The Pegu Blog

The Bosom Caresser

Doug — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:29:44 +0000

I’m currently preparing a review of A.J. Rathbun’s excellent book, Dark Spirits, which I hope to have done soon. But right smack dab in the center of the book is a recipe that I just have to go ahead and blog. A cocktail with a name like the Bosom Caresser is simply made to punch [...]

Blogger Makes Terrible Mistake

Doug — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:22:17 +0000

I am sure that this will not end well, but I have joined Twitter. Really? Ready to surrender the last shreds of your life, huh? Apparently. I intend to try to keep my followings to a minimum. We’ll see how long that lasts. For those of you who want to follow me… Awww! I think it’s cute that you expect anyone [...]

A Dark Day for D-Bags….

Doug — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:49:10 +0000

Just a little palate-cleanser for the first day after Tiki Month. While I’m sure that Republic in Chicago is not at all my kind of place, and while I’m triply sure you aren’t going to get a well crafted blend of rum, lime, Luxardo, and grapefruit on the rocks if you were to order a Daiquiri [...]

What Did We Learn During This Year’s Tiki Month, Doug?

Doug — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:47:04 +0000

Well, I had to let Tiki Month 2010 peter out just a bit this year. Real life intruded a bit and I couldn’t keep up the frenetic pace all month long. Still, I had a blast, and I hope you did too. So now, in a nod to my favorite late night TV host, Craig [...]

Rule 2 Work: Flying Blue Dragon

Doug — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:58:50 +0000

This is probably the last Rule 2 Work of Tiki Month. Since I had done nothing this month with a funky Tiki ingredient like Blue Curacao, I thought I’d point you to a pretty interesting looking concoction offered by CHOW, The Flying Blue Dragon. CHOW doesn’t name this a Tiki drink, or whether it is [...]

The Lui Lui

Doug — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:10:24 +0000

This little concoction is another creation of Don the Beachcomber. The Lui Lui dates back to the pre-war Tiki era, when Don was still just constructing his wing of the Tiki edifice. It is also one of my favorites of his creation (I’m more of a Trader Vic guy, at least when it comes to [...]

A Special BLEG For a Soldier

Doug — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:31:19 +0000

Source Rick, over at Kaiser Penguin, recently got a message from an American serviceman currently stationed in Afghanistan. Alcohol is strictly forbidden to our troops over there, and this leads to a special problem. He likes to add bitters to his juice or soda for flavor. Since his favorites (and ours), Angostura and Peychauds, along with [...]

Wobbling Through the Grog Log

Doug — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:46:48 +0000

I recently reviewed Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log for Tiki Month. I thought I’d do a little Rule 2 work and point you to a much more comprehensive homage to the Log. Pegu Blog Board of Tiki Idols member Tiare has undertaken a Bloggessy she entitles Mixing Through Grog Log. This is a bit of Rule [...]

The Wildfire Movement That is Tiki Month

Doug — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:11:02 +0000

Apparently, everyone is buying into this Tiki Month thing….

Rule 2 Drink: Chimp In Orbit

Doug — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:46:01 +0000

Time for another Rule 2 examination of work by other non-Tiki bloggers getting their faux-tropical on. After searching for an image of my own to use for this post, apparently a Rule 5 situation is going on here, too. (Look around, Smitty’s minions. This whole month is dedicated to the forgotten Tiki drinks that didn’t [...]

Tiki Timeout: Open That Bottle Night

Doug — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:00:19 +0000

I know this is a cocktail blog, and I know this month in particular is Tiki Month round these parts, but I’m calling a Tiki-Timeout for a public service announcement. Next Saturday, February 27th, is Open That Bottle Night. For all the cocktail stuff I do, I still drink a lot of wine, and I’m betting [...]

Tiki Book Review: Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log

Doug — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:31:59 +0000

There is only one Beachbum Berry. He is the modern day’s preeminent sage on Tiki history and drink lore. And he appears to be a bit of a natural cult-leader, as most who hear him speak feel compelled to start buying Hawaiian shirts and rum in large quantities, and develop ninja-level knife skills with tropical [...]

Bermuda Rum Swizzle

Doug — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:22:48 +0000

Swizzles are a classic style of cocktail that well predate Tiki, but seem to have been adopted more or less whole cloth by the movement for a variety of reasons. Swizzles can be made with virtually any liquor, but the most popular is rum, a trend I suspect was cemented by the Tiki movement. Like [...]

The Boo Loo

Doug — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:01:42 +0000

I’m not sure where this drink comes from originally. I found it in Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log, but that tome is unusually silent on the origin, only dating it as circa 1965. Incidentally, that is rather late in the era for a Tiki drink this good. The Boo Loo is apparently a beloved signature offering [...]

Tiki Timeout: Presidential Drinking Habits

Doug — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:50:48 +0000

Just a quick hit post on a non-Tiki subject: Presidential drinkers. My thoughts were triggered by a very entertaining post at a website called 11 Points (Because top 10 Lists Are For Cowards), entitled 11 Drunkest Presidents in History. Incidentally, the post also illustrates the perils of locking yourself into a format, since only about nine [...]

Rule 2 Work: Rumdood is Not a Tiki-Blogger!

Doug — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:20:30 +0000

It has been nearly a year since I’ve given Matt “Rumdood” Robold any grief on these pages. This sort of neglect is what happens when I have actual interesting things to write about here. You think that what you write is interesting? Really? Well, no. But entire tens of people read this blog, so I soldier on. And in [...]

Original Tiki Drink: The Draugr

Doug — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:52:12 +0000

I think it is about time, with all this Tiki-blogging, to try to contribute something original. So here I go, throwing caution to the wind and risking ridicule by advancing a fresh drink of my own creation. Casting about for inspiration, I found myself grinning at the most un-tropical, un-pacific ingredient in my home: A bottle [...]

Rule 2 Work: Janice Gets Her (Unspecified) Tiki On

Doug — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:00:24 +0000

More Rule 2 linkage during this Tiki Month! Janice, over at Real Food Made Easy, offers up this tasty-looking Tiki concoction, the Cupid’s Day Off: Click over to her place for the recipe. And yes, I’m aware she doesn’t call this a Tiki drink. In fact, it is supposedly a Valentine’s Day cocktail. I can’t help it [...]

Trader Vic’s Grog

Doug — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:42:38 +0000

I’ve written about Grog before, outlining Don the Beachcomber’s contribution to the genre during the last International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th. Mark your calendars!). What I alluded to back then, I’ll say flat out now: Grogs and Bumbos were the first Tiki drinks. Maybe that is why so many of us refer [...]

Tiki Timeout: Bar Building and BlogBarCrawl Update

Doug — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:31:23 +0000

First, the latest episode of one of my favorite online comics: I’d love to use this as a seed to riff off of about building your own Basement Bar, and choosing to do it all yourself, versus hiring contractors. But in all honesty, the characters here are renovating and opening their own bar and restaurant. So instead, [...]