor Emerita of Fine Arts; she retired from Washington State University in 2014, where she served as chair of the Department of Fine Arts, then as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Ivory’s research focuses on the art, history, and culture of the Marquesas Islands. She has worked with cultural leaders and artists in the Marquesas for more than 20 years. In addition to publishing many articles, she has co-curated or consulted on numerous exhibitions on the Marquesas and French Polynesia at venues including The Marquesas: Two Centuries of Cultural Traditions at the Mission Houses Museum, Honolulu (2003), Adorning the World: Art of the Marquesas Islands at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2005), and Gauguin Polynesia: an Elusive Paradise, at the Ny Carlsburg Glyptotek, Copenhagen and the Seattle Art Museum (2011-2012). She served as President of the Pacific Arts Association, and is currently curating an exhibition on Marquesan art and culture for 2016 at the Musée du quai Branly, Paris. She continues her research in the Marquesas, preparing a book on a family of high-ranking women who lived on Nuku Hiva in the 19th century.
Act fast if you don’t want to miss the exhibit at the Quai Branley, which finishes 24 July!
Jeff Beachbum Berry was named as one of Imbibe magazine’s 25 Most Influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century and one of The Daily Meal’s 60 Coolest People in Food & Drink, he is the author of six books on vintage Tiki drinks and cuisine, which Los Angeles magazine dubbed the keys to the tropical kingdom.Learn more about Beachbum Berry and his various projects on his website.
Cédric Caer (with partner Benoit Le Petit) owns the Tiki Lounge, the first tiki bar to open in Paris. They’ve got a downstairs where they bring in music some nights so get down there and pay them a visit for a bit of tiki fun!
All three interviews mentioned Tiki authority Sven Kirsten, author of several books on the subject.
Our featured cocktail is the Mai Tai and the recipe comes from another formidable presence in the cocktail world, Martin Cate. Together with his wife, Rebecca, they own Smugglers Cove bar in San Francisco (which is an awesome bar, stop in if you’re in SF!) And, they’ve also just released a book that’s worth a read: Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki.
Mai Tai
ORIGIN Trader Vic, 1944, adapted by Smuggler’s Cove
GLASSWARE Double old-fashioned glass
INGREDIENTS:
3⁄4 ounce fresh lime juice
1⁄4 ounce Smuggler’s Cove Mai Tai Rich Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1⁄4 ounce Smuggler’s Cove orgeat syrup (suggest OrgeatWorks Latitude 29 Formula)
1⁄2 ounce Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao
2 ounces Denizen Merchant’s Reserve Rum
GARNISH Spent lime shell and mint sprig
Combine all ingredients with 12 ounces of crushed ice and a few cubes in a cocktail shaker. Shake until a frost forms on the shaker and pour the entire contents into a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a spent lime shell and mint sprig.
SC MAI TAI RICH SIMPLE SYRUP
MAKES 4 cups (32 ounces)
2 cups water
4 cups demerara sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the demerara sugar and stir vigorously with a whisk (or use an immersion blender) until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute (the water should become clear such that you can see the bottom of the pot). Immediately remove from heat and let cool. Add the vanilla extract and salt and stir to combine. Pour into a lidded bottle or other sealable container and store in the refrigerator. The syrup will keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.
